The No. 7 seed has beaten the No. 10 seed in three of the last five tournaments. The two games in which the No. 10 won were by Indiana State (2003) and Illinois State (2004).
NIGHT `BIRDS
This is head coach Porter Moser's fourth trip to the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament as Illinois State's head coach. All four seasons, including this one, the Redbirds have tipped off at 8:30 p.m. Three times, Illinois State has played in the 7-10 game and in 2005, the Redbirds faced Creighton in the 3-6 game.
FRESH START
Illinois State's Osiris Eldridge became the third Redbird to be named the Valley Freshman of the Year since the award was first presented in 1986. Eldridge finished his first regular season averaging 9.2 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. He played in all 30 contests, with 13 starting assignments, and had 11 games with double-digit points. With the honor, Eldridge joins Dan Muller, who won the honor in 1995, and Victor Williams, who received the award in 1999.
BABY, IT'S COLD OUTSIDE
As Central Illinois has been battling some of its coldest temperatures and highest accumulation of snow in years, the Redbirds have been staying warm by heating up the nets. In the last 12 games, which includes 11 Missouri Valley Conference foes, the Redbirds are shooting 49.6 percent from the field and 43.0 percent from three.
BLOCK PARTY
The Redbirds finished the regular season leading the Missouri Valley Conference in blocked shots per game as a team. The Redbirds averaged 3.20 blocks per league contest.
"BIG VALLEY"
After Illinois State's Levi Dyer filled it up in league play, at 6-foot-11, he should be dubbed as "Big Valley." Dyer led the conference in three-point field goal percentage in league games shooting at a 51.7 percent clip, nearly seven percent higher than his closest competitor. He also ranked fourth in scoring for Valley contests with 15.4 points per game.
USS ELDRIDGE
It's not the Philadelphia Experiment, but at 6-foot-3, freshman Osiris Eldridge must have teleported himself into rebounding position during ISU's league games. Eldridge led the `Birds with 5.7 caroms per game during Valley play.
PICKIN' UP THE SLACK
Junior Anthony Slack is the Redbird team leader in steals with 42. 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.
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 12.3 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 three triples at Northern Iowa, Dyer has now made at least one triple in 19 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.
230 GAMES WITH A TREY
ISU enters tonight's game against Indiana State with at least one made three in 230 straight games. The last time ISU didn't sink a trey was an 82-43 loss at Creighton on Dec. 12, 1999.
DIVERSITY IN SCORING
Illinois State has six players with 200 or more points on the season. Levi Dyer (369), Boo Richardson (296), Anthony Slack (284), Greg Dilligard (280), Osiris Eldridge (277) and Dom Johnson (243) 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 second highest single-season field goal percentage in Illinois State history. He is making 64.7 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.
DYERMAKER
Since entering the starting lineup 19* games ago, junior Levi Dyer has been making the most of his opportunities. During the span, Dyer has posted double-figure scoring in 18 outings, including six 20-point games, one of which was a career-best 29-point effort against Ball State. Also during that time, Dyer is averaging a team-best 16.5 points and is shooting 53.1 percent from three-point range. (*He did not start on Feb. 20 due to senior night.)
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.
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. This season, Dyer has made 70 baskets inside the arc. He has also continued to shoot from three and leads the team with 59 made three-pointers.
DISHING THE ROCK
Point guard Boo Richardson enters tonight's game averaging 5.1 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 152 assists on the season and is currently tied with Dave Nussbaumer for the No. 12 spot in the single-season records.
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 257 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).
PUTTING THE `NORM' BACK IN NORMAL
With a victory tonight, Illinois State would secure a .500 or better season ending the string of losing campaigns in four of the last five seasons. In the previous 35 years of being a Division I program, ISU has only had a losing season six times.
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 14 times. Levi Dyer has scored 20-plus six 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 21.0 points per contest, while Armstrong owns an 15-9 record.
