Although the Illinois State mens basketball roster is still up in the air for the 2002-03 season, head coach Tom Richardson and his staff can begin planning for the non-conference portion of the schedule as it was released Saturday with possibly only one game left to be filled.
With Tarise Brysons sixth-year status still unknown, the Redbirds return two starters from a team that finished 17-14 on the season and 12-6 in the Missouri Valley Conference.
This schedule will be a good test for our program, Richardson said. I like the balance in terms of the competitiveness and the home and road breakdown. We are still working on one more game and right now our focus is toward another home date.
The 2002-03 slate is highlighted by a tentative new concept in NCAA basketball Bracket-Busters. ESPN has joined forces with several conference commissioners around the country to promote the Bracket-Busters event in late February. Four teams from each of the Valley, Mid-American and Western Athletic Conferences will be placed into a pool of participants with additional teams from the Big West, Colonial and Horizon leagues. From that pool, teams will be paired to provide the best possible match-ups in hopes of raising a teams RPI rating, which would help in receiving an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament. At this point, the Redbirds are scheduled to play the game on the road, but the opponent wont be known until a month prior to the game. However, no matter who the opponent is, that foe will make a return visit to Redbird Arena during the 2003-04 season.
The Bracket-Busters game is going to be a new experience, Richardson added. There is no doubt it will be difficult to prepare for an unknown non-conference opponent in the middle of the Valley season. However, if things go as planned the results could be extremely rewarding.
In addition to the Bracket-Busters game, the Redbirds will face NCAA participants, Kent State and Western Kentucky. The Golden Flashes finished the season with a 30-6 record and a No. 12 ranking in the nation, while advancing to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament last season with wins over Oklahoma State, Alabama and Pittsburgh. Despite Stan Heaths departure to Arkansas, former assistant Jim Christian returns to coach the team and Antonio Gates (16.0 ppg., 8.1 rpg.) is back for his senior season.
The Hilltoppers posted a 28-4 mark last season after falling to Stanford in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. WKU returns four starters from that team, in addition to the leading scorer, 7-foot-1 Chris Marcus (16.4 ppg., 9.4 rpg.), who withdrew from the upcoming NBA draft after missing the majority of the season with an injury. The Hilltoppers finished the year ranked No. 19 in the country.
After playing a pair of yet-to-be-determined exhibition games, the Redbirds open the regular season at Redbird Arena, for a third straight year. On November 23, the Birds will host Utah State from the Big West Conference. The Aggies are coming off three straight 20-win seasons, including a 23-8 mark last year.
Utah State, which returns its leading scorer in Desmond Peniger (17.2 ppg.), advanced to the National Invitation Tournament in 2002 after two straight trips to the NCAA Tournament. The Birds defeated the Aggies in each of the previous two meetings, including a 93-87 NIT overtime win in 1995.
Three days later, ISU will hit the road to face the first of three Mid-American Conference opponents, Central Michigan. The Chippewas finished the 2001-02 season with a 9-19 mark that included a 72-63 defeat at Redbird Arena. However, CMU returns two double-digit scorers in Chris Kaman (11.8 ppg.) and Chad Pleiness (11.2 ppg.).
On December 2, Chattanooga, along with new head coach Jeff Lebo, will visit Redbird Arena. Lebo, a former standout at North Carolina, takes over the Mocs program after a four-year stint at Tennessee Tech. Already Lebos presence has paid dividends as Chattanooga signed the top junior college player in the state of Tennessee, Ashley Champion. Champion averaged 21.5 points and 9.4 rebounds per game, and should help a team that finished last season with 16-14 mark.
After the game at Kent State, the Redbirds return home for a pair of games against Jacksonville and Northern Illinois. Jacksonville is coached by the legendary Hugh Durham, who led both Florida State and Georgia to Final Four appearances. The Dolphins, a member of the Atlantic Sun Conference, return four starters, but will be without the services of leading scorer Travis Robinson (14.0 ppg.), who entered the NBA draft after his junior season.
For the first time since 1981, Northern Illinois will travel to Normal for a first-time match-up in Redbird Arena. The Huskies are coming off of a 12-16 season, but return four starters, including former Redbird P.J. Smith. NIU is coached by Rob Judson, a former assistant at both Bradley and Illinois.
The starting times have yet to be determined and the complete Valley slate should be completed by August 1.
Season tickets are on sale and additional ticket information is available by contacting the Redbird Arena Ticket Office at 309/438-8000.
