Missouri State was tabbed to finish last in the Missouri Valley Conference Preseason Poll, as compiled by league coaches, media and sports information directors.
WE MUST PROTECT THIS HOUSE
The Redbirds are well aware that one of the keys to claiming the Missouri Valley Conference crown is to protect Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena. Illinois State has done just that to date, by boasting a perfect 9-0 record at home this season, including a 3-0 mark in the Valley.
VALLEY CHAMPS?
Sure, it's a little early to be talking about a conference championship. However, in the history of the conference, 17 teams have started a season 13-0 or better, including Illinois State's 14-0 start this season, and 14 of those teams went on to win the Valley championship. Only Bradley in 1951 and Indiana State in 1978 did not win the championship after starting the season with 13-plus wins.
IN-SEASON MEDIA CONFERENCES
ISU 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 ISU 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 remaining dates are: 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 3. 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.
20/20
For the first time since joining the Missouri Valley Conference in 1982, Illinois State posted back-to-back 20-plus-point wins over league foes. ISU downed Evansville, 80-50, before topping Creighton, 86-64.
LORDY, LORDY LOOKS WHO'S GOT 40
With a 65-61 win over Drake Wednesday night, Illinois State head coach Tim Jankovich captured his 40th victory with the Redbirds. As a result, Jankovich became the fastest ISU men's basketball coach to win 40 games for the Redbirds. Jankovich won his 40th game in 52 contests, while former head coach Gene Smithson won his 40th game at ISU in his 53rd try.
DOUBLE TROUBLE
When Champ Oguchi dropped a career-high 29 points on Drake Wednesday night, it marked the second-straight 20-point scoring game for the Redbird senior. Earlier in the season, junior Osiris Eldridge scored 20-plus points in back-to-back games. Having a tandem that can score 20 points in two-straight games hasn't happened at Illinois State since Trey Guidry and Lorenzo Gordon accomplished the feat in the 2004-05 season.
HOME SWEET HOME
Illinois State is in its 21st season of basketball action on Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena. In the Tim Jankovich-era, the Redbirds have posted a 25-2 (.926) mark at home. Overall, ISU owns a 209-78 all-time record on Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena, and boasts a 75.2-percent winning percentage.
RAINING THREES
Illinois State connected on 12 three-point baskets against Drake and have collected double-digit made three-pointers in eight of 17 games, which is already three more games than the entire season last year.
BALL PROTECTION
For the first time this season, the Redbirds have posted back-to-back games with single-digit turnover numbers. Illinois State only committed nine turnovers in each of the last two games.
NOT TICKLING THE TWINE IN 2009
Illinois State's field goal percentage is down five percentage points since the turn of the new year. The Redbirds shot 46.2 percent from the field in the first 13 games of the season, but have since shot 41.1 percent from the floor. Individually, the biggest hit has been taken by Lloyd Phillips, who shot 48.1 percent in 2008 and has shot 28.2 in the last four games.
TOEING THE LINE
Through 17 games, Illinois State has made 257 free throws, three more than Redbird opponents (254) have shot on the season. If this trend continues, it would mark the first time a team had more free throw makes than an opponent had attempts since the 1967-68 season when the Redbirds made 641 free throws, while the ISU foes had 612 shots from the charity stripe.
BOARDED UP
Against Drake, Illinois State grabbed 14 offensive rebounds. It marked the 11th game this season where the Redbirds have pulled down double-digit offensive rebounds. On the season, ISU is averaging 11.5 offensive rebounds per game. Junior Dinma Odiakosa leads the team with 53 offensive boards.
DOMINATING DINMA
In the last four games, junior Dinma Odiakosa has really been a force inside offensively. Odiakosa is averaging 11.8 points per game during that span, while scoring in double-digits in each game. He is shooting 20-for-28 (.714) from the field over the four games and as a result, he currently leads the Valley in field goal percentage for the season at 60.7 percent. Odiakosa notched his first double-double of the season against Drake.
AN ALL-AROUND GAME
This season Osiris Eldridge eclipsed a trio of milestones with 1,000 career points, 400 career rebounds and 100 career steals. In doing so, Eldridge became the seventh Redbird all-time to accomplish the feat, joining Tony Holifield, Rickie Johnson, Rick Lamb, Dan Muller, Mike VandeGarde and LeRoy Watkins.
283-STRAIGHT GAMES WITH A TREY
After sinking 12 three-pointers against Drake, Illinois State enters tonight's game against Missouri State with at least one made three in 283-straight games. The last time ISU didn't sink a trey was an 82-43 loss at Creighton Dec. 12, 1999.
THE DYNAMIC DUO
Through 17 games, both Champ Oguchi (16.2 ppg.) and Osiris Eldridge (15.1 ppg.) are averaging 15 points per game for the 'Birds. The last time ISU had two players average 15 or more points in a season was in 1988-89, when Jarod Coleman (16.0 ppg.) and Rickey Jackson (15.8 ppg.) equaled the feat.
THREECOLA!
With 14 made three-pointers against Evansville, Dec. 31, ISU dropped in 14 treys in a single game for the third time this season. Heading into this season, Illinois State had only made 14 or more three-pointers in three games in the history of the program since the three-point line was instituted for the 1986-87 season.
LET THE RECORD SHOW
Illinois State began the season with a 14-0 record, the best start in school history. The previous mark was set in 1977-78, when the Redbirds won their first 12 games to open the campaign. Prior to ISU's first loss, the Redbirds were one of only four teams in all of NCAA Division I basketball to be unbeaten.
CREATING THE SECOND CHANCE
Junior Dinma Odiakosa is all about giving his teammates a second chance, and as a result, is leading the team with 53 offensive rebounds. Odiakosa has accumulated 144 offensive rebounds in his three seasons at Illinois State and his offensive boards have accounted for 41 percent of his total rebounds. This year, Odiakosa leads the Redbirds in total rebounding with 7.1 boards per game.
JUST IMAGINE ...
If the three-point line was not moved back a foot. Through 17 games, the Redbirds are averaging a would-be school-record 9.5 made three-pointers per game. Also, ISU is shooting 39 percent from beyond the arc this season, after shooting 37.2 percent last year.
CRASHING THE BOARDS
Despite starting a four-guard lineup in 16 of the first 17 games, Illinois State has won the rebounding battle in 13 games this season and tied in one. On the year, the Redbirds own a +5.1 rebounding margin.
JOINING THE CLUB
With his 18 points at Central Michigan, Osiris Eldridge became the 39th member of ISU's 1,000-point club. Eldridge, who is the first addition to the 1,000-point club since 2005, currently has 1,106 career points.
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.
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 76.9 percent winning percentage (40-12) at Illinois State, which ranks fourth on the all-time coaching ledger in ISU's 111-year history.
SIXTH CENTURY
In the history of the world, the sixth century was deemed as the start of the dark ages. However in Redbird basketball, players who score their 100th point of the season through the first six games has been anything but dark. ISU's Champ Oguchi scored 104 points through the first six games for the Redbirds. The last player at ISU to surpass the 100-point plateau through six games was Lorenzo Gordon in the 2004-05 season. The 2005 Missouri Valley Conference Newcomer of the Year had 107 points after six games.
