Nov. 13, 2010
Pregame Notes in PDF Format 
THE GAME
For the second-straight season, Illinois State will begin its season against SIU Edwardsville. This time the matchup will take place on Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena, after ISU posted an 82-60 win in the Vadalabene Center last season. Like last year, the Cougars enter with a regular-season game under their belt, while this is ISU's season opener.
THE SERIES
Today's game marks the sixth contest in the series history between these two programs. Prior to last season's game, the two schools had not played each other since the 1978-79 season. The Redbirds own a 5-0 lead in the series with four of the victories taking place in Horton Field House.
THE COACHES
Illinois State: Tim Jankovich (Kansas State, 1982) is 174-102 (.630) in his 10th season as a head coach, and 71-31 (.710) in his fourth season with the Redbirds. At Illinois State, Jankovich is 40-22 against teams from the Missouri Valley Conference, 31-9 versus non-conference opponents, 44-6 at home, 20-20 on the road, 7-5 on a neutral court and 1-0 against SIU Edwardsville.
SIU Edwardsville: Lennox Forrester (Evansville, 1992) is in his fourth season at SIUE, his only head coaching position. He owns a 32-55 (.378) career record with the Cougars. Prior to his stint at SIUE, Forrester worked as an assistant coach at Bradley and Evansville.
THE PROGRAM
Illinois State is in its 41st 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 three seasons with an NIT berth.
Over the last three seasons, Illinois State has won more overall games (71) than another other Valley school.
In the last three years, Illinois State is the only Valley school to post at least 20 regular-season wins in each campaign.
Jankovich is the first coach in league history to lead his team to back-to-back Valley Tournament title games in his first two seasons.
THE FACT
Illinois State has won 23-straight games against members of the Ohio Valley Conference and head coach Tim Jankovich owns a perfect 5-0 mark against the OVC during his ISU tenure.
ABOUT SIU EDWARDSVILLE
SIU Edwardsville is located in Edwardsville, Ill., and has an enrollment of 14,107. The Cougars are in the third year of their transition to the NCAA Division I level and compete in the Ohio Valley Conference.
The Cougars return two starters from a team which finished 5-23 last season, including junior Mark Yelovich and senior Nikola Bundalo.
SIUE posted a 64-57 win over Webster on Nov. 7 in the Cougars' lone exhibition game, but then dropped a 70-55 home decision over IPFW in their season opener Friday night.
FOR OPENERS
Since the 1981-82 season, Illinois State's first campaign in the Missouri Valley Conference, the Redbirds have won 18 of their 29 season openers. In the 113-year history of the program, Illinois State has compiled a 75-37 (.669) all-time record in season-opening games. In the NCAA Division I-era (1970-present), the Redbirds are 25-15 (.625) in season-openers.
MORE OPENING NOTES
Head coach Tim Jankovich is looking for his fourth-straight victory in a season opener with the Redbirds. ISU won at SIU Edwardsville (82-60), at Wright State (69-61) and against Missouri-St. Louis (70-37) in his first three seasons. The Redbirds have won six of their last seven season openers.
DOWNING THE OVC
As of late, the Redbirds have been "naughty by nature" when facing members of the Ohio Valley Conference. Illinois State has won 23-straight games against members of the OVC, while head coach Tim Jankovich is 5-0 against the OVC while at ISU. Against the current members of the Ohio Valley Conference, the Redbirds own an 91-53 all-time record (.632).
NON-CON SUCCESS
Head coach Tim Jankovich owns a 31-9 record (.775) against non-conference opponents during his time with the Redbirds.
THESE 'BIRDS ARE YOUNG
As the most inexperienced team in the Valley this season, the Illinois State roster has combined to play a total of 3,257 minutes for the Redbirds. With a total of 200 minutes being played by a team in a game, this group of Redbirds combined hasn't even played an entire season, falling well short with 16.2 games under its collective belt. The Redbirds have a combined 10 Division I seasons of play on the squad, which ranks Illinois State No. 23, as one of the most inexperienced teams in the nation.
SHARE AND SHARE ALIKE
If the exhibition game is any indication of how the 2010-11 season is going to go for Illinois State, the Redbirds definitely like to share. Of the 27 made Redbird field goals, 24 were the result of an unselfish pass, making 88.8 percent of ISU's baskets paired with an assist. Sophomore Anthony Cousin led the team with five assists, while nine Redbirds had at least one assist apiece.
PLENTY OF OPTIONS
If head coach Tim Jankovich needs to draw up a three-point attempt, he will have plenty of options as seven Redbirds made at least two three-point shots in the exhibition win over Quincy. The Redbirds finished with 16 made triples, on 30 attempts, for a 53.3 shooting percentage. Sophomores Anthony Cousin and John Wilkins each had three apiece.
THAT 70's SHOW
ISU's success during the Tim Jankovich-era has been pretty much based on 70 points. When the Redbirds score 70 or more points, Illinois State owns a 41-9 record (.820) over the last three seasons. When ISU opponent's score less than 70 points, the Redbirds are 62-13 (.827) during that span.
FEAR THE BEARD
Sophomore Jackie Carmichael, a member of the 2010 Valley All-Freshman Team, will look to become only the second Redbird to earn first team all-league honors after being named to the all-freshman team. With Carmichael, the Redbirds have had seven players named to the Valley All-Freshman Team and only Osiris Eldridge went on to earn first-team all-league accolades (three times).
HOME SWEET HOME
Illinois State enters its 23rd season of basketball action on Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena. Under head coach Tim Jankovich, the Redbirds are 44-6 (.880) when playing at home. ISU owns a 228-82 (.735) all-time record on Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena.
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 (255), which was set during the 2007-08 season, and Illinois State sank 193 treys during the 2009-10 campaign. Under head coach Tim Jankovich, the Redbirds have made 745 three-pointers, or 7.3 per game.
THREE-YEAR TURNAROUND
In his three years at the helm, Tim Jankovich has turned Illinois State from a probable Valley Tournament play-in team into a part of the championship conversation. Jankovich and his staff have returned ISU basketball to its glory with a three-year record of 71-31 (.696), including a 35-19 (.648) mark in Valley regular-season games. In the three years prior to this staff's arrival, ISU was 41-48 (.461) overall and 18-36 (.333) in league play.
TWENTY, TWENTY, TWENTY, THEY'VE DONE IT AGAIN
With the BracketBusters win over Morehead State last season, ISU posted its third-straight 20-win campaign, which hadn't happened in Normal, Ill., since the 1995-96, 1996-97 and 1997-98 seasons. It also became the 16th 20-win season for the Redbirds since the program became an NCAA Division I program prior to the 1970-71 season.
CARMICHAEL FOR THE BLOCK
Sophomore Jackie Carmichael ended his first season with the Redbirds, as the most-prolific freshman shot blocker in Illinois State history. Carmichael swatted away 46 shots during the 2009-10 season, crushing the old mark of 36 set by Mike VandeGarde during his freshman campaign in 1990-91. With his 46 career blocks, Carmichael's season total tied for sixth-best in ISU history. He also only needs 13 more to crack the top-10 for career blocked shots at Illinois State.
