Every player on Indiana State's active roster (11) has earned at least one starting assignment this season. As a result, every player is averaging double-digit minutes.
SENIOR FAREWELL
The Illinois State home crowd will say farewell to an impressive senior class Wednesday night prior to the Indiana State game. Redbird seniors Osiris Eldridge, Dinma Odiakosa and Lloyd Phillips have combined to score 3,322 points, grab 1,520 rebounds, dish out 575 assists, post 317 steals and won 93 games.
A REDEMPTION SONG?
The last time Osiris Eldridge faced Morehead State, prior to Saturday's 71-62 BracketBusters win, was during the 2008-09 season. He finished that 2008 contest with four points, after shooting 0-for-7 from the field. Saturday, against the Eagles, Eldridge racked up 26 points with an 8-for-14 shooting effort. Eldridge will face Indiana State Wednesday night. A team in which he scored six points against, on 0-for-7 shooting, the last time they faced each other.
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 start at 1 p.m., and the remaining scheduled date is 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.
TWENTY, TWENTY, TWENTY, THEY'VE DONE IT AGAIN
With the BracketBusters win over Morehead State, Illinois State posted its third-straight 20-win season, which hadn't happened in Normal, Ill., since the 1995-96, 1996-97 and 1997-98 campaigns. 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.
THIRTYSOMETHING
Heading into the season, senior Dinma Odiakosa had never scored 20 or more points in a collegiate game. So far this season, he has scored 20 or more points in three games, and has notched his first 30-point scoring effort. Odiakosa fired in 30 points against Missouri State and became the first non-guard Redbird to score 30 points in a game since Rico Hill's 31-point scoring game against Missouri State, March 3, 1997, in the championship game of the State Farm Valley Tournament.
DAZZLING DINMA
Dinma Odiakosa has been nothing short of dazzling as of late. Not only is he coming off of a 30-point scoring effort, but he has scored in double-figures in 10-straight games. During that span, he is averaging a team-best 16 points and 9.3 rebounds per game, while being named Valley Player of the Week twice.
A PERFECT 10
With the 76-72 win over Missouri State, Illinois State earned its 10th Missouri Valley Conference victory this season. Since the Valley expanded to 10 league members prior to the 1991-92 season, the Redbirds have posted at least 10 wins, 12 times in the last 18 seasons.
HE GIVETH, AND HE TAKETH AWAY
Senior Lloyd Phillips leads ISU in assists and steals this season. He has dished out 120 assists, or 4.3 per game, which ranks third in the Valley. He also leads the Valley in steals with 51, or 1.8 per game. With his 51 steals, Phillips ranks as the 10th highest single-season output in school history. Phillips has 10 games this season with three or more steals. In those 10 games, the Redbirds are 10-0.
THE COMEBACK KIDS
After trailing by five points at halftime against Missouri State, the Redbirds rallied for a 76-72 Valley win. The victory marked the seventh time this season when ISU won after trailing at half. The Redbirds are 7-7 this season when behind at the intermission. When leading at the half, ISU is 13-0.
MOVING ON UP
Osiris Eldridge continues to pass the greatest scorers in ISU history. The Chicago native became only the seventh Redbird player in Illinois State history to score 1,600-points in his career. He currently ranks No. 6 with 1,773 career tallies and needs 26 points to surpass Bill Sarver (1,798) for fifth place.
THE TRADITION CONTINUES
In the 39 completed years of being an NCAA Division I program, the Redbirds have had 32 winning seasons. With 20 wins this season, the Redbirds will have another winning season this year.
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 43-6 (.878) when playing at home. ISU owns a 227-82 (.735) all-time record on Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena.
DOUBLE TROUBLE
Osiris Eldridge (16.0 ppg.) and Dinma Odiakosa (8.6 rpg.) lead the Valley in scoring and rebounding, respectively, and are looking to become the first teammates to sweep those statistical categories since 1992 (Ashraf Amaya of Southern Illinois did both that year). That statistical double has only happened eight times in the past 50 seasons (six of those eight were done by the same person, not teammates).
THE 700 CLUB
With a career-best 15 rebounds at Bradley Feb. 9, Dinma Odiakosa pushed his career rebounding total over the 700 plateau and now has 728 career boards. As a result, Odiakosa became only the ninth Redbird in school history to total 700 or more rebounds in a career.
THAT 70's SHOW
ISU's success this season is pretty much based on 70 points. When the Redbirds score 70 or more points this season, Illinois State is 15-1. When ISU opponent's score less than 70 points, the Redbirds are 16-3.
HIGH FREQUENCY
Dinma Odiakosa has been on a different wavelength this season. The senior is shooting 63.1 percent from the field (140-for-222), which leads the Valley and the nation. He hadn't been ranked nationally as of late, because the rankings are based on averaging five made field goals per game. However, with his 12 made field goals against Missouri State, Odiakosa is currently posting five makes per contest. Odiakosa's season percentage would rank fifth all-time, if the season ended today.
PHILLIN' IT UP
In seven of the last 10 games, senior Lloyd Phillips has scored in double-figures, including a career-best 22 points at Wichita State. Against Drake on Feb. 6, Phillips sank the game-winning three-pointer with 24 seconds remaining. He is averaging 11.2 points per game over the last 10 contests, while shooting 42.0 percent from the field and 40.5 percent on threes. He also leads the team with 18 steals during that time.
CARMICHAEL FOR THE BLOCK
After 28 games, Jackie Carmichael is eyeing the school record for the most blocked shots by a freshman. On the season, Carmichael has a team-leading 32 blocks and is on pace to beat the ISU mark. Mike VandeGarde collected 36 blocked shots during his freshman campaign in 1990-91.
VALUING THE ROCK
Illinois State's Alex Rubin sees the value in an offensive possession. As a result, he leads the team in assist-to-turnover ratio on the season. Rubin boasts a 4.46 assist-to-turnover ratio with 63 assists and only 14 turnovers. In the last 10 games, Rubin's awareness has even peaked where he has 27 assists and only four miscues for an 6.75 assist-to-turnover ratio.
SECOND-CHANCE CHAMP
Senior Dinma Odiakosa is Illinois State's all-time leader in offensive caroms. Odiakosa now has 297 in his career, which topped Greg Dilligard, who had 260 offensive boards from 2003-07. Odiakosa also currently leads the Valley in both total rebounding (8.6 rpg.) and offensive rebounds (3.7 rpg.). This season, Odiakosa has 105 offensive rebounds, which tops his school-record 101 offensive rebounds set last season.
328-STRAIGHT GAMES WITH A TREY
Illinois State enters the Indiana State game with at least one made three in 328-straight games. The last time ISU didn't sink a trey was an 82-43 loss at Creighton Dec. 12, 1999.
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, Eldridge became the school-record holder and has 270 career three-point field goals, surpassing the old mark by Gregg Alexander of 224. Eldridge ranks No. 6 all-time in the Valley and is seven made threes behind former Missouri State guard Blake Ahearn (276).
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).
TWO SIGN FOR 2010 CLASS
Illinois State head coach Tim Jankovich announced the signing of two incoming players during the early signing period. ISU 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 ISU, while Threloff will enter 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, located at the north entrance of Redbird Arena, was sculpted by Lou Cella, a 1985 graduate of ISU. Robinson was named ISU's 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.
