Jan. 27, 2009
PLAYER TO WATCH
Senior Emmanuel Holloway returns to the state of Iowa, where he played two seasons at Iowa Western Community College. Holloway has made four-straight three-point baskets heading into tonight's game. He has scored in double-figures in three-straight games and in six of his last eight contests. Holloway is averaging 9.9 points per game this season, while shooting 39.7 percent on three-pointers. He is also second on the team with 57 assists and ranks third with 27 steals. In three career games against Northern Iowa, Holloway is averaging 3.3 points per game, while shooting 4-of-14 from the field.
THE GAME
Tonight's game begins the second half of the Missouri Valley Conference season and is a critical game for Illinois State's title hopes. Northern Iowa currently owns a two-game lead in the league race, but in order for the Redbirds to pull within one game, ISU will have to put an end to its three-game road losing streak. The Redbirds will also have to end a four-game losing streak against Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls, Iowa.
THE SERIES
Tonight's game is the 53rd meeting between the two schools. Illinois State owns a 34-18 lead in the series, but the two teams have split the last six meetings.
THE COACHES
Illinois State: Tim Jankovich (Kansas State, 1982) is 145-84 (.633) in his eighth season as a head coach, and 42-13 (.764) starting his second season with the Redbirds. At Illinois State, Jankovich is 21-9 against teams from the Missouri Valley Conference, 21-4 versus non-conference opponents, 27-2 at home, 11-8 on the road, 4-3 on a neutral court, 1-1 in postseason play and he is 2-1 against Northern Iowa. Northern Iowa: Ben Jacobson (North Dakota, 1994) is in his third season at Northern Iowa, his only head coaching position. He owns a 50-33 (.602) career record with the Panthers.
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.
The Redbirds opened the 2008-09 season with a school-record 14-straight victories.
ABOUT NORTHERN IOWA
Northern Iowa is located in Cedar Falls, Iowa, and has an enrollment of 12,908. The Panthers are members of the Missouri Valley Conference.
The Panthers return two starters from a team that finished 18-14 last season.
Northern Iowa was tabbed to finish sixth in the Missouri Valley Conference Preseason Poll, as compiled by league coaches, media and sports information directors.
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.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
With three-straight road losses, the Redbirds find themselves back on the road facing league-leading Northern Iowa. The three-game road skid ties the longest streak of its kind in the Tim Jankovich-era, as the Redbirds dropped three-straight road games last season. ISU is trying to avoid a four-game road losing streak, which hasn't happened since the 2006-07 season.
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.
WEDNESDAY WARRIORS
Illinois State's game at Northern Iowa marks the second of four-straight Wednesday road games for the Redbirds. ISU lost last week at Wichita State (Jan. 21), and will travel to Southern Illinois next week, before playing at Evansville in two weeks.
HOLLOWAY HEATING UP
After missing his first six three-point attempts following the celebration of the new year, Emmanuel Holloway has sank four-straight treys heading into tonight's game. Holloway is now shooting 39.7 percent this season beyond the arc and ranks fourth on the team with 29 made threes.
MAKING THE MOST OF IT
Champ Oguchi transferred to Illinois State with only one year of eligibility remaining. The senior from Houston has been making the most of his final year. With 17 points in Saturday's game against Southern Illinois, Oguchi has scored 308 points this season in 20 games, which is his career best for points in a season. Oguchi's best scoring season at Oregon was the 2005-06 season, when he scored 306 points in 32 games played.
MATCHBOX 20
Through 20 games, the Redbirds have posted a 17-3 record. The last time Illinois State had at least 17 wins in the first 20 games of the season was in the 1996-97 season. That year, the Redbirds posted a matching 17-3 mark, before winning the Missouri Valley Conference championship and advancing to the NCAA Tournament.
LETHAL WEAPON 4
The Redbirds have four starters that are shooting 39 percent or better from three-point land. Lloyd Phillips leads Illinois State by shooting at a 43-percent clip from three and Osiris Eldridge is second with a 39.8-percent accuracy on triples. Both Champ Oguchi and Emmanuel Holloway are shooting 39.7 percent on treys.
SQUEEZE THE THREES
That's exactly what the Redbird defense has been doing as of late. In the last three games, Illinois State opponents have combined to make 10 three-point baskets in the last three games, including three apiece in the last two games. The last time the Redbirds held opponents to back-to-back games with three or less treys was early in the 2006-07 season.
IT IS A NEW YEAR
Illinois State notched a 13-0 record this season in 2008, but has posted a 4-3 mark in the new year.
FOUR SCORE AND ...
The Redbirds win. With four players scoring double-digits in Saturday's win over Southern Illinois, it marked the 12th time this season that the Redbirds have had four players score in double-figures. In those 12 games, the Redbirds boast an 11-1 record. In addition, ISU has had at least three players score in double-digits in 16-straight games.
POTHOLES ON THE VALLEY ROAD
Central Illinois' roads are well-known for potholes during the winter months and Redbird basketball has hit a few this season on the Valley road. 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 1-3 record in conference road contests. Illinois State is shooting 30.5 percent as a team in league road games.
THE TRADITION CONTINUES
With at least 11 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 143 steals and forced 275 turnovers by its opponents and the Redbirds are cashing in. Through 20 games, ISU has scored 339 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.
LORDY, LORDY LOOKS WHO'S GOT 40
With the win over Drake earlier in the season, 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 42-13 record at ISU.
TOEING THE LINE
Through 20 games, Illinois State has made 295 free throws, two more than Redbird opponents have shot (293) 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 20 games, the Redbird starting five of Osiris Eldridge (34.4), Lloyd Phillips (32.2), Champ Oguchi (31.3), Emmanuel Holloway (28.9) and Dinma Odiakosa (25.3) have accounted for 75.1 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 Southern Illinois, Illinois State grabbed 11 offensive rebounds. It marked the 13th 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 62 offensive boards.
THE O-ZONE
In the last seven games, junior Dinma Odiakosa has really been accurate from the field. It could be said that he's "in the zone." Odiakosa is shooting 28-for-40 (.700) from the field during that span, and as a result, he currently leads the Valley in field goal percentage for the season at 61.3 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.
286-STRAIGHT GAMES WITH A TREY
After sinking seven three-pointers against Southern Illinois, Illinois State enters tonight's game at Northern Iowa with at least one made three in 286-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 62 offensive rebounds. Odiakosa has accumulated 153 offensive rebounds in his three seasons at Illinois State and his offensive boards have accounted for 40.6 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 20 games, the Redbirds are averaging a would-be school-record 9.2 made three-pointers per game. Also, ISU is shooting 39.4 percent from beyond the arc this season, after shooting 37.2 percent last year.
CRASHING THE BOARDS
Despite starting a four-guard lineup in 19-of-20 games, Illinois State has won the rebounding battle in 15 games this season and tied in one. On the year, the Redbirds own a +5.0 rebounding margin.
RAINING THREES
ISU connected on 12 three-point baskets against Drake four games ago and has collected double-digit made threes eight times this season, which is already three more games than the entire season last year.
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 1,142 career points.
STATUE OF ASPIRATIONS
During halftime of Illinois State's game against Southern Illinois (Jan. 24), the Redbird Athletics Department unveiled plans to have a statue erected to honor the nation's first African-American NCAA Division I head basketball coach, Will Robinson, and his most famous player, Doug Collins, a three-time All-American at Illinois State. The piece, which will be installed at the north entrance of Redbird Arena sometime in the summer 2009, is being sculpted by Lou Cella, a 1985 graduate of ISU. Robinson was named the Redbirds' head coach Feb. 27, 1970, and posted a 78-51 seasons in five seasons. He passed away at the age of 96, April 28, 2008.
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 76.4 percent winning percentage (42-13) 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.
WHAT'S A UTE?
Illinois State will find out first hand next season, when the Redbirds travel to Utah for the first-ever meeting between the two schools, Dec. 19, 2009, as part of the inaugural Missouri Valley-Mountain West Challenge Series. The game between ISU and Utah will be one of nine matchups between the two leagues.
FOUR SIGN FOR 2009 CLASS
Illinois State head coach Tim Jankovich announced the signing of four incoming freshmen during the early signing period. The Redbirds added Justin Clark (guard, 6-4, 176) and Jon Ekey (forward, 6-7, 190), teammates from Chrisman High School in Independence, Mo. ISU also added a pair of Chicago natives with Terrance Johnson (guard, 6-0, 170) from North Lawndale College Prep and Zeke Upshaw (guard, 6-6, 195) of University High School.
EIGHT IS ENOUGH
At least that's what Houston Baptist was saying, as the Redbirds had eight players score in double-figures. The eight double-digit scorers is the most by Illinois State in a single-game in the NCAA Division I-era (1970-present). Osiris Eldridge led the way with 16 points, while Emmanuel Holloway (15), Landon Shipley (14), Brandon Sampay (12), Lloyd Phillips (11), Champ Oguchi (11), Dinma Odiakosa (11) and Brandon Holtz (11) each scored 10 or more points in the game.
