By Andy Amey
The Tribune-Star
TERRE HAUTE
November 30, 2008 10:31 pm
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No question could have been more obvious. Can there be a carryover tonight from Indiana State’s second-half performance in men’s college basketball Saturday at DePaul?
“You hope so. You’d like to think so,” coach Kevin McKenna said after practice Sunday, as his team prepared for the 7 p.m. tipoff in Hulman Center against Arkansas State. “This is a new day and a new game. But you hope the guys figure some things out.”
The Sycamores outscored a Big East team by 15 points on its court in the last 20 minutes Saturday. Unfortunately, they’d been outscored by 20 themselves in the first half and the result was a 75-70 loss, ISU’s fourth in as many games.
“The first half [at DePaul] people were a little nervous,” point guard Rashad Reed said Sunday.
“We were tentative, soft and scared,” is how McKenna assessed the same 20 minutes. “But we were aggressive, confident and played with a sense of urgency in the second half.”
“It was just playing with a little more confidence,” said Reed, who had 17 points and seven assists against the Blue Demons, when asked about Saturday’s second half. “That showed us we can play with anybody. We’ve just got to bring it every day.”
Bringing it will certainly be necessary tonight against the Red Wolves. Like almost every Sycamore opponent so far, Arkansas State is off to a good start (4-1) and coming off a 54-53 win at Ball State on Saturday.
Falling behind by 20 probably isn’t a good idea either. Arkansas State, unlike DePaul, is not a running team that plays the game in spurts.
“[The Red Wolves] beat Ball State and they beat [recent ISU opponent] Murray State, so hopefully that gets our guys’ attention,” McKenna said. “They execute very well, they have good size and good athleticism … they don’t beat themselves. They’re a good, solid team.”
Solid is an operative word for Arkansas State. Although the Sycamores are as tall or taller than the Red Wolves, the visiting team will be wider. Eric McKinney , a 6-foot-8, 235-pounder, is coming off what McKenna called “a breakout game” of 20 points and 16 rebounds at Ball State. Allowing double-figure offensive rebounds to their opponent, a Sycamore habit so far, will make tonight’s task pretty difficult.
“We’ve been going a lot harder in practice on things like loose balls, offensive rebounds and getting back [on defense],” Reed said. “[Today] will be our first test, to see if we can [duplicate Saturday’s second-half performance].”
Although Reed leads the Sycamores in both scoring and assists, the transfer from Vincennes University indicated Sunday that he’s far from satisfied with his own performance so far.
“We just need a little leadership, and I guess I can take the blame,” he said. “I’m the second-oldest on the team, so I’m looking at myself to step up.”
McKenna hopes a lot of other Sycamores do so as well.
“We need something to happen good for us,” the coach said Sunday, “and the sooner the better.
“The guys are frustrated and hungry. We’re trying to tell them that when you outhustle, outwork and outexecute somebody, then you get what you deserve.”
Today’s probable lineups
Arkansas State Red Wolves (4-1)
Pos Player Ht Yr Rpg Ppg
G Ifeanyi Koggu 6-1 Sr. 3.6 5.8
G Mike Lance 6-3 Jr. 4.2 6.2
F Shawn Morgan 6-6 Sr. 6.0 10.2
F JeJuan Brown 6-7 Jr. 4.4 7.8
F Eric McKinney 6-8 Jr. 7.0 8.4
Coach — John Brady (4-1 in his first season at ASU, 285-217 overall)
Indiana State Sycamores (0-4)
Pos Player Ht Yr Rpg Ppg
G Rashad Reed 6-1 Jr. 4.0* 14.3
G Aaron Carter 6-4 So. 5.3 14.0
F Carl Richard 6-5 Fr. 4.5 8.8
F Jay Tunnell 6-8 Sr. 6.5 10.5
C Josh Crawford 6-11 Jr. 5.3 10.3
Coach — Kevin McKenna (15-20 in his second season at ISU, 104-53 overall)
* assists per game
Game at a glance
Tipoff — 7 p.m.
Broadcasts — Radio: WSDM-FM 92.7, 6:40 pregame show.
Last games — ISU lost 75-70 at DePaul and Arkansas State won 54-53 at Ball State on Saturday.
Series — Indiana State leads 1-0, a 53-45 win during the 1947-48 season.
Next games — ISU plays at Louisville on Saturday in the Marques Maybin Classic. Arkansas State has a home game Thursday against Central Baptist.
— Andy Amey
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