Once Upon A Time In Las Vegas – Wildcard Edition
Indiana State Sycamores (13-5) vs. Missouri State Bears (8-9)
The 2022-23 college hoops season continues Sunday, January 15, with the Indiana State Sycamores taking on the Missouri State Bears in the Missouri Valley Conference showdown at Great Southern Bank Arena in Springfield, Missouri.
The tip-off is set for 3:00 PM ET, and the Bears open as small 1.5-point home favorites with a total of 140.0 points. Last season, Missouri State and Indiana State split their two-game set, while the Bears have won five of their previous six encounters with the Sycamores.
Last Wednesday, the Indiana State Sycamores (13-5; 10-7 ATS; 6-1 conf.) put an end to their four-game winning streak that includes a couple of road victories against Valparaiso 68-50 and Illinois State 76-67. They suffered a 69-61 defeat as 4.5-point favorites over Southern Illinois. The Sycamores blew a ten-point lead from the break, allowing 43 second-half points to the Salukis and scoring just 25 in return.
Southern Illinois outrebounded Indiana State 36-28 and allowed just three offensive rebounds to the Sycamores, who shot 41.5% from the field (8-for-23 from deep). Senior guard Courvoisier McCauley led the way for Indiana State with 13 points and four rebounds, while sophomore guard Cameron Henry had eight points, six assists, and five boards. This duo tallies 27.1 points and 10.2 rebounds a night for the Sycamores in 2022-23.
First half ??, presented by @RiddellNatlBank.#MarchOn | #Kaizen pic.twitter.com/qufiEHcKGT
— Indiana State Basketball (@IndStBasketball) January 12, 2023
Indiana State is topping the Missouri Valley Conference one game ahead of Southern Illinois. The Sycamores are No. 106 in the NCAA NET Rankings and No. 111 in the KenPom rankings. They score 107.0 points per 100 possessions (104th in the nation) on 60.7% shooting from inside the arc (2nd) while surrendering 101.7 points in return (130th) on 46.7% shooting from inside the arc (91st) and 33.0% from downtown (175th).