Dancing with the Stars: Indiana State Sycamores

Conference: Missouri Valley

Record: 20-13, 12-6

Rankings: 110 (Kenpom), 113 (Sagarin), 95 (RPI)

Potential Seed: 14/15

Best Players: Dwayne Lathan (11.0 ppg, 4.8 rpg), Carl Richard (9.8 ppg, 6.6 rpg), Jake Odum (9.4 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 4.0 apg)


Big Wins, Bad Losses: The Sycamores kept it close with both Purdue and Notre Dame in a non-conference slate that was mostly disappointing. Their best win was at Oral Roberts, while they dropped games to the likes of Eastern Kentucky, Wyoming, and Loyola IL.

Tendencies: Indiana State is actually the best defensive team in the MVC, which is saying a lot considering the reputation of that conference. They don't create too many turnovers, they simply play tough, fundamental, man-to-man defense, force difficult shots, and clean the defensive glass. Offensively, they are balanced but a bit limited. Seven players average at least 6.1 ppg, but no one more than 11.0 ppg. Part of it is the slower pace the Sycamores like to play, and part of it is injuries they have battled this season. One thing worth noting -- ISU has been very good in close games, even winning two on buzzer beaters earlier this year.

How They Got There: After starting the season out 4-6, Indiana State found a groove early in league play, winning seven of their first eight games. But once the Sycamores got to the meat of their schedule, they lost five in a row and seemingly fell out of contention. They rebounded, however, winning their last five in league play (sandwiched around a loss to Morehead State in Bracket Buster's) and then beating Evansville, Wichita State, and Missouri State to advance to the NCAA Tournament.

Outlook: The Valley is not as good as we have become accustomed to this season. ISU was the three seed in the tournament, and while they won, there is very little chance for Missouri State or Wichita State to earn an at-large bid. Valley teams always seem to be dangerous in the tournament -- their league is so competitive and physical that they are prepared for tournament battles -- but I don't love this group. I like the two Jakes as players, Lathan is a terrific athlete, but I just don't see enough playmaking on this roster to pull off an upset of a 14 or 15 seed.
Continue reading...

POSTERIZED: Sycamore skies over Saluki

The Hoosier State has already produced some of the best dunks of the year. Indiana and Purdue have both had players throw their hats in the ring for "Dunk of the Year". We can now add Indiana State and Dwayne Lathan to that list.

What he did to Southern Illinois' Carlton Fay could be considered a crime in most states.



I was unaware that the sycamore tree produced chestnuts.



That dunk is definitely a candidate for "Dunk of the Year" and "Poster of the Year".

But I think it's safe to say that somebody from the Hoosier State is going to walk away with some dunk hardware.

But was it as good as one of these?:

POSTERIZED - Kenny Gabriel, Auburn
POSTERIZED - Travis Leslie, Louisville
POSTERIZED - Matt Dickey, UNC-Asheville
POSTERIZED - Jeff Robinson, Xavier
POSTERIZED - Nyika Williams
POSTERIZED - Jawanza Poland, South Florida
POSTERIZED - Brady Jardine, Utah State
POSTERIZED - Tony Mitchell, Alabama
POSTERIZED - John Williams, UNC-Asheville
POSTERIZED - Peyton Siva, Louisville
POSTERIZED - E'Twaun Moore, Purdue
POSTERIZED - DJ Newbill, Southern Mississippi
POSTERIZED - Scotty Hopson, Tennessee
POSTERIZED - Justin Brownlee, St. John's
POSTERIZED - Tyrone Johnson
POSTERIZED - Travis Leslie, Georgia
POSTERIZED - Terrence Ross, Washington
POSTERIZED - Justin Tubbs, East Tennessee State
POSTERIZED - Harrison Barnes, North Carolina
POSTERIZED - Andre Roberson, Colorado
POSTERIZED - Durrell Summers, Michigan State
POSTERIZED - Phillip McDonald, New Mexico
POSTERIZED - Kyle Kuric, Louisville
POSTERIZED - Anthony Nelson, Niagara
POSTERIZED - Cory Joseph, Texas
POSTERIZED - Will Sheehey, Indiana
POSTERIZED - Tom Pritchard, Indiana
POSTERIZED - Shay Shine, High Point
POSTERIZED - John Holland, Boston
POSTERIZED - Keith Gabriel, VMI
POSTERIZED - Travis McKie, Wake Forest
POSTERIZED - Jefferson Mason, Minnesota State (D-II)
POSTERIZED - Tyler Johnson, Fresno State
POSTERIZED - John Williams, UNC-Asheville
POSTERIZED - Derrick Williams, Arizona
POSTERIZED - Hollis Thompson, Georgetown
POSTERIZED - Darnell Wilks, Cincinnati
POSTERIZED - Rodney Williams, Minnesota
POSTERIZED - Darius Johnson-Odom, Marquette
POSTERIZED - Darrius Garrett, Richmond
POSTERIZED - Travis Cohn, Jacksonville
POSTERIZED - Ramon Galloway, South Carolina
POSTERIZED - Terrence Jones, Kentucky
POSTERIZED - Justin Tubbs, East Tennessee State
POSTERIZED - John Williams, UNC-Asheville
POSTERIZED - Kevin Smith, Richmond
POSTERIZED - Mitchell Watt, Buffalo
POSTERIZED - Chandler Parsons, Florida
POSTERIZED - Kenny Gabriel, Auburn
POSTERIZED - Paris Horne, St. John's
POSTERIZED - Travis Leslie, Georgia
POSTERIZED - Laurence Bowers, Missouri
POSTERIZED - Drew Gordon, New Mexico
POSTERIZED - Tony Mitchell, Alabama
POSTERIZED - Jeffery Taylor, Vanderbilt
POSTERIZED - LaMarcus Reed, UT-Arlington
POSTERIZED - Marcus Morris, Kansas
POSTERIZED - Jared Cunningham, Oregon State
POSTERIZED - Langston Morris-Walker
POSTERIZED - Chris Wright and Juwan Staten, Dayton
POSTERIZED - D.J Stephens, Memphis
POSTERIZED - Derrick Williams, Arizona
POSTERIZED - Reeves Nelson, UCLA
POSTERIZED - Kendall Marshall and John Henson, UNC
POSTERIZED - Terrence Jones, Kentucky
POSTERIZED - Rodney Williams, Minnesota
POSTERIZED - Joe Jackson, Memphis
POSTERIZED - Shay Shine, High Point
POSTERIZED - Harrison Barnes, North Carolina
POSTERIZED - Kent Bazemore, Old Dominion
POSTERIZED - CJ Fair, Syracuse
POSTERIZED - LeBryan Nash
POSTERIZED - Rodney Williams, Minnesota
POSTERIZED - Travis Leslie, Georgia
POSTERIZED - Terrence Jones, Kentucky
POSTERIZED - Marcus Jordan, Central Florida
POSTERIZED - Lorenzo Brown, NC State
POSTERIZED - Tai Wesley, Utah State
POSTERIZED - Trent Lockett, Arizona State, and Derrick Williams, Arizona
POSTERIZED - Brandon Paul, Illinois
POSTERIZED - Jordan Hamilton, Texas
Continue reading...

Indiana State downs Missouri State at the buzzer

For the second consecutive game, Indiana won at the buzzer at home to knock off a fellow Valley contender.

Down 69-67 with just 4.9 seconds left on the clock, Jake Kelly took the inbounds pass and drove through the Missouri State defense, scoring and drawing a foul:



The officials went back and looked at the clock, determining that 0.6 seconds should be put back on. Kelly stepped to the line and knocked down the game-winning free throw as the Bears ensuing inbounds pass was stolen away.

With the win, Indiana State moves into a tie with Missouri State atop the Valley standing at 7-1. Wichita State, who lose at home to Northern Iowa tonight, is alone in second at 6-2 while UNI and Creighton are both 5-3.

If you remember, the Sycamores won on Saturday when Carl Richard tipped in a miss as time expired to beat Creighton.

There is still some concern about Indiana State. Four of their seven wins have come against the bottom three teams in the conference, they lost on the road to Evansville, and their other three wins -- UNI, Creighton, and Missouri State -- were all at home. Keep in mind, this team has also lost to Loyola IL, Eastern Kentucky, Ball State, and Wyoming. Its not exactly the kind of non-conference resume you expect out of a MVC contender.

The bad news is that Indiana State is just two games into a brutal seven game stretch in which they have to face Creighton, Missouri State, and Wichita State twice, with all three road trips still to come.

The good news?

They are 2-0 in those two games and in first place.

You can't really ask for much more than that.
Continue reading...

Missouri Valley Conference Tournament Preview

Schedule (all games played in Missouri):

Thursday, March 5th / First Round
- Game #1: #8 Drake vs. #9 Northern Iowa
- Game #2: #7 Wichita State vs. #10 Missouri State

Friday, March 6th / Quarters
- Game #3: #1 Northern Iowa vs. Game #1 Winner
- Game #4: #4 Bradley vs. #5 Southern Illinois
- Game #5: #2 Creighton vs. Game #2 Winner
- Game #6: #3 Illinois State vs. #6 Evansville

Saturday, March 7th / Semis
- Game #7: Game #3 Winner vs. Game #4 Winner
- Game #8: Game #5 Winner vs. Game #6 Winner

Sunday, March 8th / Finals
- Game #9: Game #7 Winner vs. Game #8 winner

Favorite: It isn't a secret that the MVC tourney, commonly known as Arch Madness, is one of the best conference tourneys around. This year should, once again, be exciting. While Northern Iowa earned the #1 seed, the favorite has to be Creighton. The Bluejays have the best back court in the conference (and maybe in the midwest) with conference POY Booker Woodfox (who doubles as the nation's best three-point shooter) and last year's rookie of the year P'Allen Stinnett. They won their last 10 games, including a win at Northern Iowa and a home victory over George Mason. They also won non-conference games against New Mexico and Dayton. In fact, they were a grand total of ten seconds away (in last second losses to Arkansas-Little Rock and Nebraska) from going undefeated out of conference.

P'Allen Stinnett (top), Cavel Witter, and company look to carry their momentum into Arch Madness
(photo credit: Nati Harnik/AP)

Contenders: You have got to think that Northern Iowa, Bradley and Illinois State all have a shot at winning this thing. Bradley probably has the either path, as they avoid Creighton until the Finals. Northern Iowa won both against Illinois State during the regular season, although it was by a combined six points with one win coming in overtime. Of the three, Bradley is the only team coming in playing well. NIU has lost four of seven, ISU has lost three in a row, but Bradley has won four of their last five.

Sleeper: As much as I want to say defending champion Drake, who returns both Josh Young and Jonathon Cox, I just don't see a team that has won four games since January 11th winning four in a row in March. I am going to go with Indiana State. The Sycamores started out the season 4-19, but they have won six of their last seven to finish at 7-11 in the conference.

BIAH Prediction: Creighton. Continue reading...