GAME NOTES: The Hulman Center is open for business as the Indiana State Sycamores host the Saint Louis Billikens in non-conference play on Tuesday night.

For the Billikens, this is the second game in a row that they are facing off against an opponent from the Missouri Valley Conference, having defeated Southern Illinois in the opener on Saturday by a score of 62-59. Later this week, the team will take part in the Corpus Christi Coastal Classic as it hosts Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.

Meanwhile, the Sycamores remained in state for their opener last Friday, but traveled to Indianapolis where they needed overtime in order to dismiss IUPUI by a score of 79-66. The team is now settling in for three straight home dates, with Brown and Austin Peay set to arrive in Terre Haute over the next week.

As far as the all-time series is concerned, the Billikens have won 11 of the previous 15 meetings. In a series that dates back to the 1924-25 campaign, the Sycamores have not won a matchup in three decades, losing eight in a row since the 1983-84 season.

Thanks to Austin McBroom, who scored a career-high 24 points and converted a late 3-pointer, the Billikens were able to celebrate a win in their first outing of the season. McBroom not only converted 6-of-14 from the floor, he made good on an impressive 5-of-7 beyond the arc and also connected on 7-of-10 at the free-throw line for the hosts. Ash Yacoubou and Mike Crawford contributed 12 and 10 points, respectively, but behind both McBroom and Yacoubou, the other three starters combined to contribute a total of just six points.

Saint Louis survived partly due to the fact that it outscored Southern Illinois by seven at the free-throw line. The hosts were a bit sloppy along the way however, fumbling the ball away 17 times, which is the same number of made field goals the team came up with.

The Sycamores were forced to go to overtime against IUPUI, but the hosts didn't put up much of a fight during the bonus session as they converted only 1-of-8 shots from the floor, compared to 4-of-5 for Indiana State. The offensive star of the game for the Sycamores was Khristian Smith who tallied a game-high 27 points and came up a rebound shy of a double-double, helping to gloss over the fact that he made only 8-of-19 from the field and 2-of-7 behind the 3-point line.

Devonte Brown was responsible for 19 points, thanks in large part to an 11- of-13 showing at the free-throw line, followed by Brenton Scott with 14 points and six rebounds off the bench.

The Sycamores held a slight 42-38 advantage on the glass and forced 16 turnovers, but a much bigger stat that influenced the outcome was at the free- throw line where the visitors outscored IUPUI by a 36-17 margin.

Both of these teams have a player who can light up the scoreboard, but more importantly the Billikens have a defense that should be able to hold Indiana State in check, and need just 40 minutes to do it.