By Mark Bennett
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- Let's leap to conclusions.
The Indiana State Sycamore basketball team
that beat Northern Iowa 71-65 Wednesday night inside the UNI-Dome
could win the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament five weeks
from now.
OK, cringe and say, yeah, but what about all
those horrid shooting nights, the lopsided losses, the ill-timed
turnovers, missed free throws and second-half collapses?
To which I would respond, "Oh, yeah.
I just lost my mind for a moment."
No, seriously, at the risk of sounding like
a presidential deposition, remember that the key word in that
aforementioned wild conclusion is "could." It doesn't
say ISU "will" win the MVC Tournament, just that Sycamores
"could."
The difference is up to the them.
Wednesday, they made all things seem possible
by delivering their finest performance of the season in adverse
circumstances. Their leading scorer, senior guard Kelyn Block,
was back in Terre Haute, trying to rehabilitate his wounded knee.
Their second-leading scorer, Terence Avery, gallantly played
with a painful broken hand bone heavily taped, but his effectiveness
was limited. So, except for three solid minutes of reserve duty
by freshman forward Jerod Adler and Avery's brave 15 minutes
of duty, the last-place Sycamores played the second-place Panthers
using just six players for 20 minutes or more.
This was the perfect time for a full-scale
meltdown injured players, the only backup point guard (Batiste
Haywood) left the team last week, nine losses in 10 games and
two by a single point at home, and now a road game in the MVC's
most remote arena.
But instead of a meltdown, the Sycamores finally
played like two-time defending conference champions.
They hit 51 percent of their shots. When's
the last time that happened? Last March in the NCAA Tournament
against Gonzaga. They hit 71 percent of their free throws. Last
time? Back on Dec. 6 in a win over Murray State. They scored
in transition, using 10 steals as fuel. Big Djibril Kante and
3-point specialist Matt Broermann both stole the ball at mid-court
and streaked (well, maybe sprinted is more accurate) downcourt
for layups, ahead of Panther defenders, as did sophomore guard
Matt Berry.
Kante was at his best Wednesday, getting career-highs
in rebounds with 14 and minutes played at 39.
Most importantly, though, the youngest Sycamores
left their tentative play back in Terre Haute. Freshman forward
Jake Sams hit three 3-pointers, including the go-ahead shot for
a 60-58 lead late in the game. And rookie point guard Lamar Grimes
drove into the paint and lofted a jumper over sticky defender
Chris Foster for the game-clinching basket with 24 seconds left.
Kante, his sense of humor still intact after
a 4-13 start, was impressed.
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"Jake stepped up and hit big 3s. Lamar
got lucky and hit big shots at the end," Kante said, grinning
at Grimes. "I was getting rebounds. Terence [Avery] did
big things down low. Bro getting a steal and hitting a layup.
I mean, everybody did things at different times. We made plays
tonight, and countered every run that [Northern Iowa] made."
That last statement was the most amazing part
of Wednesday's victory. So many times before, the Sycamores completely
unraveled when opponents rallied. That's why their records are
4-13 overall, 2-6 in the MVC and 1-8 on the road.
By midseason, the Sycamores' penchant for
losing in lopsided fashion had turned into a knack for blowing
chances to win. Their spirits were taking a beating too.
"I think a couple weeks ago, we began
to play better," Sycamore Coach Royce Waltman said after
Wednesday's win. "But we had lost the fire to go deep to
win. And that's the only thing we said about tonight. And I thought
we did that."
So was it a one-night wonder, or a sign that
the Sycamores of old are back? Only the guys wearing blue and
white know the answer. They've still got more things to fix.
The freshmen still get burned on defense at times. They can't
lapse into another free throw shooting funk. And seniors Terence
Avery and Kelyn Block won't be 100-percent strong for at least
another week.
But the potential is there.
Ten regular-season games remain, beginning
with Sunday's 5:05 p.m. MVC duel with Southwest Missouri State.
After Wednesday's effort, all seem winnable, though the Feb.
23 home rematch with Southern Illinois would be a huge upset.
The Salukis are clearly the best team in the MVC. But Wichita
State proved SIU is beatable.
The best-case scenario would be a strong finish
going into the MVC Tournament at St. Louis on March 1-4. The
Sycamores are at last out of last place now, but need to climb
to at least sixth to avoid a Friday night play-in game in the
Savvis Center and a possible second-round game against the Salukis.
Can they pull that off? Yes.
Will they? We'll see.
Cheap seats --
Whether MVC basketball can draw a crowd going head-to-head with
the NFL's postseason is also a soon-to-be-answered question.
This Sunday, the Sycamore teams play a doubleheader in Hulman
Center, with the women facing Wichita State at 2 p.m., and the
men's game vs. SMS at 5:05. Meanwhile, the Steelers play the
Patriots for the AFC title at 12:30, followed by the Eagles vs.
the Rams at 4:30 for the NFC crown.
One ticket good for both ISU games Sunday
costs $2.
Then on Feb. 3, just hours before the rest
of the nation pigs out in front of TVs to watch the Super Bowl,
the Sycamores will be in Wichita, Kan., playing the Shockers.
Tipoff is 3:05 p.m.
Mark Bennett can be reached by telephone
at 1-800-783-8742, Ext. 377, by e-mail at mark.bennett@tribstar.com
or by fax at (812) 231-4321.
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