HBU's senior forward Gordon Watt is a native of Evanston, Ill., and attended Evanston Township High School.
START ME UP
Illinois State's starters are accounting for 88.4 percent of the offensive output so far this season. In the first two games, the Redbird starters have had nine double-digit scoring efforts. After all five starters scored in double-figures at Wright State, every starter, except for Emmanuel Holloway (8 points) scored in double-digits against Alabama State.
40-YEAR FEAT
With a win today, the Redbirds would start a season, in back-to-back seasons, with a perfect 3-0 record. The last time ISU began back-to-back seasons with a 3-0 mark was in the 1967-68 and 1968-69 seasons.
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: 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.
ON GUARD
Illinois State's two leading rebounders happen to be members of the backcourt, not the more common frontcourt. Senior Champ Oguchi leads the team with 20 boards this season, for a 10 rebound-per-game average. Junior Osiris Eldridge is second on the team with 14 caroms and seven rebounds-per-contest.
A LITTLE MOODY
In it's three games played at SMU's Moody Coliseum, the Redbirds have had a little bit of success. With Friday's 77-71 win over Alabama State, the Redbirds are now 2-1 all-time in the facility. The Redbirds were 1-1 in the 1985 Dallas Morning News Classic, which was held at Moody Coliseum. ISU defeated McNeese State in the four-team tournament, before falling to host SMU in the championship.
DOUBLING OVER
Entering Saturday's game against Houston Baptist, Illinois State's five starters are averaging double-figure scoring. The Redbirds have five players averaging double-digit points and the five happen to be the group of 'Birds who have started in both games this season.
CHAMP OF THE BOARDS
Senior Champ Oguchi's 13 rebounds at Wright State were not only a career high, but it also tied the school record for most rebounds by a newcomer in his Illinois State debut. Oguchi's first game in a Redbird uniform equaled the effort of the late-Reggie Wilson's 13 rebounds at Dayton Nov. 23, 1990. Oguchi's 10 defensive rebounds were the most-ever by a Redbird in his debut, topping the nine defensive caroms by Anthony Slack against SMU Nov. 12, 2006.
PHILLIPS FILLS IT UP
Last season at Iowa Western Community College, Lloyd Phillips averaged 17.3 points per game. He showed his ability to score, especially in the clutch, in Illinois State's season-opening win at Wright State. Phillips shot 4-for-7 from the floor, including 2-for-4 on threes, and finished with 10 points. However, his biggest basket occurred in the game's final 43 seconds, when his running layup found the bottom of the net, which ended an 8-0 Raider run.
DOUBLE DEBUT
At Wright State, Champ Oguchi notched his first-career double-double thanks to a career-best 13 rebounds. Oguchi added 14 points and became the first Redbird to post a double-double in his ISU debut since Neil Plank scored 17 points and grabbed 10 rebounds against Florida A&M Nov. 23, 2003.
WINNING LEADS TO MORE WINNING
Sure, Illinois State is only 1-0 after defeating Wright State, 69-61, in the season-opener. However, in the NCAA Division-I era (1970-present), the Redbirds have gone on to post winning seasons in 20-of-23 seasons when they have won the opener.
ROAD WARRIORS
The Redbirds have had their share of luck away from Redbird Arena in the Tim Jankovich-era. ISU has posted an 11-8 mark away from home during that span, including a 3-3 record in games played on neutral floors. With the season-opening win at Wright State, Illinois State snapped an eight-season losing streak in its road opener.
NON-CON SUCCESS
Since his arrival to Illinois State, head coach Tim Jankovich and the Redbirds are 14-5 in non-conference games.
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 now has 880 career points and needs only 120 tallies to join the club. He would be the first addition since 2005, when Gregg Alexander, Vince Greene and Trey Guidry became members.
LEADING THE PLUSES AND MINUSES
Illinois State senior Emmanuel Holloway is leading the team in plus/minus after two games. Holloway, who has been on the floor for 58 Illinois State points, leads the team with a +12 rating. Over 40 minutes, Holloway is averaging a +16.97 for the Redbirds when he's on the floor.
BOARDING CALL
Even though the Redbirds have started a four-guard offense in the first two games of the season, it hasn't affected Illinois State's rebounding. In fact, in both games, the Redbirds have won the battle of the boards. On the season, ISU is boasting a 7.5 rebounding margin.
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.
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.
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. The Redbirds just missed that limit in the season-opener at Wright State, as the Raiders' basket with 22 seconds left in the game put them over, as the Redbirds won, 69-61.
268 GAMES WITH A TREY
After sinking nine three-pointers in the victory over Alabama State, ISU enters today's game against Houston Baptist with at least one made three in 268-straight games. The last time ISU didn't sink a trey was an 82-43 loss at Creighton Dec. 12, 1999.
BACK ON TRACK
With the 25-10 overall record in 2007-08, the Redbirds ended a string of two-straight losing seasons. Non-winning seasons are not common around Illinois State basketball. In the 37 years of being a Division I program, the Redbirds have had just seven losing seasons.
BEING THANKFUL FOR THE WINS
In 111 years of Redbird basketball, Illinois State owns a 57-33 (.633) record in the month of November. The Redbirds posted a 4-2 mark in the 11th month last season. ISU will play a total of seven games this season in the month of November, but has already defeated Wright State (69-61) and Alabama State (77-71).
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. Currently he holds a 73.0 percent winning percentage (27-10) at Illinois State, which ranks fourth on the all-time coaching ledger in ISU's 111-year history.
