Steve Merfeld (UW-LaCrosse `84) is in his fourth season at Evansville. He owns a 39-73 (.348) record with the Purple Aces and carries a 129-130 (.498) record in his nine seasons as a head coach. He is assisted by Keith Noftz, Kareem Richardson and Jason Zimmerman.
The No. 10 seed has beaten the No. 7 seed in four of the last six tournaments. In both losses, the No. 10 seed was Evansville.
Thirty Something
Illinois State is one of two teams with 30 or more Missouri Valley Conference Tournament victories. The Redbirds, who joined the league in 1982, own 30 tournament wins, while Creighton leads all teams with 31 Arch Madness victories. The Bluejays just passed the `Birds last season, despite their five-year head start.
Cutting the Deck
Since joining the Valley in 1982, the Redbirds have played 21 rubber games to decide the season series winner at the conference tournament. ISU will have another season series tiebreaker decided tonight when it faces Evansville as both the `Birds and the Aces won on their home courts. In the previous rubber games, the Redbirds own a 10-11 record.
199 Games With a Trey on the Board
ISU enters the game against Evansville with at least one made three in 199 straight games. The last time ISU didn't sink a trey was an 82-43 loss at Creighton on Dec. 12, 1999.
Still Waiting for No. 1
ISU enters tonight's game in search of its first victory away from Redbird Arena. To date, the `Birds are 0-12 away from the arena this season and have lost 15 straight away from home. ISU's last win away from home occurred at UW-Green Bay on Feb. 19, 2005.
Establishing a Fortes
It has taken a little longer than expected, but junior Roberto Fortes is starting to showcase his forte -- being able to score. Despite tossing in 22 points in ISU's first 21 games of the season, Fortes put together back-to-back-to-back-to-back career nights and has scored 89 points over the last six games (14.8 ppg.).
Dyer Maker
Despite his 6-foot-11 frame, Levi Dyer's shooting range has been making Redbird opponents sad sad sad. With a career-high 17 points at Wichita State on Saturday, Dyer has made five triples in two different games this season. In fact, in his last five games, Dyer has made 15 three-pointers, while shooting 42.9 percent from beyond the arc during that span.
Taking the Norm Out of Normal
With a 9-18 record, the `Birds are in the midst of an aberration. ISU will likely have only its sixth losing season in 35 years of being a Division I program with four losing campaigns in the last seven seasons.
Tourney Rookies
With seven newcomers on the Redbird roster this season there are only seven returnees with tournament experience. Dana Ford has played in the most tournament games for the `Birds with five, while Greg Dilligard has the most starts with three. In total, the Redbirds combined have scored 40 points in the conference tournament, while logging a total of 237 minutes.
Roberto is Doubling Over
With 12 points at Wichita State, junior Roberto Fortes has now scored double figures in five straight games, the first double-digit scoring games of his Redbird career. Fortes' mode of operation has been the three-point shot. In the last four games, Fortes has made 19 three-pointers in 38 tries for a 50 percent shooting effort.
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 122, becoming only the fifth player to post 100 or more career blocks as a Redbird. He also has 60 blocks for the year, which is second best.
The Redbird Shuffle
Through 27 games, the `Birds have courted 11 different starting line-ups this season. The total more than doubles that of last season, in which the `Birds had four different starting combinations. Of the 14 players on the roster, 11 have earned starting assignments and no combination has been used for more than seven games.
That 70's Show
Under head coach Porter Moser, ISU has limited its foes to 70 points or fewer in 57 of its 86 games (66.3 percent). There is also some significance when the `Birds reach 70 points. When ISU scores 70 or more, the `Birds are 20-4 under Moser, including 1-0 this season.
Dilly's the Only Hope
Greg Dilligard's season scoring average rests at 9.9 points per game. The scoring average is No. 1 on the team, but ISU has never had its leading scorer average less than double figures for a season since becoming a Division I program in 1970-71.
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.
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 9-5. ISU foes score 60 or more, the `Birds are 0-13. It's that simple.
Prized Pupil Plank
Neil Plank has added a trio of academic honors in the last couple of weeks and all three are repeated efforts. For the second year, Plank was named the Prairie Farms Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year and was tabbed as a first team MVC Scholar-Athlete Team selection. In early February, Plank was named to the 2006 ESPN the Magazine All-America® University District V Academic team. It marked the third time that Plank had been named to the district team, he claimed second team academic all-America honors in 2005. He carried a 3.93 grade point average as an undergraduate finance major and is currently pursuing his master's in business administration.
Point-N-Shoot
It's not just points either, shooting percentage has been a deciding factor for ISU in terms of wins and losses. When ISU shoots better than its opponent, the `Birds are 9-3. But, when they are outshot, the Redbirds are 0-14.
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 nine wins this season, Plank is leading the team with 11.8 points per game, while shooting 48.6 percent from the field, including 41.7 percent on treys. In the 18 losses, Plank is averaging 6.1 points per game and shooting 31.7 percent from the floor and 24.1 percent on threes.
D-Fence, D-Fence
This season ISU opponents are averaging 59.3 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 59.3 points allowed ranks as the lowest in school history, topping the record of 60.2 points per game set in both the 1980-81 and 1981-82 seasons.
Setting a Defensive Standard
In addition to having their sights set on the school record for points allowed per game, the Redbirds are also in pursuit of the school record for defensive field goal percentage. Currently, ISU foes are shooting 40.3 percent from the field, while the school record is also 40.2 percent, which was set during the 1996-97 season. ISU's defensive percentage this season also ranks as the leader in the Valley.
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.
The Road Has Been Foul
Obviously, one of the hardest things to do in sport is win away from home. That has been more than true for the `Birds this season. In addition to battling the nuances of an away game, the Redbirds have been left to overcome a lopsided distribution of free throw attempts -- 161 to be exact. On the road, ISU opponents are averaging 13.1 more free throw attempts more than the `Birds, which are only getting to the line 8.2 times per away contest.
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 No. 6 on ESPN's Plays of the Day. In addition, not only was it play No. 6 on Dec. 31, but it also ranked No. 9 on ESPN's Plays of the Week.
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.
This Date in Redbird History
Mar. 2, 2002 - Shawn Jeppson's three-pointer at the buzzer lifted Illinois State to a 64-63 win over Drake in the quarterfinals of the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament. Jeppson finished the game with 24 points, thanks to a tournament record 6-for-6 effort on threes. Gregg Alexander added 13 points for the `Birds, while Baboucarr Bojang tossed in 10. Illinois State owns an 8-2 record on this date during the Division I era.
