The Salukis return two starters from a team which finished 13-19 last season and ended Illinois State's season with a 57-54 win in the first round of the 2011 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament.
NEW YEAR'S DAY IS OLD HAT
For the fifth time in the last six seasons, ISU will play a game on New Year's Day. But it wasn't always that way despite the recent trend with the five games marking the only time Illinois State has played on New Year's Day since becoming an NCAA Division I program prior to the 1970-71 season. The Redbirds are 1-3 all-time on New Year's Day and ISU suffered an 82-71 loss at Missouri State on New Year's Day last year.
Last Meeting
March 3, 2011
ST. LOUIS
Illinois State Edged Out By Southern Illinois, 57-54
Justin Bocot scored 13 points, including a key 3-pointer with 5:49 left that gave Southern Illinois the lead for good, as the eighth-seeded Salukis advanced to the quarterfinals by defeating No. 9 seed Illinois State 57-54 Thursday night in the opening round of the Missouri Valley Conference tournament.
THE PASSING OF THE DEFENSIVE TORCH?
For last several years Northern Iowa has been the defensive juggernaut of the Missouri Valley Conference, but with Illinois State leading the league in defensive scoring (57.2) and ranking second in field goal percentage defense (38.0) the Redbirds are stating their claim. In the head-to-head match-up Thursday night, the Redbirds shot 51.1 percent from the field, while holding UNI to 37.3 percent.
D-FENCE, D-FENCE
For the second time this season, Illinois State has held three-straight opponents to less than 40 percent shooting. The Redbirds enter the Southern Illinois game riding such a streak after shutting down Norfolk State (21.7), Arkansas-Little Rock (37.7) and Northern Iowa (37.3). ISU has not posted a string of four-straight games since the 2005-06 season (Nov. 26-Dec. 6).
THE STARTING SIX
Following the 68-36 win over Norfolk State, head coach Tim Jankovich announced in his postgame media conference that the team will start having a rotation for the starting five among six players. Those six players - Tyler Brown, Jackie Carmichael, Anthony Cousin, Jon Ekey, Nic Moore and John Wilkins - have accounted for all the starts this season and a combination of five will be selected each game.
DON'T LET THE NAME FOOL YOU
ISU has had six different players account for this season's starting lineup, yet none of them are from the state of Illinois. The 'Birds have started players from Kansas (Jackie Carmichael), Missouri (Jon Ekey), Alaska (Anthony Cousin), Indiana (Nic Moore), Kentucky (Tyler Brown) and France (John Wilkins).
DOUBLE TROUBLE
When Jackie Carmichael collected his fourth double-double of the season with 19 points and 10 rebounds against UNI, it wasn't that big of a surprise. However, when, in the same game Jon Ekey posted 11 points and a career-best 13 rebounds it marked a rare feat to have two double-double efforts in the same game. The last time the Redbirds had a pair of double-doubles in the same game was on Feb. 24, 2010 when Tony Lewis (19p, 11r) and Dinma Odiakosa (21p, 12r) equalled the effort against Indiana State.
CARMICHAEL CRASHES THE BOARDS
In preparation of the January issue of the Redbird Magazine, junior Jackie Carmichael was asked for his New Year's resolution. He didn't hesitate on his answer - "average double-digit rebounds." He enters the game with 8.3 boards per game and is knocking on the door. He has already grabbed eight or more rebounds in eight games this season and has collected four double-digit boarding totals.
MOORE TO COME
Freshman Nic Moore has registered back-to-back double-digit scoring efforts and has three in his last four games. Moore has scored in double-figures seven times this season. Over the last four games, Moore is averaging 10.5 points and 3.5 assists per game, while shooting 48 percent (12-for-25) from the field and 40 percent on threes (6-for-15).
LETHAL WEAPON 3
Illinois State is averaging 8.6 made three-pointers per game this season, which is second-best in the Missouri Valley Conference this season. The Redbirds are also No. 26 nationally in treys per game. In the Tim Jankovich-era, the Redbirds have made 1,001 threes, or 6.9 treys per game.
HIT ME WITH YOUR BEST SHOT
Nine times this season Illinois State has outshot its opponent and all nine games have resulted in victories, while the Redbirds' three losses have all come in games when they had a lower shooting percentage. Under Tim Jankovich, the Redbirds are 72-17 (.809) when outshooting their opponent.
WHAT BROWN CAN DO FOR YOU
Junior college transfer Tyler Brown has made at least one three-pointer in nine of his last 10 games and is leading the team with 28 made threes and a 47.5 shooting percentage from beyond the arc. Brown is second in the Valley with 2.5 made three-point field goals per contest, and ranks No. 45 nationally. He is also recently had his career-best scoring effort with 23 points against UALR on Dec. 20.
JUST THE HALF OF IT
The fate of Illinois State's basketball team can pretty much be decided by only 20 minutes of play. In the Tim Jankovich-era, the Redbirds boast a 68-10 (.872) mark when leading at the half. In addition, ISU owns a 83-7 mark (.922) under Jankovich when leading with five minutes remaining in regulation.
NO POINTS ALLOWED
It's early, but Illinois State has already held opponents to single-game point totals of 36, 38, 41, 51 and 55. As a result, Redbird foes are only averaging 57.2 points scored, which is the top scoring defense in the Missouri Valley Conference and No. 14 nationally. If this pace were to continue, it would top the school mark of 59.1 points per game allowed which was set during the 2005-06 season.
COUSIN CIRCLES
Heading into the Illinois game, junior Anthony Cousin had totaled nine assists and 14 turnovers 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 has come full circle and has 30 assists over the last eight games with only eight turnovers, for a 3.75 assist-to-turnover ratio during that span.
DOUBLE TRIPLE
For the fifth time on the season, and the fifth time in seven games, Illinois State dropped in at least 10 three-point field goals after making 10 treys against UALR. The feat continues to shatter the number of double-digit three-point games the Redbirds had last season, which was two.
EKEY DOUBLES DOWN
Last season, sophomore Jon Ekey posted two double-digit scoring efforts throughout the whole season. Already this year, Ekey has collected eight double-figure performances which included a six-game streak in which he scored 10 or more points in each of the games.
ARC MADNESS
Tyler Brown has been sinking treys this season at a mad clip. He's shooting 47.5 percent from beyond the arc, while sinking 28-for-59 on threes. As a result, Brown ranks No. 12 nationally in three-point field goal percentage, among players who are averaging at least 2.5 made threes per game.
TWENTY SOMETHING
ISU has six players on the roster who have scored at least 20 points in an NCAA Division I game. Jackie Carmichael has six 20-point efforts in his career, including two this season, while Anthony Cousin, John Wilkins, Tyler Brown and Jon Ekey have each posted one 20-point game. Trey Blue had a 20-point effort while playing at Fordham.
DRAINING THE THREE
ISU got off to a slow start converting 32.5 percent of its three-point tries in the first two games. But since then, it has been a different story. As a result, ISU is shooting 38.7 percent on the season from three, which if this pace continues would be the fourth-best team effort in school history.
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.). The duo has combined for 26 blocked shots this season with Carmichael posting a team-best 18 rejections.
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.
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 52-10 record (.839) in his five seasons. When ISU opponent's score less than 70 points, the Redbirds are 78-28 (.736) during that span.
376-STRAIGHT GAMES WITH A TREY
Illinois State enters the Southern Illinois game with at least one made three in 376-straight games. The last time ISU didn't sink a trey was an 82-43 loss at Creighton, Dec. 12, 1999.
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.
