Nov. 10, 2008
PLAYER TO WATCH
Junior guard Osiris Eldridge leads the Redbirds in nearly every active career category. Eldridge, who finished runner-up for the 2008 Larry Bird Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year Award, was tabbed as the league's preseason player of the year at the conference's media day in October. Eldridge averaged 15.8 points per game last season and posted 30 double-digit scoring efforts. In his Redbird career, Eldridge has averaged 15 points per exhibition game. He has also shot a combined 11-for-19 (.579) from the field, including 6-for-9 (.667) on threes, in his two career exhibition games. He is also averaging seven rebounds per exhibition outing, after posting 10 boards, along with 17 points, last season against Quincy.
THE GAME
Tonight's game is the first and only exhibition game of the season for Illinois State. The Redbirds traveled to Loyola-Chicago last Saturday for a closed practice. The Redbirds open the season Saturday at Wright State in Dayton, Ohio. Illinois-Springfield enters tonight's game with a 2-0 record after defeating St. Francis (Ill.), 81-60, in its season-opener, and dropping St. Ambrose, 79-64, Monday night at Springfield, Ill.
THE SERIES
Tonight is the first meeting between the two schools.
THE COACHES
Illinois State: Tim Jankovich (Kansas State, 1982) is 128-81 (.612) beginning his eighth season as a head coach, and 25-10 (.714) starting his second season with the Redbirds. At Illinois State, Jankovich is 13-5 against the Missouri Valley Football Conference, 12-5 versus non-conference opponents, 16-2 at home, 7-5 on the road, 2-3 on a neutral court and 1-1 in postseason play.
Illinois-Springfield: Kevin Gamble (Iowa, 1987) is in his seventh season at Illinois-Springfield and owns a 101-88 (.534) record with the Prairie Stars.
THE PROGRAM
Illinois State is entering its 39th season as a NCAA Division I program, and during that time, the Redbirds have only had seven losing seasons.
The Redbirds have made 16 postseason appearances, including last season with a National Invitational Tournament berth.
In 2007-08, Illinois State tied the school record for wins in a season, as the Redbirds posted a 25-10 overall mark.
The 25 victories in 2007-08 under Tim Jankovich were the most ever by a first-year head basketball coach at Illinois State.
ABOUT ILLINOIS-SPRINGFIELD
Illinois-Springfield is located in Springfield, Ill., and has an enrollment of 4,500. The Prairie Stars are affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and compete in the American Midwest Conference.
The Prairie Star basketball program is in its seventh year of existence. In 2005-06 and 2006-07, UIS advanced to the NAIA National Tournament after winning the AMC Tournament in back-to-back seasons.
UIS returns four starters, including leading scorer Kelvin Johnson (14.9 ppg.) from a team that posted a 22-10 mark in 2007-08.
TIES WITH THE PRAIRIE STARS
UIS guard Richard Oruche walked on at Northern Illinois in 2005 when current Illinois State assistant coach Rob Judson was the Huskie head coach.
The Prairie Stars feature three players from Peoria, Ill., in Matt Reynolds (Limestone HS), Kyle Holmes (Limestone HS), Jacob Motteler (Peoria HS). Forward Dane Litwiller is a native of Danvers, Ill., and played as a prep at Olympia High School.
UIS' Ryan Thornton played at Bradley last season, but did not appear in either game against ISU.
IN-SEASON MEDIA CONFERENCES
Illinois State Athletics Media Relations will host seven in-season media conferences during the 2008-09 season. Each conference will feature head coach Tim Jankovich and a member of the Redbird basketball team. The media conferences will start at 1 p.m., and be held in the Redbird Arena Media Room, which is just off the southwest loading dock. The scheduled dates are: Nov. 24, Dec. 18, Jan. 5, Jan. 23, Jan. 29, Feb. 23 and March 3.
VALLEY TELECONFERENCES
Teleconferences with The Valley head coaches will be conducted each Tuesday throughout the season. The first teleconference is slated for Dec. 16, followed by every Tuesday from Jan. 6 to March 6. The conferences begin at 10 a.m. CT. To participate in the conference calls, call 913.981.5517. Illinois State head coach Tim Jankovich will participate at 10:30 a.m.
EXHIBITION HISTORY
Head coach Tim Jankovich owns a 1-0 record at Illinois State in exhibition games, after last season's 82-61 win over Quincy. The Redbirds have won five-straight exhibition games, with their last defeat coming Nov. 10, 2003, against the EA Sports All-Stars (78-71).
COURTING THE 1,000-POINT CLUB
If he stays at last season's scoring pace (15.8 points per game), Illinois State junior Osiris Eldridge should become the 39th member of the Redbirds' 1,000-point club against Morehead State (Dec. 14). Eldridge enters the season with 849 career points and needs only 151 tallies to join the club. He would be the first addition since 2005, when Gregg Alexander, Vince Greene and Trey Guidry became members.
THE POWER OF PROGRESS
Sorry Illinois State opponents, but junior forward Dinma Odiakosa keeps getting better and better. Using the percentage of increase between his freshman and sophomore campaigns, Odiakosa could have a big 2008-09 season. With a 531 percent increase in scoring and a 262 percent increase in rebounding between his first two seasons, Odiakosa is on track to average 36.7 points and 14.4 boards per game.
HOME SWEET HOME
Illinois State celebrated its 20th season in Redbird Arena by posting the most single-season victories on Doug Collins Court. The Redbirds notched a 16-2 home record last season, which were three more victories than the previous best for a season. ISU owns a 200-78 all-time record on Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena, and boasts a 71.9 percent winning percentage.
ELDRIDGE VALLEY PRESEASON PLAYER OF THE YEAR
On Oct. 28, 2008, junior Osiris Eldridge became the third Redbird to be named the Missouri Valley Conference's Preseason Player of the Year. Eldridge joined Illinois State's Tarise Bryson (2001-02) and Rico Hill (1997-98). Bryson suffered a career-ending injury in the first game of the season against Weber State, while Hill went on to claim the league's postseason player of the year honor, as well.
SORRY, A 60-POINT LIMIT
Illinois State held its opponents to under 60 points 19 times last season, including eight of the last nine games. The point limit worked well for the Redbirds, as ISU posted an 18-1 mark in those contests. When the ISU defense was really stingy, the Redbirds were 11-0 in games where their opponents scored less than 50 points in a game.
RARE COMPANY
After being named the Valley's Preseason Player of the Year, junior Osiris Eldridge appears to have an inside track to join a select group. Eldridge won the conference's freshman of the year award in 2007. If he ends his Illinois State career with the Larry Bird MVC Player of the Year Award, which he finished runner-up for last season, Eldridge would become only the second player in league history to win both the freshman of the year and player of the year award, joining Southern Illinois' Ashraf Amaya.
PLAY LIKE A CHAMP
Every player loves game day, but for Illinois State, one in particular is going to be extremely pleased to be back on the floor. Senior guard Champ Oguchi will take the floor for his final collegiate season. Oguchi played his first three years at Oregon, before transferring to ISU prior to last season. As a result, per NCAA residence rules, Oguchi had to sit out last season.
266 GAMES WITH A TREY
Sure tonight is an exhibition game, but there is still a good chance Illinois State is going to seek at least one 3-pointer. ISU enters the 2008-09 season with at least one made three in 266-straight games. The last time ISU didn't sink a trey was an 82-43 loss at Creighton Dec. 12, 1999.
JANKOVICH'S ENCORE
Head coach Tim Jankovich's first season at Illinois State was a memorable one, not only for him, but for the program. With a 25-10 record, Jankovich guided the Redbirds to a school-record-tying 25 wins and he posted the most single-season wins for a first-year coach in program history.
