[January 27, 2026] Indiana State (9-12) at UIC (11-10)

WANTED: Passionate Sycamore Fanatics. That You?

Register NOW to join our community of die-hard Sycamore fans.


Become a Supporting Member to remove this ad and help support the site.
Horseshoes and hand grenades I know but the press release does make a good point how close ISU is from being in first place in the Valley:

December 18 (Bradley) – loss – tied at end of regulation
December 29 (Belmont) – win – tied at end of regulation
January 1 (Northern Iowa) – loss – within three points with 2:17 left
January 4 (Drake) – loss by two
January 10 (Evansville) – loss by three
January 17 (Murray State – loss by four – within two with :19 left
January 21 (Bradley) – loss – within three with :17 left
January 27 (UIC) – loss by two
 
Horseshoes and hand grenades I know but the press release does make a good point how close ISU is from being in first place in the Valley:

December 18 (Bradley) – loss – tied at end of regulation
December 29 (Belmont) – win – tied at end of regulation
January 1 (Northern Iowa) – loss – within three points with 2:17 left
January 4 (Drake) – loss by two
January 10 (Evansville) – loss by three
January 17 (Murray State – loss by four – within two with :19 left
January 21 (Bradley) – loss – within three with :17 left
January 27 (UIC) – loss by two
So true. My last hope for the season is to improve on the decision making (fewer turnovers), & learn to win the last 4 minutes of games. Get some W's & build confidence for the Arch.

Even with how disappointing this season has been, this team is capable of winning on Thursday & being competitive on Friday.

Mild Arch success doesn't replace a disappointment season, but it's all that's left.

I sure hope this post ages well 😅
 
So true. My last hope for the season is to improve on the decision making (fewer turnovers), & learn to win the last 4 minutes of games. Get some W's & build confidence for the Arch.

Even with how disappointing this season has been, this team is capable of winning on Thursday & being competitive on Friday.

Mild Arch success doesn't replace a disappointment season, but it's all that's left.

I sure hope this post ages well 😅

I mean it's fine. The only reason it's fine outside of Murray and Belmont the Valley aint shit so yeah if you're going to be positive this is the way forward... However, I am choosing to not be positive - being down 20, committing 20 turnovers and handing them a win in the final seconds is unacceptable. Had to be a long bus ride home.
 
It was game day for our MVC stand-alone game vs UIC and I hated to wonder...

What the hell has happened to our season? The second-to-last play of last night's game sums it up.
How in the hell did we defeat Belmont and Illinois State? Everyone's question.
How in the hell has UIC won six in a row? Make that seven in a row.
Should we be scared as hell to play UIC? No.
What in the hell will it take for us to beat UIC? Holding that one point lead late in the game.
What in the hell is wrong with UIC fans that they never show up? Everyone's question.
Why won't our guys play like they're mad as hell? My question in particular.
Will Coach Graves EVER be mad as hell? Probably needs to be.
If beating UIC is considered a good win for us, does that mean that hell has frozen over? Moot point.
 

Become a Supporting Member to remove this ad and help support the site.
Well.....legit question. Makes one wonder? How else could any player have made such a stupid pass. I would like to know what play was really designed (lol) during the timeout.
It was a throw in that makes the winning shot or OT. That was the absolute worst case scenario.
 
It was game day for our MVC stand-alone game vs UIC and I hated to wonder...

What the hell has happened to our season? The second-to-last play of last night's game sums it up.
How in the hell did we defeat Belmont and Illinois State? Everyone's question.
How in the hell has UIC won six in a row? Make that seven in a row.
Should we be scared as hell to play UIC? No.
What in the hell will it take for us to beat UIC? Holding that one point lead late in the game.
What in the hell is wrong with UIC fans that they never show up? Everyone's question.
Why won't our guys play like they're mad as hell? My question in particular.
Will Coach Graves EVER be mad as hell? Probably needs to be.
If beating UIC is considered a good win for us, does that mean that hell has frozen over? Moot point.
The team breaks down at the end of games. Just can’t finish.
 

Become a Supporting Member to remove this ad and help support the site.
100%....the Valley is a shell of it's former self, IMHO....and we're in 2nd to last place IN it.....🤬
Not sure what you mean by this. In terms of the league, it's the best it has been in awhile if you are going off rankings. If you are going by individual talent then yeah there's case to be made for that.
 

Become a Supporting Member to remove this ad and help support the site.
Late game execution continues to be a problem. Scott shouldn't have thrown that pass but Hall was moving in the wrong direction as well. Your PG has to think for everyone at times. Substitution pattern still not making sense either.
 
I thought this was the dumbest team I've ever seen after the Drake game. Now I think it's the dumbest team of all time.
Seems to be a problem during the Graves era. I think part of the problem is Graves himself was a very heady player and aware of situations so he might not emphasize it like he should because he didn’t need it as an athlete.

For me as a player, I went 100% during every drill, I never needed to be told or motivated to do that. It took me coaching a few years to realize “I need to motivate and remind these athletes before every drill to go 100%”. I think the same thing is happening on this staff. Odum for example was EXTREMELY situational (let the ball roll on the ground to get the last possession under the shot clock, I remember him missing a free throw to get the rebound and easy put-back when he saw no one paying attention, etc) the same might be happening there.

Last years team had the same issue. I specially remember making a comeback against Murray State last season. We were down maybe 6 with 2 minutes to go and K‘moni doughty made a lay-up, the ball proceeds to hit his foot on the way down and roll all the way to the other end of the court while he just casually looked at it and jogged back. It wasted about 15 seconds of game clock when we needed every second to win the game. And we wonder why “we are so close” to winning all these games….
 
Seems to be a problem during the Graves era. I think part of the problem is Graves himself was a very heady player and aware of situations so he might not emphasize it like he should because he didn’t need it as an athlete.

For me as a player, I went 100% during every drill, I never needed to be told or motivated to do that. It took me coaching a few years to realize “I need to motivate and remind these athletes before every drill to go 100%”. I think the same thing is happening on this staff. Odum for example was EXTREMELY situational (let the ball roll on the ground to get the last possession under the shot clock, I remember him missing a free throw to get the rebound and easy put-back when he saw no one paying attention, etc) the same might be happening there.

Last years team had the same issue. I specially remember making a comeback against Murray State last season. We were down maybe 6 with 2 minutes to go and K‘moni doughty made a lay-up, the ball proceeds to hit his foot on the way down and roll all the way to the other end of the court while he just casually looked at it and jogged back. It wasted about 15 seconds of game clock when we needed every second to win the game. And we wonder why “we are so close” to winning all these games….
Player A dribbles the ball of his foot, Player B throws the ball toward the opponents basket, Player C throws it to Player D 3 possessions in a row and Player D turns it over all 3 times, Player F catches the ball in the corner and steps back out of bounds. Graves has his flaws but these are just simple bone headed individual plays from the players. Now it's completely on Graves in regards to recruiting these players here. Graves can do all he can to tell the them not to turn the ball over and we still are going to make bone headed plays.
 
Back
Top