CONFERENCE TOURNEYS

ISU +6 (2.5U)

I honestly think we lose a tight one here. Very good possibilty though we could steal this one but it highly hinges on our ability to hit the glass and compete inside. It really is asking a lot out of our group but with the momentum they grabbed off of Senior night could really bring some good things to the table.

We got drilled by ILL ST in the 2nd go around but lets not forget Lathan and Marshall played limited minutes. These 2 appear to be getting closer to 100% if not already as these last couple of games have gone by. Besides competing inside we are going to need Printy, Reed, Richard, or Carter to step up. These 4 have really grown has the season has developed escpecially when Lathan and Marshall went down. I have no doubt that 1 or 2 of these guys will step-up if none show then we are serious trouble.

Like I said I think a healthy team this time around will pay off huge. I can easily see ILL ST over looking us and if that is the case then this one is up for grabs. Just compete on the glass boys.

Here is a article from the local paper. Will post tomorrows gameday in the morning if I get the chance...

Todd Golden The Tribune-Star

St. Louis — The Illinois State big men have been a thorn in the side of the Indiana State men’s basketball team this season. How much pain have they inflicted on the Sycamores? You don’t have to quote the numbers to Indiana State coach Kevin McKenna, he knows them by heart.

“When you look at the stats, [Dinma] Odiakosa, [Tony] Lewis and [Jackie] Carmichael are shooting 72 percent against us. They’re 26-for-36 in our two games. We’ve got to figure out a way to get that to a more reasonable number. You do that with team defense, not just one guy,” McKenna said.

Illinois State’s inside trio has been a handful for the Sycamores, especially in last week’s game at Redbird Arena, when Odiakosa, Lewis and Carmichael all played big roles in Illinois State’s 75-58 victory over the Sycamores. As ISU faces Illinois State again in a Missouri Valley Conference Tournament quarterfinal on Friday at St. Louis’ Scottrade Center, keeping the Redbirds’ big men in check is of vital importance and also very challenging to pull off.

“I had a big issue with it myself, even though I didn’t play much at Illinois State,” ISU center Josh Crawford said. “I don’t want anyone thinking it’s the bigs’ fault if we lose or if [Odiakosa] goes off on us. It’s a definitely a pride thing for us, especially in the tournament.”

Six-foot-8, 255-pound Odiakosa, who finished second in the MVC’s Player of the Year voting, has torn up nearly every conference foe he’s faced in the last half of the season. He’s reached double-digit scoring in 12 consecutive games and has four double-doubles over that stretch. He had 30 points against Missouri State on Feb. 17, he had 15 rebounds against Bradley on Feb. 9. He opens things up on the perimeter for Illinois State’s talented perimeter duo of Osiris Eldridge and Lloyd Phillips.

When Odiakosa had 21 points and 12 rebounds against ISU on Feb. 24, he was able to do what he wanted to do in the paint. He caught the ball within a foot or two of the basket, usually put the ball on the floor once before turning to drop in an easy layup or drawing a foul. Though Odiakosa was a 59.4 percent free throw shooter for the season, he made 20 of 26 against the Sycamores in two games.

“We need to be aggressive and keep him off the offensive glass. He gets a lot of easy buckets underneath the rim where we guard the pick-and-roll. We have to guard that and be aggressive on the post,” Crawford said.

While ISU’s bigs need to make it hard to keep Odiakosa from getting the ball so deep under the basket, ISU’s guards factor into defending the Nigerian senior too. The inability to put consistent pressure on Illinois State’s guards allowed them to easily get the ball inside to Odiakosa.

“We have to limit their touches, limit their catches, limit their effectiveness as much as we can. We have to keep them from those easy deep catches and offensive rebounds where he jumps up and drops them right in. We have to be more combative in the post. It’s not really our nature, but we have to find a way to do it,” McKenna said.

Stopping Odiakosa is just part of the task. Lewis emerged as a major threat in the game at Redbird Arena with 19 points and 11 rebounds, his only double-double of the conference campaign, and Lewis has more range than Odiakosa. Carmichael, Illinois State’s big man of the future, had six blocks in the Feb. 24 contest and has been a scorer against other MVC teams.

• Leitnaker banged up — ISU center Brant Leitnaker sat out much of Wednesday’s practice after he collided with Isiah Martin during a drill and injured his left leg. Leitnaker was tried on a boot before practice ended, but got on ISU’s bus without it when the team left for St. Louis late Wednesday afternoon. ISU will practice again at Scottrade Center today.

• Replicating a big moment — As one might imagine, Harry Marshall’s 33-foot game-winning buzzer-beater which beat Missouri State 75-72 in overtime last Saturday at Hulman Center has quickly entered team lore.

On Wednesday before the meat of practice began, every member of the team and the team managers tried to see if they could replicate Marshall’s shot. They had 4.4 seconds to take the ball up the floor. They had to roughly follow Marshall’s path to mid-court before he cut to the left wing for the fateful shot. ISU assistant coach Lou Gudino played the role of Missouri State’s Nafis Ricks, who was guarding Marshall on the play.

One Sycamore was able to pull off Marshall’s shot — freshman Lucas Eitel.