Hello all. It’s a Hulman Center doubleheader with DePauw-ISU men and Kansas State-ISU women. I’ll only be here for one of the games as I’m trekking over to West Vigo for the Vikings’ boys game against Brown County after this is over.

Whew. I can’t tell if this is a late-arriving crowd or a no-arriving crowd. Very, very sparse right now. I have a bet going with someone here at Hulman Center how many students are going to show up. Believe me, you don’t want to know what the over-under is.

Among those I do see in the crowd are the Eitel twins from nearby Marshall, Ill. The Lions are unbeaten and Logan and Lucas Eitel are a big reason why. ISU has been interested in them for some time now.

One thing I need to check into is when ISU is going to wear their throwback uniforms. I haven’t heard a word about it since the season began. I do think they’re coming down the pike soon.

While I’m waiting for tipoff, I have to give it up to ISU scoring crew. These guys — Ed Clow, Dan Adams, John Benton, Chris Patterson and newbie Kevin Millington — do yeoman’s work every game, every year. Good guys too. A Christmas shoutout to the scoring crew. Merry Christmas, guys.

Your officials today: Mike Litzelfelner, John Moore and Mark Schnur.

Count it as a good sign that the student count topped our over-under … maybe. Right now, the student count is at 10.

OK, enough snark, let’s get it on.

First half
[] Starters: No changes as Rashad Reed, Harry Marshall, Aaron Carter, Carl Richard and Jay Tunnell are the five. It is Tunnell’s 100th career start.

[] ISU 6-4, 16:43. The Sycamores started well on both ends, but have slackened and Kevin McKenna called a 30-second timeout. Marshall just got beat off the dribble by DePauw’s Tony James.

[] 6-6, 15:42. Sloppy, sloppy. ISU already has three turnovers: a carry, a step on the sideline and a strip. No excuse for it, the Sycamores have to be more careful with the ball.

Defensively, ISU has discarded its zone for the moment and is playing man-to-man. They’ve had mixed success with it, but it’s a look ISU needs to show. Perhaps playing man will increase individual responsibility to be tougher.

[] ISU 11-10, 11:59. Very uninspiring effort from ISU so far. DePauw’s defense is giving ISU trouble as distributors are having trouble finding open seams. ISU’s movement without the ball needs to get much crisper.

ISU trailed 10-6 at one point. A three-point play by Reed and a one-handed alley-oop dunk by Josh Crawford on a feed from Jordan Printy put the Sycamores back on top, but they have to play far, far better than they are now.

[] ISU 20-15, 7:30. ISU has had more success when it attacks the basket. Marshall has had success driving the basket and Crawford has brought much more energy than he has in the last six games. After a block, he ran the floor to set himself up for a free throw opportunity in transition.

Defensively, ISU is doing a better job cutting off penetration as DePauw is not getting as many easy chances.

Still, turnovers continue to be an issue. ISU has seven already.

[] ISU 25-18, 3:59. ISU is playing with more energy, they just need to channel it into production. Sometimes it’s there, such as when Crawford converted a three-point play after an inbounds pass, or on a Marshall drive for a lay-up, or when Tyler Cutter tipped away a pass on a backdoor cut, but sometimes it’s not refined and it leads to mistakes.

DePauw is hanging in there despite shooting 30.7 percent. Not good for ISU.

[] ISU 31-25, :58.9. DePauw went on a 7-2 run to cut its deficit to four at one point. Two possessions were defended poorly by ISU, another was defended well, but DePauw’s Steve LeMasters hit a three anyway.

[] ISU 33-25, halftime. ISU ended the half on a good note with two defensive stops (Sort of … Tunnell was called for a questionable foul on one DePauw turn, but DePauw’s Tom Callen missed the front end of a one-and-one) and a Carter reverse lay-up to go up by eight.

But one thing sticks in my mind: this effort today wouldn’t be good enough to win against any Missouri Valley Conference team. Considering Valley play begins next Sunday, well, draw your own conclusions.

Halftime stats: ISU is shooting 48.1 percent from the field. ISU has a 23-11 rebounding edge, which is a big switch from recent games. Marshall and Crawford lead the way with 8 points apiece. ISU has 10 turnovers which have led to nine DePauw points. Too many.

DePauw is led by Tony James’ 11 points. The Tigers are shooting 35.7 percent from the field. The Tigers have only two second-chance points.

Second half
[] The Hulman Center crowd hasn’t had much reason to show emotion, but Lord help the man who participates in a halftime promotion in Pittsburgh Steelers gear. The gentleman, who playfully pointed to the Steelers logo on his jacket to fire up the crowd before he shot some hoops to knock down his cell phone bill, was booed and then someone from the crowd very audibly yelled, “Steelers suck!” Funny stuff.

[] ISU 35-28, 15:56. Neither team can hit the broad side of a barn. ISU is 1 of 8 since the half, DePauw is 1 of 7.

No energy from the Sycamores means the Tigers are sticking around and the longer they have hope the more dangerous they are. ISU needs to build a gap ASAP.

[] ISU 41-38, 11:48. DePauw at the line for one. ISU has suffered all season from an energy crisis and no more so than today. DePauw climbed back within one at one point as ISU just seemed to be sleeping on both ends. The Sycamores built their lead back to five, but continue to shoot themselves in the foot.

An example. Crawford comes out to challenge shooter Callen. As assistant coach Greg Lansing yelled from the bench “don’t gamble!”, Callen dribbled past Crawford, took and made a shot, as Crawford, a step behind, fouled him.

[] ISU 46-41, 9:36. It’s still a game. DePauw cut its deficit to one again at 10:55. Since then, ISU has made a couple of stops to accompany a Reed 16-footer and two Marshall free throws.

[] ISU 52-44, 7:22. The Sycamores have finally given themselves a little gap, but DePauw keeps making a bucket here and there to keep itself in it. The Tigers run the weave and just move the ball well in general and ISU seems a step behind.

A bigger concern for ISU at the moment: Marshall’s is feeling discomfort in his left calf. It appears to be a cramp and trainer John Anderson is working on it at present.

[] ISU 57-46, 3:46. ISU at the line. ISU seems to finally have control as DePauw is struggling to get stops. In a 9-2 ISU run, Isiah Martin has 5 points, but has also struggled to catch the ball in the post. The Sycamores have done the rest of their damage at the line, benefitting from some friendly calls here and there.

Defensively, ISU is forcing DePauw to take some bad shots. Credit to the Sycamores there.

[] ISU 59-51, 2:13. DePauw’s Mike Moore just drilled a three to keep the Tigers within striking range. ISU’s Reed took a bad three-point attempt at 3:09 and missed the front end of two freebies at 2:28.

[] ISU 62-56, 1:23. Wow. ISU is playing very dumb down the stretch and it might cost them the game.

Carter fouled on an offensive rebound attempt. DePauw’s Callen missed the free throw, but the miss hit the floor before LeMasters rebounded and was fouled for an and-one which he converted. After Tunnell made a lay-up, DePauw converted on a third-chance putback by Joe Bergfeld.

ISU broke DePauw’s press, but Tyler Cutter threw it off of Carter’s hands with 1:23 left to give it back to the Tigers.

[] ISU 66-60, final. The Sycamores are going to win it, but not without difficulty. The Tigers cut it to four with 1:06 to go. Marshall was fouled, but made just one at the line.

DePauw worked it around for a shot, but Moore threw one pass too many and it was tipped by Tunnell who gathered it in for a steal with 16 seconds left. Tunnell made one at the line, but the Tigers missed a three-pointer with 10 seconds left.

A win is a win, but ISU has tons to work on, starting with the players who need to find it within themselves to play with much, much more energy.