How can the Purple Aces improve after another lopsided MVC loss? 'We have to show up'

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. — Where the University of Evansville men’s basketball team could do little right, Indiana State could do little wrong. Thursday was the Purple Aces’ second wire-to-wire loss of the season, with the Sycamores dominating in every meaningful facet.

Bricked shots, 16 turnovers and an overall poor performance highlighted UE’s 91-63 loss at Hulman Center, its 11th consecutive Missouri Valley Conference defeat. That streak predates coach David Ragland’s tenure, going back to last season and started against the same opponent.

Indiana State started the game on a 13-0 run, never looking back at UE (4-10, 0-3 MVC) as it struggled in the rearview.

“Coming in, we knew it was going to be a dogfight every game. Every team in this conference is a good team,” said UE guard Kenny Strawbridge Jr., who tied for a game-high 21 points. “We just gotta figure out how to build off of our strengths and work on our weaknesses.”

Again, the Aces failed to capitalize on past momentum. UE came into Terre Haute with two wins in three games, capped by an impressive comeback against Bellarmine, but failed to make it two in a row. The Aces missed a chance to get their first consecutive wins since beating Valparaiso in back-to-back games in early 2021.

Last game: Aces find a way to frustrate Bellarmine in final non-conference game

“In non-league play, we had enough games to make an adjustment and learn,” Ragland said. “We’re finding a common theme in those (conference) games, so now it’s taking what’s happened, learn from our experiences and making the proper adjustments.”

UE’s struggles in Missouri Valley Conference play have been exacerbated by three blowout losses to Southern Illinois, Northern Iowa and now Indiana State. Each of those three games featured UE getting out to slow starts, needing to find a way to come back early and poor 3-point shooting.

In their league games, the Aces have been outscored 243-171 and shot a combined 12-53 from deep. UE didn’t hit a 3 against Indiana State until Marvin Coleman II scored one with 10:23 left in the second half.

The Aces finished 3-for-13 from the 3-point line while the Sycamores finished 13-32. UE had five assists to 16 turnovers, exemplifying what was arguably the Aces' poorest performance of the season so far.

“If we want to change, we have to show up, show it with the right energy and go play to play for 40 minutes. In conference play, we haven’t done that,” Ragland said. “(The games) have all been the same where each team has come up with some fight and they hit a good amount of shots.

UE has finished last in the MVC in three of the past four seasons, a trend that looks likely to continue if things don’t change. The Aces have played a conference favorite in Southern Illinois and a better-than-expected Indiana State team, but the concern remains the same.

Ragland said prior to the season that success in Year 1 was based on how the Aces competed. In non-conference play, the competitiveness, for the most part, was there. Through three MVC contests, it hasn’t been.

While it’s still early days, that needs to change.

“We just have to fight through adversity when things don’t go our way, we’ve gotta bounce back,” Strawbridge said. “We just gotta know how to weather the storm and just come out, punch first when we see that it’s going their way.”

The Aces have time to fix things. The league season is still young, with UE having the chance to move up the standings if the proper adjustments are made. Murray State (7-6, 2-1 MVC) visits Ford Center on Sunday, the next chance for UE to make ground and get out of the MVC basement before heading to Missouri State.

A competitive non-conference slate has been met by three blowout losses in the most meaningful games so far. That needs to change for the Aces, or they face another season in MVC’s cellar.

“It starts with energy and going possession-by-possession, play-to-play for 40 minutes,” Ragland said. “We just have to respond the right way every single possession to put ourselves in a position to win.”

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Evansville basketball still winless in MVC after Indiana State loss