Everyone on the Ball State roster, except Zack Garcia, who has played one minute this season, has attempted at least one trey.
BIG MAC ATTACK
Playing a league member of the Mid-American Conference is nothing new for Illinois State, especially since the `Birds have faced at least one MAC team during the last nine seasons. Tonight's game is the 252nd contest against a current affiliate of the MAC. The `Birds have had their share of success against the MAC with a 147-104 record (.586), including a 64-40 win over Miami (Ohio) earlier in the season. The only current member of the 13-team conference that the Redbirds have never faced is Toledo.
HAVEN'T SEEN THIS SINCE THE 10¢ STAMP
Illinois State and Ball State will be meeting for the first time since 1975, even though the two campuses are only 228 miles apart. The two teams did have non-publicized scrimmages against one another prior to 2003-04 and 2004-05 seasons, but a lot has changed since the two schools met officially. The late Gerald Ford was the U.S. President, while George Carlin appeared as the host on Saturday Night Live's debut. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest swept the top Oscar's winning Best Picture, Director, Actor and Actress and Illinois State head coach Porter Moser was six-years-old.
"BIG VALLEY"
If Illinois State's Levi Dyer keeps filling it up in league play, at 6-foot-11, he might be dubbed as "Big Valley." Dyer leads the conference in three-point field goal percentage in league games shooting at a 53.9 percent clip, seven percent higher than his closest competitor. He also ranks tied for fourth in scoring for Valley contests with 15.3 points per game.
SENDING OUT AN S.O.S.
On the surface, the Redbirds own a 13-14 record on the season. But, ISU's mark hasn't come with a degree of difficulty. As of Feb. 15, the Sagarin Ratings list ISU's schedule as the 24th toughest slate in Division I basketball among 336 teams.
PICKIN' UP THE SLACK
Junior Anthony Slack is the Redbird team leader in steals with 40. If he holds the top spot, Slack would become only the third non-guard position player to lead ISU in steals over the last 20 seasons. Slack would join Dan Muller, who had 39 steals during the 1997-98 season, and Tony Holifield, who finished with 44 steals during the 1987-88 campaign.
CARRYING THE VALLEY FLAG
In Porter Moser's tenure at Illinois State, the Redbirds have carried the Valley flag well in non-conference match-ups. To date, ISU's fourth-year head coach boasts a 27-13 (.675) record in non-league games.
MOVIN' ON UP
Like George Jefferson, Levi Dyer's scoring average has been movin' on up the stat sheet. After six games this season, Dyer ranked ninth on the Redbird roster with 2.3 points per game. Currently, Dyer leads the team by boasting a 11.4 points per contest average.
DYER STRAIGHTS
Despite his atypical 6-foot-11 frame, Levi Dyer has proven to be lethal from beyond the arc this season. With four triples at Indiana State, Dyer has now made at least one triple in 16 straight games. It is the longest streak by a Redbird since Trey Guidry went 21 straight games with a three-pointer to end the 2002-03 season and open the 2003-04 campaign.
227 GAMES WITH A TREY
ISU enters tonight's game at Indiana State with at least one made three in 227 straight games. The last time ISU didn't sink a trey was an 82-43 loss at Creighton on Dec. 12, 1999.
A KING AND HIS COURT
Prior to the Feb. 3 game against Bradley, the would-be-king of Redbird basketball, Doug Collins, was honored as Redbird Arena's floor was formally named "Doug Collins Court." Collins lettered three years at Illinois State from 1971-73, while scoring a school-record 2,240 points. He averaged 29.1 points per game during his career and scored double figures in every game he played wearing a Redbird uniform. Collins also competed for the United States in the 1972 Olympic games, prior to being selected as the first pick overall in the 1973 NBA Draft by the Philadelphia 76ers. The four-time NBA all-star was also a successful coach with the Chicago Bulls, Detroit Pistons and Washington Wizards and is an award-winning NBA television analyst.
DIVERSITY IN SCORING
Illinois State has six players with 200 or more points on the season. Levi Dyer (308), Boo Richardson (270), Anthony Slack (268), Greg Dilligard (254), Osiris Eldridge (241) and Dom Johnson (221) have all reached the plateau. The last time the Redbirds had six players score 200 or more points in a season was during the 1997-98 campaign.
PERCENT AND PROBABILITY
So far this season, when Greg Dilligard attempts a field goal there is a high probability it is going in. In fact it is so high, that if he stays on this pace it would be the highest single-season field goal percentage in Illinois State history. The current conference leader is making 65.9 percent of his field goals this season, which included a 28-for-29 stretch that ended on his third field goal attempt at Missouri State.
WITH AGE COMES EXPERIENCE ...
Heading into the 2006-07 season, junior center Levi Dyer had amassed 138 total points in his collegiate career. This year, he has already totaled 308 points on the season. Averaging a personal-best 11.4 points per game this season, Dyer is on pace to finish the season with 353 points, more than doubling his career total heading into the season.
DYERMAKER
Since entering the starting lineup 16 games ago, junior Levi Dyer has been making the most of his opportunities. During the span, Dyer has posted double-figure scoring in 15 outings, including five 20-point games, one of which was a career-best 27-point effort against Drake. Also during that time, Dyer is averaging a team-best 15.8 points and is shooting 53.1 percent from three-point range.
LETHAL WEAPON 3
After Boo Richardson fired in six three-pointers at Drake, it gave the Redbirds three separate players who have made six or more three-pointers in a single game this season. Osiris Eldridge dumped in eight at Creighton, while Dom Johnson poured in seven against Florida State earlier in the season. In addition, Roberto Fortes did it twice last season with seven treys at Miami (Ohio) and six at Redbird Arena against Drake.
DILLY FOR THE BLOCK
Senior Greg Dilligard became Illinois State's career leader in blocked shots this season and he enters tonight's game with 159 career swats. Dilligard is only the fifth player in Redbird history to post 100 or more blocked shots in a career. He currently has 35 blocks on the season and is one block away from tying Mike VandeGarde for the No. 10 spot in the Redbird record book for blocked shots in a season.
POINT-N-SHOOT
Shooting percentage is also a key factor for ISU in terms of wins and losses. When ISU shoots better than their opponents, the `Birds are 44-16 (.733) over the last four seasons. When the Redbirds shoot worse, ISU is 5-48 (.094).
DYER FOR TWO?
Junior center Levi Dyer has been working hard on his post play and it shows. Entering this season, Dyer had made 14 two-point baskets in his Redbird career. Already this season, Dyer has made 58 baskets inside the arc. He has also continued to shoot from three and ranks second on the team with 50 made three-pointers.
DISHING THE ROCK
Junior point guard Boo Richardson enters tonight's game averaging 5.0 assists per game this season, which is the highest average by a Redbird since Jamar Smiley dropped 6.4 assists per game during the 1997-98 season. Richardson has 136 assists on the season and is on pace to finish the regular season with 155, which would be No. 12 all-time.
CHAIRMAN OF THE OFFENSIVE BOARDS
Offensive rebounds have only been an official stat for a little more than 15 years, but during that time no one at Illinois State has been better at hitting the offensive glass than Greg Dilligard. During his career, Dilligard has registered 248 offensive caroms and is only the fourth player at ISU to collect 200 or more offensive boards. Dilligard is joined by Rico Hill (211), Dan Muller (205) and LeRoy Watkins (205).
FRESHMAN PHENOM
Not only did freshman Osiris Eldridge tie the school record at Creighton for made three pointers with eight, but he also poured in a career-high 28 points in the process. His 28 tallies marked the third highest single-game point total by a Redbird freshman in school history. By doing so, he joined a pretty elite group of ISU scorers - Bubbles Hawkins (30 points at Jacksonville, 2-16-73), Roger Powell (30 points vs. Morehead State, 1-8-73), Billy Lewis (28 points at West Virginia, 3-1-75) and Tarise Bryson (28 points vs. Southern Mississippi, 11-28-98 and vs. Wisconsin, 12-5-98).
BOO'S CLUES
Chances are if you want to see how the Redbirds did, just look at Boo Richardson's stat line. In the 13 wins, Richardson is averaging a team-high 13.2 points per game, while shooting 50.9 percent from the field and 40.8 percent on threes, with an 1.76 assist-to-turnover ratio. In the 14 losses, Richardson is averaging 7.1 points per game, shooting 28.8 percent, including 26.0 percent on threes, and has a 1.10 assist-to-turnover ratio.
TAKING THE `NORM' OUT OF NORMAL
After finishing the 2005-06 season with a 9-19 record, the `Birds were in the midst of an aberration. The campaign marked only the sixth losing season in ISU's 35 years of being a Division I program.
MATCHBOX 20
If the Illinois State box scores from the 2005-06 season were compared to the box scores from this season - one thing in particular jumps out. In 28 games last season, the Redbirds had a 20-point scorer three times. Greg Dilligard did it once and Roberto Fortes reached 20 points twice. This season, the Redbirds have had players score 20 or more points in a game 13 times. Levi Dyer has scored 20-plus five times, Boo Richardson three times, Anthony Slack twice, while Dilligard, Dom Johnson and Osiris Eldridge have all accomplished it once.
THIRTY SOMETHING
Junior guard Dom Johnson became the first Redbird to score 30 or more points in a game since Trey Guidry tossed in 30 at Creighton on Jan. 22, 2005. Johnson torched Florida State for 32 points on 12-for-23 shooting. It was the most points by a Redbird since Tarise Bryson scored 38 in the 2001 National Invitational Tournament game at Purdue.
SEAD ADDED
Sead Odzic (SEE-add ODD-zik) transferred to Illinois State from Southern California following the fall semester. Odzic, a 6-foot-3, 192-pound guard, is a native of Skokie, Ill., and played prep basketball at Niles West. He will have to serve a year of residency and will not be eligible to compete in a game for the Redbirds until the completion of the Fall 2007 semester. At USC last season, Odzic averaged 3.2 points and 1.2 rebounds per game. Prior to USC, Ozdic averaged 20 points, five rebounds and four assists during his senior season at Niles West.
RUBIN SIGNS
During the early signing period, head coach Porter Moser added his first to the 2007-08 recruiting class. Point guard Alex Rubin from Armstrong High School in Plymouth, Minn., signed his national letter of intent to continue his education and basketball career at ISU. At 6-foot-1, 185-pounds, Rubin led the Falcons to a 19-10 overall record, before falling in the sectional finals. A two-time all-Classic Lake Conference selection, Rubin averaged 14.5 points and 4.8 assists per game as a junior. In 2006, he was named to the all-metro defensive second team and was an honorable mention all-state selection. This season, Rubin is averaging 20.9 points per contest, while Armstrong owns an 12-8 record.
