Indiana State Sycamores, who are ranked 1st in the Missouri Valley Conference and 23rd in the AP Top 25, took a loss to the Illinois State Redbirds on February  13th. The loss to Illinois State means that Indiana State could more than likely fall out of the AP Top 25. This unfortunate loss also caused the Sycamores to lose the 9-game winning streak that they worked so hard to build. It brought their overall record to 22-4, and MVC record to 13-2.

The Redbirds came out of the gate ready to play. Within the first minute of the game, the Redbirds scored 4 points. The Sycamores however would not score until 3 minutes into the game. With 10 minutes left of the first half the score was 14-22, the Redbirds were in the lead. Once halftime rolled around, the Sycamores were able to stay close to the Redbirds with a score of 29-35.

To begin the second half of the game, the Redbirds would score within the first 12 seconds. However both teams would not score again until there were 17 minutes remaining on the clock. The Sycamores were the ones to break this scoring drought with a layup from Julian Larry. With 11 minutes left of the second half, the Redbirds would lead the game by 1 point, with a score of 47-48. However just a minute and a half later, Isaiah Swope would make a layup that would give the Sycamores their first lead of the game. The Sycamores would try to keep the lead, but unfortunately the Redbirds would regain the lead and keep it for the rest of the game. The final score of the game was 67-80 with the Illinois State Redbirds breaking the Sycamores’ 9-game winning streak.

The Indiana Sycamores will be back in action on Saturday February 17th. They will travel to Carbondale Illinois where they will play the Southern Illinois Salukis. Tip off is at 6 pm and you can catch the game on ESPN+.