Jan. 2, 2006
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About The Game:
In a pivotal Valley match-up, both Illinois State and UNI enter tonight's game with hopes of staying above .500 in league play. Both teams opened the conference season on the road with an overtime loss, only to return home and post come-from-behind victories to even their league mark at 1-1. ISU used a 40-foot buzzer-beater by Dana Ford to down Creighton, while UNI overcame a 13-point halftime deficit to defeat Evansville.
Series History:
Tonight's game marks the 46th meeting in the series. The Redbirds carry a 31-14 advantage in the series, but Northern Iowa has won five of the last seven meetings.
Radio:
Dick Luedke, play-by-play; Mike Matthews, color; Bruce Evans, sideline (home only) and Jim Williams, studio host. Affiliates: WJBC (AM 1230/Bloomington), flagship; WBIG (AM 1280/Aurora), WJEZ (FM 98.9/Dwight), WZOE (AM 1490/Princeton) and WFMB (AM 1450/Springfield). All Redbird broadcasts, including Porter Moser's weekly call-in show, which generally airs each Thursday from 6:07-7 pm, depending on the schedule, can be heard via the Internet at GoRedbirds.com.
Television:
None.
The Coaches
Porter Moser (Creighton '90) owns an 87-70 (.554) career mark in his third season at Illinois State, including a 33-36 (.478) record with the Redbirds. Prior to guiding the `Birds, Moser served three seasons at Arkansas-Little Rock in his first head coaching position. Moser is assisted by Chris Jans, Daniyal Robinson and Brian Barone.
Greg McDermott (Northern Iowa `88) is in his five season season at his alma mater. He owns a 78-55 (.586) record with the Panthers and carries a 209-119 (.637) record in his 12 seasons as a head coach. He is assisted by Ben Jacobson, Jeff Rutter and P.J. Hogan.
About the Northern Iowa Panthers
Northern Iowa, located in Cedar Falls, Iowa, was founded in 1876 and has an enrollment of 12,561.
The Panthers return nine letterwinners, including all five starters, from a team that finished 21-11 overall, tied for third in the Missouri Valley Conference with a 11-7 mark and earned an at-large bid to the 2005 NCAA Tournament.
UNI has four players averaging double-digit points, led by All-Valley performer Ben Jacobson, who is tossing in 14.5 points per game.
Both Grant Stout (7.9) and Eric Coleman (7.7) are averaging over seven rebounds per game, while Erik Crawford (4.2) and Jacobson (4.0) are each over four boards.
Senior John Little is the only UNI reserve logging more than 10 minutes per game.
Da-Na-Na, Na-Na-Na
Senior Dana Ford's first name, with a variation in pronunciation, are the first two notes in the well-known ESPN SportsCenter theme song. That's why it was only fitting, that Ford's heroic 40-footer at the buzzer in ISU's 53-50 win over Creighton ranked as No. 6 on ESPN's Plays of the Day.
Less is More
Illinois State is coming off its lowest offensive production of the season, but probably its biggest win of the campaign. Despite only scoring 53 points, the Redbirds pulled out a 53-50 win over Creighton. It marked the fewest points by the Redbirds in a victory since the 51-47 win against Drake at the 1999 Missouri Valley Conference Tournament on Feb. 26.
Boarding CalL
Not only did Illinois State out-rebound Creighton 36-25 on Saturday, but the Redbirds held the Bluejays to only five offensive rebounds, their lowest output of the season. Creighton entered the game averaging 14.1 offensive caroms per contest and had only been kept under 10 once all season, while ISU had only out-rebounded three previous opponents.
Dilly Doubles Down
Junior Greg Dilligard registered his second career double-double on a career night at Indiana State. Dilligard finished with a career best 22 points and a career high 12 rebounds. He also added three assists and three blocked shots, while shooting 11-for-18 from the field.
Gone in 60 Points
It's not the sequel to Nicholas Cage's car thief film, but it has proven to be the recipe for success, or lack there of, for the Redbirds this season. The formula is simple. Opponents score less than 60 points, the Redbirds are 6-0. ISU foes eclipse the 60-point plateau, the `Birds are 0-4.
182 Games With a Trey on the Board
ISU enters the game at Northern Iowa with at least one made three in 182 straight games. The last time ISU didn't sink a trey was an 82-43 loss at Creighton on Dec. 12, 1999.
Road Warriors
Even though the `Birds have not recorded a road victory this season, Illinois State has had recent success away from home. Dating back to last season, the Redbirds are 4-6 in their last 10 road games.
Thirty Something
That's what Illinois State opponents are shooting in Redbird victories - 33.9 percent to be exact. In fact, in the win over UW-Green Bay, the `Birds put a clamp on the Phoenix by limiting them to 29 percent shooting from the field. The effort was the Redbirds' best since holding Tennessee-Martin to 28.8 percent shooting last season. But, even including the four losses, Illinois State opponents are only shooting 36.6 percent from the field on the season.
Some Holiday Steals
Senior Dana Ford has continued his holiday shopping and he's finding a number of steals. After 10 games, Ford leads the Redbirds in thefts with 22 and is on pace to finish the season with 66, which would rank first in the Redbirds' top 10 all-time.
Plank's Constant
Quantum physics aren't needed to see that senior Neil Plank is asserting himself as the Redbirds' offensive leader. Plank has led the Redbirds in scoring in five of ISU's 10 games and has scored in double digits in eight contests. The senior ranks second with 11.1 points per game and is first in assists with 41 on the season.
D-Fence, D-Fence
Since Porter Moser's arrival at Illinois State he has emphasized team defense and it's starting to show. In the last two complete seasons, opponents have averaged under 66 points per game. This season, Redbird opponents are averaging 56.6 points per contest. If the Redbirds can maintain this effort, it would mark the first time this feat has occurred three straight seasons since the 1985-86, 1984-85 and 1983-84 campaigns. The 56.6 points per game by Illinois State foes would also rank as the lowest in school history.
Dilly Gets Defensive
When it is all said and done Greg Dilligard will go down in history as one of the best defensive players to suit up for the Redbirds. In his third season, Dilligard ranks No. 6 in career blocked shots with 83. He is also on pace to crack the top 10 in career steals as the team's returning leader with 64 career steals.
So This Is What a Full Roster Looks Like?
For the first time in Porter Moser's tenure, the Redbirds will field a team with all 13 scholarships occupied. After signing Osiris Eldridge and Bobby Hill during the early signing period, the Redbirds have one scholarship available for next season.
We Have Another Winner
With 17 wins during the 2004-05 season, the Redbirds enjoyed their 30th winning season in 35 years of being a Division I program. The 17 victories was the most by ISU since the 2001-02 season.
Out of Africa ...
And into Redbird Arena for four Redbirds this season. Freshmen Dinma Odiakosa and Eric Vianney are from the continent, with Odiakosa coming from Nigeria and Vianney being from Cameroon. In addition, senior Nedu Onyeuku and junior Roberto Fortes were each born in Africa before their families moved to the United States. Onyeuku was born in Nigeria, while Fortes was born in Angola.
Prized Pupil Plank
Neil Plank was named to the 2005 ESPN the Magazine Academic All-America® University Division Men's Basketball Second Team and was honored as the 2005 Prairie Farms/Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year. The two-time All-District V Academic selection was also a 2005 Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete First Team selection. He carried a 4.0 grade point average as an undergraduate finance major and is currently pursuing his master's in business administration.
This Date in Redbird History
Jan. 2, 1978 - Former Wichita State head coach and the son of then Illinois State head coach Gene Smithson, Randy Smithson hits the front and back end of a one-and-one with 10 seconds left to give the Redbirds an 84-83 win at arch rival Bradley. Smithson finishes with four points, while Derrick Mayes leads the `Birds with 24 points and Billy Lewis tosses in 20. Illinois State owns a perfect 3-5 record on this date during the Division I era.
