Preview: Men's Basketball vs. Indiana State

Tulane vs. Indiana State Sycamores (Missouri Valley Conference)
Monday, December 16, 2007 at 6 p.m.
Fogelmen Arena

Overview: With final exams ending this week and the holidays appraoching, there probably won't be a large contingent of students on campus for Monday's game against Indiana State But that still doesn't mean this won't be a good game. The Grreen Wave is coming off a solid win over Gardner-Webb, and its RPI has shot up in recent weeks thanks to the resurgence of Nicholls State, which beat Louisiana-Monroe, UNO and Lipscomb over the past few weeks after starting the season 0-6. The rest of the non-conference schedule includes the Sycamores, a tough St. Mary's team (No. 24 as of Sunday) in the Rainbow Classic , and LSU. A weep of tha schedule would certainly open some eyes in the national scene, but a 3-2 or 4-1 non-conference finish is more realistic.

Last Meeting: The Green Wave fell at Indiana State last year 59-47 despite holding them to under 33% shooting. The Sycamores blew Tulane away in the second half with a 27-9 run as the Green Wave simply could not buy a field goal. The rebounding margin was also a difference, as the Green Wave was out-rebounded 43-32.

Scouting Indiana St.: The Sycamores have been historically one of the most underrated teams in college basketball...when playing at home. The road, however, is a separate story, escpecially this season. First-year coach Kevin McKenna's squad is 3-0 at home but 0-4 on the road. To be fair, the road schedule hasn't been easy, but the team simply misses open shots and makes more mistakes when away from the Hulman Center. Marico Stinson leads the team in scoring with only 10.8 points per game, but the Sycamores are similar to the Green Wave in that they have many (inconsistent) weapons -- it's just a matter of who will step up on any given night.

Player to watch: David Gomez has 20 points and 9 rebounds in the game last season despite fouling out. Look for him to be more assertive than the last few games. Vianney, a transfer from Illinois State which also plays in the Missouri Valley Conference, should also have a good game as the Indiana State defense collapses on Gomez and Louisme,

Prediction: Green Wave in a close one.