Down in the Valley

WICHITA, Kan. — Hello all. Koch Arena is pretty empty right now … but its 45 minutes before tipoff. Shockers fans will be here in force momentarily.

Nothing new to report on the Sycamores … which is a good thing. No one stumbled and broke a foot coming off the bus or anything catatrophic like that. All eight Sycamores are ready to go.

What should be expected tonight? I have no earthly idea. I feel like its opening day. I’m as curious as all of you are about how the Sycamores deal with their devastating injury woes.

In the wake of the injuries, one thing I’ve heard and read that I disagree with is the assertion that the redshirts shouldn’t have been redshirted. First, that hindsight 20/20 critiquing at its worst, but also, everyone presumes that the redshirts would have been productive out of the box. I seriously doubt that would have been the case.

Why? In R.J. Mahurin’s case, he needed to put on significant bulk and hone his skills to be a factor at this level. To Mahurin’s credit, he’s done just that. He looks a lot bigger than he did in October. Mahurin works hard. I think he’s come as far as any of the redshirts have in my observations.

In Jake Odum’s case, he looked good in preseason games, but he wasn’t going to be effective he had a year in Kevin McKenna’s offense, which is not easy to learn. Ask Jake Kelly, who said to me several times that getting used to ISU’s offense on the fly was more difficult than he anticipated. Odum was not going to come in and control games at ISU as he did at Terre Haute South. Very, very, VERY few freshman do that.

To Odum’s credit, he’s been immersing himself in just that … learning. Why waste a year of his eligibility to have him learn on the fly? The ISU program will be better for him getting four solid years under his belt.

As for the Eitel’s, they had to get used to the speed of collegiate basketball and find their comfort zone.

Back to tonight’s game, one logical thing to expect is that ISU will pump up its share of three’s. With Rashad Reed, Jordan Printy, Aaron Carter, Koang Doluony, Carl Richard and Josh Crawford, ISU still has capable shooters.

I was told that ISU worked on some “junk” defenses at practice upon arrival in Wichita. Why not? Throw everything and the kitchen sink at this problem on both sides of the ball.

I talked for a while with former WTHI sports director Jamison Coyle, who is here interviewing for a job with one of the affiliates here in Wichita after leaving the media madness for a job in public relations. He wants back in … good luck to him.

More trifling news, the Koch Arena P.A. announcer asked the crowd who they wanted to win the Super Bowl. The Colts won by a sizable decibal count over the Saints. See … Shockers fans aren’t all bad.

Around the Valley, Southern Illinois is trying to shock Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls, winning 44-41 with about four minutes to go. Creighton-Drake and Drake-Illinois State will tip at the same time the Sycamores and Shockers do.

Meanwhile, Bradley crushed Evansville 83-63 at Roberts Stadium. That was probably the last chance for the Purple Aces to avoid 0-18. I don’t see another win for them, especially since they have two with Wichita State and one with UNI.

Here’s the ISU starters: Brant Leitnaker, Koang Doluony, Rashad Reed, Jordan Printy and Carl Richard. For WSU, Aaron Ellis, Clevin Hannah, Graham Hatch, Toure Murry and J.T. Durley.

It’s almost time for tipoff and Koch is filled with LOUD NOISES!

First half
[] ISU 11-4, 14:37. Lo and behold, the Sycamores have come of the gate scratching, clawing, and hitting their 3-point shots. Printy is 2-for-2 from 3-point range and Reed has another one. ISU is 4 of 6 from the field overall.

But ISU has the lead due in equal part to its mixing of defenses as ISU is making the Shockers work for shots and WSU is just 1 of 8 from the field so far. ISU couldn’t ask for a better start than what its had.

[] ISU 21-6, 11:02. What the heck is going on here? Well, ISU is shooting lights out … 72.7 percent at present … and WSU can’t find the ocean at 12.5 percent. ISU is getting some bounces here and there, including a Doluony putback off a short Reed 3-point miss. WSU also seems overly passively to me on the offensive end, a lot of settling for jump shots, etc.

Still, I never in a million years thought I’d here booing from the Koch faithful tonight, nor a 15-point ISU lead. Heck of an effort so far.

Elsewhere, UNI just survived SIU by a 55-51 count.

[] ISU 31-19, 6:03. Hatch at the line for WSU. The Shockers are starting to generate offense more consistently, but they haven’t completely broken through as ISU is still shooting over 70 percent. The Sycamores are running a lot of screen-and-rolls and deftly utilizing a lot of dish-and-drives, especially on back door cuts. Reed deserves a ton of credit, he is running the team very well right now. ISU is also dealing with WSU’s hard traps and press OK for now.

I will say this, the officiating crew, none of whom I recognize, is helping a bit too, letting a lot of calls go, especially traveling.

[] ISU 33-23, 3:46. How do you know you’re having a good night? ISU broke WSU’s press with some difficulty as Carter tipped it twice trying to catch the ball. After he finally got his hands on it, he took a wild fall-away shot that went in to restore ISU’s double-digit lead. ISU is still shooting 70 percent (14 of 20). There’s a long way to go and you have to wonder what affect WSU’s press will have fatigue-wise later, but what an effort by the short-handed Sycamores.

[] ISU 37-28, halftime. ISU cooled at the end of the half, missing its last four shots, but it still shot 60 percent for the half. You won’t find many more inspiring halves of ISU basketball in recent years or non-recent years for that matter.

Second half
[] The officials I didn’t recognize? Hal Lusk, Rick Randall and David Stevens. Only Lusk’s name remotely rings a bell.

[] ISU 44-37, 15:53. Here come the Shockers, playing much more inspired on their offensive end, as they cut the lead to four at one point. However, Printy answered with a three and Leitnaker made a leaner to put the Sycamores back up by nine. WSU has a chance to slice its deficit to five or four again. Richard finally missed his first shot on ISU’s last trip down the floor, breaking a 5-for-5 start. ISU has four more four-minute bites to survive … it will be very tough.

[] ISU 52-42, 10:46. Martin at the line for ISU.ISU isn’t going away, if anything, the Sycamores have re-assumed control of the game, restoring a 12-point advantage on a Crawford layup at 11:43. After WSU was really getting its bodies into the Sycamores, ISU took it and re-established what got it going in the first half … unselfish passing to set up sound shots.

[] ISU 58-46, 8:21. The Sycamores took a 15-point lead after Doluony drained a three at 9:50. ISU wisely just called a timeout to extricate Doluony from a WSU trap. If ISU can hang on, this would be an all-time stunner.

[] ISU 58-46, 7:49. WSU at the line. Printy just made the kind of play a team can’t make on the road with a lead. He fumbled the ball and winged it aimlessly as mid-court. Hannah stepped in front of it, and while he couldn’t convert the layup (Richard, playing out of his mind, blocked it), but WSU got to the line as Crawford picked up his fourth foul.

[] ISU 60-49, 7:06. Timeout WSU after a loose ball scramble which came after an ISU turnover led to two WSU 3-point misses. You keep waiting for the Shockers to make a run. You still feel like they have it in them.

[] 63-63, 3:47. Unfortunately for ISU, that WSU run has come. The Shockers are on a 16-3 run as their press is giving all kinds of fits to a clearly tiring ISU team. When ISU has broken it, they’ve taken an awful lot of quick shots too, which hasn’t helped. Hannah and Murry have shot the Shockers back in it. ISU’s cause isn’t helped when Hannah flopped and Reed was called for a charge just before the timeout.

[] WSU 72-67, 1:11. Hannah might have just made the kill shot for the Shockers. ISU doubled down on Durley, who’s been a load in the second half, and Durley found Hannah wide open at the top of the key for a killer 3-pointer. Koch’s noise-meter is off-the-charts right now.

[] WSU 76-70, final. Great, great effort by the Sycamores, but WSU’s press, its inside play with Durley, Hannah’s shooting and the Koch crowd ultimately proved too much to overcome.

Don’t laugh at the crowd part, when you come to a place like Koch, you understand the advantage WSU has with a full, loud crowd over a half-empty, mostly-quiet Hulman Center. It made a difference tonight.

WSU scored on 18 of its last 22 possessions. Part of it was free throws, but another part is that ISU simply got gassed. The positive for the Sycamores is they proved to themselves they can still compete in their remaining games … and that’s pretty big.

McKenna appeared pretty perturbed with the officiating late in the game. There were some calls, notably the Hannah flop on a Reed charge call, that were pretty dicey. My guess, though, is that a lot of it is frustration on a near-miss on what would have been an amazing victory.

WSU coach Gregg Marshall was very demonstrative in his praise for the Sycamores in the postgame handshake.

TERRE HAUTE — Hello all. Time to give the women their live blog due. I’m here at Hulman Center on my day off. Why? Because I get four hours of overtime my selfless devotion to giving you the best Indiana State coverage you can have is boundless.

Seriously, it’s hard to keep me from a game, even one featuring two 0-5 Missouri Valley Conference teams.

ISU starts Shannon Thomas, Deja Mattox, Taylor Whitley, Kelsie Cooley and Kelsey Luna. Evansville starts Kaylan Martin, Meagan Collins, Amy Gallagher, Taylor Ware and Stephanie Bamberger.

Evansville is 3-13. If ISU can’t break its skid at home against the Purple Aces, it might be in real serious trouble.

Crowd? Not bad considering ISU is 0-5.

Let’s do this.

First half
[] 6-6, 15:58. Some good, some not-so-good from the Sycamores. ISU has never trailed, but due to some mistakes on the offensive end — forced shots and forced passes — the Sycamores can’t pull away from an Evansville team that looks every bit the part of a 3-13 team. Both teams kind of treat the ball like a hot potato, no one seems comfortable handling the ball.

[] ISU 12-6, 11:55. In my shorthand when I do possession-by-possession, I use a — to denote an empty possession. Here’s what it’s been like since the last media timeout.

–, –, –, –, –, Krista Smith putback, –, –, –, –, –, –, –, Laurence Rivest free throw miss & make, –, Luna 3-pointer, –, –

Five of those slashes denote Evansville turnovers. Offense is going to be hard to come by for both teams.

[] ISU 14-13, 6:21. For a while, ISU was more aggressive and was able to build an advantage. But that intensity advantage subsided and ISU has slipped into offensive inconsistency (five straight possessions without a score) and have let Evansville put together a 4-0 run, which in this scoring-deficient game, is a large rally.

ISU is shooting 25 percent (5 of 20), Evansville is shooting 35.3 percent (6 of 17), but has nine turnovers. ISU has seven giveaways. This one ain’t going into any time capsules the way its been played so far.

[] ISU 17-16, 3:49. Smith and Rivest have been the best players on the floor for the Sycamores so far. Smith is harassing Evansville’s ball-handlers and making things happen through her pressure. Rivest is also playing well on the defensive end, has got to the line twice and made a turnaround jumper in the paint. Good for two players who don’t always get a lot of notice compared to teammates who get more minutes and aren’t doing as much with them.

[] ISU 20-18, 1:31. ISU coach Jim Wiedie just called a timeout after Smith forced a shot and then committed a foul. ISU is shooting 23.1 percent from the field.

[] ISU 23-18, :47.4. Moriah Hodge just hit a 3-pointer after she had a shot blocked in the post. Timeout Aces.

[] ISU 23-18, halftime. Not a well-played half by either team. ISU looks totally unsure of itself, waiting in vain for its outside shots to fall. Evansville? Well, my mother told if you can’t say anything nice …

That’s the big concern to me for ISU. The Sycamores, despite their struggles, are measurably better than the Aces. They should be up by more than five at home to a team that has struggled all season.

Still time for ISU to show something in the final 20 minutes.

Second half
[] ISU 30-19, 17:41. ISU is playing with much more aggressiveness than it did in the first half and its paying off. Whitley made a leaner off the opening tip, followed by a Mattox 3-pointer and another Whitley leaner later. ISU’s pressure has given ball-handling challenged Evansville trouble all night and continues to do so. Evansville coach Misty Murphy just called a timeout to extricate the Aces out of a Sycamore trap.

[] ISU 32-19, 15:55. Murphy is having a discussion with the officials about ISU’s pressure. Evansville has 17 turnovers and ISU has 17 points off Aces’ giveaways.

[] ISU 32-24, 11:02. Here’s everything you need to know about this game. Evansville didn’t score a field goal in the second half until the 11:51 mark and the Aces have cut into a Sycamore lead that peaked at 13.

ISU should be concerned … I guess. But when Evansville tosses up shots, such as the one Meagan Collins just flung up that landed somewhere near Clinton, maybe the Sycamores are OK after all.

The Aces almost have as many turnovers (19) as points.

[] ISU 41-27, 7:11. The Sycamores are gradually pulling away. Buckets on two straight possessions by Thomas and Cooley opened up a gap. Evansville turnover count? 24.

[] ISU 51-27, 3:36. The Sycamores have finally hit some 3-pointers as Brittany Schoen and Luna each connected from long-range to finally turn this game into a rout.

But that doesn’t mean the excitement is over. The race is now is whether Evansville will have more turnovers than points. Right now, it’s a 27-27 dead heat. The Aces are shooting 13.3 percent from the field in the second half.

Evansville is a team that plays primarily underclassmen, so you hate to be too harsh, but they have been really bad.

[] ISU 55-31, final. ISU gets its first win of the Valley season. The Sycamores struggled for much of the game, but ultimately got the job done against an opponent they should control. Final count for the Aces. Points: 31. Turnovers: 29.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Hello all. Indiana State is hoping the back end of its swing trip is better than the front end was. That shouldn’t be too hard considering ISU had a meltdown against Northern Iowa, the question is whether ISU can play better enough to win.

If ISU is to do win, it will do it without Dwayne Lathan. He will not play tonight. ISU is hoping to have him ready for ISU’s game against No. 20 Northern Iowa on Sunday.

Koang Doluony is in uniform, but if he plays at all tonight, it won’t be for long. He is still bothered by his sprained ankle.

A reminder to Terre Haute readers: tonight’s game is on Cable Access Channel 24, not Fox Sports Indiana as there is a Pacers conflict. Those with satellite service will see the game on Fox Sports Indiana/Fox Sports Midwest as per usual.

Missouri State will go with its expected starting lineup: Justin Fuehrmeyer, Adam Leonard, Kyle Weems, Jermaine Mallett and Will Creekmore. ISU, however, has made a change as Josh Crawford will start in place of Brant Leitnaker. Harry Marshall, Rashad Reed, Carl Richard and Jordan Printy.

Crawford has been more effective lately than Brant Leitnaker and there’s no logical matchup for Leitnaker in Missouri State’s lineup.

I had heard Missouri State was in near sellout range this year (11,000), but not tonight. Lots of empty chairs in the upper deck at JQH Arena, but there’s still probably about 7,000 here.

Incidentally, Missouri State’s mascot is a dead ringer for the old A&W Root Beer mascot.

I don’t know what’s worse, the potential for copyright infringement or the fact that I just dated myself in a very bad way.

On to the game.

First half
[] MSU 8-2, 15:43. The Bears took advantage of Crawford in the paint as Creekmore scored the first six MSU points of the game. Ryan Jehle also got past Carl Richard for a layup. After Marshall drained a 15-footer to score on ISU’s first attempt, the Sycamores have missed five shots and had a turnover on another possession. ISU cannot get a shot to fall to save its life.

Doluony just checked in, so at least he’ll give it a go and extended ISU’s rotation a bit.

[] MSU 17-5, 13:17. Keith Pickens just hit a three for MSU to put the Bears up 12. ISU is getting completely outworked on both ends and are giving in completely to Missouri State’s defensive pressure. Very disappointing effort.

[] MSU 22-5, 11:21. What happens when you give a team confidence by playing poorly? You get things like Caleb Patterson, he of the 1 of 6 3-point shooting this season, burying three’s on you.

ISU has five turnovers and is shooting 2 of 10 from the field. So much for that bounce back. ISU’s players should be embarrassed they are getting worked as badly as they are.

[] MSU 34-12, 6:57. Just before the media timeout, Kevin McKenna had to call his second timeout of the game as the Bears were doing whatever they wanted on the offensive end. MSU has scored on 11 of its last 14 trips down the floor. ISU is 4 of 17 from the field and is forcing shots on nearly every possession. You have to be honest and just say its been a horrendous performance so far by the Sycamores.

[] MSU 38-21, 2:05. Marshall at the line for ISU. Richard has finally given the Sycamores some life. He has scored 9 points since the last media timeout, one off a steal at the top of the key he converted into a dunk. Richard has 11 points. It’s about time someone stepped up and got the Sycamores out of a deep funk.

MSU has the rebound edge (19-10) and the shooting edge (53.6-33.3).

[] MSU 43-23, halftime. Credit where credit’s due … Missouri State is playing very well, especially on the defensive end. The Bears are gaining confidence via their defense and applying it to it performance on the offensive end, making easy shots for themselves and hitting ones they might not normally hit.

That said, the Sycamores should be mortified. If that effort represents a bounce back, they need to dig a lot deeper.

I put myself in the position of a MSU fan seeing the Sycamores for the only time this season. Other than Richard, and to an extent, Marshall, would I get the impression any of the other Sycamores really care by watching them play? Nope.

ISU is 8 of 25 from the field, five of the buckets made by Richard. MSU is shooting 17 of 32 from the field. The rebounding edge is 21-10. Points in the paint are 22-10 in MSU’s favor. MSU has 14 points off turnovers. MSU has 10 second-chance points. MSU has a 19-3 edge off the bench.

I know there’s a short bench, I know ISU misses Dwayne Lathan, I know it’s tough to play on the road under any circumstance, especially against a good team, but none of those factors should influence effort. No excuses should be accepted by anyone for this at all.

Second half
[] ISU is 12 of 49 from the field in its last two halves. That works out to 24.4 percent. That won’t get it done against any team.

[] MSU 54-32, 14:59. Second verse, same as the first for ISU. The Sycamores started OK, scoring the first five points of the half to get within 15, but since then MSU has been feeding the ball to Creekmore, who scored three buckets in succession and who has 11 points, all of them scored before the first media timeout of each half. Neither Crawford nor Leitnaker have been able to stop Creekmore, a 6.2 per game scorer.

[] MSU 60-41, 11:17. Jehle at the line for MSU. The deficit is down to 19, but until ISU can stop the Bears in the paint, it’s academic. The Bears have 34 points in the paint. They’re shooting 53.5 percent overall.

[] MSU 65-53, 9:12. The Sycamores have recessitated themselves somewhat as they’ve heated up from long range. Down 60-38, Printy made a three, then Aaron Carter converted a four-point play at 11:08 to get ISU going and to cut its deficit to 17. Since then, Reed made a 14-footer, followed by a pair of Carter three’s.

MSU coach Cuonzo Martin called a timeout, probably telling the Bears to get the ball inside as they got away from what was devastatingly effective.

[] MSU 70-55, 7:34. Marshall at the line for ISU. Just as soon as ISU got some real enticing momentum — it cut its deficit to 10 as Carter made two of three at the line after getting fouled on a 3-point attempt — the Bears took it right back. Leonard drained a 3-pointer and Mallett stepped in front of a soft ISU pass and converted it into a breakaway dunk.

ISU is shooting 11 of 17 from the field in the second half, so at least the offense has come back somewhat.

[] MSU 70-62, 6:11. The game is stopped as MSU’s Leonard has injured his back. He can barely walk and is in some serious pain. Against the greatest of odds, ISU has cut its deficit to single-digits as Richard just hit a three. ISU has finally stopped MSU inside by double-teaming the minute the ball goes into the post.

[] MSU 73-66, 4:37. ISU has scored on its last five trips down the floor and on 11 of its last 12 possessions. Given the hole the Sycamores put themselves in, that’s the only way they could mount the comeback they’re currently trying to pull off. ISU is challenging MSU to make outside shots and no one on MSU has been up to the task of late.

[] MSU 73-66, 3:45. Pickens at the line for MSU. ISU had a golden chance to cut its deficit to four or five, but couldn’t get the rebound on misses by Patterson and Mallett, resulting in Pickens getting fouled on a baseline drive.

ISU is shooting 70 percent in the second half. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised, the Sycamores have been a second-half team all year, but these wild swings in play make it really hard on ISU.

[] MSU 79-72, 1:31. Printy just made a three to get ISU back to within seven. The teams had traded 3-point buckets and Nafis Ricks made an 18-footer at 2:59 to put the Bears up 10. Where is the pendulum going to swing now?

[] MSU 81-77, :57.1. MSU had to call a timeout on its inbounds pass after Marshall hit a runner to draw the Sycamores within four. ISU got that close after Reed stole an errant Mallett pass and converted it into a 3-pointer at the 1:14 mark. Mallett hit a pair of free throws, followed by Marshall’s bucket.

MSU once led this game by 24 at the 13:39 mark.

[] MSU 81-80, :48.7. Richard stole the ball at mid-court from Ricks and fed it to Printy who made a 3-pointer.

[] MSU 82-80, :26.3. Wild, wild doings here at JQH. Ricks was fouled and made one of two at the line. Marshall subsequently turned it over when he dribbled the ball off of his foot, but Carter forced a turnover when Weems dribbled off of his leg. ISU ball.

[] MSU 82-80, :12.4. Marshall was fouled, but missed a one-and-one free throw. MSU rebounded and Fuehrmeyer called a timeout.

[] 83-83, end of regulation. Mallett made one of two at the line, giving ISU a chance to tie. Printy fed Marshall out of a double-team at the top of the key and the senior buried a 3-pointer, ISU’s 11th of the half, to force overtime.

ISU is 11 of 14 from 3-point range in the second half.

Unbelievable. If you’d have told me ISU would force overtime at halftime, you’d have deed to my house, my car, maybe even my family. ISU was down 24.

Overtime
[] MSU 93-90, 1:21. Where to start? MSU took a five-point lead when Ricks had a putback followed by a Mallett 3-pointer. ISU answered with a Marshall teardrop and a Reed 3-pointer, which came after Martin outhustled three Bears for a loose ball. Mallett just hit another three, one that rattled around most of the rim before it fell.

What was once an ugly duckling of a game has become a stone classic.

[] MSU 99-92, final. Richard turned it over at the 1:04 mark on an errant pass and it took a lot of wind out of ISU’s sails. Ricks missed a layup, but Creekmore rebounded and got it to Pickens, who was fouled and made two to put the Bears up two possessions. Marshall made two free throws, but Carter fouled Fuehrmeyer before the inbounds pass and he made one of two at the line.

Marshall then turned it over on a play where he thought he got fouled. It happened right in front of me and I thought Marshall lost the ball before contact, though Marshall definitely didn’t see it that way, arguing the call with official Tom O’Neill. After that, ISU was in trouble as Fuehrmeyer made a free throw and Mallett stole the ball from Printy at mid-court and converted a dagger dunk with 5 seconds left.

Great comeback by ISU, but the Sycamores have to not put themselves in these positions.

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa — Hello all. Bear with me tonight. There aren’t many outlets out here in the media seating area at McLeod Center. I should be able to blog for the duration, but just in case I lose the juice, I wanted you to know why.

Bad news for ISU is that Dwayne Lathan is not dressed. He tried to give it a go during shootaround today, but couldn’t make it through. Koang Doluony is dressed, but we’ll see how much he actually plays.

I wasn’t in McLeod Center for five minutes before someone asked me about Jake Kelly. Were the rumors true? How close was he to coming? Etc., etc. Only Kelly really knows, but it’s over for the time being. Incidentally, he is having surgery on Wednesday.

UNI is starting its usual starting five of Kwadzo Ahelegbe, Ali Farokhmanesh, Johnny Moran, Adam Koch and Jordan Eglseder. ISU hasn’t announced its starting five yet, but I anticipate it’ll be the same lineup that started against Wichita State on Wednesday.

Around the Valley, Creighton defeated Wichita State by a point in Omaha, 57-56. Bradley drummed Missouri State 74-56 at Carver Arena. Evansville plays host to Southern Illinois tonight.

The ISU women fell to 0-5 in the MVC with a 69-65 loss at Missouri State.

As expected, ISU will start Brant Leitnaker, Rashad Reed, Harry Marshall, Jordan Printy and Carl Richard.

Looks like it’s going to be a full house or close to it. UNI’s favorite son — Kurt Warner — is out of the NFL playoffs, and perhaps, ended his career. I imagine you might have your eyes on your favorite football team right now.

If you can pry your eyes away from the Colts, I’ll be here for you. It’s almost game time.

First half
[] I like McLeod Center a lot. But the upper part of the arena looks like an airport concourse. I’m looking around for Hudson News …

The McLeod crowd saved its loudest boos for native son Jordan Printy, who hails from Marion, Iowa, just down I-380 from Waterloo/Cedar Falls.

[] 7-7, 15:54. ISU might be ahead if not for a few defensive breakdowns on the baseline which resulted in buckets for Koch and Lucas O’Rear. Marshall has 5 points so far and Reed got a pair at the line. It’s much louder here than usual, so it’s a decent start for ISU considering.

[] 11-11, 11:58. Moran at the line for UNI. UNI is finding holes in ISU’s defense on the baseline, including an O’Rear bucket on the baseline where he beat Crawford one-on-one, something O’Rear exploited against Crawford last season.

ISU, however, is doing a good job on the offensive end. Marshall is once again playing at a very high level. He has 7 points and an assist.

Doluony is back in the rotation for the Sycamores, so they have a little bit more depth tonight than they did against Wichita State on Wednesday.

[] UNI 20-17, 7:47. Heckuva game so far. Neither team has led by more than three points. ISU briefly led by a troika on a Rashad Reed trey, but UNI has scored the last five points to take its own three-point lead.

ISU did get Eglseder into foul trouble. He has two fouls and has sat much of the first half.

These two teams are a good match for each other. Neither team has a matchup advantage on the other.

[] UNI 30-20, 3:57. ISU has let its defensive concentration lapse and you can’t get away with that against UNI. The Panthers scored a pair of easy layups to get going and have since made a pair of threes. Crawford was injured whilst getting beat on one of the layups.

[] UNI 30-20, 3:35. Crawford has since returned to action. Carl Richard traveled on the Sycamores’ last possession. Richard was called for a questionable over-the-back call on ISU’s previous trip down the floor, a call not made until the crowd reacted to what looked like a clean rebound to me.

UNI is shooting 54.5 percent from the field and has two turnovers. Par for the course for them.

[] UNI 36-22, halftime. With every UNI bucket, the Panthers got better on the defensive end. ISU appeared to be playing a man-down, a la soccer, but obviously they weren’t. UNI finished the half on a 19-5 run. The only ISU bucket in the last 5:55 was a Crawford putback.

Marshall leads ISU with 9 points. Crawford has 6 points. As was the case against Wichita State on Wednesday, ISU is getting almost no scoring from anyone else.

Adam Koch leads UNI with 11 points, including a personal 6-0 run to end the half. It would be a major surprise if ISU wiped out its deficit against the disciplined Panthers.

Second half
[] UNI 38-22, 17:29. The start of the second half isn’t looking any better than the end of the first. ISU is pushing too hard on its offensive end, forcing some questionable shots and not taking care of the ball. UNI hasn’t made them pay, other than a 14-footer by Moran after Printy turned it over.

[] UNI 42-22, 15:48. Fans … watch the Colts game. Nothing to see here but a lot of ugliness on the part of the Sycamores. ISU has missed its first nine shots of the half and look completely befuddled against UNI’s press and its half-court defense. UNI is starting to get easy conversions on its end too.

Marshall was so frustrated that no one came to help him on a trap (he drew a foul on Ahelegbe) that he yelled out to his teammates.

Pretty much the worst-case scenario as far as how ISU wanted to come out of the locker room.

[] UNI 47-26, 11:56. O’Rear loves playing against ISU. UNI gets him one-on-one in the paint and he uses his deceptive quick first-move to get uncontested layups. He’s put his spin on both Crawford and Isiah Martin in this game. He did the same thing to ISU last season.

Sit down for this … ISU is 1 of 11 from the field in the second half. The Sycamores look completely frustrated.

[] UNI 57-32, 7:48. UNI is doing whatever it wants. Until it finally missed on its last possession, the Panthers had scored on six straight trips down the floor. The Panthers have taken the life out of the Sycamores, who are flinging whatever shots they can get (why not?) on their end … making few of them.

UNI is very good, but this ranks with the Ball State game as ISU’s ugliest performance of the season.

[] UNI 61-36, 3:14. Really nothing to say. ISU is finished. The challenge now is to hit 40 points, no easy feat considering the Sycamores are 4 of 24 from the field. That’s no typo.

[] UNI 62-40, final. The UNI students chanted “top 25! top 25!” in the final minutes and there’s no reason to believe they won’t get their wish as the Panthers won a school-record 15th straight. ISU, meanwhile, had better have massive collective short-term memory loss as they have a relatively quick turnaround before Tuesday’s game at Missouri State.

Just talked to Jake Kelly. Here’s the 4-1-1 at this time.

Kelly denies report

As reported by the Des Moines Register today …

Kelly considers return to Iowa

Will try to verify and get more information.

TERRE HAUTE — Hello all. Welcome to the gauntlet portion of ISU’s schedule, starting with tonight’s game against Wichita State. Northern Iowa, Missouri State, Northern Iowa again and Southern Illinois follow. Ouch.

First things first, Dwayne Lathan won’t play. He’s in street clothes.

I’m not surprised. Lathan was limping pretty badly in practice on Tuesday. It appears Koang Doluony will also miss the game due to his sprained ankle. ISU will be short-handed against the deep Shockers.

I wish I had a camera phone. WSU’s Garrett Stutz is a dead ringer for WSU mascot Wu-Shock.

WSU forward Aaron Ellis is in the layup line for WSU too. He seems to kill the Sycamores every time he steps on the floor. There’s a few more Sycamore killers in the league. Creighton’s P’Allen Stinnett is one. Drake’s Josh Young, finally shut down in ISU’s trip to Des Moines on Jan. 3, is another.

But who cares about all that when you have the Wheel Of Queso, right? The Wheel Of Queso was trotted out for the last home game. It’s a Price Is Right-style numbers wheel, and if ISU exceeds whatever number is spun during pre-game activities, the crowd gets a free snack at Tumbleweed. I’m guessing 66 is the number today.

I stand corrected. The Wheel Of Queso is spun at the first media timeout from here on out. Set your DVR’s.

Wichita State will start Ellis, Clevin Hannah, Graham Hatch, Toure Murry and J.T. Durley. ISU will start Brant Leitnaker, Rashad Reed, Harry Marshall, Jordan Printy and Carl Richard.

Indianapolis Colts tight end Dallas Clark wore an ISU basketball T-shirt today at a news conference in Indy. Clark T-shirt

It’s almost game time.

First half
[] WSU 12-5, 15:28. Stutz at the line for WSU. The Shockers’ start is less a case of ISU playing bad so much as it is WSU is playing very good. ISU hasn’t had any unforced errors, Wichita is just converting nearly every chance they get. The Sycamores are also cold from the field, making 2 of 6.

ISU has started slow before, but the Shockers aren’t a team they can afford to spot a lead. It will be difficult for the Sycamores unless they can get back in it.

Your Wheel Of Queso number? 81. It’s going to be rough sledding for ISU to hit that.

[] WSU 21-12, 11:24. ISU has slowed WSU down a bit since the last media timeout, but they can’t follow a stop with a bucket. The Shockers are playing good defense, forcing the Sycamores into some low-percentage shots. Josh Crawford is playing decent, as is Printy, but the Sycamores need more, especially on the defensive end, to get back in it.

[] WSU 24-20, 6:34. ISU has some momentum as WSU bogged down offensively, especially when freshman Demetric Williams entered the fray. The teams are nearly even in shooting (WSU 45, ISU 44.4) and rebounding (WSU up 11-10).

[] WSU 36-25, 3:49. Murry at the line for WSU. The minute Hannah got back in the game for WSU, its offense revived. He and Murry have teamed up to give ISU fits on the perimeter and via penetration, scoring seven points in succession. ISU kept up for a while, but Murry and Hatch hit three’s to build a bigger gap and the Shockers have built upon it ever since. Murry was hurt on the play before the media timeout after he got an and-1, but he returned to the floor.

[] WSU 41-31, :34.4 Hannah has been the best player on the floor, putting daggers into the Sycamores every time they appear poised to build some momentum. He hit a 3-pointer at the death of the shot clock on one possession to put the Shockers up 12 at one point.

[] WSU 41-32, :22. Hannah was called for an intentional foul on Crawford which incensed WSU coach Gregg Marshall to the verge of a technical foul. ISU has the ball after Crawford made one of two at the line.

[] WSU 41-32, halftime. Fans are booing the officials, and truth be told, it hasn’t been a well officiated game, but it’s gone both ways.

More truth be told, the officials aren’t the reason ISU has given up 41 points. It’s equal parts good execution by the Shockers and some defensive slippage at times by the Sycamores. ISU’s short bench isn’t helping either. It’s an excuse for ISU, but other teams — notably Oral Roberts — have played ISU short-handed and played harder.

WSU is shooting 51.7 percent and have made 7 of 14 from 3-point range. ISU is shooting 43.5 percent from the field. ISU is 11 of 15 at the line, a big reason it is still within range of the hot-shooting Shockers.

It’s been a physical game. Would you expect anything less from an ISU-Wichita State matchup?

Second half
[] WSU 50-43, 13:53. ISU is trying to mount a comeback as Crawford, Marshall and Richard have all had their moments as the Sycamores have scored on four of their last five trips down the floor.

The problem for ISU is it can’t get consistent stops. Shockers guards Murry and Hannah are playing very confident and even big man Durley had a nice feed to Hatch for a layup. The Sycamores are playing better, they just need a few stops or a WSU cold streak to truly get back in it.

[] WSU 55-47, 11:55. ISU coach Kevin McKenna keeps yelling, “stops! stops!” from the bench, but ISU can’t consistently get them. ISU had cut its deficit to five, but Hatch buried a 3-pointer in the corner to stunt ISU’s momentum. After Isiah Martin made a hook in the lane, he was called for a block on a Hannah layup.

WSU is shooting 66 percent in the second half. ISU is shooting 58.3 percent. Unless ISU cools Wichita off, it won’t matter how well the Sycamores do scoring the ball.

[] WSU 63-52, 7:21. McKenna and Gerry Pollard had a brief word as McKenna was irate after it appeared Printy was hit in the arm on a 3-point attempt. ISU has been playing uphill all game long and just can’t get the breakthrough it needs. ISU cut its deficit to six with WSU’s bench personnel in the game, but David Kyles — a 28.6 percent 3-point shooter who hadn’t hit a 3-pointer in league play — drained a trey to put the Shockers back up nine.

The Pollard-McKenna conversation continued after the timeout ended.

[] WSU 63-52, 7:09. WSU at the line.Reed took a quick three, missed it, and fouled quick-moving WSU in transition on the other end. This one feels like it’s slipping away.

[] Printy had to get attention for blood on the sideline and McKenna asked Pollard if it came on the shot attempt. Nice joke by McKenna and both laughed. Then Pollard came up gimpy on a foul call, drawing derisive laughter from the Hulman Center crowd.

[] WSU 67-56, 5:59. ISU called a timeout after a Marshall fall-away jumper. Somehow, ISU left Hannah wide open for a three on the previous possession. ISU just can’t get a stop.

[] WSU 72-64, 3:11. It’s Clevin Hannah’s day at Hulman Center. ISU cut its deficit to six and WSU had an inbounds on its own baseline. Aaron Carter put a body on Gabe Blair, nearly forcing a turnover as Blair leaned out of bounds. Blair flipped it to Murry on the right wing. Marshall gambled, left Hannah, went for the steal, but just missed. Murry found Hannah for an open three, a dagger which put the Shockers up nine.

It was a fortunate turn of events for WSU, but Hannah has 22 for the Shockers and has been outstanding. He is 4 of 6 from 3-point range.

[] WSU 81-73, :28.4 It was just WSU’s night. ISU once again cut its deficit to five with 2:20 left and played WSU very well defensively on the Shockers’ subsequent possession. Marshall knocked the ball loose, Murry found himself 35 feet away from the basket with the ball and the shot clock at :01 so he flung it up.

Swish. Good.

WSU hasn’t been stopped since. Marshall threw up a wild 30-foot-plus three with 48 seconds left which didn’t help ISU’s cause.

[] WSU 84-73, final. There were some calls that didn’t go ISU’s way. There were some shots that didn’t fall. But the bottom line is that WSU started the game off on a roll and never let up as ISU couldn’t get enough stops. The Sycamores tend to start slow and they paid the price tonight.

TERRE HAUTE — Hello all. ISU, sans Dwayne Lathan, will try and handle a young Evansville team today.

I’m decked out in my garish gold button-down shirt today in tribute to my Green Bay Packers who have a playoff game against the Arizona Cardinals today. If you’re watching on Fox Sports Midwest, I’m the big yellow blob near the timeline. You can’t miss me, you can see me from space.

I didn’t out-Charlie Spoonhour Charlie Spoonhour though. He’s here for the FS Midwest broadcast and he’s wearing a Masters-shade green sportcoat and a yellow sweater that isn’t much more than a Pantone setting off my own. That’s what I get for trying to upstage the master.

Now that the fashion portion of the blog is over … ISU will start Brant Leitnaker, Rashad Reed, Harry Marshall, Jordan Printy and Carl Richard. Evansville tabbed Kavon Lacey, Monie Hudson, Colt Ryan, James Haarsma and Denver Holmes.

Officials are John Higgins, Tom Eades and Paul Janssen.

I think this is going to be an interesting game. Evansville has some size and isn’t necessarily a great matchup for ISU without Lathan. We’ll see.

First half
[] Not a wonderful crowd for a Sunday without any local competition for the fans’ viewing loyalties (unless all of the Colts fans stayed home to watch the New England Patriots get smoked, which they are right now). Evansville brought a decent amount of fans as usual.

[] ISU 5-4, 15:36. You hate to extrapolate anything at the first media timeout, but ISU’s lack of effort has been disconcerting and not unlike its effort against Ball State in a December loss. The Sycamores have been sloppy — four turnovers, including three in succession at one point — and seem lackadasical offensively. Kevin McKenna pulled a few starters out earlier than usual because of this.

ISU’s saving grace is that Evansville has been equally shaky with two turnovers in succession before the media timeout and several forced shots. ISU also has the early board edge.

[] ISU 11-8, 12:41. The Sycamores are extremely fortunate to be ahead as they are playing, frankly, awful right now. ISU has six turnovers (and could have had another on an attempted Isiah Martin rebound) and looks totally out of sorts. Evansville is 4 of 12 from the field, the one thing holding it back.

[] ISU 11-8, 11:40. As bad as ISU has been, Evansville has been equally ugly. The Aces have five turnovers to go with their 30.8 percent shooting.

ISU needs a catalyst. Marshall is trying, Aaron Carter and Koang Doluony are doing their part off the bench, but it just seems like energy level of nearly everyone else is just non-existent. This has been the case in a few games this season where ISU was perceived to be the better team, see the Ball State and Coastal Carolina games for reference.

[] ISU 19-8, 8:56. Now the Sycamores are picking it up. ISU has scored on its last three trips down the floor to breakaway from the Aces. Evansville coach Marty Simmons called a timeout to slow ISU’s momentum.

[] Ryan had to come out after the timeout ended with a bloody nose.

[] ISU 19-8, 7:47. As critical as I’ve been of ISU’s effort — mainly on the offensive end — the Sycamores’ defense has been outstanding. Evansville is shooting 22.2 percent from the field and is currently mired in a 12-possession streak without a point. I saw ISU’s walk-through yesterday, and without giving anything away, the Sycamores are following the scouting report well. The Aces have six turnovers too.

ISU has turned the ball over so much — eight times — it’s hard to notice that when they do get a shot off they’re hitting them. The Sycamores are at 50 percent right now.

[] ISU 21-15, 3:56. Marshall at the line for ISU. Just when it seemed ISU had got its act together, they went into another tailspin on the offensive end and the Aces got within four. Marshall went to the hole and got ISU a more comfortable margin and will be at the line thanks to an offensive rebound and foul on a putback attempt.

[] Let the record show that the first “put Odum in” yell from the crowd came at 3:56 to go in the Evansville game.

[] ISU 29-19, halftime. Evansville drew within five with 1:53 left when ISU went through another ugly period on the offensive end, but the Sycamores finished with five points to end the half, with Printy drilled a 3-pointer at the buzzer. Josh Crawford was so happy he knocked Printy over with the force of his chest-bump after Printy made the shot.

It was a funny moment, but ISU hasn’t been crisp offensively and are lucky to be playing a struggling Evansville team, which makes it easier to sort through these ineffective runs of offense. Nine turnovers is way too many for one half.

Defensively? No complaints. Evansville is shooting 28.6 percent and none of the Aces have been able to get into any kind of rhythm.

Bad news for ISU. Koang Doluony was injured when Isiah Martin rolled into his leg after a rebound. Doluony walked off under his power, but was limping when he went to the halftime locker room. ISU doesn’t need anyone else on the M*A*S*H* list.

Second half
[] Good news for ISU. I was told that Doluony is OK and will play in the second half.

[] ISU 38-26, 15:46. It looked like ISU might open up a gap, but Evansville scored on three straight trips and have hung in there. Richard, who had a bad first half, recovered to hit a pair of short buckets to help ISU maintain its double-digit advantage.

[] ISU 44-28, 12:49. Weird game. ISU seems to have no flow offensively, yet, they’ve built on their lead, going up 16 on a Richard steal and breakaway dunk. Evansville has turned it over on three consecutive possessions.

Doluony did return, but left the game almost as quickly as he entered it as he was still gimpy. Marshall left the game too with a bloody nose. He should return soon.

From an entertainment standpoint, I can’t imagine the Valley TV viewers out there are fighting off the temptation to switch to the NFL playoffs, though ISU has to like its defensive effort.

[] ISU 44-30, 11:26. Carter at the line for ISU. ISU is shooting 41 percent from the field and has a 29-25 rebounding edge. Evansville is still sub-30 at 29.3 percent. Simmons has really shortened his bench as only seven Aces have taken the court.

McKenna just yelled to Richard after a forced shot, “you don’t have to shoot!”

[] ISU 52-30, 9:54.Simmons just called a timeout as ISU has made a pair of 3-pointers — Printy and Carter hit them — to augment their advantage. The Aces look really out of sorts on their offensive end.

[] ISU 57-38, 6:59. Apparently inspired by the Patriots-Ravens score updates being given here at Hulman Center, Haarsma just tackled Marshall while trying to break through down the baseline not once, but twice, and got caught on the second offense by Eades.

If Evansville plays the way they’ve played today for the remainder of the season, it won’t win a Valley game. This has to rank as one of the Aces’ worst performances of the season.

[] ISU 63-42, 3:53. Carter at the line for ISU. ISU is in cruise control as Evansville can muster nothing. Marshall has 19 now for the Sycamores, Printy 12 (all on threes) and Reed also has 12. Even though he’s 1 of 6 from the field, I like the way Carter has played, giving the Sycamores energy when it was needed.

Only one Ace has busted double-figure scoring as Ryan has 11.

[] ISU 69-55, final. A shaky start, but ISU controlled the game defensively and it carried the day as the Sycamores got better on the offensive end as the game progressed.

The fans gave Marshall an appreciative cheer when he exited the floor. He deserved it, he played hard from start to finish.

Good win considering the Sycamores were without leading scorer Lathan.

Indiana State’s Saturday practice just ended and the team received good news about Dwayne Lathan. The MRI of his leg injury came out negative, which means Lathan should be in action relatively soon for the Sycamores.

He will miss Sunday’s game against Evansville, but Lathan is cautiously optimistic he might be ready to go for Wednesday’s home game against Wichita State.

That’s good news for ISU. The Lathan situation played out in the opposite way the Jake Kelly injury did. The initial diagnosis on Lathan wasn’t encouraging, but turned out to be better than expected. Obviously, the opposite was true with Kelly.

Aaron Carter and Carl Richard will likely absorb Lathan’s minutes against Evansville.

Indiana State swingman Dwayne Lathan still hasn’t learned the extent of his left leg injury suffered at Bradley on Wednesday … though it wasn’t for lack of trying on Friday.

According to ISU SID Ace Hunt, Lathan has had a MRI taken and it was to be studied during a doctor visit late Friday afternoon in Indianapolis. However, Lathan never made it to his appointment as he and ISU graduate assistant Jordan Altman got stuck behind an accident on I-70 and had to turn back to Terre Haute. Welcome to life on I-70 in western Indiana, gentlemen!

The MRI was digitally sent to Indy for analysis, but there’s no word at this writing what it turned up. Lathan is still not walking without discomfort and remains questionable for Sunday’s game against Evansville.