Jan. 31, 2006
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About The Game:
The Redbirds begin a three-game road swing while looking for their first road victory of the season. ISU has lost nine straight on the road, dating back to last season, and has dropped seven of its last nine games. Bradley enters the game with a 9-1 mark at Carver Arena this season. The Braves have won three straight, including a 79-76 overtime win at Evansville, ending a 14-game road losing streak against Valley foes.
Series History:
Tonight's game marks the 101st meeting in the storied Interstate-74 rivalry. Bradley owns a 55-45 lead in the series and has won four of the last six games. ISU's last victory in Peoria occurred on Jan. 23, 2002.
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 broadcasts, including Porter Moser's weekly call-in show can be heard via the Internet at GoRedbirds.com.
Television:
WEEK-TV (NBC 25) will televise tonight's game. Lee Hall will provide the play-by-play, while Joe Dalfonso will serve as the analyst.
The Coaches
Porter Moser (Creighton '90) owns an 89-77 (.536) career mark in his third season at Illinois State, including a 34-43 (.442) 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.
Jim Les (Bradley `86) is in his fourth season at his alma mater. He owns a 52-56 (.481) record with the Braves, his only head coaching position. He is assisted by Chuck Buescher, Illinois State alumnus Eric Buescher and Lennox Forrester.
About the Bradley Braves
Bradley, located in Peoria, Ill., was founded in 1897 and has an enrollment of 6,069.
The Braves return nine letterwinners, including all five starters, from a team that finished 13-15 overall and finished eighth in the Missouri Valley Conference with a 6-12 mark.
Bradley has not won four consecutive Valley games since a five-game ride from Jan. 2 through Jan. 16, 2001.
Bradley has won three straight home games versus Illinois State and 11 of the last 13 meetings at Carver Arena dating back to the 1992-93 season.
Bradley leads the Valley in scoring during the conference season by averaging 76.5 points through the first 11 league games.
Rivalry Rookies
Not only will Illinois State have seven newcomers introduced to their first taste of the I-74 rivalry tonight, but really only two players, Neil Plank and Greg Dilligard have played in each of the last five meetings. In all, joining Plank and Dilligard, Dana Ford, Khalif Ford, Nedu Onyeuku and Ronnie Carlwell are the only players on the roster that have faced Bradley. The six players have totaled 300 minutes played and 48 points in the series.
The Young Guns
Freshmen Brandon Holtz and Michael Vandello are starting to assert themselves as offensive threats in the Redbird line-up. In last week's three games, Holtz and Vandello ranked No. 1 and No. 2 on the team in scoring. Holtz led the `Birds last week with nine points per game, while Vandello averaged 8.7 per contest for the week.
ISU Defense Has Had It's Peaks and Valleys
After holding its non-conference foes to 35.6 percent shooting, Illinois State opened league play without the same defensive intensity. In the first six Valley games, Redbird opponents shot 46.7 percent from the field, but in the next four games the `Birds got back to the basics by limiting their opponents to 37.9 percent from the floor. However in Saturday's loss to Southern Illinois, the Salukis shot 46.8 percent.
First Things First
ISU enters tonight's game in search of its first road victory of the season. To date, the `Birds are 0-7 on the road this season. Dating back to last year, ISU has dropped 9 straight road games, including 7 straight league games.
Vandello Industries
ISU freshman Michael Vandello has been grouping his athletic talents, particularly in the last four games, and generating some profits for the Redbirds on the court. During the four-game span, Vandello is the Redbirds' leading scorer with nine points and three rebounds per game. He is also shooting 4-for-5 on threes, or 80 percent.
Dilligard Joins the Century Club
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 ISU. In his third season, Dilligard now ranks No. 4 in career blocked shots with 105, becoming only the fifth player to post 100 or more career blocks as a Redbird. He also has 43 blocks for the year, which ranks seventh.
Keeping a Holtz of the Ball
Even while the Redbirds have averaged 16.7 turnovers per Valley game, it's not because of Brandon Holtz. In his first season of collegiate basketball, Holtz has shown value in the possession by only surrendering five turnovers in 183 minutes of conference play or one turnover for every 36.6 minutes played.
191 Games With a Trey on the Board
ISU enters the game at Bradley with at least one made three in 191 straight games. The last time ISU didn't sink a trey was an 82-43 loss at Creighton on Dec. 12, 1999.
Block Party
The Redbirds are averaging 4.6 blocked shots per game as a team, led by Greg Dilligard's 43 swats. With 87 blocked shots in 19 games, ISU leads the Missouri Valley Conference in blocked shots, while Dilligard ranks second with 2.3 blocks per game. At this pace, the Redbirds would post the second best blocking average in school history, trailing only the 1976-77 team which averaged 4.9 blocks per game.
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 easy to follow. Opponents score less than 60 points, the Redbirds are 8-2. ISU foes score 60 or more, the `Birds are 0-9. It's that simple.
Walking the Plank
It isn't the sole reason for defeat, but the `Birds appear to go how senior Neil Plank goes. In ISU's seven wins this season, Plank is leading the team with 12.3 points per game, while shooting 50.8 percent (32-for-63) from the field. In the 11 losses, Plank is averaging 5.4 points per game and shooting 25.9 percent (21-for-81) from the floor.
This Ford's A Steal
Just by looking at the sticker price, senior Dana Ford has been a steal. He entered his senior campaign averaging just 11 minutes per game in his first three seasons, but now he's on the verge of setting the ISU single season steals record. After 19 games, Ford leads the `Birds in thefts with 42 and is on pace to finish the season with 66.
D-Fence, D-Fence
This season ISU opponents are averaging 58.7 points per contest. If the Redbirds can maintain this effort, it would mark the first time that foes have been held below 66 points per game for three straight seasons since the 1985-86, 1984-85 and 1983-84 campaigns. Also, the 58.7 points allowed ranks as the lowest in school history.
Making the Grade
The Illinois State men's basketball team set a record GPA during the Fall 2005 semester by posting a collective 2.81 GPA, topping the old mark of 2.75. The athletic department as a whole also netted a new standard with a 2.93 GPA, while having a record 201 student-athletes named to the AFNI athletic honor roll.
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.
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 3.93 grade point average as an undergraduate finance major and is currently pursuing his master's in business administration.
This Date in Redbird History
Feb. 1, 1997 - Illinois State held on for a 69-67 win over Bradley at Redbird Arena. The `Birds led by nine points with 39 seconds left in the game, but a 2-for-8 effort from the foul line down the stretch gave the Braves hope. Rico Hill led ISU with 21 points, while Dan Muller added 15 and Skipp Schaefbauer tossed in 13. Illinois State owns a 3-4 record on this date during the Division I era.
