Hangover effect? Lansing thinks ISU leaders can avoid it
When you look at some of Indiana State's marquee wins in the last two decades, the game after the big win wasn't always smooth sailing.
To wit, during the 1999-2000 season, when ISU defeated Indiana at Assembly Hall, the Sycamores went two overtimes against Eastern Illinois to secure a difficult win.
In 2005-06, after ISU beat IU at Hulman Center, it just squeaked by a poor Ball State team by a point at home. In 2013, a win at Wichita State was followed by a loss at Drake. A home win over Creighton was followed by a one-point home victory over struggling Southern Illinois.
The point is that the hangover effect after a big win ? ISU beat No. 16 Butler 72-71 on Wednesday at Hulman Center ? can be very real. ISU coach Greg Lansing thinks that this Sycamore team can avoid the trappings of feeling too good about themselves as Western Kentucky visits Hulman Center at 4:30 p.m. today.
"Our seniors, Brenton, Murph [Brandon Murphy] and Q [Laquarious Paige] have really been locked in. They know that Butler game isn't the biggest of the year. It's nice to beat a ranked, in-state rival, but we have bigger plans. They've been good," Lansing said. "Some of the new guys? You can sit around and let people pat you on the back and if you do that and let a win linger too long. If you do that, it can get you beat in the next one, but I'm pleased with how the veterans has responded."
ISU (5-4) has plenty of memories to draw on this season to keep their feet on the ground. The close losses at the Advocare Invitational are reason enough. With seven of the nine contests ISU has played coming down to the final possession, they must know that they are on the ragged edge of being really good or really bad.
ISU point guard Everett Clemons said the team came back down to earth when it did film study of the Butler contest.
"Watching film really helped us. There were plenty of things we didn't do well and the coaches really let us know we have a long ways to go," said Clemons, who was asked what he feels the Sycamores are doing well. "We started to rebound as a team. We're moving the ball. We're playing for each other instead of for ourselves."
Western Kentucky (3-5) has long been one of the better mid-major programs in the country and the Hilltoppers have a well-known coach in former Mississippi State boss Rick Stansbury. However, WKU has struggled this season.
The Hilltoppers are in the throes of a four-game losing streak. Compounding WKU's woes is a difficult schedule in which the Hilltoppers play at neutral sites or on the road from Nov. 25 to Dec. 21, a stretch of seven games. The ISU contest is the fifth of the seven contests.
WKU has beaten lightweights Alabama State, Jacksonville State and North Carolina A&T, but the Hilltoppers came close in their last contest at Missouri, a 59-56 WKU defeat.
The Hilltoppers have built their team around senior transfers. Three of WKU's top four leading scorers are transfers and there could be more transfer help coming today. Leading scorer Que Johnson, who previously played at Washington State, averages 14.4 points.
Guards Pancake Thomas (New Mexico and Hartford) and Junior Lomomba (Providence) average 11.1 and 7.4 points, respectively. Thomas played for the Lobos when they visited Hulman Center in 2012.
WKU's semester ended on Friday. It is possible that Tennessee transfer forwards Jabari McGhee and Willie Carmichael might play today. McGhee averaged 4.1 and Carmichael three points for the Vols last season.
However, the known quantity is junior forward Justin Johnson. A big who can spread the floor and who can hit the boards with equal aplomb, Johnson torched the Sycamores a year ago with a 24-point, 10-rebound performance in WKU's 75-62 win at Diddle Arena. Johnson was 10 of 11 from the field.
"You don't handle him with one guy. You have to team defend him. You have to fight like crazy not to give him anything easy. We gave him some easy ones last year, whether it was in transition or the offensive glass. You have to make him work for everything. He's a great player," Lansing said.
If ISU were to win, it would have it would match the four-game winning streak it had a year ago early in Missouri Valley Conference play. ISU has not had a four-game win streak in nonconference action since 2013.
When you look at some of Indiana State's marquee wins in the last two decades, the game after the big win wasn't always smooth sailing.
To wit, during the 1999-2000 season, when ISU defeated Indiana at Assembly Hall, the Sycamores went two overtimes against Eastern Illinois to secure a difficult win.
In 2005-06, after ISU beat IU at Hulman Center, it just squeaked by a poor Ball State team by a point at home. In 2013, a win at Wichita State was followed by a loss at Drake. A home win over Creighton was followed by a one-point home victory over struggling Southern Illinois.
The point is that the hangover effect after a big win ? ISU beat No. 16 Butler 72-71 on Wednesday at Hulman Center ? can be very real. ISU coach Greg Lansing thinks that this Sycamore team can avoid the trappings of feeling too good about themselves as Western Kentucky visits Hulman Center at 4:30 p.m. today.
"Our seniors, Brenton, Murph [Brandon Murphy] and Q [Laquarious Paige] have really been locked in. They know that Butler game isn't the biggest of the year. It's nice to beat a ranked, in-state rival, but we have bigger plans. They've been good," Lansing said. "Some of the new guys? You can sit around and let people pat you on the back and if you do that and let a win linger too long. If you do that, it can get you beat in the next one, but I'm pleased with how the veterans has responded."
ISU (5-4) has plenty of memories to draw on this season to keep their feet on the ground. The close losses at the Advocare Invitational are reason enough. With seven of the nine contests ISU has played coming down to the final possession, they must know that they are on the ragged edge of being really good or really bad.
ISU point guard Everett Clemons said the team came back down to earth when it did film study of the Butler contest.
"Watching film really helped us. There were plenty of things we didn't do well and the coaches really let us know we have a long ways to go," said Clemons, who was asked what he feels the Sycamores are doing well. "We started to rebound as a team. We're moving the ball. We're playing for each other instead of for ourselves."
Western Kentucky (3-5) has long been one of the better mid-major programs in the country and the Hilltoppers have a well-known coach in former Mississippi State boss Rick Stansbury. However, WKU has struggled this season.
The Hilltoppers are in the throes of a four-game losing streak. Compounding WKU's woes is a difficult schedule in which the Hilltoppers play at neutral sites or on the road from Nov. 25 to Dec. 21, a stretch of seven games. The ISU contest is the fifth of the seven contests.
WKU has beaten lightweights Alabama State, Jacksonville State and North Carolina A&T, but the Hilltoppers came close in their last contest at Missouri, a 59-56 WKU defeat.
The Hilltoppers have built their team around senior transfers. Three of WKU's top four leading scorers are transfers and there could be more transfer help coming today. Leading scorer Que Johnson, who previously played at Washington State, averages 14.4 points.
Guards Pancake Thomas (New Mexico and Hartford) and Junior Lomomba (Providence) average 11.1 and 7.4 points, respectively. Thomas played for the Lobos when they visited Hulman Center in 2012.
WKU's semester ended on Friday. It is possible that Tennessee transfer forwards Jabari McGhee and Willie Carmichael might play today. McGhee averaged 4.1 and Carmichael three points for the Vols last season.
However, the known quantity is junior forward Justin Johnson. A big who can spread the floor and who can hit the boards with equal aplomb, Johnson torched the Sycamores a year ago with a 24-point, 10-rebound performance in WKU's 75-62 win at Diddle Arena. Johnson was 10 of 11 from the field.
"You don't handle him with one guy. You have to team defend him. You have to fight like crazy not to give him anything easy. We gave him some easy ones last year, whether it was in transition or the offensive glass. You have to make him work for everything. He's a great player," Lansing said.
If ISU were to win, it would have it would match the four-game winning streak it had a year ago early in Missouri Valley Conference play. ISU has not had a four-game win streak in nonconference action since 2013.
