It only took six days for Illinois State?s basketball team to drop from a tie for the Missouri Valley Conference lead into a share of fifth place.
The Redbirds won?t get much sympathy from Wednesday?s opponent.
Indiana State was expected to contend for the league title after winning the Valley Tournament last March and advancing to the NCAA tourney for the first time in 10 years.
Instead, the Sycamores (11-7) find themselves ninth with a 2-5 league mark heading into a 7:05 p.m. game against ISU (11-7, 3-4) at Redbird Arena.
?We have scuffled. We came in with high expectations and we still have high expectations,? said Indiana State coach Greg Lansing. ?You can?t do anything about the games you?ve lost. You have to watch the tape and get your guys to learn from it and keep them competing in practice, and we?re going to do that.?
The Redbirds are trying to bounce back from a week that saw them lose to Wichita State, Creighton and Drake.
ISU also might be without Bryant Allen tonight. The sophomore guard, who scored 29 points against Creighton, sprained his right ankle late in Sunday?s game at Drake. Redbird coach Tim Jankovich said Allen?s status is ?day to day.?
?Hopefully Bryant will be able to play,? said Jankovich. ?If not, these things happen and opportunities take place for other guys. Some guys will get more minutes and some guys will get more opportunities.?
Indiana State isn?t completely healthy, either.
Sophomore point guard Jake Odum has been battling plantar fasciitis in his left foot. Odum has continued to play through the pain, ranking second in the Valley in steals (2.1) and third in assists (5.8). However, Lansing said Odum is only ?between 65 and 80 percent.?
Meanwhile, senior forward Carl Richard has suffered recently from back spasms. Richard managed to contribute 13 points and eight rebounds in Sunday?s 75-65 loss to Wichita State.
The Redbirds and Indiana State share a common problem ? stopping the other team from scoring.
ISU has allowed three of its last four opponents to shoot 56 percent or better from the field. The Redbirds are allowing 72.7 points in league play.
Indiana State paced the Valley last season in field goal percentage defense (.404). This season the Sycamores are fifth in that category (.456) and also last in 3-point field goal percentage defense (.470) in league action.
?We lost three good defenders, and two that played significant minutes last year,? said Lansing, referring to Aaron Carter and Jake Kelly. ?They were our best perimeter guys on the ball. People have really come at us penetrating and spreading us out and attacking. We?ve given up way too many easy shots.?
ISU?s players took off practice Monday and returned to classes for a new semester Tuesday. The grind of starting league play with seven games in 18 days was an adjustment for the newcomers, according to Nic Moore.
?You come in, have a game, two days off and have another game,? said ISU?s freshman point guard. ?All the preparation it takes watching film, going over scouting reports, that transition to switch from game to another game is a lot work and focus. We?re going to get it together and start doing some good things.?
Jankovich would never call any game a must victory. However, with three of the next four at home, the Redbirds know they must start winning soon or risk being part of the play-in round at the league tournament for the bottom four teams.
?I never want our guys to over-exaggerate their feelings one way or the other,? said Jankovich. ?But certainly it?s time to rally and time to make sure we?re putting every ounce of every inch we have into everything we do right now.?
======
About the Sycamores: Indiana State was picked to finish third in the Missouri Valley Conference in a preseason poll of league coaches, media and sports information directors. ? The Sycamores are 0-3 in Valley away games and 2-4 in true road games. They beat then No. 25-ranked, Vanderbilt, 61-55, on Dec. 17. ? R.J. Mahurin made his first career start on Sunday against Wichita State. Mahurin tied his season high with 14 points against Southern Illinois last week. ? Senior Jordan Printy has made 189 career 3-pointers, which ranks second most all-time in school history. Michael Menser (1997-2001) is the leader at 283. ?
The Redbirds won?t get much sympathy from Wednesday?s opponent.
Indiana State was expected to contend for the league title after winning the Valley Tournament last March and advancing to the NCAA tourney for the first time in 10 years.
Instead, the Sycamores (11-7) find themselves ninth with a 2-5 league mark heading into a 7:05 p.m. game against ISU (11-7, 3-4) at Redbird Arena.
?We have scuffled. We came in with high expectations and we still have high expectations,? said Indiana State coach Greg Lansing. ?You can?t do anything about the games you?ve lost. You have to watch the tape and get your guys to learn from it and keep them competing in practice, and we?re going to do that.?
The Redbirds are trying to bounce back from a week that saw them lose to Wichita State, Creighton and Drake.
ISU also might be without Bryant Allen tonight. The sophomore guard, who scored 29 points against Creighton, sprained his right ankle late in Sunday?s game at Drake. Redbird coach Tim Jankovich said Allen?s status is ?day to day.?
?Hopefully Bryant will be able to play,? said Jankovich. ?If not, these things happen and opportunities take place for other guys. Some guys will get more minutes and some guys will get more opportunities.?
Indiana State isn?t completely healthy, either.
Sophomore point guard Jake Odum has been battling plantar fasciitis in his left foot. Odum has continued to play through the pain, ranking second in the Valley in steals (2.1) and third in assists (5.8). However, Lansing said Odum is only ?between 65 and 80 percent.?
Meanwhile, senior forward Carl Richard has suffered recently from back spasms. Richard managed to contribute 13 points and eight rebounds in Sunday?s 75-65 loss to Wichita State.
The Redbirds and Indiana State share a common problem ? stopping the other team from scoring.
ISU has allowed three of its last four opponents to shoot 56 percent or better from the field. The Redbirds are allowing 72.7 points in league play.
Indiana State paced the Valley last season in field goal percentage defense (.404). This season the Sycamores are fifth in that category (.456) and also last in 3-point field goal percentage defense (.470) in league action.
?We lost three good defenders, and two that played significant minutes last year,? said Lansing, referring to Aaron Carter and Jake Kelly. ?They were our best perimeter guys on the ball. People have really come at us penetrating and spreading us out and attacking. We?ve given up way too many easy shots.?
ISU?s players took off practice Monday and returned to classes for a new semester Tuesday. The grind of starting league play with seven games in 18 days was an adjustment for the newcomers, according to Nic Moore.
?You come in, have a game, two days off and have another game,? said ISU?s freshman point guard. ?All the preparation it takes watching film, going over scouting reports, that transition to switch from game to another game is a lot work and focus. We?re going to get it together and start doing some good things.?
Jankovich would never call any game a must victory. However, with three of the next four at home, the Redbirds know they must start winning soon or risk being part of the play-in round at the league tournament for the bottom four teams.
?I never want our guys to over-exaggerate their feelings one way or the other,? said Jankovich. ?But certainly it?s time to rally and time to make sure we?re putting every ounce of every inch we have into everything we do right now.?
======
About the Sycamores: Indiana State was picked to finish third in the Missouri Valley Conference in a preseason poll of league coaches, media and sports information directors. ? The Sycamores are 0-3 in Valley away games and 2-4 in true road games. They beat then No. 25-ranked, Vanderbilt, 61-55, on Dec. 17. ? R.J. Mahurin made his first career start on Sunday against Wichita State. Mahurin tied his season high with 14 points against Southern Illinois last week. ? Senior Jordan Printy has made 189 career 3-pointers, which ranks second most all-time in school history. Michael Menser (1997-2001) is the leader at 283. ?
