It's been 3 weeks since SIU last played but it's (hopefully) time for the Salukis to get on the court again. Unfortunately due to COVID-19 protocols, it's possible SIU has only 8 players for both games and we have no idea what players they are.
The Sycamores are currently 3-5 in the Valley and are coming off a road sweep of Illinois State. Indiana State has been great this year at getting to the free throw line as they're currently 39th in the country in FTA/FGA. And when the Sycamores get to the line, they've made their free throws. They're 17th in the country in free throw percentage (77.7%) and 6th in the country in percentage of points coming from free throws (24.7% of their point distribution comes from the free throw line). Basically, you don't want to get behind the Trees late and have to rely on fouling.
Indiana State's leading scorer is 6'3 Senior Tyreke Key who averages 14.8 points per game. Key gets the biggest minutes haul on the Sycramores (135th in the country) and is a big reason why the Sycamores have been so good at the free throw line this year as he's 53-58 from the line good for 91.4%, 30th in the country in free throw percentage.
6'4 Junior Cooper Neese has been the Sycamores' best shooter so far this season. He's averaging 11.9 points per game and is 162nd in the country in effective field goal percentage and 117th in the country in true shooting percentage. Neese is 25-55 from 3 (45.5%, 108th in the country) and 26-30 from the free throw line (86.7%, 85th in the country).
6'9 Sophomore Jake LaRavia gets the most possessions and percentage of shots on the Sycamores. LaRavia is averaging 11.3 points per game and has been a really good all-around player this season. He's showing up in the national top 500 in offensive and defensive rebounding percentage (206th and 378th), assist rate (419th), block percentage (341st), steal percentage (243rd), fouls drawn per 40 minutes (166th), free throw rate (87th), and free throw percentage (428th).
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On the opposite end of the last series SIU played against Drake coming off a 2-0 series record last season, Indiana State beat SIU in both games last season.
On December 30th, 2019; Indiana State beat SIU 68-56 in Terre Haute in wire to wire fashion in the first Valley game of the season. Tyreke Key had 20 points on 7-12 shooting. Jake LaRavia had 12 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 assists.
On February 26th, 2020; Indiana State beat SIU 77-68 in Carbondale in what was SIU's worst defensive effort in MVC play. Tyreke Key had 20 points on 9-15 shooting. Jake LaRavia got the better of Marcus Domask in the Freshman showdown with 14 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 blocks and held Domask to 8 points.
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Links:
Bryan Mullins press conference 1/21/21
Mike Reis Interview with Bryan Mullins pregame
Mike Reis Interview with Marcus Domask
8 players. This should be interesting.
The advancement and diffusion of knowledge is the only guardian of true liberty.
James Madison
8 players. This should be interesting.
I definitely feel like we have been set up for failure in this one. Sneaking out 1 win here would be a blessing. I'm not expecting much good to come out of this weekend.
The layoff and potential shortage of players are obvious obstacles. Playing two games in less than 24 hours calls for conditioning and depth. Who will be available and who won’t is another key factor.
All of that said, falling to 1-5 in Valley play would be quite problematic, so hopefully they find a way to at least get one W. Optimistically, they’re fresh and should be hungry to compete.
8 players. This should be interesting.
Time to suit up the team managers.
“The best thing about freshmen is that they become sophomores.”
-- Al McGuire
Indiana State is 7.5 point favorites on BetMGM
Who knows when we'll know who is available for this one. On the team instagram, they have a picture of Trent Brown at the Hulman Center so there's 1 name at least:
Domask is out for a while
https://twitter.com/SIU_Basketball/status/1353794775183355904
I mentioned he was in a walking boot last week
Safe to say this January hasn't been much of a month for the Dawgs.
Yikes. That's a lot of production - and a lot of minutes - up for grabs.
Domask is out for a while
https://twitter.com/SIU_Basketball/status/1353794775183355904
I mentioned he was in a walking boot last week
I can’t go in to detail but I would say it is 50/50 on returning this year
That is horrible news about MD's injury. I hope he can bounce back from it. Down to 7 players?? Yikes.
That is horrible news about MD's injury. I hope he can bounce back from it. Down to 7 players?? Yikes.
No he was not one of the 8
That is horrible news about MD's injury. I hope he can bounce back from it. Down to 7 players?? Yikes.
Surely he was not included in the original 8 available players tonight, right?
