Redbirds Set for Retro Game Matchup with Northern Iowa

NORMAL, Ill. – In a rematch of the 2015 Missouri Valley Conference Tournament championship game, the Illinois State men's basketball team hosts Northern Iowa Saturday, Jan. 23 at 3 p.m. on Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena. As part of ISU's Retro Game, the Redbirds will be wearing replica throw-back, Doug Collins-era (1970s), jerseys featuring candy-striped shorts. Illinois State is coming off of a win at Bradley (Dec. 20), while UNI has dropped three-straight.

ILLINOIS STATE VS. NORTHERN IOWA • SATURDAY, JAN. 23, 2016 • 3 P.M. CT

• THE SERIES:
  Saturday's game marks the 71st meeting between Illinois State and Northern Iowa. ISU leads the all-time series, 38-32, with Northern Iowa winning four-straight and seven of the last 10. Versus the Panthers, ISU is 21-10 at home and 14-10 at Redbird Arena. Head Coach Dan Muller holds a 2-6 record against Northern Iowa.

• THE COACHES:
  Illinois State: Dan Muller (Illinois State, 1998) is in his fourth season as the head coach at Illinois State (68-54). Muller is the first coach in ISU history to beat three Top-25 teams in his first three seasons.
  Northern Iowa: Ben Jacobson (North Dakota, 1994) is in his 10th season as the head coach at Northern Iowa (207-115). Jacobson guided UNI to a 31-4 record in the 2014-15, including a school-record 16-game winning streak.

• ABOUT ILLINOIS STATE:
  Picked to finish fourth (out of 10 teams) in the Missouri Valley Conference ... return three of five starters and six of 13 letterwinners from last year's team, which went 22-13 overall, advancing to the second round of the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) ... tied for third place in the 2014-15 MVC standings (11-7) ... feature MVC preseason team selection DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell ... started the MVC season 3-0 for the first time since 2008-09.

• ABOUT NORTHERN IOWA:
  Picked to finish third (out of 10 teams) in the Missouri Valley Conference ... return two of five starters and nine of 14 letterwinners from last year's team, which recorded a 31-4 overall record and a 16-2 MVC mark (second place) ...  by topping Illinois State to win the 2015 MVC Tournament, earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament ... recorded wins over the No. 1 team (North Carolina, Nov. 21) and the No. 5 team (Iowa State, Dec. 19) at the time.
   

LAST TIME OUT (W, 55-52 - JAN. 20, 2016 AT BRADLEY)
The Illinois State men's basketball team led for all but three minutes at Bradley and survived a late Braves rally to snap a three-game Missouri Valley Conference losing streak, winning 55-52. The Redbirds (10-10, 4-3 MVC) overcame 33.9 percent shooting by outrebounding Bradley, 44-38, including a career-high 15 boards from Deontae Hawkins. Paris Lee led all scorers with 16 points while DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell chipped in with 15. Hawkins also added nine points.

GROOVY!
Saturday's game against Northern Iowa is being promoted as Illinois State's annual Retro Game, in which the Redbirds will wear replica throw-back, Doug Collins-era (early 1970s), jerseys featuring candy-striped shorts and tops with the vintage "I-State" logo. As a result, Roland Griffin, usually No. 35, will wear No. 21 instead. All other player numbers will remain the same. Several Illinois State men's basketball alums will be recognized during Saturday's Retro Game in conjunction with an RB4L (Redbird 4 Life) event.

TAKING ROUND ONE
Separated by just 36.9 miles on Interstate 74, Illinois State defeated Bradley, 55-52, in the first of two regular-season I-74 Rivalry matchups. ISU has now won 12 of its last 14 games against the Braves for the first time in series history, marking ISU's best record over 14 games throughout the series. BU's best stretch was when BU won 13 of 14 games from 1921 through 1975. Illinois State hosts BU Feb. 14.

DEFENSIVE DISCIPLINE
In five of Illinois State seven Missouri Valley Conference games this season, the Redbirds have limited opponents below their season scoring average at the time. ISU is 4-1 when accomplishing this feat. Illinois State most recently held Bradley (previously averaging 53.6 points per game) to 52 points. Before that, ISU held Evansville (previously averaging a league-best 79.4 points per game) to 66 points, despite ISU losing, 66-55 (Jan. 15). The Redbirds limited UE to its third-lowest point-total of the year.

PARIS' POINTS
Point guard Paris Lee has nearly doubled his offensive production as a junior, ranking second on the team with 10.5 points averaged per game this season. Last year, as a sophomore, Lee ranked sixth on the team with 6.8 points per game, and as a freshman, he also ranked sixth on the team with 6.7 points per game. Lee has led the Redbirds in scoring three times this year, including in ISU's last two games (12 points versus Evansville, Jan. 15 and 16 points at Bradley, Jan. 20).

HAWKINS' HEIGHTS
Sophomore forward Deontae Hawkins has crashed the boards this season, averaging a team-best 5.6 rebounds per game, which ranks 10th in the Missouri Valley Conference. Hawkins matched a career high with 15 rebounds in Illinois State's win at Bradley (Jan. 20). He also collected 15 boards last year versus Youngstown State (Nov. 29, 2014). Hawkins has tallied 10 or more rebounds twice this season.

DOUBLE-DIGIT DeVAUGHN
Senior guard DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell has reached double figures in all 20 of ISU's games this year, and dating back to last season, 22-straight and 27 of the last 28. He has recorded 20 or more points four times in 2015-16, and Akoon-Purcell is averaging 15.4 points (sixth in the Missouri Valley Conference) and 4.9 rebounds per contest (tied for 17th in the MVC). Akoon-Purcell has led ISU in scoring 11 times this season.

TRENDING
ISU is 10-1 when allowing less than 70 points and 0-9 when allowing more than 70; ISU is 4-1 when scoring 70 or more points; ISU is 6-0 when its starters outscore the opponent's starters; ISU is 8-2 when outrebounding its opponent and 2-8 when ISU is outrebounded; ISU is 9-1 when leading with five minutes to play and 0-9 when trailing at the five-minute mark; ISU is 7-2 when shooting more free throws.

CLIPPED
After falling behind and being forced to overcome double-digit deficits in their first three Missouri Valley Conference games, the Redbirds lost three-straight in which they established first-half leads, with ISU leading by double digits in two of the three losses. ISU led by as many as 13 points at the 3:25 mark in the first half at Indiana State (L, 77-65, Jan. 9) and led by as many as 12 points at the 15:00 mark in the second half at Southern Illinois (L, 81-78, Jan. 12). ISU led by four versus Evansville (L, 66-55, Jan. 15).

BATTLING BACK
In six of Illinois State's 10 victories this season, the Redbirds have overcome deficits of eight points or more. In ISU's first three Missouri Valley Conference wins, ISU overcame deficits of 12 or more points (down 13 vs. Missouri State, Dec. 30; down 12 at Drake, Jan. 3; down 13 vs. Loyola, Jan. 6). Illinois State's wins over Missouri State and Loyola marked the 25th and 26th times in program history, respectively, that ISU has overcome a deficit of 13 points or more to win.

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