[January 17, 2018] Indiana State (8-10) at Evansville (12-7)

[Jason Svoboda]

vs.

Indiana State Sycamores (8-10, 3-3 MVC) vs. Evansville Purple Aces (12-7, 2-4 MVC)

Ford Center - Evansville, IN
Wednesday, January 17th
8:00 PM EST Tip​

 

[Jason Svoboda]

Shooting 43.7% from 3 as a team and 47% from the floor. If I see one kid over helping, I'm going to screeeeeeeeam! D up like we have in the last several and this is a nice win coming back to the Haute for the Illinois State return game on Saturday.

 

[Bluethunder]

When I have watched them (and I admit it has been limited) it has been Smith and Taylor, and then everyone else.

Those two guys score the most, shoot the most, and when they are on Eville is tough. When they are off, Eville really struggles to score.

Really need Davis back in this one to guard Taylor. If Q plays and is at full strength, I like our chances.

 

[meistro]

Looks like me and a couple guys are going down. Anybody else making the trip?

 

[TreeTop]

It's 36 hours-ish from Tip-Off in Evansville and I have to wonder...

Once we get over the .500 hump in this conference, can we just stay there?
Can we even get back over the .500 hump tomorrow?
Will Key follow-up last game's performance with another one like it?
Will Barnes get out of this minor shooting slump? And I do mean minor.
Will Hughes lead the team in assists for the second game in a row?
Will Scott shoot the ball more than six times?
Will Davis play?
Will Devin play?
Will Deady play, if the aforementioned two play?
Will Evansville's two dominant scorers have great games or lousy games?
And is their performance that which will most likely determine the outcome?
Will the Sycamore freshman and newcomers be able to handle the Aces ball screens upon ball screens?
Will the Sycamore faithful travel well and make some noise in the Ford Center?
Could this be the first win of an actual winning streak for us? (Winning Streak, defined by at least three games)
What's your favorite thing about the city of Evansville?

 

[Southgrad07]

When I have watched them (and I admit it has been limited) it has been Smith and Taylor, and then everyone else.

Those two guys score the most, shoot the most, and when they are on Eville is tough. When they are off, Eville really struggles to score.

Really need Davis back in this one to guard Taylor. If Q plays and is at full strength, I like our chances.

Concur with all of that..The JC garbage bin duo of KJ Riley and Dainius Chatkevicius have been surprisingly no flat out jaw dropping solid as role guys..I mean they both had no offers and crap JC stats and most importantly were not in the Aces program until the end of June..meaning nobody wanted them!.. Riley is a really good hard nosed defender and slasher while Dainius plays big and converts looks he should, not exactly world breaking stuff but far better than I or hell even their own fans expected. They have gotten more out of those two than we have out of Thomas..Let that soak in.

As for the game Davis being back is a monster thing and he should be back baring a setback. He is probably the one tasked with chasing Taylor around the million screens they run and the only one experienced enough to probably have success right now (Scott is but is too small and gambles too often). Hughes and Key will get their first baptism into Marty ball..It is not a hard thing to stop once you have experience and are long/athletic enough to disrupt their flow.. Bounce back game from Murphy, Scott gets hot and Key pours in 12-15 points- Sycs 71 Aces 69

 

[BrokerZ]

A couple of thoughts/notes on UE:

1. UE played a dogshit non-conference schedule that padded a lot of their statistics. They're not really a 44% 3PT shooting team. In conference games they're shooting 33%, AND...they're allowing their opponents to shoot 40% from three. They also don't shoot that many threes (about 13 per game). They're still the same old ball-screen offense with curl mid-range jumpers everywhere.

2. Their offensive efficiency ranks 9th out of 10 Valley teams with an effective FG% just over 50% and a turnover % actually worse than us. Basically, we're better than them in almost every offensive way possible...except for free throws where we suck and UE is good.

3. Where UE makes up for their offensive deficiencies is on the defensive end and on the boards. They're 3rd in the conference in defensive efficiency, 1st in TO% and STL%. We're still right up there with UE in most defensive statistical categories, though, so they don't have a huge advantage.

4. I mentioned as much in the Around the Valley thread, but this is a very important game for us. Chances are our record at the end of the year will be very similar, if not the same, to UE. KenPom projects both of our conference records to be 8-10 by season's end. Getting a road win and setting us up for the chance at a season sweep and the tie breaker could be huge.

In short, this is a team we should beat...emphasis on should. The fact that this is a road game in conference and we tend to play ALL teams close, I expect this one to go down to the wire yet again. Good Guys 67 - Bad Guys 63.

 

[SycamoreStateofMind]

Things can change pretty quickly for you in Valley play. These next 2 games for both ISU and Evansville are winnable games. Evansville gets us at home then travels to Bradley. We go on the road to Evansville and then have ILState at home. If you ask me, they have a better chance at winning both of those games than we do. In other words, we must play 40 minutes with a certain sense of urgency and you've got to win the first game before you can think about winning the next game. If either of these teams are able to go 2-0 this week it will go a long way toward avoiding Thursday.

As for this game - if you get in the shorts of Riley and Smith they will turn the ball over with the best of them. I think we've got to make those guys uncomfortable, generate some turnovers and get out and run the floor a little bit.

 

[BrokerZ]

Things can change pretty quickly for you in Valley play. These next 2 games for both ISU and Evansville are winnable games. Evansville gets us at home then travels to Bradley. We go on the road to Evansville and then have ILState at home. If you ask me, they have a better chance at winning both of those games than we do. In other words, we must play 40 minutes with a certain sense of urgency and you've got to win the first game before you can think about winning the next game. If either of these teams are able to go 2-0 this week it will go a long way toward avoiding Thursday.

Very true, and UE already destroyed Bradley earlier this month 68-44.

 

[GoSycamores]

Sycamores Travel Down Highway 41 To Take On Evansville Wednesday Night

Indiana State Basketball continues MVC play on Wednesday, January 17 when they travel to Evansville. Tip-off is set for 8:00 p.m. (ET) from the Ford Center and will be televised live on The Valley On ESPN3. The game will also be broadcast on WIBQ 97.9 FM as well as streamed (audio) on GoSycamores.com. Indiana State is 8-10, 3-3 MVC after the Sycamores narrowly fell to league preseason favorite -- Missouri State on Sunday afternoon in Springfield. The Sycamores are led by Jordan Barnes who averaged over 22 points per game last week. Evansville enters the game with a 12-7 overall record and a 2-4 MVC ledger following a road loss at Drake on Saturday. Ryan Taylor is Evansville's leading scorer with a 21.1 ppg average.

More...

 

[SycamoreStateofMind]

If Marty and Blake Simmons beat us again I swear to goodness I will explode. Marty is not a D1 coach and his boy is hardly a D1 basketball player. Marty has had all conference players at his disposal during his tenure but still has a MVC only record well below .500 and I don't believe that he's ever taken a team to the NCAA or NIT. He and Marvin Lewis have more than just the first 3 letters in their first name in common - they're both allergic to the postseason.

 

[BrokerZ]

If Marty and Blake Simmons beat us again I swear to goodness I will explode. Marty is not a D1 coach and his boy is hardly a D1 basketball player. Marty has had all conference players at his disposal during his tenure but still has a MVC only record well below .500 and I don't believe that he's ever taken a team to the NCAA or NIT. He and Marvin Lewis have more than just the first 3 letters in their first name in common - they're both allergic to the postseason.

Yep. 11 seasons at Evansville. 0 NCAA tournament appearances. 0 NIT appearances.

Also, with the way the game is now played Marty Ball does not work. Running an offense around mid-range jump shots does not equate to long term success. The game is played at the rim and behind the three point line. Marty is still running an offense that plays in between, and it's no longer effective. Sure, it may work for one game here and there, but you can't build a consistent winner playing that style of offense.

 

[Sycamorefan96]

Evansville was the 2015 CIT Champions, so at least Marty led them to a championship in something. Then the following year Evansville finished 25-9 (2nd in MVC) and lost the MVC Championship game by 2 on a UNI buzzer beater. You could also say that they got screwed out of an NIT invite that year at the very least.

 

[BrokerZ]

Evansville was the 2015 CIT Champions, so at least Marty led them to a championship in something. Then the following year Evansville finished 25-9 (2nd in MVC) and lost the MVC Championship game by 2 on a UNI buzzer beater. You could also say that they got screwed out of an NIT invite that year at the very least.

Yeah...probably not best to bring up the CIT or CBI tournaments around these parts. I'll go ahead and give you a quick summary - nobody cares about those.

Also, it doesn't really matter if an argument can be made for them making a certain tournament in a certain year. They didn't and they haven't at all since Marty has been the head coach. People like to bring up this stuff with other coaches like Barry Hinson, too. Barry may have had teams who "should" have made it to the tournament, but it's still a fact he's never coached a team to the NCAA tournament before.

 

[BrokerZ]

Just saw a little quick practice video tweeted out by Luke Martin and crew, and Davis was at practice today. I have no idea how much he's going to be able to play tomorrow, but at least he's back in uniform and back to practice.

 

[swsycamore]

Lansing is a bad as Marty. Never lets a player get in the rythym

 

[Bluethunder]

Guess it depends on what measurement tool you want to use.

Marty - 11 seasons, 0 NCAA appearances, 0 NIT appearences.

Lansing - 8 seasons, 1 NCAA appearance, 2 NIT appearances.

 

[Sycamore Proud]

Guess it depends on what measurement tool you want to use.

Marty - 11 seasons, 0 NCAA appearances, 0 NIT appearences.

Lansing - 8 seasons, 1 NCAA appearance, 2 NIT appearances.

Let me see if iI understand this. As these facts and some of the opinions expressed here GL is bad at his craft, and MS is a freaking idiot. Come on guys, GL isn't that bad.

 

[Bluethunder]

I will admit to not being a Greg Lansing fan, and question his ability to create a winning, lasting program at State. However, when comparing his results to Marty Simmons (as I did above), I think most of us would take Lansing's results over Marty.

 

[Sycamorefan96]

Yeah...probably not best to bring up the CIT or CBI tournaments around these parts. I'll go ahead and give you a quick summary - nobody cares about those.

No one really cares about the NIT either. But for the record I'd be more than happy if we just made a postseason tournament, let alone win one.