The Bulldogs are being outrebounded by 9.3 boards in Valley play.
THE "MA" PATCH
The Illinois State players will be wearing an "MA" patch for the game against Drake, in remembrance of Molly Arnold, ISU's former director of admissions, who lost her nine-year battle with cancer on Aug. 4, 2010, at the age of 48. Prior to her death, Arnold was the recipient of the Missouri Valley Conference's Most Courageous Award in 2009.
SUITS AND SNEAKERS
The Illinois State coaching staff will be wearing sneakers instead of dress shoes Sunday to demonstrate their support for the American Cancer Society and the fight against cancer. Basketball fans are encouraged to also wear sneakers to the game to show their support.
ANSWERING THE CALL
At Bradley Wednesday night, sophomore Jackie Carmichael was left out of the starting lineup for the first time this season and for the first time in 20-straight games. Carmichael responded with his third career double-double and his first this season. He poured in a career-best 24 points and added a career-high 17 rebounds to lead the Redbirds in both categories.
TOEING THE LINE
Of sophomore Jackie Carmichael's career-high 24 points he scored at Bradley, 12 were scored at the free throw line. Carmichael attempted 20 free throws against the Braves, marking the second-most by a Redbird in school history. His 20 tosses from the charity stripe were only short to Ron deVries' 21 free throw attempts against Southern Illinois on March 4, 1972.
AUSTIN POWER
Senior Austin Hill has really stepped up his game as of late. Hill has posted double-digit scoring efforts in each of the last three games. He is averaging 13.7 points per game over his last three contests and has shot a combined 15-for-28 (.536) from the field during that span.
IT AIN'T OVER, 'TIL IT'S OVER
Illinois State has posted two-straight Valley victories and in each game, the Redbirds trailed by double-digits. Against Southern Illinois, ISU found itself down 11 points early in the first half before recording the win. At Bradley, the Redbirds trailed by 15 points in the first half, but ISU turned it into another victory.
ROAD WARRIOR
Jackie Carmichael has been a force as of late on the road for Illinois State's opponents. The ISU sophomore is averaging 16.3 points and 7.3 rebounds per game over the last four road contests, while shooting 56.1 percent from the field. However, in his last four home games, Carmichael is only averaging 4.3 points and 4.5 rebounds per game and is shooting 26.7 percent from the floor.
E-KEY BLOCK
For architects, the key block is the keystone, or center block, of a stone arch. For the Illinois State defense, Jon Ekey's shot-blocking ability has been front and center. Ekey already has 35 blocked shots this season and only needs three more swats to crack the top-10 for a single season in Redbird history. He is also only 12 rejections away from claiming the school's freshman record for blocked shots and dethroning teammate Jackie Carmichael, who set the standard last season with 46 blocks.
NOW BOARDING
Senior Tony Lewis has taken the lead rebounding role for the Redbirds this season. He is averaging 6.6 boards per game, which ranks sixth in the Valley, but he is second in the conference in offensive caroms with 2.6 per game, which is amazing since he is only averaging 18.2 minutes played per game. If he logged 40 minutes per game, Lewis would average 14.5 boards per contest, including 5.7 offensive rebounds. He has led the Redbirds in rebounding in 13 games this season.
FREEDOM OF CHOICES
So far this season, Illinois State has had 10 different players post a double-digit scoring game. The Redbirds have had 50 double-figure performances to date on the campaign achieved by: Jackie Carmichael (12), Austin Hill (10), Blake Mishler (6), John Wilkins (6), Anthony Cousin (5), Tony Lewis (4), Trey Blue (3), Justin Clark (2), Jon Ekey (1) and Alex Rubin (1).
CHOICES, BUT NO CONSISTENCY
Of the 10 Illinois State players to post double-digits this season, only Jackie Carmichael (three times), Anthony Cousin (twice), Austin Hill (five times) and John Wilkins (once) have posted double-digit scoring efforts in consecutive games.
PLENTY OF PARITY TOO
Because of the lack of individual consistency within the Illinois State offense, the Redbirds have had 10 different players lead the team in scoring this season. By tying his season-high with 15 points against Southern Illinois, senior Tony Lewis became the 10th different Redbird to lead the squad in scoring this season.
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 45-10 record (.818) in his four seasons. When ISU opponent's score less than 70 points, the Redbirds are 71-20 (.780) during that span.
354-STRAIGHT GAMES WITH A TREY
Illinois State enters the game against Drake with at least one made three in 354-straight games. The last time ISU didn't sink a trey was an 82-43 loss at Creighton, Dec. 12, 1999.
THE POWER OF THREES
The most obvious explanation for Illinois State's inconsistent start this season can be found with the team's shooting percentage. On the season, ISU is shooting 28.6 percent from three-point range, which would rank as the lowest single-season effort in school history, undercutting the 30.4 percentage during the 1990-91 campaign. The Redbirds are only shooting 28 percent on threes in Valley games, which ranks last.
ARC MADNESS
After the first two games of the season, Illinois State appeared to have a strong perimeter team with a combined 14-for-33 (.424) effort on threes. However, in the last 19 games, shooting from beyond the arc has dried up for the Redbirds. Illinois State has shot 85-for-313 (.272) and does not have a single player shooting over 40 percent during that span.
FINDING THE RIGHT COMBO
Already this season, the Redbirds have had more players earn a spot in the starting lineup than the team did all of last season. The Redbirds have had nine different players start for eight different starting five combinations.
BLOCK PARTY
Illinois State's Jon Ekey (35) and Jackie Carmichael (26) are the top two shot blockers in the Missouri Valley Conference this season. With the two top shot blockers in the conference, it is no surprise that the Redbirds rank second in the conference with 3.9 blocks per game. At this pace, the Redbirds would have the third-best blocks per game average in school history.
THESE 'BIRDS ARE YOUNG
As the most inexperienced team in the Valley entering the season, the Illinois State roster had combined to play a total of 3,257 minutes for the Redbirds. Opening the season, the Redbirds had combined to play 10 Division I seasons, which ranked ISU No. 23, as one of the most inexperienced teams in the nation.
TWENTY SOMETHING
With Anthony Cousin's 23-point effort at Missouri State, ISU now has five players on their roster who have scored at least 20 points in an NCAA Division I game, including four this season. Jackie Carmichael has four 20-point efforts in his career and three this season, while Cousin, Justin Clark and Jon Ekey have each posted one 20-point game this season. Trey Blue had a 20-point effort with Fordham.
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 72 career blocks, Carmichael is ninth in career blocked shots at ISU and needs three more to surpass Jarod Coleman (74) for eighth place.
A GO-GO GOPHER
Both the Illinois State men's basketball and football programs were benefactors by the transfer of Bryant Allen from Minnesota. Allen, who is an ISU football scholarship student-athlete, will be eligible immediately for the Redbirds on the gridiron, but won't be able to play until the completion of the 2011 fall semester due to NCAA residency rules. With the Gophers, Allen, a six-foot, 170-pound guard, played in nine games during the 2009-10 season, all as a reserve. He scored seven points over 22 minutes played.
THREE GUARDS INK WITH ISU FOR 2011-12
Illinois State head basketball coach Tim Jankovich solidified the Redbird backcourt for years to come as guards Johnny Hill (Glenbard East), Nic Moore (Warsaw, Ind.) and Nick Zeisloft (Lyons Township) each signed National Letters of Intent (NLIs) to continue their education and basketball careers at Illinois State, during the early signing period on Nov. 10.
