Nov. 25, 2011
Game Notes 
QUICK HITS ABOUT #REDBIRDHOOPS
Ø Prior to the 2011 Cancun Challenge Championship Game against Illinois, it was printed that Illinois' frontline wouldn't be tested until the team's game against Gonzaga. However, the Redbird frontline combined to score 45 points and grabbed 18 boards, while Illinois had 15 points and 12 rebounds.
Ø Illinois State is coming off its lowest turnover total of the season (10), in the 2011 Cancun Challenge Championship Game against Illinois.
Ø Steals by the Redbird defense have decrease in every game this season. ISU opened at Fresno State with nine steals, but have since then gone: eight, five, four and three.
Ø Over the last two games, Illinois State shot 19-for-39 (.487) on three-point field goals.
Ø Sophomore Jon Ekey enters the game riding a four-game, double-digit scoring streak - the longest of his career.
Ø ISU has outrebounded four of its five opponents this season and enter the game with a +2.4 rebounding margin.
Ø Illinois State enters the game against Bethune-Cookman with three-straight home wins over non-conference opponents. The last non-conference team to knock off the Redbirds in Redbird Arena was Ohio, which topped ISU, 67-65, on Dec. 8, 2010.
Ø Dating back to last season, Illinois State has won three-straight games on Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena.
Ø Illinois State is in its 42nd season as a NCAA Division I program, and during that time, the Redbirds have only had eight losing seasons.
Ø Jankovich is the first coach in league history to lead his team to back-to-back Valley (@MVCSports) Tournament title games in his first two seasons.
Ø The Redbirds have made 17 postseason appearances, including NIT berths in three of the last four seasons.
Ø Head coach Tim Jankovich owns a 42-16 record (.724) against non-conference opponents during his time with the Redbirds.
ABOUT THE BETHUNE-COOKMAN WILDCATS
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EKEY DOUBLES DOWN
Last season, sophomore Jon Ekey posted two double-digit scoring efforts throughout the whole season. Already this year, Ekey has collected four double-figure performances and is currently riding a four-game streak in which he has scored 10 or more points in each of the games.
HOME SWEET HOME
Illinois State enters its 24th season of basketball action on Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena. Under head coach Tim Jankovich, the Redbirds are 56-14 (.800) when playing at home. ISU owns a 240-90 (.727) all-time record on Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena.
WILKINS FOR THREE ... OUI!
Junior John Wilkins, a native of Antibes, France, returns as the Redbirds' most-prolific three-point shooter from a season ago. Wilkins led the team with 33 made three-pointers and also paced the Redbirds in three-point shooting percentage, sinking treys at a 37.1 percent clip. Wilkins leads the team again with an 8-for-16 (.500) effort from beyond the arc on the season.
WILKINS MAKES THEM SAY ... SI!
John Wilkins' trip to Mexico was a memorable one after firing in a career-best 21 points in the victory over Rutgers. In addition, Wilkins also grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds against the Scarlet Knights and posted his first career double-double. In the two games in Cancun, Wilkins averaged a team-best 15.5 points and a team-high 8.5 rebounds per game.
CARMICHAEL RETURNS
After being held to back-to-back single digit games, the first of his season, junior Jackie Carmichael erupted with 17 points on 5-for-8 shooting against Illinois to lead the Redbirds in scoring. Carmichael scored his 17 points in only 19 minutes of play, due to first-half foul trouble.
MAKING THE MOST OF IT
Of the six players who have been a part of the starting lineup this season, Jackie Carmichael is averaging the fewest minutes per game at 22.0. However, prorated over 40 minutes, Carmichael would lead the team in scoring with 20.4 points per contest and 14.2 rebounds per game.
DON'T LET THE NAME FOOL YOU
Illinois State has had six different players account for this season's starting lineup, yet none of them are from the state of Illinois. The Redbirds have started players from Kansas (Jackie Carmichael), Missouri (Jon Ekey), Alaska (Anthony Cousin), Indiana (Nic Moore), Kentucky (Tyler Brown) and France (John Wilkins).
STARTING FROM A GOOD PLACE
Illinois State might have ended up on the short end in the battle for the state in the 63-59 loss against Illinois is the title game of the 2011 Cancun Challenge. But there is no doubt that this Redbird squad can go toe-to-toe with a Big Ten team. In fact, in that game, Illinois State's starting five scored 52 points, while Illinois' starters scored - 52 points.
TWENTY SOMETHING
ISU has five players on the roster who have scored at least 20 points in an NCAA Division I game. Jackie Carmichael has four 20-point efforts in his career and three last season, while Anthony Cousin, John Wilkins and Jon Ekey have each posted one 20-point game. Trey Blue had a 20-point effort while playing at Fordham.
MOORE TO COME
Freshman Nic Moore came off the bench and led the Redbirds in scoring with 13 points at Fresno State in his collegiate debut. The performance marked the first time an Illinois State freshman led the team in scoring in their first college game, since Nov. 15, 1998 when Victor Williams paced ISU with 19 points against Oakland. Coincidently, both games resulted in losses for Illinois State.
'TIS THE SEASON FOR GIVING
Against Illinois, Illinois State converted 19 field goals in the game and 16 of those were the result of a pass. On the season, ISU has recorded assists on 67 of its 98 field goal makes, meaning 68.4 percent of the Redbirds' made baskets are the direct result of a timely pass.
DOWNTOWN Tyler Brown
Junior college transfer Tyler Brown became the first Redbird in over a year to sink five three-pointers in a game, when he posted a 5-for-10 effort from beyond the arc against Lipscomb and finished with 19 points. He followed that effort against Rutgers and posted 19 points in his second-straight game.
DRAINING THE THREE
The Redbirds got off to a slow start converting 32.5 percent of their three-point tries in the first two games. But over the last three, ISU has made 45.8 percent of its shots from beyond the arc. As a result, the Redbirds are shooting 40.4 percent on the season from three, which if this pace continues would be the fourth-best team effort in school history.
APPLYING THE PRESSURE
Through the first five games this season, Illinois State has shown an aggressive offensive style. The Redbirds are averaging 25.2 free throw attempts per game this season, while last year, the Redbirds only averaged 17.3 per contest.
SCORING FROM SEVEN
Already this season, Illinois State has gotten double-digit scoring games from seven different players: Jon Ekey (4), Nic Moore (3), John Wilkins (3), Tyler Brown (2), Jackie Carmichael (3), Anthony Cousin (1) and Johnny Hill (1). Also, in the five games, the Redbirds have had four different top scorers.
369-STRAIGHT GAMES WITH A TREY
Illinois State enters the Bethune-Cookman game with at least one made three in 369-straight games. The last time ISU didn't sink a trey was an 82-43 loss at Creighton, Dec. 12, 1999.
COUSIN CIRCLES
Heading into the Illinois game, junior Anthony Cousin had totaled nine assists and 14 turnoves on the season for a 0.64 assist-to-turnover ratio. However, after an eight assist effort against the Fighting Illini without a single turnover, Cousin now sports a 1.21 assist-to-turnover ratio.
REBOUNDING 5.0
Through five games, Illinois State has three players averaging five or more rebounds per game. Jackie Carmichael leads the squad with 7.8 boards per contest, while Jon Ekey boasts 5.4 caroms per game and John Wilkins snags 5.0 boards per game. In addition, Tyler Brown is also close to cracking this group, as he is averaging 4.3 boards per contest.
THE GREAT WHITE NORTH
Illinois State got a jump on the 2011-12 season with a four-game tour to Canada in August. The Redbirds posted a 2-2 mark, while facing off against collegiate programs in Canada, as well as professional all-star teams. In addition to the four games, the Redbirds were also granted, per NCAA rules, 10 days of practice leading up to the trip.
THE SWAT TEAM
Last season, Illinois State's Jon Ekey and Jackie Carmichael became the first set of Missouri Valley Conference teammates to finish the regular-season ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in blocked shots since the 1986-87 season. Ekey finished the year with 52 swats (1.7 bpg.), while Carmichael added 36 rejections (1.2 bpg.). Bradley's Donald Powell and Luke Jackson were the last pair of teammates to finish in the top-2 for blocked shots. Ekey also became the second Redbird to lead the Valley in blocked shots, joining Mike VandeGarde, who led the league with 1.52 blocks per game during the 1991-92 season. The duo has combined for 11 blocked shots in their first five games this season.
CLIMBING TO THE TOP OF THE HILL
Freshman Johnny Hill is another Redbird newcomer who has made an impressive debut this season. Hill collected his first career double-digit scoring game against Lipscomb Saturday, tossing in 11 points in just 13 minutes of play. On the season, Hill is averaging 4.4 points and 2.4 rebounds per game, while is fourth on the team with 14 free throw attempts.
THE RIGHT HALF IS BACK
Even though the Redbirds only return six players from last season's team, they must be the right guys. The six returning players accounted for 52.7 percent of the scoring last season, and five of the players were among the team's top-seven scorers.
THE NEXT BEST THING
Illinois State has a pair of players this season who were runner-up for Mr. Basketball in their respective home state. Junior Anthony Cousin was runner-up for Mr. Basketball in Alaska in 2008, while in 2011, Nic Moore was runner-up for Mr. Basketball in Indiana.
A TRUE AMERICAN COUSIN
Junior guard Anthony Cousin knows what it's like to go above and beyond the call of duty. As a son of an Army sergeant, Cousin has lived in Kentucky, Virginia, Puerto Rico, Alaska, Connecticut, Kansas and now Illinois. His relocations around the United States has totaled 12,016 miles, before arriving at his lifelong goal of playing NCAA Division I basketball.
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 48-10 record (.828) in his four seasons. When ISU opponent's score less than 70 points, the Redbirds are 73-27 (.730) during that span.
TWO GUARDS SIGN FOR 2012-13 SEASON
North Chicago High School point guard Aaron Simpson and Anthony Beane Jr., a product of Normal Community High School and the son of Illinois State assistant basketball coach Anthony Beane Sr., will continue their collegiate and basketball careers at Illinois State, after each signed National Letters of Intent (NLI) during the NCAA early signing period. Last season, Simpson averaged 22.2 points, 5.4 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game, while sinking 71 three-point field goals. The 5-foot-11, 175-pound senior also led North Chicago to a fourth-place finish at the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) Class 3A State Tournament. Beane, who was named the 2011 Big 12 Conference Player of the Year, started the last two seasons at NCHS and averaged 14.3 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game last year. He led the Ironmen to a fourth-place finish at the IHSA Class 4A State Tournament.
