Wichita State was tabbed to finish ninth in the Missouri Valley Conference Preseason Poll, as compiled by league coaches, media and sports information directors.
GRABBING A KOCH
Tonight Illinois State will have the opportunity to do something that the Redbirds haven't done in over a decade - win back-to-back games at Charles Koch Arena against Wichita State. ISU posted a 49-46 win at Wichita State last season and the Redbirds have not won two-straight games at Koch Arena since the 1996-97 and 1997-98 seasons.
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 scheduled 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.
FOUR SCORE AND ...
The Redbirds win. With four players scoring double-digits in Sunday's win over Missouri State, it marked the 11th time this season that the Redbirds have had four players score in double figures. In those 11 games, the Redbirds boast a 10-1 record. In addition, ISU has had at least three players score in double-digits in 14-straight games.
WHAT A DAY FOR SAMPAY
In Sunday's win over Missouri State, senior Brandon Sampay came off the Illinois State bench and recorded the first double-double of his career. Sampay finished with 12 points and a career-best 10 rebounds. He also posted a career-best three blocked shots in the 68-56 win over the Bears.
THE CHAMP CLAMP
Illinois State senior Champ Oguchi has been shutting down opposing offenses as of late. As a result, Oguchi has collected 11 steals in the last three games combined, including four apiece in the last two games. Oguchi is now tied with Osiris Eldridge for the team lead with 29 steals on the season.
LORDY, LORDY LOOKS WHO'S GOT 40
With the win over Drake last 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. Jankovich now boasts a 41-12 record at ISU.
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.
TOEING THE LINE
Through 18 games, Illinois State has made 275 free throws, 12 more than Redbird opponents have shot (260) 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 Missouri State, Illinois State grabbed 10 offensive rebounds. It marked the 12th game this season where the Redbirds have pulled down double-digit offensive rebounds. On the season, ISU is averaging 11.4 offensive rebounds per game. Junior Dinma Odiakosa leads the team with 59 offensive boards.
DOMINATING DINMA
In the last five games, junior Dinma Odiakosa has really been a force inside offensively. Odiakosa is averaging 10.4 points per game during that span, while scoring in double-digits in four of the five gams. He is shooting 22-for-31 (.710) from the field over the five games and as a result, he currently leads the Valley in field goal percentage for the season at 60.9 percent. Odiakosa also notched his first double-double of the season against Drake and tied a career-high with 13 boards against Missouri State.
BRING BACK THE ROAD WARRIORS
The Redbirds have had their share of luck away from Redbird Arena in the Tim Jankovich-era, but have lost their last two away from Normal. ISU has posted a 11-7 (.611) mark away from home during his time and has added a 4-3 record in games played on neutral floors. Illinois State has wins at Wright State (Nov. 15), SMU (Nov. 23), Central Michigan (Dec. 17) and Missouri State (Dec. 28) this season.
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.
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.
284-STRAIGHT GAMES WITH A TREY
After sinking six three-pointers against Missouri State, Illinois State enters tonight's game against Wichita State with at least one made three in 284-straight games. The last time ISU didn't sink a trey was an 82-43 loss at Creighton Dec. 12, 1999.
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 59 offensive rebounds. Odiakosa has accumulated 150 offensive rebounds in his three seasons at Illinois State and his offensive boards have accounted for 41.2 percent of his total rebounds. This year, Odiakosa leads the Redbirds in total rebounding with 7.4 boards per game.
JUST IMAGINE ...
If the three-point line was not moved back a foot. Through 18 games, the Redbirds are averaging a would-be school-record 9.3 made three-pointers per game. Also, ISU is shooting 39.2 percent from beyond the arc this season, after shooting 37.2 percent last year.
CRASHING THE BOARDS
Despite starting a four-guard lineup in 17 of the first 18 games, Illinois State has won the rebounding battle in 13 games this season and tied in one. On the year, the Redbirds own a +4.7 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 1,114 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 77.4 percent winning percentage (41-12) at Illinois State, which ranks third 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.
