Where Did These Sycamores Come From?

(St. Louis, MO) – Hands up. Who predicted Indiana State going 4-0 in the Missouri Valley Conference. Put your hand down. You did not!

Indiana State was a pedestrian 4-8 prior to MVC play. How bad were they? The Sycamores lost seven of their last eight games before opening league action at Illinois State. The one win was against Division 2 Truman State.

Head Coach Greg Lansing’s team has shown grit with narrow victories against Illinois State, Evansville (in OT) and SIU. They had an easier time of it with Missouri State. In three of those games they allowed 61 or fewer points.

During the streak, four different players have led the Trees in scoring (Tre Bennett, Jake Kitchel, Justin Gant & Devonte Brown). Lansing’s teams have reached some form of post season play every year of his coaching career. They’ve never won fewer than 18 games in a season. The Des Moines native knew his team would go through some growing pains this season.

The Sycamores lost their all-everything guard Jake Odum to graduation, and they took some time to adjust. With no dominant player, six players are averaging over seven points per game. Brown leads with an average of 12.4, and hit the game winning three-pointer in Saturday’s win over SIU.

But it is defense that has changed for ISU. In their first 12 games, the Sycamores held the opposition to that 61 point level we mentioned above, just two times. Offensively Lansing says his team is sharing the ball better and playing with more patience. After trying to force things earlier in the season, they are trusting one another more.

To be fair, the Sycamores played a very representative schedule. A three game stretch against Illinois, Memphis and nationally ranked Butler was no picnic.

What’s ahead for ISU? The next four games won’t be easy. A return engagement with a healthier Illinois State is followed by a two game road trip to Drake and nationally ranked Northern Iowa.

The next three games should teach us a lot about the Sycamores.

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