Kyle Wilson leads the Shockers in scoring and is No. 4 in the league with 14.6 points per game. He had the highest individual point total against the Redbirds this season, when he scored 27 points in the game on Jan. 18 at Redbird Arena.
SENDING OUT AN S.O.S.
On the surface, the Redbirds are a game below .500 with a 12-13 record on the season. But, ISU's mark hasn't come with a degree of difficulty. As of Feb. 8, the Sagarin Ratings list Illinois State'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 37. If he holds his 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.
POOR ROAD CONDITIONS
Having lost 17 straight Missouri Valley Conference road games, the Redbirds probably weren't looking forward to the current three-game road swing. Riding the longest road losing streak since joining the league, ISU will try to end its road woes at Wichita State today. The Redbirds recorded their last win in Wichita on Jan. 29, 2001.
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 10.7 points per contest average.
CAUGHT IN THE UNDERTOW
Illinois State's 73-61 loss at Missouri State on Tuesday guaranteed the Redbirds a losing record in the Valley for the fifth straight season. This is really incredible, especially when considering ISU's history in the conference. In the first 17 years of Valley membership, the Redbirds finished less than .500 only twice. In the last nine seasons, ISU has had a losing league mark seven times.
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 Missouri State, Dyer has now made at least one triple in 14 straight games. It is the longest streak by a Redbird since Gregg Alexander (2004-05) ended his collegiate career with a string of 15 straight contests with a trey.
RED RAVEN REUNION
It shouldn't happen, but it wouldn't be surprising if Illinois State's Boo Richardson or Anthony Slack inadvertently passed the ball to Wichita State's Ryan Martin, or vice versa. The three were all teammates at Coffeyville Community College during the 2004-05 season and led the Red Ravens to the Region 6 Tournament semifinals.
A FRESH START
In the last three games, Illinois State has started a pair of true freshmen in Osiris Eldridge and Bobby Hill. It marks the second straight season in which the Redbirds have started a pair of true freshmen. Both Brandon Holtz and Dinma Odiakosa were inserted in the starting lineup together for four games last season from Jan. 25 - Feb. 4.
DIVERSITY IN SCORING
Illinois State has six players with 200 or more points on the season. Levi Dyer (268), Boo Richardson (257), Anthony Slack (243), Greg Dilligard (227), Osiris Eldridge (225) and Dom Johnson (214) 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. The current conference leader 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.
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 268 points on the season. Averaging a personal-best 10.7 points per game this season, Dyer is on pace to finish the season with 331 points, more than doubling his career total heading into the season.
225 GAMES WITH A TREY
ISU enters today's game at Wichita State with at least one made three in 225 straight games. The last time ISU didn't sink a trey was an 82-43 loss at Creighton on Dec. 12, 1999.
USS ELDRIDGE
It's not the Philadelphia Experiment, but at 6-foot-3, freshman Osiris Eldridge must be teleporting himself into rebounding position during Illinois State's league games. In fact, Eldridge leads the Redbirds with 6.0 caroms per game during ISU's 14 conference match-ups. He has 15 more rebounds than any other Redbird in league play.
DYERMAKER
Since entering the starting lineup 14 games ago, junior Levi Dyer has been making the most of his opportunities. During the span, Dyer has posted double-figure scoring in 13 outings, including four 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 15.2 points and is shooting 50.7 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.
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).
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 238 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).
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 51 baskets inside the arc. He has also continued to shoot from three and ranks second on the team with 42 made three-pointers.
BOO'S CLUES
Chances are if you want to see how the Redbirds did, just look at Boo Richardson's stat line. In the 12 wins, Richardson is averaging a team-high 13.8 points per game, while shooting 51.0 percent from the field and 41.3 percent on threes, with an 1.77 assist-to-turnover ratio. In the 13 losses, Richardson is averaging 7.1 points per game, shooting 27.4 percent, including 24.5 percent on threes, and has a 1.08 assist-to-turnover ratio.
DISHING THE ROCK
Junior 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 128 assists on the season and is on pace to finish the regular season with 158, which would be No. 11 all-time.
THREE-BALLIN'
Through 25 games, 40.5 percent of ISU's field goal attempts have come from beyond the 3-point arc. The `Birds are averaging 21.5 three-point tries per game. Against Texas-Arlington on Dec. 2, the Redbirds set a Redbird Arena record with 14 made treys, which was also the second most in ISU history. The Redbirds are on pace to shoot 667 threes on the season, which would top the school record of 615 set in 1995-96. ISU is also on pace to finish the season with 239 made treys, which would claim the school standard and top the current mark of 220 set during the 1997-98 season.
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 12 times. Levi Dyer has scored 20-plus four times, Boo Richardson three times, Anthony Slack twice, while Dilligard, Dom Johnson and Osiris Eldridge have all accomplished it once.
POINT-N-SHOOT
It's not just the points either; 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 43-15 (.741) over the last four seasons. When the Redbirds shoot worse, ISU is 5-48 (.094).
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 20.6 points per contest, while Armstrong owns an 13-5 record.
