Drake was projected to finish eighth in the Missouri Valley Conference Preseason Poll, as compiled by league coaches, media and sports information directors. The Bulldogs' Josh Young was selected to the 2009 Preseason Missouri Valley All-Conference Team.
HOME SWEET O
For Osiris Eldridge his long-range shot has been sweeter this season from the friendly confines of Redbird Arena. On Doug Collins Court, Eldridge is shooting the three ball at a 41.3 percent clip, while shooting 32.7 percent on the road. As a result, he is averaging 17.0 points per game this season when playing at home.
DAZZLING DINMA
Senior Dinma Odiakosa has been nothing short of dazzling in his last two outings. Not only did Odiakosa post his first 20-point games of his career in the last two contests, but he has also shot 14-for-19 (.737) from the floor and 18-for-24 (.750) from the free throw line. The 50.6 percent career free-throw shooter is also riding a nine-straight made free throw streak, the longest of his career.
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. The remaining scheduled dates are: 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.
PAINTING THE TOWN RED
The Illinois State offense has had a new focus in the last five games, pound the ball inside. Not only has Dinma Odiakosa responded, but so have the other Redbird post players. During that time, the Redbirds are averaging 32.8 points per game in the paint, while the Redbirds, as a team, are averaging 69.8 points per game over the last five games. As a result, nearly 47 percent of ISU's offense is coming from short range.
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 40-6 (.870) when playing at home. ISU owns a 224-82 (.732) all-time record on Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena.
HANDLING ADVERSITY
The Redbirds haven't had to face much adversity in the Tim Jankovich-era, but when coming off a rare loss Illinois State has responded well. The Redbirds are 19-8 (.704) in the 27 previous games when coming off a loss under the guidance of Jankovich.
IT AIN'T OVER, 'TIL IT'S OVER
After trailing by 10 points at halftime against Creighton, the Redbirds rallied for a 71-62 Valley win. The victory marked the fourth time this season when ISU won after trailing at half. The Redbirds are 4-7 this season when behind at the intermission. When leading at the half, ISU is 11-0.
SECOND-CHANCE CHAMP
Senior Dinma Odiakosa is Illinois State's all-time leader in offensive caroms. Odiakosa now has 275 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 (8.5 rpg.) and offensive rebounds (3.6 rpg.).
PARTNERS IN CRIME
Seniors Lloyd Phillips and Osiris Eldridge lead Illinois State, and are two of the top three in the Missouri Valley Conference, in steals this season. Phillips leads the conference with 43 steals, while Eldridge is third with 38. As a team, the Redbirds have 171 steals, and Eldridge and Phillips have accounted for 47.4 percent of the team total.
DOUBLING DINMA
For the eighth time this season and for the 11th time in his career, senior Dinma Odiakosa collected a double-double in points and rebounds thanks to a career-best 25-point effort, along with 12 rebounds, against Bradley Jan. 30. However, Odiakosa isn't the only double-double threat for the Redbirds this season, as three others (Tony Lewis, Kellen Thornton and Jackie Carmichael) have posted double-doubles this year.
BOARDING SCHOOL
Illinois State has only had 17 players collect 600 or more rebounds in their career, but two of those players suit up for ISU this season. Both Dinma Odiakosa and Osiris Eldridge have grabbed 600 rebounds in their career. Odiakosa, who collected a career-best 14 against Northern Iowa, has 682 career caroms, while Eldridge has 630 career boards.
CARMICHAEL FOR THE BLOCK
After 23 games, Jackie Carmichael is eyeing the school record for the most blocked shots by a freshman. On the season, Carmichael has a team-leading 28 blocks and is on pace to beat the ISU mark. Mike VandeGarde collected 36 blocked shots during his freshman campaign in 1990-91.
THE TRADITION CONTINUES
In the 39 completed years of being an NCAA Division I program, the Redbirds have had 32 winning seasons. The Redbirds need only one more win to guarantee another winning season this year.
323-STRAIGHT GAMES WITH A TREY
Illinois State enters the Drake game with at least one made three in 323-straight games. The last time ISU didn't sink a trey was an 82-43 loss at Creighton Dec. 12, 1999.
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 12-1. When ISU opponent's score less than 70 points, the Redbirds are 12-3.
ONE OF THREE
With his first basket against Northern Iowa, senior Osiris Eldridge eclipsed the 1,600-point career scoring plateau. As a result, he became only the third Redbird in school history to post 1,600 career points and 600 career rebounds. Eldridge currently owns 1,698 points and 630 boards and joins Billy Lewis (1,962 points, 869 rebounds) and Fred Marberry (1,881 points, 933 rebounds).
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. 7 with 1,698 career tallies and needs 45 points to surpass Tarise Bryson for sixth place.
HE GIVETH, AND HE TAKETH AWAY
Senior Lloyd Phillips leads ISU in assists and steals this season. He has dished out 100 assists, or 4.4 per game, which ranks third in the Valley. He is also tied for the team lead in steals with 41, or 1.9 per game.
LOOKING AT THE POSITIVES
In a critical society, sometimes it is hard to see the positives. That can be said for the point guard position at Illinois State. Lloyd Phillips has done an outstanding job running the point for the Redbirds this season, as evidenced by his assists to turnovers. In only three games this season, Phillips has had more turnovers than assists in a single contest. Last season, that occurred 10 times. In addition, Phillips is third in the league in assists per game in Valley games with 4.5 per contest.
HIGH FREQUENCY
Dinma Odiakosa has been on a different wavelength this season. The senior is shooting 64.2 percent from the field (113-for-176), which leads the Valley. He doesn't rank nationally, because the rankings are based on averaging five made field goals per game and Odiakosa is currently posting 4.91 per contest.
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 261 career three-point field goals, surpassing the old mark by Gregg Alexander of 224. Eldridge also stands in the No. 8 spot all-time in the Valley and needs one more to surpass former Bradley guard Jeremy Crouch (262).
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.
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.
