Indiana State

MVC Weekly Notebook

Press Release — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 12:48:05 -0500

In recent seasons, the Missouri Valley Conference has had great success at home in non-conference play, and the league is at it again, recording a 7-1 home start in the first week of the season. In the past four seasons (not counting this year), the league has combined for a 226-33 (.873) mark at home in non-conference play. The results have translated into 20 post-season bids (including 10 NCAA trips, nine NITs and a CBI entry).

State Farm Missouri Valley Players of the Week
P'Allen Stinnett, Creighton, So., 6-3, Gd., Las Vegas (Nev.) Brewster Academy [N.H.]
? Stinnett scored a career-high 30 points, including 21 in the second half, as Creighton rallied from a late double-digit deficit to post an 82-75 win over a New Mexico team that returned four starters from a 24-9 team a year ago. Stinnett scored 21 of his 30 points after half, including back-to-back three pointers on consecutive possessions in the final 90 seconds that gave CU its first lead since 4-2. His 30 points were the most by a Bluejay in a season-opener since Bob Harstad scored 38 on Nov. 30, 1990, and six more than his previous personal best of 24 last winter against UNI. He shot 11-for-16 from the field, including 3-of-6 from downtown, as well as 5-of-8 at the line. He also contributed four rebounds, an assist and steal while holding New Mexico's leading scorer Tony Danridge (23 points) without a shot attempt in the final 8:26.

Newcomer of the Week
Dodie Dunson, Bradley, Jr., 6-3, Gd., Bloomington (Ill.) High [Vincennes Univ.]
? Dunson was Bradley's leading scorer in each of the season's first two games, highlighted by his career-best 21 points in Friday's 67-61 win against UIC. By following up with 15 points Sunday at #19 Florida, Dunson is averaging 18.0 points per game. He also is averaging 4.0 rebounds and 1.5 assists in his first two Bradley games and has committed just three turnovers in a team-best 74 minutes. Dunson scored the first seven points of Bradley's season, as well as seven straight during a 9-0 Bradley run that gave the Braves a 61-50 lead with just 1:07 left against the Flames.

Long-Range Bombers
?It's difficult to tell if the new three-point line (20'-9") is having an impact. Through the first week of the season, though, the league has converted on just 32.2 percent of its three-point tries (74-of-230). Last year, the league-wide season percentage was 35.6 (2,322-of-6,525). Missouri State leads the league with its 47.8 percent accuracy (11-of-23).

Salukis Take on Duke
?Southern Illinois and Duke will meet for just the fourth time when they square off this week in the semifinals of the 2K Sports Classic. SIU beat the Blue Devils at Madison Square Garden during its NIT Championship run in 1967. Duke has beaten Southern twice, most recently a 105-70 thrashing in the 1993 NCAA Tournament -- a game in which coach Chris Lowery was the Salukis' starting point guard. The game will be televised on ESPN2 (on Thursday, Nov. 20, at 6 pm CT).

MVC Against the Top 25
?This year, The Valley is 0-1 against top-25 teams (Bradley lost at No. 19 Florida on Sunday, Nov. 16). Last year, The Valley had a 2-8 mark against top-25 non-conference foes. In both 2005-06 and 2006-07, the MVC posted six non-conference wins each year against nationally ranked teams.

Happy Returns
?Three contests this week are 'return' games as a result of the ESPNU BracketBusters series: (Missouri State/Central Michigan; UNI/Illinois-Chicago; Creighton/Oral Roberts). Last year, Valley schools went a combined 8-2 in the 10 games as part of the series. Since the event started in 2003, Valley schools have a combined 65-33 record in games scheduled as a part of the series (33-20 in BBS games, and 32-13 in the returns). Illinois State (6-0), Missouri State (4-0) and Wichita State (4-0) have never lost a return BBS game.

Returning to Florida
?Bradley will have the entire week off before making a return trip to the Sunshine State for the final three games of the O'Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic. Including Sunday's loss at #19 Florida in the first round of the CBE Classic, Bradley is 3-3 all-time in the state of Florida. The Braves will face Nov. 24, Ft. Myers Sub-Regional host Florida Gulf Coast Nov. 25 and Richmond Nov. 26.

Dynamic Duo, Part II?
?From 1987-91, Creighton big men Bob Harstad and Chad Gallagher were known as the "Dynamic Duo." Both men were named MVC Player of the Year (Harstad in 1990, Gallagher in 1991) and finished their careers first and second in school history for points scored. It's still quite early, but the Jays had quite the dynamic duo in the season-opening win over New Mexico when P'Allen Stinnett (30) and Booker Woodfox (26) both lit up the Lobos. The current duo ranks 1-2 in the MVC in scoring, and became the first Bluejay pair to score 25 points or more in the same game in the Dana Altman era. CU hadn't had that happen since, you guessed it, Gallagher (29) and Harstad (26) did it against Bradley on Jan. 21, 1991. The last time the league had two players score 25 points or more in the same game was on 3/1/08 when Bradley's Daniel Ruffin (30) and Jeremy Crouch (29) did it against Creighton.

Making an Impact
?All three of UNI’s starting guards against Denver were not even on the active roster a year ago, and each had an impact in the win against the Pioneers. True freshman point guard Johnny Moran had 14 points, 10 rebounds and two assists; junior college transfer Ali Farokhmanesh had 13 points; and sophomore guard Kwadzo Ahelegbe (who missed the entire 2007-08 season with a shoulder injury) had three points and a team-high five assists.

MVC Against the BCS
?This year, the MVC has an 0-2 record against members of BCS-football leagues (0-0 at home, 0-0 neutral, 0-2 away). Last year, the league went 13-13 against BCS schools, which included an 8-3 home mark. In 2006-07, The Valley was 17-14 against teams from BCS-football conferences. Notably, only six of those 31 meetings that year were on MVC homecourts.

vs. Conference (Valley Wins)
vs. ACC 0-0
vs. Big East 0-0
vs. Big Ten 0-0
vs. Big 12 0-0
vs. Pac-10 0-0
vs. SEC 0-2
TOTALS 0-2

Good Against the Rest
? The Missouri Valley combined for an 85-46 (.649) record in non-conference play. That ranks sixth-best in the last 25 years (not counting this year). In those six years of .649 or better in that span, the league produced 28 post-season teams, including 16 NCAA Tournament teams. The current non-league start of 8-3 (.727) would rank No. 6 all-time and is the best in 46 seasons.

MVC In Select Company
?Every Valley team has reached the NCAA Tournament since 1998. Only the ACC, Mountain West, Pac-10 and SEC have had every member qualify for the Big Dance in that span.

Catch Us On the Tube
?The Valley will produce a 36-telecast, in-house television package on Fox Sports Midwest in 2008-09. An additional 22 telecasts will be shown on the ESPN family of networks and CBS Sports. Counting institutional packages, the league will have at least 121 games on national, regional, or local television. Approximately 100 games (some of which are also institutional broadcasts) are available as part of the league's videostream package, which includes all non-televised MVC TV network home games from eight of the league's 10 schools.

Fans Love the MVC
?The league had a solid first week of the season on the court, and in the stands. Three league teams drew better than 10,000 in their home openers including Bradley (10,034), Creighton (16,107), and Wichita State (10,301).

Missouri Valley Basketball Preview: 08-09

CHN — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 15:42:29 -0500

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Conference Rank: 9th

10 year average: 9th

MVC Conference Page

All-MVC Team
Pos.	Player	Team	Yr.

G	Bryan Mullins	So. Illinois	Sr
G	Osiris Eldridge	Illinois St	Jr
G	Josh Young	Drake	Jr
G	P'Allen Stinnett	Creighton	So
F	Jonathan Cox	Drake	Sr
CHN Award Winners		Returning Leaders
High-Major All-Americans Jonathan Cox Osiris Eldridge Bryan Mullins P'Allen Stinnett Josh Young		Points: Josh Young 15.9 Rebounds: Jonathan Cox 8.5 Assists: Bryan Mullins 5.0

MVC Standings
Nat'l	Team	League	Tourney

24	Creighton	MVC	1	NCAA
43	Southern Illinois	MVC	2	NCAA
56	Drake**	MVC	3	NIT
64	Bradley	MVC	4	NIT
82	Illinois State	MVC	5	NIT
110	Indiana State	MVC	6
134	Wichita State	MVC	7
161	Northern Iowa	MVC	8
198	Evansville	MVC	9
211	Missouri State	MVC	10

*Click on links for full Top 144 team preview

** returning conference champion

Poll: Who Do You Think Will Win the MVC?

Other MVC Content

Head Coach Q&A's

Tim Jankovich: Illinois State

Conference Media Poll

Creighton Top Media Poll

Other

How Many MVC Teams Will Make the Tourney?

Rise & Fall: MVC

MVC/MWC Challenge Announced

MVC Media Poll: Creighton Favored

Press Release — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 10:20:26 -0400

OMAHA, Neb. -- The Creighton men¹s basketball team is the near-unanimous pick to win the Missouri Valley Conference, according to the preseason poll announced today during the league¹s annual Basketball Media Day. Creighton earned 36 of 39 first-place votes in the survey of league coaches, beat writers, sports information directors and play-by-play men.

Pollsters have accurately predicted the league¹s regular-season champ only 10 times out of 24 since 1985-86, but Bluejay fans can take solace knowing that 21 of those 24 predicted champs have gone on to postseason play, with 15 of those 21 playing in the NCAA Tournament.

This is the second time in three years that Creighton has been picked to win The Valley, and league-high seventh time overall since the preseason poll began in 1985-86. Creighton won the regular-season title in two of their previous six runs as favorite (1990-91 and 2000-01) and finished in second place the other four times (1989-90, 1998-99. 2002-03. 2006-07).

The preseason poll doesn¹t always match the year-end standings. Last year¹s poll forecasted Drake to finish ninth in the MVC. The Bulldogs proved everyone wrong, going 28-5 and winning the Valley regular-season title by two games over an Illinois State team tabbed fifth in the preseason.

Creighton collected 36 first-place votes and earned 386 of a maximum 390 points in the preseason poll. Southern Illinois grabbed two first-place votes and was second with 322 points, just ahead of Illinois State, which had 309 points and garnered the remaining first-place vote. Defending league
regular-season and tournament champion Drake was fourth with 274 points, its best preseason pick the 1991-92 season. Bradley was fifth with 219 points while UNI was sixth with 186 points. Rounding out the bottom four teams were Indiana State (137), Evansville (122), Wichita State (105) and Missouri State (85).

2008-09 MVC Preseason Poll

Rk. School (1st place votes) Total
1. Creighton (36) 386
2. Southern Illinois (2) 322
3. Illinois State (1) 309
4. Drake 274
5. Bradley 219
6. Northern Iowa 186
7. Indiana State 137
8. Evansville 122
9. Wichita State 105
10. Missouri State 85

Poll determined by panel of league sports information directors and media.

Preseason All-MVC Team

Jonathan Cox, Sr., F, Drake
Osiris Eldridge*, Jr., G, Illinois State
Bryan Mullins, Sr., G, Southern Illinois
P¹Allen Stinnett, So., G, Creighton
Josh Young, Jr., G, Drake
*Preseason Player of the Year

Honorable Mention:
Shy Ely (Evansville)
Jason Holsinger (Evansville)
Andrew Warren (Bradley)
Theron Wilson (Bradley)

State of '08: Indiana

Shawn Siegel — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 12:33:31 -0400

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Duke or Carolina? BC or UMASS? Gonzaga or Washington.. or Washington State? What is the best program in each state? While there's not much competition in Hawaii.. there are great debates to be had in loaded regions like California, North Carolina, and Texas. The State of '08 is a ranking of every program in every state.. based mostly on recent success (the last five years) mixed in with subjective factors such as conference prestige, historical success, and overall program direction.

Up today: Indiana. For more info, check out the State of '08 introduction.

INDIANA

INDIANA - Considering all the turmoil this program has gone through, Indiana's still topped ND in the RPI for 9 of the last 10 seasons. While Indiana will surely struggle this year, and probably next as well, you still have to figure in time the Hoosiers will regain their place on top of the state's basketball pyramid.

NOTRE DAME - From 1991 to 2000, ND missed the NCAA Tournament every season. But in Mike Brey's eight seasons, the Irish have reached the holy land 5 times. This year, expectations are as high as ever, and a Top 10 ranking is not out of the question.

BUTLER - Who has been the top team in Indiana over the last two seasons? Butler, according to the computer rankings. Brad Stevens picked up where Todd Lickliter left off and led the Bulldogs to an amazing 30-4 overall record. In the last 12 years, Butler has made 7 NCAA Tournaments and 3 NITs. In fact, they've had more Tourney wins recently than ND. But I give the Irish the edge for more consistent success, being in a better conference, and because they'll probably outperform Butler in the next two seasons.

PURDUE - Despite getting tons of hype last season, Purdue probably wasn't as good as many think. They mostly beat up on weak Big Ten teams and poor non-conference opponents. But the program is obviously going in the right direction, and a more legit Top 20 finish is likely this season. Still, the Boilers haven't topped ND in the RPI since the turn of the century, and haven't surpassed Indiana since 2003.

VALPARAISO - From 1996 to 2004, Valpo made the Big Dance an amazing 7 out of 8 tries. The last four seasons have been a bit more pedestrian as the program has made the move to the bigger Horizon League. But the Crusaders still knocked off 5 Top 100 teams last year, and should once again make the postseason in 2009 (NIT or CBI).

6. IUPUI - Ron Hunter continues to do a great job in Indianapolis. Since 2003, the same year IUPUI shocked many by making the Big Dance, the Jaguars have consistently finished in the upper half of the Summit League. Without George Hill, their might be a bit of slippage in 08-09, but I still expect an RPI better than 175 or so.

7. INDIANA STATE - In 2000 & 2001, Indiana State was one of the country's darling mid-majors, making the tourney in back to back to seasons, and upsetting 4-seed Oklahoma in 01. But the program has run into some lean seasons, and there hasn't been a .500 or better finish since then. But beginning in 2003, the Sycamores' RPI has improved every year (from 260 to 128), a trend which could very well continue in 2009.

8. EVANSVILLE - The Purple Aces are in the bit of a slump, and Marty Simmons has a lot of work picking up the pieces left by Steve Merfeld. Evansville hasn't reached the .500 mark in MVC play since 2001, and almost certainly won't accomplish that feat in 2009. At least they managed to beat Ball State on the road early last year.

9. BALL STATE - In the 80's and 90's, and really up until 2004 or so, Ball State was a consistently solid program that was always competitive in the MAC. But somewhere along the way, the bottom has fallen off, and the Cardinals haven't even won 10 games in the last four campaigns. Another sub-200 RPI should be expected in 08-09.

10. IPFW - Relatively new to D1 (2004), IPFW has shown signs of improvement every year. Officially joining the Summit League was a big step last year, and finishing 9-9 in conference play was a pleasant surprise.

Last: Georgia - Next: Indiana

State of '08: The Introduction (& State list)

2008-09 Indiana State Basketball Preview: #110

Joel Welser — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 12:57:43 -0400

Indiana State Sycamores

Overall Rank: #110

Conference Rank: #6 Missouri Valley

2007-08: 15-16, 8-10, 7^th

2007-08 postseason: none

There are plenty of questions that need to be answered at Indiana State, but the most important is regarding the point guard. More specifically, who is going to play the position? Harry Marshall is a solid slasher and a better rebounder than his 6-0 frame would indicate. But can he run the show consistently? We will find out. If not, Marshall will join Marico Stinson on the wing. Stinson is the long range shooter on the team and will do plenty of scoring inside the arc as well.

Who’s Out:

The point guard concerns stem from the graduation of Gabriel Moore. Not only did he average 4.5 assists per game during his senior campaign, but Moore led the team in points and steals. He was a great leader on the floor and was very effective at getting to the basket. Any single player is not going to do everything Moore did for the Sycamores. Making matters slightly worse is the transfer of Cole Holmstrom. Holmstrom was just a roleplayer last year, but he could have worked his way into the point guard discussion this year. Todd McCoy and Adam Arnold split starts last year and both are moving on. Neither were great scorers, but they would hit the glass hard and do the dirty work around the basket. Lamar Lee and Mike Yelovich will not be suiting up for ISU after seeing limited action in 2007-2008.

Who’s In:

This is where the point guard situation gets interesting. Ideally, the team wants Marshall off the ball where he has proven to be effective. That leaves the point guard duties in the hands of incoming freshman Tyler Cutter and junior college transfer Rashad Reed. Cutter is a smart and tough floor leader, but he is a freshman and will need some time to develop. It is Reed who is shouldering the higher hopes right away. The transfer from Vincennes University is a solid defender, a capable floor leader and has the potential to be a pretty good scorer. Incoming freshman Carl Richard and redshirt freshman Jordan Printy will add depth on the wings. Richard is a good slasher and will help in the rebounding department, while Printy will do most of his damage from beyond the arc. The newcomers keep coming with forwards Keenan Barlow and Koang Doluony and center Josh Crawford. Crawford, a junior college transfer from Oxnard College in California, should immediately bolster the front line. At 6-11, he will alter shots and he can score in a variety of ways. Add 6-10 sophomore Brant Leitnaker, who missed all of last season with an injury, and suddenly the Sycamores have a big front line.

Who to Watch:

Yet, the newcomers in the frontcourt will likely be limited to coming off the bench this year. Jay Tunnell and Isiah Martin might not have the size of Crawford, but both are quality players who are ready to play a bigger role this season. Tunnell’s versatility makes him a difficult matchup. He led the team in rebounding last year, but he will not just hang out in the paint all the time. He can step outside and hit the jumper and that really stretches out the opposing defense. Tunnell will be an important and steady influence on this team, but will not likely explode onto the national radar with eye popping numbers, but Martin might. As a freshman last year, the 6-8 Martin tallied 5.4 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per contest. It is shot blocking skill that has folks in Terre Haute excited about the Chicago product. If he can manage to stay out of foul trouble, Martin will be a menace on the defensive end and, in time, could develop an offensive game to compliment it.

Final Projection:

With that shot blocking and senior leadership in the frontcourt, Indiana State hopes some toughness will follow. That is what this team sorely lacked last year and it led to a dismal 2-13 record on the road…and that was with a senior point guard. If the point guard situation is not taken care of quickly and effectively, the road record might not be much better this time around. And that would put the Sycamores on the outside of a first-round bye in the conference tournament…yet again.

Projected Post-season Tournament: none

Projected Starting Five:

Rashad Reed, Junior, Guard, DNP last season

Marico Stinson, Junior, Guard, 12.0 points per game

Harry Marshall, Junior, Guard, 10.1 points per game

Isiah Martin, Sophomore, Forward, 5.4 points per game

Jay Tunnell, Senior, Center, 7.9 points per game

Complete Top 144 Ranking | 2008-09 Preview & Awards | Coach Interviews | Discuss the Preview

2007-08 Indiana State Basketball Preview

Joel Welser — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 12:11:37 -0400

Indiana State Sycamores

Overall Rank: #124

Conference Rank: #8 Missouri Valley

2006-07: 13-18, 5-13, 10^th

2006-07 postseason: none

Indiana State needed a change after another disappointing season that ended at the bottom of the conference. And when you want to be like Creighton, you hire a Creighton assistant coach. Coach Kevin McKenna will try his luck leading the Sycamores this year, but expecting too much of an increase in the win column right away is unrealistic. However, the team has some young talent to build around and should be a force in the Missouri Valley Conference next year.

Who’s Out:

The big loss is forward Trent Wurtz. The 6-8 forward averaged 8.5 points and 4.8 rebounds during his senior campaign, but he is replaceable thanks to some emerging talent behind him on the depth chart. The loss of guards Russell Trudeau and Adam Lottino will cause little problem during the 2007-2008 season.

Who’s In:

The Sycamores can go eight deep without any of the newcomers stepping foot on the court. Developing them for the future will be the top priority, but there is some room for a couple of the newcomers to make an impact as freshmen. Point guard Lamar Lee will be groomed for the starting role in 2008-2009 and is a physical player who should fit right in with the Sycamores. Shooting guards Aaron Carter and Jordan Printy both have some talent in front of them, but will be quality shooters off the bench. Not only can Carter knock down the long ball with consistency, he is also a great rebounder for his size. Forward Isiah Martin is not simply a 6-8 bruiser. The Chicago product can also step outside and do some major damage. His best days are still ahead of him and Martin should develop into a consistent scorer before his collegiate career is through.

Who to Watch:

Gabriel Moore is the star of the Sycamores. The senior point guard led the team in scoring, assists, steals and free throw shooting. Moore can hit the outside shot, but it is his aggressiveness that makes him so dangerous. He will get to the basket and either find the open man or take an easy basket himself. The worst case scenario is getting to the charity stripe where Moore shot 80.5 percent on a team high 4.3 attempts per game. A couple of talented sophomores will be on the wings. Marico Stinson and Cole Holmstrom have almost identical numbers across the board. Holmstrom, at 5-10, spends more time on the perimeter, but Stinson is the more efficient shooter from everywhere on the floor.

Final Projection:

Jay Tunnell and Adam Arnold developed into an effective frontcourt. The junior duo combined for 15.0 points and 11.6 boards last year. At 6-6 and 6-8, neither is intimidating on the defensive end, but bigger things are expected from the frontcourt duo now that they are upperclassmen. Mick Yelovich and Todd McCoy round out the depth chart in the paint. Yelovich, who only averaged 7.8 minutes in 24 contests last year, has the best size on the team and getting some production out of the 6-10 senior will add some much needed size off the bench. The MVC is down, but not far enough down for Indiana State to find the top. The potential is there for a top five finish in the conference, but building momentum for the future will be the most important thing for Coach McKenna.

Projected Post-season Tournament: none

Projected Starting Five:

Gabriel Moore, Senior, Guard, 11.5 points per game

Cole Holmstrom, Sophomore, Guard, 9.2 points per game

Marico Stinson, Sophomore, Guard, 9.4 points per game

Adam Arnold, Junior, Forward, 6.0 points per game

Jay Tunnell, Junior, Forward, 9.0 points per game

Complete Top 144 Ranking | 2007-08 Preview | Discuss the Preview

Creighton Assistant Takes Indiana State Job

Press Release — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 17:19:47 -0400

OMAHA, Neb. -- Longtime Creighton men's basketball assistant coach Kevin McKenna has been hired as the head men's basketball coach at Indiana State University. McKenna, who is in the CU Athletics Hall of Fame for his play from 1977-81, returned to his alma mater to serve as an assistant coach from 1994-2001 and then again from 2005-07.

McKenna replaces Royce Waltman, who did not have his contract renewed after this month¹s Missouri Valley Conference Tournament.

IPFW showcases strength in comeback, immaturity in loss

Dan Vance — Sun, 19 Nov 2006 21:35:36 -0500

IPFW's season has really been like a rollercoaster, just without so many ups and with downs that would plummet a ride at Six Flags into the core of the earth. They had a chance to change that Sunday night (November 19) when they hosted Indiana State, themselves just coming off a stiff loss at the hands of IU. But instead, they couldn't keep up the momentum of a monumental comeback and let their weaknesses leak out in a 67-61 loss. IPFW had a hold of things early, going up 13-8 with a lot of momentum on a Tyler Best to Quintin Carothers back door play that led to a bigtime dunk. They pulled ahead again (and for the last time) on a DeWitt Scott three-pointer midway through the first half. And then they saw setback after setback kill most of their hopes before the halftime buzzer even sounded. But after that buzzer is when the Mastodons showed that afformentioned strength by slashing away at an Indiana State lead that had grown to 15 in the second half. After slashing away at that lead, IPFW pulled within nine points on one of two late Pat Lepper three-pointers. They kept chipping away until about the three and a half minute mark when they let their adrenaline die during a media time out, a critical and infant mistake for a team searching for stability. Senior Tyler Best, who scored eight of his 10 points in the second half, highlighted that lack of energy by missing a wide open layup just after the timeout. A minute later, Trent Wurtz put down a dunk for Indiana State that completely took IPFW out of the game emotionally. And instead of trying to change that, they let backfiring situations get to them moments later when Wurtz and Carouthers were both forced to come out of the game (Wurtz for bleeding, Caruothers for having blood on his jersey). Coach Dane Fife spent half the time yelling at the trainer and the other half complaining to the referees, which is only going to (if anything) take you furhur out of control of the game. When Carouthers did come back in the game a minute and a half (or so) later wearing #52, it was almost as if he had lost his mojo along with his usual jersey. His only offensive play of note was a sloppy turnover that was only part of what cost IPFW down the stretch. Carouthers led IPFW with 14 points, but had 12 of them in the first half. ISU even shot free throws in a fashion that can nearly be descirbed at horrific down the stretch. The Sycamores missed 7 of their last 10 free throws in the game, including a stretch missing 5-of-6 in the final minute all while leading 64-58. And IPFW did nothing. Instead, they tried too hard to play in the post, an obvious Mastodon weakness. Despite solid second half play from Best and Jaraun Burrows, who totalled 14 rebound and 20 points as a pair, the bigs just did not seem as focused and controlled. The Mastodons also shot too many three-pointers (7-for-25 in the game), while ISU shot only two long range shots in the second half. Strike three? The Mastodons did not push the ball on transition and played half court offense way too much. And oh yeah, senior captain Justin Hawkins played just 12 minutes in the entire game including sitting the whole second half. If anything, IPFW displayed immaturity by going away from their strengths. And that, above all else, is likely what cost them an important game.