Senior guard Bryan Mullins was named to the Valley's All-Preseason Team.
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 10-0 record at home this season, including a 4-0 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.
IT IS A NEW YEAR
Illinois State notched a 13-0 record this season in 2008, but have slipped in the new year with a 3-0 mark.
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. 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.
REMEMBERING WILL
At halftime of tonight's game, Illinois State Athletics will pay homage to one of its greats and a civil rights pioneer. Will Robinson, who became the head men's basketball coach at Illinois State Feb. 27, 1970, was the first African-American basketball coach at an NCAA Division I institution. After coaching the Redbirds for five seasons and posting a 78-51 record, Robinson went on to serve as a scout for the Detroit Pistons for 28 years. He passed away April 28, 2008, at the age of 96.
ENCOUNTERING SOME PEAKS AND VALLEYS
After posting a perfect 11-0 non-conference record, the Redbirds are experiencing some tough times in Valley play, especially on the road. ISU enters tonight with a perfect 4-0 home record in league games, but is 1-3 in conference road contests, with the lone win coming in overtime at Missouri State. Fortunately, tonight's game against Southern Illinois is at home, where the Redbirds are outscoring Valley foes by 17 points. ISU is also shooting 45.7 percent on three-pointers in home league games, as opposed to 30.5 percent on the road. The Redbirds also boast a +6.8 rebounding margin in conference home games, while holding opponents to 39 percent shooting from the field.
THE TRADITION CONTINUES
With at least 12 games remaining in the season, Illinois State has secured itself of another winning season in men's basketball. In the 38 years of being an NCAA Division I program, the Redbirds have had 31 winning seasons.
TAKING ADVANTAGE OF OTHER'S MISTAKES
On the season, Illinois State has accumulated 140 steals and forced 264 turnovers by its opponents and the Redbirds are cashing in. Through 19 games, ISU has scored 323 points off turnovers or 17.0 points per game. Scoring off opponent turnovers has accounted for 23.1 percent of the Redbirds' offense this 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 26-2 (.929) mark at home. Overall, ISU owns a 210-78 all-time record on Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena, and boasts a 72.9-percent winning percentage.
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 41-13 record at ISU.
TOEING THE LINE
Through 19 games, Illinois State has made 278 free throws, two more than Redbird opponents have shot (276) 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 ISU foes had 612 shots from the charity stripe.
THE LION'S SHARE
Illinois State's primary starting five is logging the lion's share of the minutes this season. Through 19 games, the Redbird starting five of Osiris Eldridge (34.5), Lloyd Phillips (32.1), Champ Oguchi (31.5), Emmanuel Holloway (29.3) and Dinma Odiakosa (24.6) have accounted for 75 percent of the team's minutes. As a result, as a group, the Redbird starters are averaging 30.4 minutes per game.
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 11.2 offensive rebounds per game. Junior Dinma Odiakosa leads the team with 61 offensive boards.
THE O-ZONE
In the last six games, junior Dinma Odiakosa has really been accurate from the field. It could be said that he's "in the zone." Odiakosa is shooting 26-for-35 (.743) from the field during that span, and as a result, he currently leads the Valley in field goal percentage for the season at 62.2 percent.
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.
285-STRAIGHT GAMES WITH A TREY
After sinking nine three-pointers at Wichita State, Illinois State enters tonight's game against Southern Illinois with at least one made three in 285-straight games. The last time ISU didn't sink a trey was an 82-43 loss at Creighton Dec. 12, 1999.
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 61 offensive rebounds. Odiakosa has accumulated 152 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 7.3 boards per game.
JUST IMAGINE ...
If the three-point line was not moved back a foot. Through 19 games, the Redbirds are averaging a would-be school-record 9.3 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 18 of the first 19 games, Illinois State has won the rebounding battle in 14 games this season and tied in one. On the year, the Redbirds own a +4.5 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 75.9 percent winning percentage (41-13) 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.
