ISU men head north to face struggling Drake men

By Todd Golden

Indiana State travels to Drake with a positive frame of mind after its 70-64 victory over Creighton on Friday.

Drake, which lost 61-38 at Wichita State on Friday, heads home in a funk.

There will be no complaints from the Sycamores. The trip to Drake is the first of two road games in a row. ISU will play at Bradley on Wednesday.

It was a key stretch of the season regardless of ISU’s state of affairs. With Jake Kelly out for the season due to his ACL tear, a successful start sans-Kelly takes on even more importance.

“We still expect to compete, we still expect to be at the top, we expect to scratch and crawl to as many wins as we possibly can, with or without Jake,” ISU coach Kevin McKenna said. “If someone else goes down, I’m going to look them all in the eye again and say the same thing is going to happen.”

A road sweep is obvioiusly the optimum for ISU, it would give the Sycamores a 3-1 Missouri Valley Conference record and the always-desired “plus-two” in league play as far as road wins are concerned. Even a split, which would make ISU 2-2 and give it a plus-one would put the Sycamores in relatively decent shape.

It’s the second game in a row ISU has faced an opponent coming off a losing effort. Drake is 0-2 and scored a season-low point total and shot a season-low 23 percent from the field in its loss to Wichita State.

“We didn’t shoot 23 percent for the game just because we took bad shots. We had some shots that just didn’t go down. That’s an anomaly, we don’t typically shoot that bad. The fact that they pressed the whole game probably had a wearing-down effect,” said Drake coach Mark Phelps in the Des Moines Register.

While the Sycamores (9-4, 1-1) come in feeling good after a solid win over Creighton, Drake (5-9, 0-2) has plenty to hang its hat on as far as potential success over the Sycamores.

ISU has had no recent success at Knapp Center, having lost nine in a row in Des Moines. The last two games have been blowouts in the Bulldogs’ favor with losses by 25 and 19 points, respectively.

Drake takes care of the ball better than any other team in the conference, averaging just 10 turnovers per game. The Bulldogs also shoot nearly 40 percent from 3-point range as Ryan Wedel (39 percent) and Josh Young (36 percent) are particularly dangerous.

Drake also plays a match-up zone, though statistically, the Bulldogs are one of the league’s worst defensive teams. So the Sycamores will have to be patient with its shot-selection. Drake is also near the bottom in rebounding.

Senior Young (12.3 ppg) is the Bulldogs’ leading scorer, but Drake has several new contributors. Junior guard Wedel averages 11.8 points. Freshman forward Seth VanDeest averages 8.6 points and 5.1 rebounds per game.



ISU at Drake

Tipoff — 7 p.m. at Knapp Center, Des Moines, Iowa.

Broadcasts — Radio: WSDM-FM 92.7-FM.

Live blog: blogs.tribstar.com/downinthevalley

Last time out — ISU defeated Creighton 70-64 and Drake lost to Wichita State 61-38 on Friday.

Series — ISU leads 35-34. ISU took two of three last season against the Bulldogs, but haven't won in Des Moines since 2000.



The players

Indiana State Sycamores (9-4, 1-1) — G Harry Marshall (6-0, Sr., 10.8 ppg, 4.2 rpg); G-F Dwayne Lathan (6-3, So., 13.9 ppg, 5.5 rpg); G Rashad Reed (6-1, Sr., 8.2 ppg, 3.2 apg); F Carl Richard (6-5, So., 5.4 ppg, 3.4 rpg); and C Brant Leitnaker (6-10, Jr., 4.4) are possible starters. G Jordan Printy (6-4, So., 5.2); G-F Aaron Carter (6-4, Jr., 4 ppg); F Koang Doluony (6-8, Fr., 2.8); C Josh Crawford (6-11, Sr., 3.2) and C Isiah Martin (6-8, Jr., 2.8) are key contributors off the bench.

Coach — Kevin McKenna (35-41 at ISU, 3rd year; 125-74 overall, 7th year).

Drake Bulldogs (5-9, 0-2) — F Aaron Hawley (6-7, Fr., 5.9); F Adam Templeton (6-5, Sr., 7.7 ppg, 6.2 rpg); F Seth VanDeest (6-9, Fr., 8.6 ppg, 5.1 rpg); G Ryan Wedel (5-11, Jr., 11.8) and G Josh Young (6-1, Sr., 12.3 ppg, 3.5 rpg) are possible starters. G Craig Stanley (5-11, Sr., 5.9); G Frank Wiseler (6-0, So., 3.1); F Bill Eaddy (6-5, Sr., 2.4); F Ben Simons (6-7, Fr., 8.9) and F Reece Uhlenhopp (6-7, Fr., 1.2) are key contributors off the bench.

Coach — Mark Phelps (22-25, 2nd year).

Injuries — For ISU, G Jake Kelly (knee) is out for the season.



Keys to the game

• Keep it steady. ISU was at its best against Creighton when it just played within itself and didn't force shots or passes. It's a hard mentality to maintain on the road, but the Sycamores at least know they can do it.

• Get into Drake's shooters. The Bulldogs shoot nearly 40 percent from 3-point range. In nearly every recent game ISU has played at Drake, the Bulldogs have got themselves going from beyond the arc. Young is especially dangerous when he's on.

Tidbit — ISU’s nine-game road losing streak at Drake is its third-longest at any road site in the conference. ISU last won at Drake in 2000. The only sites where ISU has a longer losing streak is Creighton (ISU last won there in 1999) and Bradley (ISU last won there in 1998).

Next games — ISU plays at Bradley and Drake is at Creighton on Wednesday

— Todd Golden

Text Only | Photo Reprints