Game Notes: Sycamores Fall to #2 Shockers 83-69

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Missouri Valley Tournament Notes: Wichita State 83 – Indiana State 69

Game Thoughts: Losing to Wichita State for the third time this season was very difficult for the Indiana State basketball team. It was obvious they played tough and competed as hard as they could. The post game press conference highlighted the sadness, disappointment and the integrity of this team. The Sycamore Nation surely can appreciate what this team has accomplished and what good things might be left on the table as well. Chances are good that this ISU team will be playing in the NIT Tournament in a couple of weeks. Who knows, the Sycamores may shake up that tournament as a tough out.

INDIANA STATE: A really tough bunch that deserves more than they received. Coach Greg Lansing said it best after the game, “When you put your guts into something and it means so much, to see the disappointment on the guys’ face in our locker room, it’s tough. You want it so bad for them, and they deserve it, the Sycamores deserve it. The deserved a championship and they deserved to play in the NCAA Tournament. We’re not going to get to do it, but we’re going to lick our wounds and roll out of here with our heads high because we competed awfully hard against three good teams”.

JAKE ODUM: Number 13 played his heart out all weekend. He made the first team all MVC Tourney team which was very deserving. After a collision with Wichita State’s Ron Baker and he picked up a cheap fourth foul, Jake hurt his hand and told his coach in the huddle that he thought he had broken it. After returning from the locker room for a brief stint, Jake returned to action and played with a lot of grit. In the post game presser, Jake was asked to describe the play where you picked up your fourth foul. How did you see that? Odum replied very firmly, “No comment”. All you have to do is read between the lines, we know what Jake was thinking. It wasn’t a foul and everyone knew that was the turning point of the game. Jake went out of the game and Wichita State smelled blood and took advantage of the situation. Jake knew it and he took the high road and bit his tongue.

WICHITA STATE’S RON BAKER ON JAKE ODUM: Ron Baker had some nice things to say about Jake Odum after the game. “That kid right there is a very special kid. He’s had a really strong four years at his university. He’s put up very special numbers. He’s made history there.” He continued to say after answering why he gestured to the Shocker crowd to give Jake Odum a hand, “I’m just sad for his fans to see him not accomplish what he was trying to accomplish, but right there, I was just trying to give him some love because he deserved it. He played a hard game and his career will always be looked at.”

JUSTIN GANT: Gant had a really solid weekend of play. A lot of people think Justin Gant is one of the most underrated players in the MVC. Justin was asked after the game – the last two times you played Wichita State, you’ve proven you can play with them, and you’ve earned the respect. How frustrating is it not being able to finish against them? Gant replied, “I mean, it’s very frustrating. We’ve gotten to know each other and know their tendencies and what they like to do. The last time we battled them down to the end. It’s always disappointing to know that you came so close but never got it.” A side note - Justin was poked in the eye during Saturday’s game. After the game his eye had had some pressure on it and developed some bleeding. Gant went to the hospital and had it checked out and was deemed okay to play. Gant said after the game, “It didn’t affect me today. I knew it was going to be a big day and a big game. I got plenty of rest.”

MANNY AROP: Manny’s defensive play has been nothing short of spectacular of late. He lamented how frustrating it was when the late Sycamore run fell short. The senior swing man said, “We fought hard to just get back in the game. It was kind of , okay, we were about to put a run together. But then they were just hitting some shots and made the lead bigger. So it was just like an uphill fight the whole game.” Manny related that not being able to finish against the #2 ranked Shockers was, “Very frustrating”.

COACH LANSING ON WICHITA STATE: In the post game presser, it was obvious that Greg Lansing was visibly upset after that tough loss. Choking back tears and speaking with a trembling voice, Lansing courageously and respectfully gave Wichita State a lot of credit. “I just want to congratulate Wichita State. Obviously, we have tons of respect for them and what they’ve accomplished. Tremendous representative of our conference, and the things they accomplished this year have never been done, and we wish them nothing but the very best. We enjoy competing against those guys.”

COACH LANSING ON ODUM’S 4TH FOUL: Wichita State went on a 13-0 run after Jake Odum left the game after picking up his fourth foul. Lansing remarked, “It’s a big change. I thought Jake, that’s as good as you could have played. It was a tough call. There were a couple of those, I felt, in that stretch. We wee a little out of sorts, even in the first half. Guys were worrying too much about the officiating. You know, I just tried to tell them we had some negative body language and we let that affect us too much.” He went to comment, “Any time you’ve got kids that care about each other and winning as much as they do, sometimes that happens. You don’t want it to. We tried not to do it that way. You want something so badly. You feel like you’re not getting a fair shake sometimes. I guess that’s the way you react. But that was tough!”

NO LIMPING: Someone in the media asked a question that referred to ISU limping a little at the end of the season last year he wanted to know how this year may be different. Lansing took a little offense to the “limping” reference. “Yeah, last year was disappointing, but it’s not limping!” “Last year we weren’t ready. We faded; we got tired at the end of the year. It’s not like they weren’t trying and playing hard. We had good teams in this league and got beat, we came here, and we won a game.” He continued, “We were without Manny, our second best player, in the last two games. This team has never limped anywhere! Never limped one time, never collapsed, never anything!” Lansing went on to say, “This team has been a tremendous group of guys. They represented Indiana State as good as any team anywhere that I’ve ever been around, they represent the community and our university.”

MVC CHAMPIONSHIP SHIRTS: A funny thing happened on the way to the championship trophy for the Wichita State Wheat Shockers. Someone noticed after they all put on their MVC Championship tee shirts, that there was the Arch Madness Tourney bracket printed on the back of the shirts. Unfortunately for Wichita State and the MVC, the bracket showed Indiana State as the champions. It was jus another sign that according to the Shocker Nation, that they don’t get respect; not even from their own conference. Yes, they continue to even “Win Angry”.

Listen to Indiana State Coach Greg Lansing and Wichita State Coach Gregg Marshall’s post game comments from the Wichita State game here: Lansing press conference audio

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