Players to Watch
1. #21 Robbie Avila, 6’10”, 240 lbs., So., C, Oak Forest, Illinois
17.1 pts, 6.6 rebs, 53.3 FG%, 38.2 3-PT FG%, 82.5 FT%, 136 ast.-61 TO, 23 blk, 23 stl, 30.6 mpg
Avila is a dynamic player. Forget just being a dynamic scorer, Avila can do it all. Hence, he has several nicknames that include Larry Nerd, Cream Abdul-Jabbar, College Jokic and Steph Blurry. As for what he has done on the court, he’s raised his scoring average almost 2.5 points per game since the middle of January. In that stretch that began on January 16th, Avila has 10 20-point games including 30 and 35-point performances. In addition, he has three games with 10 or more rebounds and seven games with five or more assists.
Looking at trends, though, one caught my eye. For as good of a shooter as Avila is, he has shot under 50 percent from the floor in four of his last five games. That’s 24-59 overall, equating to 40.7 percent from the floor. But a player like him that can do it all has found other ways to impact games for the Sycamores. Avila has 18 rebounds over his last three games and seven assists in each of his last two games. He’s also been clutch from the free-throw line, hitting 15 out of 17 from the charity stripe.
Avila has 13 games with multiple made threes this season but has made just 2-17 over his last three games. He’s a great player, no doubt. He’s also one of college basketball’s most entertaining players. But the Bearcats may be catching him at the right time with him in a shooting slump.
2. #3 Ryan Conwell, 6’4″, 195 lbs., So., G, Indianapolis, South Florida Transfer
16.6 pts, 5.6 rebs, 49.1 FG%, 41.9 3-PT FG%, 86% FT, 84 ast.-62 TO, 39 stl, 33.7 mpg
You might remember Conwell from last year when he played at South Florida and pulled down seven rebounds against the Bearcats at Fifth Third Arena. Considering his numbers last season as a freshman, he’s come a long way in now his sophomore season at Indiana State. He’s gone from playing just 18.5 minutes last season to 33.7 this season, 5.1 points to 16.6, 1.9 rebounds to 5.6 and 1.9 assists to 2.4.
Conwell is riding a streak of 16 straight double-digit point games including eight with 20 or more points. In fact, he has only missed double digit points three times this season with 11 total 20-point games this season. In addition, Conwell has 28 games with multiple made threes and six games with five or more from beyond the arc. Eleven of his last 12 games have seen him hit multiple shots from beyond the arc, making him Indiana State’s second-best three-point shooter by percentage.
3. Isaiah Swope, 5’10”, 170 lbs., Jr., G, Newburgh, Indiana, Southern Indiana Transfer
15.9 pts, 2.9 rebs, 43.3 FG%, 36.4 3-PT FG%, 73.1 FT%, 73 ast.-63 TO, 44 stl, 33.5 mpg
Swope is Indiana State’s leader in total three-point field goals with 106 on the season. He has 26 games with multiple three-point makes including eight with five or more. But it’s worth noting his scoring average has come down nearly four points per game since the start of Missouri Valley Conference play. Five times he’s scored below 10 points, and he hasn’t hit 20 points in a game since January 24th. Over his last two games, he’s scored just 12 points on 5-17 shooting and 1-11 from three-point range.
But this is still a player who can do a lot of things well. Swope is one of five Indiana State players averaging over 30 minutes per game. He may be in a mini slump when it comes to scoring, and his shooting hasn’t been fully felt in games because of his slump, but this is still a player that can score and can make a high impact from beyond the arc. Swope began the season with four or more made threes in seven of his first nine games.
4. #20 Jayson Kent, 6’8″, 205 lbs., Jr., G/F, Oak Forest, Illinois, Bradley Transfer
13.6 pts, 8.2 rebs, 63.3 FG%, 34.7 3-PT FG%, 82.9 FT%, 18 blk, 30.1 mpg
After making just six starts last season, his first at Indiana State, Kent has started 34 of the 35 games he’s played in this season. Kent has 10 double-doubles on the season and leads the Missouri Valley Conference in rebounding. He has 12 games with double-digit rebounds including a 20-rebound performance against NCAA Tournament team Drake. That performance culminated a nine-game stretch in January-early February with seven double-digit rebound performances.
As for scoring, Kent is on a hot streak. His last three games he’s totaled 73 points on 25-31 shooting including 4-8 from three-point range and 19-24 from the free-throw line. Kent also has 52 rebounds over his last five games. Kent only has four games shooting under 50 percent on the season. This is the player I am most worried about as a Bearcats fan.
5. #1 Julian Larry, 6’3″, 185 lbs., Jr., G, Frico, Texas
10.8 pts, 3 rebs/gm., 53.2 FG%, 46.8 3-PT FG%, 80.2 FT%, 171 ast.-73 TO, 53 stl, 34.3 mpg
Larry leads Indiana State in assists and minutes per game. He’s in his fourth season with the Sycamores, progressing each season. In 2022-23, Kent led the Sycamores in field goal percentage at 59.2. His field goal percentage may have dipped a little bit this season, but his three-point percentage has not. The crazy thing is, he doesn’t take a lot of three-point attempts per game. He takes over just two per game. But he’s shooting close to 50 percent from three on the season.
Nineteen times Larry has dished out five or more assists. Over his last 13 games, Larry is averaging over 6.5 assists per game. Only six times this season has Larry played less than 30 minutes, and he’s played 35 or more minutes 22 times. Larry has shot 50 percent or better from the field in 23 out of 36 games this season.
6. #0 Xavier Bledson, 6’6″, 215 lbs., R-Sr., G, Gainesville, Georgia
6.7 pts, 2.8 rebs, 48.5 FG%, 35.8 3-PT FG%, 84.4 FT%, 98 ast.-67 TO, 18.5 mpg
Bledson is Indiana State’s best option off the bench, and a good one. He has 11 double-digit games this season and 11 games with multiple made threes. The drop-off in production from Indiana State’s starters to their bench is very visible. But Bledson still needs to be taken seriously. He also has six games with five or more assists.
Keys to the Game
1. Play the best 40 Minutes of the Season: That’s what it is going to take to beat this Indiana State team. They do so many things well that it is going to take everything the Bearcats have to beat this well-rounded of a team in Indiana State.
2. Rebounding: Indiana State is second in the Missouri Valley in rebounding. Considering the Sycamores are a great shooting team, the Bearcats can not give them second chances.
3. Play to the name and conference on your jersey: Here’s how I look at it. This is Cincinnati Basketball. They play in the Big 12. With all due respect to Indiana State, and they are a really good team, the Bearcats need to play to who the identity of the program has been for a long time: tough, nasty, physical, getting after it on the defensive end. They are in the Big 12. If the Bearcats establish how this game will be played early on, they will have a good chance to advance to the NIT Final Four. Frustrate and already slumping Robbie Avila and this Sycamores team, and the Bearcats can control this game. Indiana State is very well-rounded, but they are beatable if the Bearcats unleash their identity.
