NORMAL, Ill. - Illinois State starts its 37th season in the Missouri Valley Conference on Saturday afternoon, as the squad travels to Evansville, Indiana, to take on the Evansville Aces at 1 p.m.
GAME INFORMATION
Illinois State Redbirds (6-6) vs. Evansville Aces (10-3)
When: Saturday, Dec. 23
Tip-Off: 1 p.m.
Location: Evansville, Indiana
Arena: Ford Center (8,930)
TV: MVC TV Network
Tom Ackerman, play-by-play
Kevin Lehman, analyst
Radio: Illinois State Radio Network
Dick Luedke, play-by-play
Mike Matthews, analyst
Live Stats: Evansville StatBroadcast
SETTING THE TABLE
• Illinois State and Evansville are one of 35 schools in NCAA Division I whose coaches are also graduates of the school. Evansville's Marty Simmons has a 176-163 record, and his win total ranks ninth of the 35 over 11 seasons, while Muller in six seasons has a 101-71 record, and stands 13th in that group.
• When Illinois State cracked the 100-point barrier with 101 points against Ole Miss on December 16, which is the 101st time in program history that a Redbird men's basketball team has scored 100 or more points. (page 4)
• Illinois State junior guard/forward Milik Yarbrough etched his name in Missouri Valley Conference history on Monday, Dec. 18 when he was named the conference's Player and Newcomer of the Week in the same week. He became the 14th person to accomplish the feat since the conference started awarding Newcomer of the Week honors in 2003-04. (page 4)
• The trio of Keyshawn Evans (18.7 ppg), Phil Fayne (16.7 ppg), and Yarbrough (16.2) combine to average 51.6 points per game, which is the sixth-highest total in Missouri Valley Conference history. (page 5)
• The aforementioned trio are also on pace to become just the fourth such group in Illinois State history to each average 16 or more points per game in an entire season. (page 4)
• The trio's season scoring also has them on pace for the 10th-highest trio-total in program history. (page 5)
• Illinois State is 19-17 all-time in Missouri Valley Conference openers, and are an even 10-10 on the road in those games. (page 5)
• The Redbirds have the three highest scoring duos in the Missouri Valley Conference this season, as Evans and Fayne, Evans and Yarbrough, and Fayne and Yarbrough each average at least 32.9 points per game as a group, where the next highest pair, Drake's Reed Timmer and De'Antae McMurray average 31.0 points per game. (page 6)
• Illinois State's 110-71 record during Dan Muller's tenure is the best of the 13 programs that are in the state of Illinois (page 7)
• Fayne and Evans each average over 10 points per game in their careers against Evansville. (page 7)
• Illinois State is 8-7 all-time on December 23. (page 17)
SCOUTING THE ACES
Evansville comes into the Missouri Valley Conference opener having dropped its last game to third-ranked Duke by a 104-40 final score.
In the game, Dainius Chatkevicius scored 12 points to lead the team, while Noah Frederking scored nine and Blake Simmons seven. Chatkevicius pulled down a team-high five rebounds, as the Aces got out-rebounded 36-to-24.
Chatkevicius and Simmons each had a blocked shot, while K.J. Riley had the team's only steal. The Aces forced five Blue Devil turnovers while committing 21 of their own. Simmons had a team-best five assists, as the team had 11 overall.
Leading the way on the season for Evansville has been Ryan Taylor, who is averaging 21.3 points per game in just six games due to injury. Dru Smith, who has also missed the last three games, is averaging 12.4. Simmons has played and started in all 13 games for Evansville, and averages 11.8 points per game.
Chatkevicius pulls down 5.8 rebounds per game to lead the team, as Evansville out-rebounds its opponents 33.7-to-30.2. Smith leads the team with 55 assists and 16 steals, as Chatkevicius has blocked 14 shots.
16 x 3
This season the Redbirds have three players (Keyshawn Evans, Phil Fayne, and Milik Yarbrough) that average at least 16 points per game. If the group continues at this pace, they will become the fourth Illinois State team since 1950 to have four players with such an average. They will join the 1966-67 team (Jerry McGreal, George Terry, and Steve Arends), 1973-74 (Rick Whitlow, Robert Hawkins, and Ron deVries), and 1975-76 (Roger Powell, Billy Lewis, Jeff Wilkins).
MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE OPENERS
In the 36 years that Illinois State has been a member of the Missouri Valley Conference, the Redbirds have a 19-17 record in conference openers, including winning each of the last two seasons.
GETTING TO THE FREE THROW LINE
This season Milik Yarbrough has gone to the free throw line 79 times in his 11 games, with 60 makes. Those 79 attempts have him with fouls drawn per 40 minute total of 8.6, which is the fourth-highest such total in NCAA Division I.
THE THREE AMIGOS
We're not talking about the legendary trio of Chevy Chase, Steve Martin, and Martin Short, but Illinois State's group of three are just as good. Later in the notes we talk about where Illinois State's top two scorers are the best pair of scorers in the Missouri Valley Conference. In addition to that, the three-headed monster of Keyshawn Evans, Phil Fayne, and Milik Yarbrough combine to average 51.8 points per game. Not only is that the highest trio scoring in the Missouri Valley Conference this season, it is the sixth-highest in Missouri Valley conference history. The same trio's scoring average stands as the 10th-highest in Illinois State history. The three-person school scoring record is held by two different groups, the 1971-72 trio of Doug Collins, Ron deVries, and Jim Smith; and the 1973-74 group of Rick Whitlow, Robert Hawkins, and Ron deVries. Below are the top-10 all-time scoring trios in Illinois State history
