Published: November 25, 2008 11:35 pm         

ISU men's basketball team hopes to keep pace with Racers

Seeking first win, Sycamores host Murray State tonight

TERRE HAUTE — Defense, rebounding and loose balls were emphasized Tuesday afternoon in Hulman Center as Indiana State’s men’s basketball team prepared for tonight’s game against Murray State.

“We’ve given up 86 and 80 [points in losses to Northern Illinois and North Texas],” coach Kevin McKenna said after practice. “Now we did foul in the last two minutes of both games, but that’s still too many points.

“We’ve given up too many points, too many seconds shots and lost too many loose balls,” the coach continued, “and when [the opponents] do pick up loose balls, we’ve got to find those guys [defensively].”

Breaking into the win column might not be easy for the Sycamores tonight either. The visiting Racers are 2-1 and coming off an 89-61 rout of Western Kentucky, the team that knocked Missouri Valley Conference champion Drake out of last season’s NCAA tournament.

“[The Racers have] good guards, they’re picked to win their league [the Ohio Valley Conference], they just beat one of their old rivals … they’ll be geared up and ready,” McKenna predicted.

Sycamore freshman Tyler Cutter, from Murfreesboro, Tenn., grew up close enough to OVC country to knew plenty about Murray State.

“My high school team went to [team] camp there,” he said after practice Tuesday. “It’s definitely a good program. Basketball is a big thing in that area.

“They’ll be a good team. They can all play.”

That’s true of the Sycamores as well, Cutter added. He’s already seeing how hard it is to earn playing time in an ISU backcourt that still doesn’t have veteran point guard Harry Marshall available.

“It’s definitely an adjustment,” Cutter said. “I’m not used to not playing all the time … but I really believe with all the talent we have, the future is very bright — and [that future] could still be this year.”

“We just need a win for our self-confidence,” McKenna said. “The guys are working hard. We’ve got to play with more toughness and be more physical.”

“We’ve been getting outrebounded, and we need to get more loose balls,” said Cutter, “so we’re working on doing the little things.

“We’re definitely due for a win; we’ve prepared well for this,” Cutter added. “This is a good test for us; it’s easy when you start losing to continue down that path, and we don’t want to do that.”

“We’ve made good improvement — from the first game to the second game and from the two exhibition games to the first two [regular-season] games,” McKenna said. “We just need to get over the hump.”

• Reunion — McKenna is plenty familiar with one member of the Murray State roster. Sophomore guard Isacc Miles is a transfer from Creighton, where his 3-point shooting triggered a couple of game-deciding rallies against the Sycamores two seasons ago.

“I coached him his freshman year at Creighton,” McKenna said of Miles. “He was on the [MVC] All-Freshman Team. Now he’s in [Murray State’s] starting lineup. He’s a good player.”



Today's probable lineups

Murray State Racers (2-1)

Pos Player Ht Yr Rpg Ppg

G Isacc Miles 6-0 So. 2.7 8.7

G Kevin Thomas 6-1 Sr. 4.3* 9.7

F Danero Thomas 6-4 Jr. 4.0 11.0

F Ivan Aska 6-7 Fr. 6.7 13.7

F Jeffery McClain 6-6 So. 5.0 7.0

Coach — Billy Kennedy (36-28 in his third season at MSU, 140-154 overall)

Indiana State Sycamores (0-2)

Pos Player Ht Yr Rpg Ppg

F Carl Richard 6-4 Fr. 5.0 12.0

F Josh Crawford 6-11 Jr. 6.5 14.5

C Jay Tunnell 6-8 Sr. 6.0 10.5

G Rashad Reed 6-1 Jr. 2.5 16.0

G Aaron Carter 6-4 So. 7.0 13.5

Coach — Kevin McKenna (15-18 in his second year at ISU, 104-51 overall)

* assists per game

Game at a glance

Tipoff — 7 p.m.

Broadcasts — Radio: WSDM-FM 92.7, with pre-game at 6:40.

Last games — ISU lost 80-69 to North Texas on Sunday. Murray State beat Western Kentucky 89-61 on Saturday.

Series — Indiana State leads 7-2, including a 79-62 win during the Bracketbuster last season at Murray.

Next games — Indiana State plays at DePaul and Murray State has a home game against St. Catharine on Saturday.

— Andy Amey