ISU men's basketball game tipoff moved up to 1 p.m. Thursday

Mark Bennett, The Tribune-Star, Terre Haute, Ind.
·2 min read

Dec. 21—The forecast of a blast of wintry weather has shifted the start time of Thursday's Indiana State University men's basketball home game against Northern Illinois to 1 p.m. in Hulman Center.

Originally, the tipoff was for 7 p.m.

"After speaking with Northern Illinois administration, we believe this is the safest course of action for our student-athletes, coaches, and fans due to the impending weather. I appreciate our fans' understanding in this decision," Director of Athletics Sherard Clinkscales said in a university news release.

In an interview Wednesday afternoon, Schertz said ISU reached out to Northern Illinois officials on Monday to reschedule the game time. He said the visiting Huskies team officials shifted between possible game times, before settling late Wednesday morning on the Sycamores' original plan for an early afternoon tipoff Thursday.

"We kind of ran the gamut with Northern Illinois on game times and playing it, but certainly there was a concern with it being played," Schertz said Wednesday. "We wanted to play it. Obviously, we didn't want a two-week break, going into Christmas, off. And our guys have been here practicing, so it's good we get to play [Thursday]."

The Sycamores (9-3) last played on Saturday in a 92-86 loss at Duquesne, and their next game following Northern Illinois will be 8 p.m. Dec. 29 at home vs. Missouri Valley Conference rival Evansville. Northern Illinois lost 83-78 to visiting Albany on Tuesday.

Any ticket for the originally scheduled NIU-ISU game Thursday at 7 p.m. will be valid for the game starting at 1 p.m., ISU said in its news release. For any questions regarding tickets, fans can contact Austin Bishop at austin.bishop@indstate.edu or (812) 237-8972.

Mark Bennett can be reached at 812-231-4377 or mark.bennett@tribstar.com.