Paul Suellentrop’s Missouri Valley Conference report (Jan. 3)

Tough love in Terre Haute

Indiana State coach Greg Lansing watched Brenton Scott dribble — over and over — into a cluster of taller Wichita State defenders and hoist up an off-balance shot. Scott hurt the Sycamores, in a close game, because he didn’t pass to open teammates.

So Lansing said so after that Dec. 28 defeat.

“He’s got to trust his teammates, believe in his teammates and get more than one assist in a game when everybody comes to him,” Lansing said. “He’s got to play the right way on the offensive end, otherwise we’re going to struggle.”

A coach can criticize his best player that strongly if he’s confident in their relationship. Scott, a junior guard, scored 14 points in that 80-72 loss to WSU on 3-of-14 shooting. He responded, after talks and video with Lansing, with 22 points, nine rebounds and four assists in an 81-75 overtime loss at Missouri State. While he again shot poorly (6 of 17), Scott’s overall game pleased Lansing.

“He really played the right way,” Lansing said. “As he continues to trust his teammates and believe in those guys and get them shots, it’s only going to help us.”

Lansing calls Scott hard-headed and stubborn, mostly in the most approving fashion. Scott, in Lansing’s view, wants to win badly and wants to be the man. Indiana State needs him to score big. At times, however, he will need to lean on teammates.

“We’ve butted heads so much from the start … but I love him,” Lansing said. “My job is to make him become a complete player. He wants to do well. He wants to be a good teammate. He wants to please the coaching staff. I’ve been really hard on him, really hard. Emotional conversations.”

Scott, a second-team All-MVC pick last season, averages 19.4 points, 5.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists. The Sycamores are 0-2 in the MVC and must endure one of the toughest schedules to start conference play. They play three of their first five on the road and the home games are against WSU and Illinois State. Scott’s continued progress will determine how the Sycamores weather this stretch and continue as a factor in the race.

Any team that beat Butler at home is capable of winning MVC games at home.

“I don’t like getting on one guy individually,” Lansing said. “But at that point I just kind of needed to do it. He is so important to us and our success that I just felt it was time to do that.”

Fast breaks

▪  Northern Iowa guard Wyatt Lohaus sat out the previous three games with a sprained right ankle that threatens his season, coach Ben Jacobson said. Lohaus, a junior, missed four games earlier this season due to the injury.

A verdict on playing or sitting out the season could come within the next week or so.

“His ankle is just kind of stuck,” Jacobson said. “It just isn’t getting much better. We’ve had conversations about all possibilities and all options. We’re going to have to make some decisions here soon.”

▪  Southern Illinois guard Armon Fletcher is also dealing with a sprained ankle, his left.

Fletcher, who averages a team-leading 13.8 points, did not play in Sunday’s win over Drake.

Coach Barry Hinson expects Fletcher to miss at least two weeks, which could include a Jan. 21 game at Wichita State.

“We’re down to four guards,” Hinson said. “There’s nothing good about this. I can’t put a spin on it. I wish I could.”

SIU lost senior guard Tyler Smithpeters to a knee injury in late December.

▪  Defense is responsible for Illinois State’s surge in which it won six of seven games, including at Hawaii and against Saint Joseph’s and Tulsa.

Over the past five games, the Redbirds held opponents to 31.5 percent shooting. They rank second in the Valley (behind WSU) and No. 19 nationally by holding opponents to 38 percent shooting for the season.

Illinois State, which has used zone defenses in the past, is primarily playing man to man. Improved depth is helping coach Dan Muller play more people and give his starters more rest.

“We’ve had a lot of guys buy in defensively,” Muller said. “There’s this crazy thing called playing harder that our guys figured out. Defense, there’s no secret. It comes down to competing.”

Trending up

Evansville (10-5, 1-1) lost five of its top six scorers, including All-MVC players D.J. Balentine and Egidijus Mockevicius. Coach Marty Simmons kept the Aces competitive and they boast wins in seven of their past eight games entering Wednesday’s date with Bradley. Guard Jaylon Brown is the new focus and he averages 20.9 points and is shooting 42.5 percent from three-point range.

Trending down

Good vibes from Loyola’s strong non-conference performance ended in a crash. The Ramblers (10-5, 0-2) made 14 of 30 three-pointers at Drake — and lost 102-98. An 81-59 home loss to Illinois State followed. Transfer Aundre Jackson, who averages 15.1 points, scored nine in his first two MVC games and fouled out against Drake.

Get to know an MVC neighbor

Q: How many players led the MVC in scoring three or more times?

A: Three. Oscar Robertson, Cincinnati (1958-60), Larry Bird, Indiana State (1977-79), Balentine, Evansville (2014-16).

One to watch

Missouri State (11-4, 2-0) at Illinois State (10-4, 2-0), 8 p.m. Wednesday — The Bears last won at Redbird Arena in 2011. MSU guard Dequon Miller averaged 19.5 points and made 9 of 16 three-pointers in last season’s series split.

This story was originally published January 3, 2017 at 2:38 PM with the headline "Paul Suellentrop’s Missouri Valley Conference report (Jan. 3)."