TERRE HAUTE —
Indiana State’s fall-from-ahead 69-63 loss to Missouri State on Saturday exposed several problems on both the offensive and defensive ends of the floor, but the root cause can be traced back to the lack of a important quality.
Toughness.
So who better to test the Sycamores’ toughness quotient than Evansville, the opponent at 7 p.m. tonight at Hulman Center?
No team in the Missouri Valley Conference has been quite as adept at providing a figurative punch in the mouth to the Sycamores than the Purple Aces have been in recent seasons.
Evansville won two of three games against the Sycamores last year, wiping out 17-point deficits in both regular season games to do so. Evansville also had ISU on the ropes in the MVC Tournament quarterfinals a year ago (the Aces led by three with 1:32 left) until a late comeback and Odum jumper with :00.5 left in the game bailed the Sycamores out and sent them on their way to the NCAA Tournament.
The Aces haven’t slouched this season either. After a so-so nonconference campaign, Evansville is a Jackie Carmichael buzzer-beater (Illinois State won 75-73 via a Carmichael 3-pointer with no time left last Saturday) and a last-minute Wichita State comeback (the Shockers won 67-66 on Jan. 4) away from being 4-0 in the conference.
Evansville did what ISU couldn’t do when it won at Northern Iowa on Jan. 1.
“The thing about Evansville is that they’re probably the toughest team to play in the league and we have to out-tough him. We’ll see if our guys can step up and deal with it,” Odum said.
So if ISU knows it has to “out-tough” the Aces, will that be enough of a factor to ensure that the Sycamores play with a consistent sense of urgency?
ISU’s sense of urgency waxed and waned on Saturday. ISU didn’t have it during an 18-point swing that allowed Missouri State to take a nine-point lead during the second half. The Sycamores suddenly found it when their backs were against the wall late as ISU mounted a comeback that fell just short of the mark.
“I’m never too optimistic about playing Evansville just because [of their toughness]. Marty [Simmons, Evansville coach] gets them to play as tough and together as any team I’ve ever seen. I think that’s the best compliment you can give a coaching staff,” ISU coach Greg Lansing said. “They out-toughed us last year and they did it to other teams too. It shouldn’t take anything special to get our guys’ attention, but maybe this will.”
As for the postmortem in the wake of ISU’s loss and a 1-3 Missouri Valley Conference start, the Sycamores have done some soul-searching.
“We just got done watching some tape of the tournament run last year. We were flying around, guys were helping other guys, people were taking charges, we have to get back to that style of defense,” Odum said. “We have to have some pride. Not everyone gets to play Division I basketball and I think sometimes we take it for granted.
“We’re not putting the effort we need to into our defense, we’re taking quick shots and hanging our heads. It starts with me to get everyone going,” Odum added.
Evansville at ISU
Tipoff — 7 p.m. at Hulman Center.
Broadcasts — TV: WAWV. Radio: WSDM-FM 92.7. Twitter: @TribStarTodd.
Last time out — ISU lost 69-63 to Missouri State and Evansville lost 75-73 at Illinois State on Saturday.
Series — ISU leads 78-76. Evansville won two of three games last year, though ISU defeated Evansville in the MVC Tournament.
The players
Indiana State Sycamores (10-5, 1-3) — G Jake Odum (6-4, So., 9.7, 5.9 apg, 5.3 rpg), G Jordan Printy (6-4, Sr., 8.3), F Dwayne Lathan (6-3, Sr., 12.1, 4.8 rpg), F Carl Richard (6-5, Sr., 10.6, 5.2 rpg) and C Myles Walker (6-8, Sr., 8.1, 4.3 rpg) are possible starters. F R.J. Mahurin (6-8, So., 7 ppg), G Steve McWhorter (6-2, So., 4.3), C Jake Kitchell (6-10, Fr., 2.7), C Justin Gant (6-8, Fr., 2.1), G Lucas Eitel (6-2, So., 1.6), and F Koang Doluony (6-7, Jr., 0.9) could also see action.
Coach — Greg Lansing (30-19 at ISU, 2nd year).
Evansville Purple Aces (7-7, 2-2) — G Colt Ryan (6-5, Jr., 21.3, 5.1 rpg), F-G Denver Holmes (6-4, Sr., 11 ppg), F-G Kenny Harris (6-6, Sr., 11.9, 5.1 rpg), G Troy Taylor (6-0, Jr., 3.7) and F Ryan Sawvell (6-8, Fr., 4.6) are possible starters. G Ned Cox (6-1, Jr., 8.9), G Lewis Jones (6-3, Jr., 4.8) and C Rokas Cesnulevisius (6-8, Fr., 0.9 ppg) could also see action.
Coach — Marty Simmons (58-79 at Evansville, 5th year, 156-152 overall, 11th year).
Injuries and absences — For Evansville, F Jordan Jahr (foot) is out. For ISU, G Jake Odum (foot) is probable.
Next games — ISU plays at Southern Illinois and Evansville plays host to Drake on Friday.
— Todd Golden
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