2016-17 Men's Basketball Schedule | Buy Season Tickets
ST. LOUIS – Illinois State's 2016-17 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball schedule, which tips off with a Dec. 29 home game against Evansville, was released by the league office Tuesday.
After opening MVC play on Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena for the third-straight season, the Redbirds will face their first league road test on New Year's Day, Jan. 1, at Loyola. In another MVC road game, Illinois State and Bradley resume the I-74 Rivalry series in Peoria, Illinois, Jan. 18. The Braves will later travel to Redbird Arena for a Saturday, Feb. 11 matchup.
Illinois State and defending MVC regular-season champion and 2016 NCAA qualifier Wichita State first meet Saturday, Jan. 14 in Normal. The Shockers will then host ISU Saturday, Feb. 4 in Wichita, Kansas. Defending MVC Tournament champion and 2016 NCAA qualifier Northern Iowa first visits Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena Feb. 1, and Illinois State ends the regular season at UNI Feb. 25. ISU will celebrate senior night Feb. 22 versus Southern Illinois, a week ahead of the 2017 State Farm MVC Tournament, March 2-5, at Scottrade Center in St. Louis.
Led by fifth-year head coach Dan Muller, Illinois State returns four of five starters and seven of 11 letterwinners from last year's team, which finished 18-14 overall and tied for second place with a 12-6 mark in the MVC, signifying ISU's highest league finish and most conference wins since 2007-08.
ISU's top returning scorer is senior guard Paris Lee, who averaged 11.1 points per game to rank 20th in the league, and was an MVC Honorable Mention and All-Defensive Team selection last season. Additionally, Lee is the league's top returner in assists after averaging 3.7 per contest in 2015-16. Junior forward Deontae Hawkins led the Redbirds and ranked ninth in the MVC by averaging 5.8 rebounds per game. ISU's other two returning starters include senior guard Tony Wills and junior forward MiKyle McIntosh.
To purchase season tickets, fans are encouraged to contact the Illinois State Athletics Ticket Office either online by navigating to GoRedbirds.com/Tickets, in-person by entering through the north doors to Redbird Arena, or over the phone by calling (309) 438-8000.
Below is a detailed look at each 2016-17 Missouri Valley Conference opponent, listed in alphabetical order. View the complete conference schedule here: http://goredbirds.com/schedule.aspx?path=mbball.
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Bradley
Away: Wednesday, Jan. 18
Home: Saturday, Feb. 11
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2015-16 Overall Record: 5-27
2015-16 MVC Record (Finish): 3-15 (9th)
Starters Returning/Lost: 5/0
ISU Record Against Overall: 59-63
ISU Record Against Home: 37-19 (RBA: 23-5)
ISU Record Against Away: 19-41 (Carver: 12-23) (Neutral: 3-3)
ISU Record Against Last Season: 2-0
Current Streak: W5
Last Meeting: Feb. 14, 2016/at ISU/W, 75-60
Notable: Bradley head coach Brian Wardle begins his second season with the Braves, who return all five starters from last season's team. Junior forward Donte Thomas returns to the Braves' lineup after earning a spot on the 2016 MVC Most Improved Team, while sophomores Dwayne Lautier-Ogunleye and Luuk van Bree were named to the five-player MVC All-Freshman Team.
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Drake
Home: Saturday, Jan. 21
Away: Tuesday, Feb. 7
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2015-16 Overall Record: 7-24
2015-16 MVC Record (Finish): 2-16 (10th)
Starters Returning/Lost: 4/1
ISU Record Against Overall: 55-29
ISU Record Against Home: 32-8 (RBA: 22-7)
ISU Record Against Away: 18-19 (Knapp: 12-12) (Neutral: 5-2)
ISU Record Against Last Season: 2-0
Current Streak: W7
Last Meeting: Jan. 26, 2016/at ISU/W, 76-64
Notable: All 14 players on Drake's 2016-17 roster were recruited by fourth-year head coach Ray Giacoletti and staff, including returning honorable mention All-MVC selection Reed Timmer. As a sophomore, Timmer became the 19th player in the program's history to record 500 or more points in a season with 520 points. The Bulldogs return a total of six players who started games in 2015-16 and eight players who played 10 or more minutes per game last season.
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Evansville
Home: Thursday, Dec. 29
Away: Sunday, Jan. 29
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2015-16 Overall Record: 25-9
2015-16 MVC Record (Finish): 12-6 (T2nd)
Starters Returning/Lost: 2/3
ISU Record Against Overall: 35-19
ISU Record Against Home: 20-4 (RBA: 19-4)
ISU Record Against Away: 12-14 (Ford: 2-3) (Neutral: 3-1)
ISU Record Against Last Season: 1-1
Current Streak: W1
Last Meeting: Feb. 11, 2016/at Evansville/W, 70-60
Notable: Evansville is coming off of its best season in 27 years, going 25-9 in the 2015-16 campaign. For just the second time since joining the Missouri Valley Conference, the Purple Aces played in the conference championship game, being edged out by Northern Iowa. Now senior guard Jaylon Brown had his best collegiate season in 2015-16, averaging 10.8 points per game on his way to a spot on the MVC Most Improved Team.
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Indiana State
Away: Saturday, Jan. 7
Home: Wednesday, Jan. 25
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2015-16 Overall Record: 15-17
2015-16 MVC Record (Finish): 8-10 (T6th)
Starters Returning/Lost: 3/2
ISU Record Against Overall: 61-54
ISU Record Against Home: 38-15 (RBA: 21-7)
ISU Record Against Away: 20-37 (Hulman: 17-25) (Neutral: 3-2)
ISU Record Against Last Season: 1-2
Current Streak: L1
Last Meeting: March 4, 2016/at MVC Tournament/L, 65-57
Notable: Indiana State senior Devonte Brown and sophomore Brenton Scott were named to the All-MVC Second Team in 2015-16. Scott made 76 3-pointers, which ranked third in the Indiana State history books. Additionally, Scott owns 135 trifectas in his career which is sixth-best in the history of the program. Junior Matt Van Scyoc has scored over 1,000 career collegiate points as he tallied 807 in two prior seasons at The Citadel, plus 248 last season with the Sycamores.
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Loyola
Away: Sunday, Jan. 1
Home: Sunday, Feb. 19
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2015-16 Overall Record: 15-17
2015-16 MVC Record (Finish): 7-11 (8th)
Starters Returning/Lost: 3/2
ISU Record Against Overall: 12-4
ISU Record Against Home: 7-1 (RBA: 6-1)
ISU Record Against Away: 5-3 (Gentile: 3-1) (Neutral: 0-0)
ISU Record Against Last Season: 2-0
Current Streak: W4
Last Meeting: Feb. 3, 2016/at Loyola/W, 78-70
Notable: Loyola returns three players who started regularly in 2015-16, including senior guard Milton Doyle, who ranked second on the team and 18th in the league in scoring with 11.2 points per game. Donte Ingram (7.5 points, 4.2 rebounds) and Ben Richardson (4.8 points, 1.8 rebounds) also return for the Ramblers. Head coach Porter Moser is beginning his sixth season with Loyola.
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Missouri State
Home: Wednesday, Jan. 4
Away: Wednesday, Feb. 15
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2015-16 Overall Record: 13-19
2015-16 MVC Record (Finish): 8-10 (T6th)
Starters Returning/Lost: 4/1
ISU Record Against Overall: 39-29
ISU Record Against Home: 24-6 (RBA: 19-6)
ISU Record Against Away: 11-20 (JQH: 3-5) (Neutral: 4-3)
ISU Record Against Last Season: 1-1
Current Streak: L1
Last Meeting: Jan. 30, 2016/at Missouri State/L, 84-81 (OT)
Notable: Missouri State head coach Paul Lusk returns four starters for his sixth season at the helm of the Bears, including two of the top four returning scorers in the MVC. Senior guard Dequon Miller (12.7 points, 96 assists) was named MVC Newcomer of the Year in 2016 and joins junior wing Chris Kendrix (12.1 points, 4.8 rebounds) on the list of the top returnees in the MVC. MSU also will look to Jarred Dixon and Obediah Church to help improve on a 13-19 campaign a year ago.
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Northern Iowa
Home: Wednesday, Feb. 1
Away: Saturday, Feb. 25
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2015-16 Overall Record: 23-13
2015-16 MVC Record (Finish): 11-7 (T4th)
Starters Returning/Lost: 2/3
ISU Record Against Overall: 39-33
ISU Record Against Home: 22-10 (RBA: 15-10)
ISU Record Against Away: 10-19 (McLeod: 0-10) (Neutral: 7-4)
ISU Record Against Last Season: 1-1
Current Streak: L1
Last Meeting: Feb. 20, 2016/at Northern Iowa/L, 75-66
Notable: Northern Iowa returns five letterwinners and two starters for the 2016-17 season. UNI's roster will feature 11 players (seven newcomers; four redshirts) who have yet to play a game in the McLeod Center. UNI is one of 13 teams to have won at least one game in the NCAA Tournament and accumulate 54 combined wins over the past two seasons. The Panthers captured the program's fifth MVC Tournament title with a 56-54 win over Evansville in St. Louis. UNI advanced to the school's eighth NCAA Tournament in 2016.
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Southern Illinois
Away: Wednesday, Jan. 11
Home: Wednesday, Feb. 22
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2015-16 Overall Record: 22-10
2015-16 MVC Record (Finish): 11-7 (T4th)
Starters Returning/Lost: 3/2
ISU Record Against Overall: 71-78
ISU Record Against Home: 48-22 (RBA: 17-11)
ISU Record Against Away: 19-49 (SIU Arena: 14-28) (Neutral: 4-7)
ISU Record Against Last Season: 1-1
Current Streak: W1
Last Meeting: Feb. 24, 2016/at ISU/W, 73-50
Notable: Southern Illinois returns three starters but lost its top scorer and the league's second-highest scorer in Anthony Beane (19.3 points) from the 2015-16 season. However, SIU does return Sean O'Brien, who ranked second on the team in scoring and 15th in the league (12.1 points). O'Brien also ranked second on the team and eighth in the MVC in rebounding (12.1 rebounds). Fellow returner Mike Rodriguez led SIU in steals (1.3 steals) and assists (2.9).
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Wichita State
Home: Saturday, Jan. 14
Away: Saturday, Feb. 4
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2015-16 Overall Record: 26-9
2015-16 MVC Record (Finish): 16-2 (1st)
Starters Returning/Lost: 2/3
ISU Record Against Overall: 39-41
ISU Record Against Home: 23-12 (RBA: 18-9)
ISU Record Against Away: 11-26 (Koch: 11-25) (Neutral: 5-3)
ISU Record Against Last Season: 1-1
Current Streak: L1
Last Meeting: Feb. 27, 2016/at Wichita State/L, 74-58
Notable: All-Americans Ron Baker and Fred VanVleet have moved on, but Wichita State returns key contributors, including Markis McDuffie, the 2016 MVC Freshman of the Year. The 6-foot-8 sophomore averaged 7.4 points last year as a reserve en route to MVC All-Bench and All-Newcomer honors. The bulk of Wichita State's returning experience is in the frontcourt with a quintet of juniors, led by returning starters Zach Brown (6.7 points) and Shaquille Morris (6.8 points, 3.6 rebounds). Wichita State earned an at-large bid to the 2016 NCAA Tournament after winning the MVC regular-season title.
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