Both Benn and Tyrone Lewis were named to the Preseason All-MAAC Team.
AND THEN, THERE WERE 16
Illinois State is one of just 16 NCAA Division I basketball programs that are still undefeated. The Redbirds (7-0) are joined by Kentucky (9-0), New Mexico (9-0), Texas Tech (9-0), Villanova (9-0), Florida (8-0), Kansas (8-0), Missouri State (8-0), Purdue (8-0), Syracuse (8-0), Georgetown (7-0), UNLV (7-0), Seton Hall (7-0), Texas (7-0), West Virginia (6-0) and UTEP (5-0).
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: 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.
HIGH FREQUENCY
Dinma Odiakosa has been on a different wavelength to start this season. The Redbird senior is shooting 72.9 percent from the field (35-for-48), which not only leads the Missouri Valley Conference, but also ranks No. 2 in the nation.
OSIRIS, THE GOD OF THE THREES
In mythology, Osiris is an Egyptian god, typically called the god of the afterlife, underworld or dead. In Redbird lore, Osiris Eldridge is now the god of the three-point shot. With three treys against Central Michigan Saturday, Eldridge has a school-record 226 career three-point field goals, surpassing the old mark by Gregg Alexander of 224. Eldridge also ranks No. 17 in Missouri Valley Conference history, and needs only one more triple to tie former Southern Illinois guard Troy Hudson.
THE GRINCH FOR A PINCH
In the last four games, senior Lloyd Phillips has totaled 11 steals. On the season, he leads the Redbirds with 15 takeaways and he also leads the Missouri Valley Conference with 2.1 steals per game.
ANYTHING BUT BUSTERS
Illinois State has never lost a return game as part of the ESPNU BracketBusters Series, which began during the 2002-03 season. Since then, the Redbirds have posted a 6-0 record with wins over Marshall (79-67, in 2004), at Loyola-Chicago (73-67, in 2004), Wisconsin-Green Bay (59-51, in 2005), Miami-Ohio (64-40, in 2006), at Ball State (65-49, in 2007) and at Wright State (69-61, in 2008).
THE LEADER OF THE PACK
As the leading scorer for ISU in six of the first seven games, senior Osiris Eldridge is averaging 20.3 points per game this season, which is the highest scoring average in the Valley. If Eldridge can maintain this kind of output, he would become the first Redbird to lead the conference in scoring since Tarise Bryson in 2001. Bryson averaged 22.8 points per game en route to being named the MVC Player of the Year. Eldridge's 21.3 points per game, is also tied for No. 28 nationally in scoring average.
307-STRAIGHT GAMES WITH A TREY
Illinois State enters the Niagara game with at least one made three in 307-straight games. The last time ISU didn't sink a trey was an 82-43 loss at Creighton Dec. 12, 1999.
A BLOCK PARTY
Through seven games, it appears that the 2009-10 Redbirds could make a run at the school's blocked shot record. Currently, ISU is averaging 4,9 blocks per game, which equals the school mark of 4.9 swats per contest, set by the 1976-77 team. The Redbirds also have three of the top-four shot blockers in the Valley, as Jackie Carmichael and Dinma Odiakosa lead the league with 1.3 blocks per game and Kellen Thornton is tied for fourth with 1.1 swats per contest.
START ME UP
With head coach Tim Jankovich being a huge Rolling Stones fan, he has to love the starts to the Redbirds' last two seasons. Last year, ISU opened the campaign with a 14-0 mark and this season the Redbirds are off to a 7-0 beginning. ISU has never had back-to-back 7-0 season starts in the history of the program.
HOME SWEET HOME
Illinois State is in its 22nd season of basketball action on Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena. The Redbirds notched a 13-2 home record last season and a 16-2 home mark the year before. Under head coach Tim Jankovich, the Redbirds are 34-4 (.895) when playing at home. ISU owns a 218-80 (.732) all-time record on Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena.
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.
NAW, I'M DOING JUST FINE, CLARK
Illinois State's highly-touted freshman Justin Clark might be looking forward to his Christmas vacation, but there is no need to panic. Clark is now shooting 1-for-21 from the field through six games and 1-for-16 on threes. Normally that would have a coach concerned, but Redbird fans don't have to look to far back to see a similar debut. Senior Osiris Eldridge began his ISU career shooting 1-for-22 in his first five games, including a 1-for-13 effort on threes.
QUADRUPLE DOUBLE-DOUBLE
The true basketball value of the double-double milestone can be debated, but the fact that Illinois State has already had four different players achieve this feat in its first seven games is pretty impressive. Dinma Odiakosa, Tony Lewis, Kellen Thornton and Jackie Carmichael have each collected double-digit points and rebounds in one game this season.
MOVING ON UP
Osiris Eldridge continues to pass the greatest scorers in ISU history. The Chicago native became only the 11th Redbird player to surpass 1,400-career points. He currently ranks No. 9 with 1,467 career tallies.
WHAT'S A UTE?
Illinois State will find out firsthand this season, when the Redbirds travel to Utah, Dec. 19, for the first-ever meeting between the two schools, as part of the inaugural Missouri Valley-Mountain West Challenge Series. The game between ISU and Utah will be one of nine match-ups between the two leagues.
THE NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR?
For the second-consecutive season, ISU has had a newcomer post a double-double in his respective Redbird debut. At SIU Edwardsville, Tony Lewis, a junior college transfer from Ellsworth JC, collected 10 points and 11 rebounds. Last season, Champ Oguchi posted 14 points and 13 boards in the Redbirds' road win at Wright State. Oguchi went on to be named the Valley's Newcomer of the Year, the first Redbird to win the award since Lorenzo Gordon, who also posted a double-double in his first game at ISU.
THE TRADITION CONTINUES
With a 24-10 overall record last year, ISU 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.
EYEING 2,000
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 now has 1,467 career points, but in order to become the second Redbird to score 2,000 career points, Eldridge will need to 675 points this season, or approximately 19.3 points per game. Currently, he is averaging 20.3 tallies per contest and has scored 142 points this season.
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.
TWO SIGN FOR 2010 CLASS
Illinois State head coach Tim Jankovich announced the signing of two incoming players during the early signing period. The Redbirds added Kenyon Smith (guard, 6-0, 190) from Lincoln College and Jordan Threloff (center, 6-10, 240) from DeKalb High School. Smith originally signed with ISU out of Simeon High School, but was declared academically ineligible by the NCAA. If he receives his associate's degree this school year, Smith will have three years of eligibility remaining at Illinois State, while Threloff will enter ISU as a true freshman.
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.
