No. 23 Indiana State falls 80-67 to Illinois State in first game in 45 years as ranked team
Luke Kinzinger scored a career-high 31 points and Illinois State handed No. 23 Indiana State an 80-67 loss in the Sycamores’ first outing as a ranked team since Larry Bird led them to the national title game 45 years ago
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (AP) — Luke Kinzinger scored a career-high 31 points and Illinois State handed No. 23 Indiana State an 80-67 loss on Tuesday night in the Sycamores' first outing as a ranked team since Larry Bird led them to the national title game 45 years ago.
Kinzinger went 10 of 12 from the field and more than doubled his previous career best of 14 points. Myles Foster had 19 points and 12 rebounds for the Redbirds (12-14, 6-9 Missouri Valley Conference), who stopped a three-game skid and won for just the fourth time since Dec. 21.
Indiana State's nine-game winning streak was snapped. The Sycamores had surged into the rankings thanks in part to an offense that came in ranking fifth nationally at 85.6 points per game, but they had a poor shooting night against the Redbirds, missing their first 16 3-point attempts and finishing 8 of 38 from beyond the arc.
Julian Larry scored 20 points for Indiana State (24-3, 13-2), which lost leading rebounder Jayson Kent to an injury with 18:35 left in the game. Kent had eight rebounds when he was hurt in a scramble for a loose ball. Isaiah Swope added 18 points.
