Feb. 6, 2006
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About The Game:
A victory tonight would not only give Illinois State its first road win of the season, but it would lift the Redbirds into a tie for sixth place with Drake in the Valley standings. The `Birds are currently riding a three-game losing skid and have lost all nine road contests this season, including 11 straight dating back to last season. Drake, on the other hand, is also on a five-game losing streak of its own. The Bulldogs have lost three straight home contests with last-second defeats to Southern Illinois, Northern Iowa and Creighton.
Series History:
Tonight's game marks the 62nd meeting in the series. The Redbirds carry a 41-20 advantage in the series and have won four of the last five meetings, including the last three.
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:
None.
The Coaches
Porter Moser (Creighton '90) owns an 89-79 (.530) career mark in his third season at Illinois State, including a 35-45 (.438) 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.
Tom Davis (UW-Platteville `60) is in his third season at Drake. He owns a 36-48 (.429) record with the Bulldogs and carries a 579-335 (.633) record in his 31 seasons as a head coach. He is assisted by Chris Davis, Keno Davis and Justin Ohl.
About the DRake Bulldogs
Drake, located in Des Moines, Iowa, was founded in 1881 and has an enrollment of 3,330.
The Bulldogs return 10 letterwinners, including three starters, from a team that finished 13-16 overall and finished in seventh place in the Missouri Valley Conference with a 7-11 mark.
Drake has lost three straight home games, by the slimmest of margins. The Bulldogs have dropped home contests to Southern Illinois, Northern Iowa and Creighton by a combined eight points. SIU and UNI were settled with less than 10 seconds left, while the Jays needed overtime to win.
The Bulldogs are celebrating their 100th season of Drake basketball this season.
Drake appears to have rectified its poor shooting. After going four games with a combined 32.5 percent shooting effort, the Bulldogs shot 46.2 percent against Creighton on Saturday with a 24-for-52 shooting day.
Simply Offensive
With Illinois State's 47 points at Evansville on Saturday, it marked the fifth time this season where the Redbirds have scored just 40-some points in a game. The Redbirds have not had a season where they scored 49 or less points in five games since the 1946-47 season.
First Things First
ISU enters tonight's game in search of its first road victory of the season. To date, the `Birds are 0-9 on the road this season. Dating back to last year, ISU has dropped 11 straight road games, including 9 straight league games.
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 106, becoming only the fifth player to post 100 or more career blocks as a Redbird. He also has 44 blocks for the year, which is tied for sixth.
Block Party
The Redbirds are averaging 4.5 blocked shots per game as a team, led by Greg Dilligard's 44 swats. With 94 blocked shots, ISU is second in the Missouri Valley Conference in blocked shots, while Dilligard ranks second with 2.1 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.
ISU Defense Has 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 during the three-game losing streak, ISU foes combined to shoot 45.5 percent.
Dilly's Holding On
With five straight single-digit scoring games, Greg Dilligard's season scoring average has dipped to 10.0 points per game. The scoring average is almost four points more than he averaged last season, but Dilligard leads the Redbirds in scoring and ISU has never had its leading scorer average less than double figures for a season since becoming a Division I program in 1970-71.
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 8-3. ISU foes score 60 or more, the `Birds are 0-10. It's that simple.
Keeping a Holtz of the Ball
Even while the Redbirds have averaged 17.2 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 six turnovers in 222 minutes of conference play or one turnover for every 37 minutes played.
193 Games With a Trey on the Board
ISU enters the game at Drake with at least one made three in 193 straight games. The last time ISU didn't sink a trey was an 82-43 loss at Creighton on Dec. 12, 1999.
Point-N-Shoot
It's not just points either, shooting percentage has been a deciding factor for the Redbirds in terms of wins and losses. When ISU shoots better than its opponent, the `Birds are 8-2. But, when they are outshot, the Redbirds are 0-11.
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 eight wins this season, Plank is leading the team with 12.3 points per game, while shooting 50.8 percent from the field. In the 13 losses, Plank is averaging 5.0 points per game and shooting 27.9 percent 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 coming close to the ISU single season steals record. Ford leads the `Birds in thefts with 43 and is on pace to finish the season with 60.
D-Fence, D-Fence
This season ISU opponents are averaging 59.2 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 59.2 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. 4, 1995 - Illinois State's Maurice Trotter sank a three-pointer with 32 seconds left in the overtime period to give the Redbirds an 83-82 win at Wichita State. Chad Altadonna led the Redbirds with 21 points. Illinois State owns a 3-5 record on this date during the Division I era.
