Valley Game of the Week – Part One

Indiana State – Learning How to Win

(St. Louis, MO) – Matthew Graves and the Indiana State basketball team are learning how to win and their next opportunity will be during the ‘Valley Game of the Week’ against Murray State. The Sycamores (6-4) have won three straight games and entertain the Racers at 6:00 pm (Central) on Gray Media Stations and Matrix Midwest here in St. Louis.

Graves is in his first year replacing Josh Schertz at the helm of the Sycamore program. Indiana State has a completely rebuilt roster and the team has been battling some injury problems. INS won thirty-two games last year and was the National Invitation Tournament runner-up.

This is a brand-new group of Sycamores.

 Graves says the first ten games have been a time of he and his players starting to figure some things out and to get into a unified rhythm.

While the season is young, and the Sycamores have won three straight, including a road conference game at Missouri State, Graves says teams have to ‘learn how to win … together.’

Game of the Week

Murray State visits Terre Haute and the two teams are not similar. Indiana State is twenty-third nationally in average offensive possession length and the Racers are 248^th. The Sycamores have attempted an MVC leading 305 three-point baskets and Murray State has launched a league low of 184.

Steve Prohm’s Racers are playing spectacular defense. They are second in the Valley in overall defensive field goal percentage (.407) and first at defending the three (.258). Murray makes it difficult to even attempt triples, allowing a conference low 159 attempts.

Graves says getting the pace of play to where he likes it and his players finding a way to shoot threes will be key issues during Wednesday’s ‘Game of the Week’.

After missing the Missouri State game, Markus Harding back in the Sycamore lineup, but Valley fans will get their first Gray Media opportunity to see Indiana State’s Samage Teel. The 6’2 Teel leads the Sycamores in scoring (17.2 ppg), rebounding (5.6), assists (4.9) and steals (1.8). His scoring and assist marks are each good for third in the Valley. Samage Teel is definitely a Larry Bird Trophy candidate.

Graves says Teel is talented, but it is his hard work that has put him in this position to succeed.

The status of Injured players Aaron Gray and Jahni Summers for the ‘Game of the Week’ is yet to be determined.

The full version of this interview will be available soon at mvc-sports.com.

Murray State and Indiana State each won their Valley openers. One team will leave the Hullman Center with an early lead in the MVC conference race.

Do Good

 

Editor: Cover photo of Samage Teel, courtesy of gosycamores.com.