HONOLULU – Aiming for its second-straight win over a 2016 NCAA Tournament qualifier, Illinois State opens the three-game Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic by facing the host Hawai'i Rainbow Warriors Friday, Dec. 23 at 12:30 a.m. CT (which is Thursday, Dec. 22 at 8:30 p.m. HT). ISU has won five of its past six games. If the Redbirds win, they will face the winner of San Francisco/Utah Friday at 9 p.m. CT. The losers of each game will meet Friday at 11:30 p.m. CT.
ILLINOIS STATE VS. HAWAI'I • FRIDAY, DEC. 23, 2016 • 12:30 A.M. CT
THE SERIES:
Friday's game marks the fourth meeting between Illinois State and Hawai'i, with the Rainbow Warriors holding a 2-1 advantage in the all-time series. The two teams last squared off Nov. 30, 1997, with UH winning, 84-63, in Honolulu. Illinois State's lone victory over Hawai'i occurred Feb. 10, 1979 when the Redbirds won, 71-62.
THE COACHES:
Illinois State: Dan Muller (Illinois State, 1998) is in his fifth season as the head coach at Illinois State. Muller is the first-ever ISU coach to beat four Top-25 teams in his first four years. He led ISU to the 2015 NIT.
Hawai'i: Eran Ganot (Swarthmore, 1994) is in his second season as the head coach at Hawai'i. In his first year as head coach, Ganot led the Rainbow Warriors to both the Big West regular-season and tournament championships.
ILLINOIS STATE:
Was picked to finish second (out of 10 teams) in the Missouri Valley Conference ... Was the only team to feature two players (out of five) on the Preseason All-MVC First Team (Paris Lee and MiKyle McIntosh) ... Returns four of five starters and seven of 11 letterwinners from last year's team, which tied for second place in the MVC with a 12-6 record, signifying ISU's highest league finish and most conference wins since the 2007-08 season.
HAWAI'I:
Was picked to finish eighth (out of nine teams) in the Big West Conference ... Returns one starter and four letterwinners from last year's team which finished 28-6 overall and 13-3 in the Big West (tied for first) ... Earned an automatic bid to the 2016 NCAA Tournament after winning the Big West Tournament ... Went 1-1 in the NCAA Tournament ... The team's lone returning starter from last year, Mike Thomas, is redshirting due to wrist surgery.
ALOHA!
Illinois State is playing in a regular-season tournament on the Hawaiian Islands for the fourth time in program history. The Redbirds hold a 6-2 record in regular-season tournaments in Hawaii.
TOURNAMENT TIME
The Redbirds hold a 72-44 (.621) program record in regular-season tournament games, including an 8-6 mark in regular-season tournament games played during the Dan Muller era.
ONE LAST CHANCE
By facing host-Hawai'i in the first round of the Diamond Head Classic, Illinois State has one more chance to earn a true nonconference road victory. This season, ISU is 6-0 at home and 0-3 on the road. However, The Redbirds have led by seven or more points in the second half of all three losses. In those same three games, Illinois State also held the halftime advantage. ISU led by as many as 14 points at Tulsa (Dec. 7).
PERFECT AT HOME
By earning an 81-72 home-court victory over Saint Joseph's (Dec. 18), the Redbirds finished their home nonconference season with a perfect 6-0 record on Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena. ISU earned its first unblemished home non-conference record since going 6-0 to start the season at home in 2008-09.
LEAGUE LEE-DER
For the second time in three weeks, Illinois State senior point guard Paris Lee is the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week, the league office announced Dec. 19. Lee led the Redbirds by scoring a career-high 24 points on a career-best eight field goals in ISU's 81-72 win over Saint Joseph's Dec. 18 on Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena. The Maywood, Illinois, native shot 8-for-11 (72.7 percent) from the field, 4-for-6 (66.7 percent) from beyond the arc and a perfect 4-for-4 (100 percent) at the free throw line. He also dished four assists, with one turnover, and forced three steals with four rebounds in 31 minutes.
HOT SHOT
In Illinois State's 81-72 victory over Saint Joseph's (Dec. 18), the Redbirds recorded their highest point total against a Division I foe since scoring 81 in an 84-81 overtime loss at Missouri State Jan. 30, 2016. It also marked the most points scored by ISU in a DI victory since an 82-72 home-court win over Bradley Jan. 17, 2015. Earlier this season, the Redbirds beat DII foe Ferris State, 81-67 (Nov. 27).
LEE FOR THREE!
Senior guard Paris Lee leads the league and ranks fifth nationally in 3-point field goal percentage (56.5 percent). Lee has netted three or more 3-pointers in ISU's past five games, and he made a career-high five 3-pointers (on eight attempts) at Tulsa (Dec. 7). As a team, Illinois State leads the league and ranks 28th nationally with a 40.3 percent 3-point shooting percentage.
DEFENSE WINS GAMES
The Redbirds' defensive efforts have directly correlated with victories. ISU is 6-0 when forcing more turnovers than the opposition and 0-3 when committing more turnovers. Illinois State has turned defense into offense by scoring 148 points off of opponent turnovers, compared to 115 by opponents. In their most recent win over Saint Joseph's (Dec. 18), ISU scored 22 points off of turnovers, compared to eight by SJU.
A SEASON FOR GIVING
Senior guard Paris Lee leads the Missouri Valley Conference and ranks 24th nationally with 6.0 assists averaged per game. As a team, ISU ranks first in the MVC and 53rd nationally with 16.3 assists per contest. In Redbird victories this season, ISU is averaging 17.3 assists and 10.7 turnovers (1.4 assist-to-turnover ratio) compared to 14.3 assists and 16.0 turnovers (0.9 assist-to-turnover ratio) in losses.
LOCKING DOWN
Illinois State leads the MVC and ranks 18th nationally by averaging 9.0 steals per game. The Redbirds have forced more steals than the opposition in six games, and in two games, steals were even.
A TALE OF TWO HALVES
Illinois State has held the halftime lead in eight of its first nine games. ISU holds a +8.3 scoring margin in first halves this season compared to a -1.3 scoring margin in second halves. The Redbirds are shooting 47.8 percent from the field and 46.5 percent from beyond the arc in first halves versus 41.7 percent from the field and 32.6 percent from 3-point range in second halves. ISU is also averaging 6.2 turnovers (+3.1 turnover margin) in first halves versus 7.2 turnovers per game in second halves (-1.7 turnover margin).
WHEN THERE'S A WILL(S), THERE'S A WAY
Senior guard Tony Wills underwent surgery in late September due to a sports hernia and subsequently missed almost all preseason practices plus Illinois State's exhibition game against Quincy (Nov. 6). Since then, Wills has played in all nine games with six starts. Through his first four games, Wills averaged 3.5 points. However, in his past five games, Wills has averaged 8.2 points per contest.
BALANCED ATTACK
For the third time this season, five Redbirds scored in double figures, as Illinois State used a balanced offensive attack to beat UT Martin (Dec. 10): Phil Fayne (12), Deontae Hawkins (12), Paris Lee (12), MiKyle McIntosh (12), Tony Wills (10). Fayne, Hawkins, Lee and McIntosh were also four of ISU's five players to reach double figures in wins over IUPUI (Nov. 30) and Fort Wayne (Nov. 16). The IUPUI game marked the first time since 2013-14 that the Redbirds have featured five players in double figures in two or more games (they achieved this feat five times that year).
THE 200 CLUB
By forcing two steals versus UT Martin (Dec. 10), senior guard Paris Lee increased his career-steals total to 200. Lee is just the second Redbird ever to force 200 or more career steals, and he is currently second on the career-steals list behind Ron Jones (222).
MOVING ON UP
By earning a career-high 11 assists versus New Mexico (Dec. 3), senior guard Paris Lee moved into sole possession of 10th on the Illinois State career-assists list. He passed David Cason (357 from 1993-95). Lee, who now has 373 assists, is one of seven Redbirds to rank in the top 10 in both career steals (Lee is second with 200) and assists. Lee leads the league and ranks 24th nationally with 6.0 assists per game.
GoRedbirds.com: Your online source for Illinois State Athletics, tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
