Nov. 10, 2009
NORMAL, Ill. -
Pregame Notes in PDF Format 
SETTING THE SCENE
Date: Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009
Location: Normal, Ill.
Tip-off: 7:05 p.m. CST
Arena: Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena
Arena Capacity: 10,200
PLAYER TO WATCH
Illinois State's Osiris Eldridge, the 2009 Missouri Valley Conference Preseason Player of the Year and the 2009 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament Most Outstanding Player, is entering his final season with the Redbirds. He tested the NBA Draft market during the off-season and will try to lead ISU to its first NCAA Tournament since 1998. Eldridge ranked second on the team in scoring last season with 14 points per game, and was also second in rebounding with 6.2 boards per contest.
THE GAME
This is the only public exhibition for Illinois State before opening the season Sunday at SIU-Edwardsville. Quincy lost to Notre Dame (75-54) and Illinois (84-63), prior to its third exhibition game of the season against the Redbirds. The Hawks begin their regular-season schedule Sunday as well, when they host Upper Iowa.
THE SERIES
With tonight's game being an exhibition game it will not go down in Illinois State history, but these two teams have met on the hardwood before. During the regular season, ISU and Quincy have played each other 14 times with the Redbirds owning an 8-6 advantage. The two teams haven't faced each other since the 1980-81 season, when ISU won, 70-59.
THE COACHES
Illinois State: Tim Jankovich (Kansas State, 1982) is 152-91 (.626) in his ninth season as a head coach, and 49-20 (.710) starting his third season with the Redbirds. At Illinois State, Jankovich is 28-14 against teams from the Missouri Valley Conference, 21-6 versus non-conference opponents, 29-4 at home, 14-12 on the road and 6-4 on a neutral court.
Quincy: Marty Bell (South Carolina, 1985) is beginning his seventh season at Quincy, his only head coaching position. He owns a 103-73 (.585) career record with the Hawks.
THE PROGRAM
Illinois State is in its 40th season as a NCAA Division I program, and during that time, the Redbirds have only had seven losing seasons.
The Redbirds have made 17 postseason appearances, including the last two seasons 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 QUINCY
Quincy is located in Quincy, Ill., and has an enrollment of 1,250. The Hawks compete at the NCAA Division II level and are members of the Great Lakes Valley Conference.
The Hawks return four starters from a team which finished 16-12 last season.
Quincy suffered a 75-54 loss at Notre Dame on Nov. 6. The Hawks were held to 31.7 percent shooting, including 23.1 percent from three-point range. Senior Billy Baptist, who transferred from UIC, led the Hawks in scoring with 14 points. The Hawks lost at Illinois Sunday, 84-63, after shooting 41 percent from the field. Quincy led by seven points early, but were outscored by 14 points in the second frame.
FIFTY WOULD BE NIFTY
When Illinois State claims its first victory of the 2009-10 season it will mark the 50th win for the Redbirds under head coach Tim Jankovich. The third-year ISU head coach will become the second fastest Redbird mentor to win 50 games. Only Gene Smithson did it quicker, with 50 wins in 64 games (1975-77).
49 IS ALSO FINE
Over the last two seasons, head coach Tim Jankovich has led the Redbirds to 49 wins and only 20 defeats. The 49 victories ties the school record for the most wins over a two-year period. The recent two-year streak equals the efforts of the 1996-97 (24-6) and 1997-98 (25-6) teams.
IN-SEASON MEDIA CONFERENCES
ISU Athletics Media Relations will host eight in-season media conferences during the 2009-10 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 on the east side of the lower concourse. The remaining scheduled dates are: Nov. 9, Dec. 3, Jan. 7, Jan. 21, Jan. 29, Feb. 8, Feb. 18 and March 2.
VALLEY TELECONFERENCES
Teleconferences with The Valley head coaches will be conducted each Tuesday throughout the season. The first teleconference is slated for Dec. 15, followed by every Tuesday from Jan. 5 to March 2. The conferences begin at 10 a.m. CT. To participate in the conference calls, call 913.981.4900. Illinois State head coach Tim Jankovich will participate at 10:30 a.m.
DEJA VU, ALL OVER AGAIN
Prior to this season, senior Osiris Eldridge was tabbed as the Missouri Valley Conference's Preseason Player of the Year and the Redbirds were predicted to finish third in the league's preseason poll. Before last year, Eldridge was named the conference's preseason player of the year and ISU was projected to finish third.
A RETURN TO POSTSEASON
Illinois State, which became an NCAA Division I program prior to the 1970-71 season, enjoyed postseason play for the 16th time last season. The Redbirds have qualified for the NCAA Tournament six times (1983, 1984, 1985, 1990, 1997 and 1998) and the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) 10 times (1977, 1978, 1980, 1987, 1988, 1995, 1996, 2001, 2008 and 2009).
BACK-TO-BACK TRIPS
After making the NIT each of the last two years, Illinois State posted successive postseason berths for the first time in over a decade. The last time the Redbirds had back-to-back postseason bids was during the 1996-97 and 1997-98 seasons, when ISU went to the NCAA Tournament each season.
O MY!
The play of Osiris Eldridge at the 2009 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament was spectacular and his final 21 minutes of action were nothing short of legendary. As a result, Eldridge became only the second player in league history to win the Valley's Most Outstanding Player Award from the tournament's runner-up team. Eldridge joined Rickey Jackson (1990), Rico Hill (1997) and Dan Muller (1998) as Redbirds to have won the league's MOP award.
THE MINUTEMAN
After logging three minutes into the 2009-10 season, senior Osiris Eldridge will become only the 12th Redbird in school history to play 3,000 career minutes. He enters the season with 2,997 minutes played.
THREECOLA!
The Redbirds finished the 2008-09 season with 297 made three-pointers, which set the school standard for treys in a season. The made threes topped the old mark, which was set during the 2007-08 season, as the Redbirds have made 552 three-pointers in head coach Tim Jankovich's two years at Illinois State.
A CLOSER LOOK
Sure, Illinois State had 10 defeats last season, but only one loss was by double-digits and it was a non-conference game. Of the 10 losses, eight occurred away from Redbird Arena and five were in overtime. In the combined losses, the Redbirds were defeated by a total of 48 points, and in the eight Valley losses, ISU was beaten by a total of 30 points.
THE TRADITION CONTINUES
With a 24-10 overall record last year, Illinois State secured itself 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.
300-STRAIGHT GAMES WITH A TREY
When the Redbirds travel to SIU-Edwardsville, Illinois State will enter that game with at least one made three in 300-straight games. The last time ISU didn't sink a trey was an 82-43 loss at Creighton Dec. 12, 1999.
CLIMBING THE RANKS
Senior Osiris Eldridge became the 39th addition to Illinois State's 1,000-point club, but with a full-season to be played now the question is how high will he climb. He enters the season with 1,325 career points, which ranks No. 17. His best single scoring season was his sophomore year when he finished with 554 points. In order to become the second Redbird to score 2,000 career points, Eldridge will need to 675 points this season, or 19.3 points per game.
STATUE OF ASPIRATIONS
In September 2009, the Redbird Athletics Department unveiled a statue which honors 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 was installed at the north entrance of Redbird Arena, was 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.
