St. Louis — The scales of evidence can swing either direction when it comes to the fate of the 2009 Indiana State’s men’s basketball team.
On one hand, there’s talent and athleticism to suggest that ISU will exceed seventh place — the spot where the Sycamores finished last season in the Missouri Valley Conference. On the other hand, ISU has 10 newcomers and lost its top two scorers from last season.
Valley preseason poll pundits believe ISU will finish exactly as it did last year — seventh. It is the highest preseason placement for the Sycamores in the preseason poll since 2002, yet, it comes might come off as a bit of a comedown to some observers who expect more out of ISU this season.
In the end, time will tell. That’s the attitude ISU men’s basketball coach Kevin McKenna took when it came to what should be expected out of the Sycamores this season.
“A lot of things run through your mind. You look at what Drake did last year and you hope you can prove people wrong,” McKenna said. “Based on what we have back and what we have back, I’m not sure if its accurate or not. You have to play the season and regardless of where you’re picked, you have to keep going.”
ISU forward Jay Tunnell was philosophical about ISU’s lot. As ever, the preseason rankings mean nothing once the games begin, Tunnell said.
“When you’re picked lower it puts a chip on our shoulder, but we only have a few guys who played for us last year,” Tunnell said.
“With all that uncertainty, it’s kind of hard for other people to expect big things from us. And we finished seventh last year, it’s not like we had a strong showing to come out and deserve a higher ranking. At the same time, we think we’re one of the best teams in the league and we’re going to come out and work for it.”
The main reasons for any ISU placement about seventh is obvious — Tunnell is a veteran who will play more of a four-role that will allow him to take advantage of his shooting. Once he returns, Harry Marshall stabilizes the point guard position both on the floor and with his leadership off of it.
Past that, what can ISU hang its hat on to make a case for a rise up the league’s ladder?
“That’s a big unknown that we don’t know yet either. Until we see what we really have, we don’t know who’s going to step up yet. We have an idea, but until the lights are on and things are rolling, you really don’t know,” McKenna said. “When you’re dealing with inexperience, crazy things happen. Some guys might step up and surprise us, some guys might not be as good as you thought they would be. It’s an interesting time.”
Creighton was picked first overall with 36 first-place votes, a near-unanimous selection. Second-place Southern Illinois and third-place Illinois State were the only other schools to receive first place votes.
McKenna helped recruit many of the current Bluejays when he was an assistant at Creighton. Does he feel a certain sense of pride?
“Not so much. I take more pride as an alum. I have strong feelings for that team. I played there, coached there, my wife’s a grad, my daughter is a grad. You want them to do well, you just don’t want them to do well when you’re playing them,” McKenna said. “It’s a model program for our conference and we’ve tried to model after them.”
Illinois State’s Osiris Eldridge was the Preseason Player of the Year. No ISU player was on the Preseason All-Conference team or was an honorable mention pick.
MVC Basketball
Preseason Poll
1. Creighton (36) 386
2. Southern Illinois (2) 322
3. Illinois State (1) 309
4. Drake 274
5. Bradley 219
6. Northern Iowa 186
7. Indiana State 137
8. Evansville 122
9. Wichita State 105
10. Missouri State 85
MVC Preseason
All-Conference Team
Jonathan Cox F Sr. Drake
Osiris Eldridge G Jr. Illinois State
Bryan Mullins G Sr. Southern Illinois
P'Allen Stinnett G So. Creighton
Josh Young G Jr. Drake
Honorable Mention — Shy Ely, Evansville; Jason Holsinger, Evansville; Andrew Warren, Bradley; Theron Wilson, Bradley
Player of the Year — Eldridge, Illinois State
College
ISU men's basketball picked seventh in Missouri Valley
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ISU's Webb wins heptathlon
Indiana State’s Robert Webb captured the heptathlon Saturday at the Grand Valley State Big Meet as he totaled the second most points in ISU history while dominating the event. Webb scored 5,140 points, which is second only to former Sycamore Anthony Bertoli’s 5,189 points in 2008.
Webb, a senior, established three more personal best efforts enroute to the overall victory as he ran 8.45 in the 60 meter hurdles and 2 minutes, 50.73 seconds in the 1,000 meters while also clearing 13-1 1/2 in the pole vault. Webb entered the second day of the event in the lead with 2,893 points after winning three of the four Friday events and setting personal bests in the long jump and shot put. -
Perfect game: ISU shoots NCAA record 12-for-12 from 3-point range in win over SIU
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The halftime speech is one of the most time-worn clichés in sports, but once in a while, it’s meaningful. It certainly was for the Indiana State women’s basketball team on Friday against Bradley.
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Sycamore women looking to snap six-game losing streak
The Indiana State women’s basketball team is in dire need of a victory in Hulman Center this weekend.
Bradley visits Terre Haute tonight looking to sweep the season series from the Sycamores, who are in jeopardy of the program’s first seven-game losing streak since the 1995-96 season.
“I think it should [add to motivation]. There’s no doubt that group in the locker room in there is very disappointed,” Coach Teri Moren said. “As I keep saying, we’re in a rough patch right now, and there’s no group of kids that wants to get right back on track more than they do.” -
Leonard dominates in first half, but IU, Zeller earn the victory
The first half belonged to Illinois’ Meyers Leonard.
The win belonged to Indiana and Cody Zeller.
The 23rd-ranked Hoosiers (19-6, 7-6 Big Ten) took advantage of a glaring free-throw discrepancy to defeat the Illini 84-71 on Thursday. -
Rose women roll; Dickerson becomes all-time assists leader
Rose-Hulman senior Alisa Dickerson became the college’s career leader in assists as the Engineers cruised past Defiance 60-33 in Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference women’s basketball Saturday afternoon in Hulbert Arena.
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MVC’s worst a tantalizing option for ISU
Even though the Indiana State men’s basketball team has played better of late, having won three of its last four games, there’s only one team with a worse record in the Missouri Valley Conference standings than the Sycamores.
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Sycamores can’t stop Stutz, Shockers
All or nothing. It was that kind of game for Wichita State center Garrett Stutz. Unfortunately for Indiana State’s men’s basketball team, the “all” came in the second half.
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McWhorter’s fortunes rise with ISU’s
More so than any other Sycamore, Steve McWhorter might embody the decline and the recent rise of the Indiana State men’s basketball team.
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Johnson dominates again for ISU track
Felisha Johnson continued to dominate women’s weight throw while two Indiana State hurdlers moved into today’s finals after solid performances in the preliminaries Friday at the Meyo Invitational at Notre Dame.
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Indiana State women lose at Illinois State
Playing short-handed again, Indiana State’s women suffered their sixth straight Missouri Valley Conference basketball loss Friday night, falling 78-67 to host Illinois State.
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Indiana, Purdue meet with both looking to regain momentum
Indiana University’s stint in the Top 25 may be coming to an end. Purdue is just looking for a winning streak.
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ISU women looking to end five-game losing streak at Illinois State
Within a few points in the final minutes, Indiana State had chances to win women’s basketball games at Missouri State and Wichita State last weekend.
But the Sycamores lost for the fourth and fifth straight games, also losing freshman Jessica Valley for the season at Wichita State. The promising backcourt player tore the ACL in her right knee and began strengthening exercises this week in order to make plans for surgery. -
ISU Senior Day game to be televised on ESPN
The Missouri Valley Conference announced Thursday that Indiana State’s regular season finale against No. 12-ranked Creighton on Feb. 25 in Hulman Center has been chosen as the MVC’s “wild card” game that will be telecast on either ESPN or ESPN2.
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Hoosiers load up on in-state players
With a 1-11 record in his first season as IU football coach, Kevin Wilson knew there were a lot of holes to fill in terms of personnel.
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It’s on: Sycamores, Bulldogs to play at Hinkle on Feb. 18
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METRO ROUNDUP: Four from Rose receive weekly honors
Four Rose-Hulman athletes earned Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference weekly honors, the HCAC announced Monday.
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Hoosiers reclaim needed offensive momentum
Indiana hadn’t allowed an opponent to shoot better than 40 percent in three straight games heading into Sunday’s home game against Iowa.
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Sycamores will have to match Aces’ toughness
Indiana State men’s basketball coach Greg Lansing has an enduring respect for the toughness Evansville coach Marty Simmons coaxes out of his Purple Aces.
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WOMEN'S BASKETBALL ROUNDUP: Rose, The Woods post weekend victories
Rose-Hulman relied on a balanced scoring attack and a strong defensive effort to earn a 55-44 women’s basketball victory Saturday over Mount St. Joseph.
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ISU's Stacia Weatherford sets school record in 60-meter hurdles
Indiana State junior Stacia Weatherford set the school record in the women’s 60-meter hurdles, while sophomore Greggmar Swift dominated the action in the men’s 60 hurdles during competition Saturday at the Indiana Relays.
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Rose takes first in Engineer Track and Field Invitational
Rose-Hulman relied on nine event victories, 13 top-two finishes and three school records for a strong performance at the ninth annual Engineer Track and Field Invitational on Saturday.
The men’s squad captured first place honors in a meet that featured two of the nation's top 20 NCAA Division III squads and 12 institutions from seven states. The day’s competition also included 10 meet records. -
Mattox’s 31 not enough for ISU women
Indiana State pulled within 63-57 with a 6-0 run with 8 minutes, 50 seconds remaining Friday night at JQH Arena, but the Sycamores lost 84-70 to host Missouri State in a Missouri Valley Conference women's basketball game.
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Mattox, Sycamores staying positive on road trip to Missouri State, Wichita State
Indiana State seniors Brittany Schoen and Deja Mattox are within striking distance of passing 1,000 points in their women’s basketball careers, and they would join classmate Shannon Thomas in that club. Schoen needs just 16 points, while Mattox is 89 points away.
But Mattox has been on a roll of late, scoring a team-high 15.1 points through ISU’s 4-3 start to Missouri Valley Conference play. -
IU triumphs
When Indiana’s Will Sheehey left the floor after receiving his second technical foul, the Hoosier fans cheered.
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ISU women nipped at buzzer
Creighton sophomore Carli Tritz — blanketed by Indiana State senior Brittany Schoen — had just two points at halftime Friday in Hulman Center.
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ISU needs to find chip on its shoulder
When one looks back at the totality of Indiana State’s 2010-11 men’s basketball season, there’s a recurrent theme that tied together the high points in a 20-14 campaign. A recurrent theme that might give ISU a lifeline in what has been a disappointing 2012 season.
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ISU women look to reverse recent trend vs. Creighton
The Creighton women’s basketball team has won three of their last four games in Hulman Center. While the Bluejays have been one of the winningest programs in the Missouri Valley Conference — with at least 12 league wins in seven of the last nine seasons — the Bluejays’ success in Terre Haute would need to end if the Sycamores want to show that their 4-1 start to league play is not a fluke.
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ISU's Webb wins heptathlon








