The Indiana Statesman Blog
March 10th, 2007
3-9-07 Women’s b-ball vs. Creighton final
By on March 10th, 2007
The Creighton Bluejays are lucky this was not a boxing match because the referees would have called it in the first half.
The Sycamores lost 69-65 after leading 47-32 in the first half.
This was senior center Rachel Maenpaa’s last game as a Sycamore and she played 23 minutes due to foul trouble and scored 10 points and hauled in seven caroms.
Kelsey Luna added a game-high 23 points.
Laura Rudolphi ended the game by fouling out with 14 points and five boards.
Creighton forward Sam Schuett scored a career high 22 points and was a match-up problem for the Sycamore post players because of the foul issues.
The administration probably needs to take a hard look at coach Jim Wiedie to see if he truly is the man to win the big game because this team should go further than what they did in the tournament. Hesaid it was his fault for the loss because the players mirrored his frustation on the basketball court. I still think Wiedie is the right coach, but the administration should put some pressure on him.
See you all next season. I’ll try to find another way to implement this blogging technology in the coming months.
March 9th, 2007
3-9-07 Women’s b-ball vs. Creighton halftime
By on March 9th, 2007
The Sycamores lead at the half 47-32.
The one problem the Sycamores have currently is fouling. Laura Rudolphi was benched with two, Rachel Maenpaa sat with two, Laurence Rivest has two and Kelsey Luna has two.
I have to say this: the Creighton band has an interesting sound with the use of keyboards and a cowbell. It’s very distinct and I kinda like it, although I love the Sycamore band.
Both teams started rusty but then the Sycamores heated up behind some stellar shooting by Luna. She has 16 points on six-for-seven shooting from the field, including four-for-five shooting from behind the arc.
With the current foul trouble, the Creighton post players were able to score inside and scored 14 of their 32 points in the paint.
The Sycamores are shooting 70.4 percent. Yeah, 70.4 percent! Creighton is shooting 75 percent from the free throw line, but 37.5 percent from the field.
I don’t expect the Sycamores to come out flat, they’ll probably get it inside to Rudolphi and Maenpaa early and often and try to force the Creighton post players to go to the bench with fouls.
Check back after the game to see if the Sycamores held on to win.
March 9th, 2007
3-9-07 Women’s b-ball vs. Creighton pregame
By on March 9th, 2007
This is two straight ISU vs. Creighton for me to cover since the last game I covered was when the Sycamore men got knocked out of the MVC Tournament by Creighton.
The lady Sycamores are on a seven-game winning streak and riding high. They are the No. 3 team and Creighton is the No. 6 team.
I have to say this: Thanks for finally deciding to go to a neutral site for next season’s women’s tournament, MVC. Drake should not have knocked off Southern Illinois like they did, but they have homecourt advantage.
This should be a good game. The Sycamores are rolling and I don’t think Wiedie will let their heads get too big, so the sycamores will come out firing on all cylinders.
Creighton is a good team and cannot be overlooked.
This tournament is really different than the men’s tournament. First off, the cities are completely different; St. Louis and Des Moines are hardly comparable. Also, the crowd is a lot smaller and a lot quieter.
Time to go to Press Row before my battery runs out. Check back at halftime for a Sycamore update.
March 3rd, 2007
ISU men’s basketball head coach a sweet gig
By on March 3rd, 2007
I have been thinking lately about what kind of coach the administration will bring in to replace Royce Waltman.
I assume it wil be a young coach who is chomping at the bit to get his first real shot.
This job would be great to get. First, it is in the hot conference of the NCAA–the Missouri Valley. Second, this team has a lot of young talent to build around. If the team can bring in one more big guy to replace Wurtz, this team would be very solid. The third reason is Gabe Moore. He is a great player and one of the best in the MVC. He also serves as a player-coach while on the court, so he should make the new coach’s job a little easier.
One thing that makes it difficult for an incoming coach is the fact that Waltman was here for so long. His stamp is everywhere on this program.
One of the knocks against Waltman was that he was not a good recruiter, but I believe he got it right this year with Holmstrom, Stinson, McCoy, Marshall, Leitnaker and Wells.
All-in-all, this team has the talent, we’ll just have to wait to see if the administration brings in the right guy to lead it.
March 2nd, 2007
Highlights of post-Creighton game press conference
By on March 2nd, 2007
The following are highlights of the press conference after the Sycamores’ loss to Creighton. This was head coach Royce Waltman’s last game.
Royce Waltman (on the game): “I don’t know if there’s a lot to say about it, they were just too good for us tonight. In particular, their switching defense frustrated us and we did get a couple of looks we couldn’t make. (Creighton was) just a little too tough on the defensive end.”
Gabe Moore (on whether Royce’s leaving was a distraction): “Coming to this tournament, coach talked to us and told us to leave that (talk) back in Terre Haute. We came down here to win this tournament and we couldn’t worry about what happened to coach after the season. If he was going to leave, we were going to try to send him out on a good note. I wanted to do that about as much as anybody in the locker room.”
Trent Wurtz (on his career at ISU): “(I will remember) the relationships, my coaches, my teammates. We’re gonna stay in touch. When you see, down the road, the things that life takes you on, the journeys, it’s all about who you meet along the way that shapes your experiences and influences you and makes you a better person.”
Waltman (on leaving ISU): “The administration handled this with the deaf touch of a 20-mule team. They said it at a board of trustees meeting, which is obviously going to leak out, but yet said they didn’t want it announced until after the tournament. They just left us with every man, woman and child in Terre Haute knowing I’m fired, but it’s not official. So, I found out a week ago, but it still hasn’t been made official by whoever’s going to make that statement. (The players knew) when it got so common. That’s not something I want to saddle the players with and having it as a distraction. I’ve been around long enough to know that it isn’t necessarily going to break their hearts even if I am fired. But, it just got to be such common knowledge I had to talk to them about it and tell them it had nothing to do with how I felt about coming down to this tournament. I thought we came down here in good spirits and played well last night, but just couldn’t solve the riddle of Creighton tonight.”
“I felt a good deal of sadness and melancholy. For 42 years, the last thing I though about before going to bed was my team and the first thing I thought about in the morning is my team, and it will be hard not being that way. I just hate not to have a team because it’s been a thing that I’ve enjoyed most doing.”
“I can’t get a head coaching job because if you get fired for cheating, you can get hired right back again, but if you get fired for losing, it’s like you got leprosy. So, young coaches need to bear that in mind. Cheating and not graduating players will not get you in trouble but that damn losing will. So, I’d like to stay in basketball, but I’m realistic. I don’t want to go back to Bedford High School and coach the team, that’s about the only job I could get.For the right guy, I’d be an assistant, I’d be a scout. I’m not ready to retire.”
March 2nd, 2007
final Men’s b-ball vs. Crieghton 3-2
By on March 2nd, 2007
The Sycamores’ season ends here as does Royce Waltman’s career as Indiana State head coach.
Indiana State lost to Creighton in the second round of the Missouri Valley Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament 59-38.
The 12-point deficit at halftime was too much for Indiana State to overcome. The game kept snowballing against the Sycamores in the second half.
This looked like a lot of Sycamore games toward the end of the season in that ISU would stay close in the first half then hit a point where the game got away from ISU. That point in this game was at the 8:18 mark in the first half when Creighton freshman guard Isacc Miles started the Bluejays’ offense with a three-pointer that tied the game at 15.
There were too many mistakes by ISU. It seemed that every Sycamore player wnted to lead the comeback on his own rather than working the ball deep into the offense or looking for the extra pass. The Sycamores took a liking to shooting the ball after just one pass. It’s good for everybody to want that shot, but that was ridiculous.
I saw assistant coach Greg Lansing talking to freshman guard Marico Stinson with less than four minutes remaining. I imagine the conversation focused mostly on telling him they would let the seniors finish the game and he should look forward to next season.
This team has a bright future. It is only losing forward Trent Wurtz, and guards Russell Trudeau and Adam Lottino to graduation.
This team also has great guards to work with next year. Gabe Moore will be a senior next year and Stinson and freshman guard Cole Holmstrom will have one year with the program under their belts, which is a good thing.
On the plus side, this shellacking by Creighton gives the Valley more cred. If Creighton had lost to ISU, many would not think them to be as good a team if they had lost to ISU. It isn’t the right way to think because Creighton is a great team.
Seniors Anthony Tolliver and Nate Funk showed great leadership and led the Bluejays in scoring. Funk scored 14 points and Tolliver added 11. Tolliver had three critical blocks.
Well, guess I have to leave St. Louis tomorrow now. Check back during the women’s basketball tournament from March 8-11 to get your Sycamore sports fix.
I will be posting the transcript from Royce Waltman’s last press conference shortly.
March 2nd, 2007
halftime men’s basketball vs. Creighton 3-2
By on March 2nd, 2007
At halftime, the score is Creighton 32 and Indiana State 20.
The Sycamores owned the lead for much of the first ten minutes of the half.
The Sycamores kept letting Creighton find their shot from three-point range it came back to bite them when Creighton freshman guard Isacc Miles hit a three to tie it at 15 with about 8:20 left. The Sycamores did not let them get that down as junior center Mick Yelovich came down and hit a lay-up in the lane to go up 17-15.
The Bluejays started the half in a zone defense and switched to man-to-man about halfway through after the Sycamores showed they could drain the threes. The Sycamores are still getting open for three-point attempts, but they just aren’t hitting right now. I imagine the ‘Jays will stick with the man-to-man in the second half unless the Sycamores can go inside, which they have not been able to do.
The Sycamores have gone cold, but I have faith they can get out of it. Every team goes through shooting slumps.
The full-court press by Creighton is putting a wrench in the Sycamores’ offense, it even forced a 10-second violation by freshman guard Cole Holmstrom.
Guess we’ll just have to wait and see if the Sycamores can overcome a double-digit deficit again tonight as they did last night.
March 2nd, 2007
pre-game Men’s basketball vs. Creighton
By on March 2nd, 2007
This tournament has been amazing and I’ll be here to bring you all the Sycamore action.
The thing with this Indiana State team is that they were losing because of a lack of confidence. So, they might be able to build off last night’s win to gain some confidence against the No. 2 Creighton.
Jay Tunnell was able to establish himself early last night so maybe he’ll have another great start. In all likelihood, though, the Bluejays will probably double team him, making somebody else open.
Should be a good game, I can’t wait for it to start.
Check back at half for halftime notes.
March 2nd, 2007
Sycamores Triumph Over Illinois State
By on March 2nd, 2007
Freshman guard Marico Stinson’s three-pointer with 14 seconds left in the game won the play-in game of the Missouri Valley Conference Championship for the Indiana State men’s basketball team.
The Sycamores will play the Creighton Bluejays in the second round of the tournament at 6 p.m. Friday.
After the first half, the Sycamores trailed by three points 34-31 to the Redbirds.
Freshman guard Osiris Eldridge led the Redbirds with 12 points and finished the game with a game-high 18 points.
Sophomore center Jay Tunnell led the Sycamores in the first half with 11 points aided by five-for-five shooting from the free throw line.
Tunnell said he was able to be effective in the first half due to the lack of double teaming by the Redbirds.
“They didn’t double as much and I got a couple of offensive rebounds, that always helps,” Tunnell said. “We’ve been making an effort to try to get it as deep as we can in the post and it’s been paying off for me and the rest of the guys getting easier buckets.”
Indiana State head coach Royce Waltman said he was pleased with the win because the Sycamores did not allow the Redbirds jump ahead in the second half after staying even in the first half.
“We did a good job of fighting back,” Waltman said.
In the second half, the Redbirds started with a nine to four run. Senior forward Greg Dilligard scored six points during that period. This put the Redbirds up by seven, 43-36.
The Sycamore trailed by 12 with 11:40 left in the second half after two free throws by Illinois State junior guard Boo Richardson.
The Redbirds then went on a cool streak and made only two of their next 12 field goals to end the game.
Sycamore senior forward Trent Wurtz sealed the deal by rebounding a missed Redbird field goal and then hitting one of his two free throws to put the Sycamores up by three with 1.3 seconds left.
Tunnell ended the game as the Sycamore high scorer with 16 points. He also led the team in rebounds with seven, four coming off the offensive glass.
Freshman guard Cole Holmstrom finished with 12 points and sophomore forward Adam Arnold and junior guard Gabe Moore each added 10 points.
Moore attributed the toughness of the team during the game to the fact it would be the last game of their season if they lose.
“Either you win or you go home,” Moore said. “Tonight, we didn’t want to go home.”
The Sycamores shot 43.8 percent from the field as opposed to Illinois State’s 42.6 percent.
Indiana State was able to convert on 77.3 percent of its free throw attempts, including a seven-for-eight effort in the first half.
The Sycamores shot 70 percent in the second half from behind the arc to make up for their 18.2 percent in the first half from downtown.
The 8,013 people in attendance at the game made up the highest total in Missouri Valley Conference Tournament history for an opening session crowd. The previous high was 7,343, which was set in 1998
February 5th, 2007
postgame, 2-5 men’s bball vs. Northern Iowa
By on February 5th, 2007
This was a game the Sycamores desperately needed to win, and they got it. A solid defensive performance and some hot second half shooting paced the Sycamores in a 59-46 victory over Northern Iowa.
ISU got off a slow start in the first half and were down 10-0. The Sycamores didn’t hit a shot for the first 7 minutes of the game until junior guard Gabe Moore nailed two three pointers on consecutive possessions to cut the lead 10-6.
Moore broke out of his recent slump, draining 6-10 treys for the game for 21 points overall.
Freshman walk-on Harry Marshall was impressive as well, recording 25 minutes of action and scoring 10 points. He also had two key steals on defense.
Hopefully the Sycamores can build off this game and start a winning streak.
That’s all for now.
-Matt Douthett
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