The Sycamores return two starters from a team which finished 17-15 last season and lost in the first round of the CBI Tournament with a 63-54 loss at Saint Louis.
THREE'S COMPANY, AND USUALLY A WIN
Good things have happened to Illinois State this season when three Redbirds score in double-figures. Unfortunately, it hasn't happed as much as Illinois State would like. When three or more players score double-digits, the Redbirds are 8-3 this season, as opposed to 10-10 when two Redbirds reach double-digits.
OUR ALASKAN COUSIN
Sophomore Anthony Cousin, who is in his first season at Illinois State, has really elevated his game in Valley play. Cousin is averaging 10 points per game during league contests, which is second on the team. He also leads the Redbirds with 30 assists during conference play and has committed 25 turnovers. Cousin is also leading Illinois State in playing time during league games with a total of 334 minutes.
NIP AND TUCK
Illinois State has played in nine games this season decided by four points or less, including the two-point defeat at Northern Iowa. The Redbirds are 5-4 this season in games decided by four points or less.
POWERS OF 10
During this season, 13 different players have seen court time for Illinois State and 10 of them have led the team in scoring for at least one game this season. In fact, Tony Lewis' game-high 16 points at Wichita State snapped a streak of seven-straight games for Illinois State with seven different leading scorers. In the last eight games Lewis has led the Redbirds in scoring twice, while Blake Mishler, Zeke Upshaw, Austin Hill, Jackie Carmichael, John Wilkins and Anthony Cousin have each done it once.
ARC MADNESS
The most obvious explanation for Illinois State's uncharacteristic record this season can be found with the team's shooting percentage. On the season, ISU is shooting 30.2 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.
FINDING THE MARK FROM THE ARC?
Over the last three games, Illinois State is shooting 42.9 percent on threes with an 18-for-42 effort from beyond the arc. That effort is 12.7 percent better than ISU's season average. Sophomores Trey Blue (5-for-10) and Anthony Cousin (3-for-6) have been leading the charge for the Redbirds, as each are shooting 50 percent on threes during that span.
GETTING READY FOR ST. LEWIS
Illinois State senior Tony Lewis appears to be gearing up his game for the stretch run and tournament time. Lewis fired in a season-best 16 points at Wichita State Saturday and over the last three games he's averaging 8.3 points per contest, while shooting 62.5 percent (10-for-16) from the field.
HOME SWEET HOME
Illinois State is in its 23rd season of basketball action on Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena. Under head coach Tim Jankovich, the Redbirds are 53-12 (.815) when playing at home. ISU owns a 237-88 (.729) all-time record on Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena.
MR. OVERTIME
In the world of athletics, there has been a Mr. October, a Mr. Clutch and now at Illinois State Austin Hill is vying for the title of Mr. Overtime. In the Redbirds' last two overtime wins, Hill has scored 14 of Illinois State's 22 points during the two extra periods, including 10 at Bradley during overtime.
AUSTIN POWER
Senior Austin Hill has really stepped up his game as of late. Hill has posted double-digit scoring efforts in four of his last six games. He is averaging 10.8 points per game over his last six contests and has shot a combined 23-for-50 (.460) from the field during that span.
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 40 blocked shots this season, which ranks No. 10 for a single season in Redbird history. He is also only seven 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.
FREEDOM OF CHOICES
So far this season, Illinois State has had 10 different players post a double-digit scoring game. The Redbirds have had 58 double-figure performances to date on the campaign achieved by: Jackie Carmichael (13), Austin Hill (11), Anthony Cousin (7), John Wilkins (7), Blake Mishler (6), Trey Blue (5), Tony Lewis (5), Justin Clark (2), Jon Ekey (1) and Alex Rubin (1).
TRUE BLUE
Sophomore Trey Blue appears to be showing his offensive colors again. Blue has fired in double-digit scoring efforts in three of the last five games. During the span, Blue is averaging 8.6 points per game, which is nearly double than what he was averaging prior to the recent offensive output (4.5 ppg.). Over the last three games, Blue is averaging 10.3 points per game which leads the team during that time.
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 46-10 record (.821) in his four seasons. When ISU opponent's score less than 70 points, the Redbirds are 71-21 (.772) during that span.
IT AIN'T OVER, 'TIL IT'S OVER
Illinois State had posted three-straight Valley victories and in each game, the Redbirds trailed by at least nine points. 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. Against Drake, ISU was down by nine points before posting the win.
357-STRAIGHT GAMES WITH A TREY
Illinois State enters the game against Indiana State with at least one made three in 357-straight games. The last time ISU didn't sink a trey was an 82-43 loss at Creighton, Dec. 12, 1999.
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. Over the last four games, Carmichael has been to the free throw line a total of 34 times, while converting 21 of the attempts (.618).
FINDING THE RIGHT COMBO
Illinois State has had more players earn a spot in the starting lineup than the team did all of last season. The Redbirds have had 10 different players start for nine different starting five combinations. ISU returned to a past lineup at Wichita State Saturday, with Anthony Cousin, John Wilkins, Jon Ekey, Austin Hill and Jackie Carmichael.
BLOCK PARTY
Illinois State's Jon Ekey (40) and Jackie Carmichael (31) 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 4.0 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 77 career blocks, Carmichael is eighth in career blocked shots at ISU and needs three more to surpass Anthony Slack (79) 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.
