March 8, 2011
Illinois State will face either Indiana State or Southern Illinois in the quarterfinals of the 2011 State Farm MVC Tournament Friday at 6:07 p.m. The Redbirds await the winner of an Indiana State-Southern Illinois first-round game, just as they did last year as the top-seed.
ISU is the No. 2 seed in the tournament for just the third time (1987, 2007). This is the fifth-consecutive season the Redbirds have been a top-two seed, but they have advanced to the championship game just once in the past four years (2008).
The 2001 MVC Tournament is the fourth held at The Family Arena. Illinois State is the only No. 1 seed to win the title at the neutral site (2008), with No. 9 Evansville and No. 5 Northern Iowa winning the last two seasons.
FOLLOW THE REDBIRDS' RUN TO THE TITLE
Redbird fans who can't make the trip to St. Charles can still follow the Redbirds' run to the title. All games will be broadcast live on WJBC and GoRedbirds.com (CLICK HERE for Game Central). The quarterfinal game will be video streamed live on MVC Live. The semifinal and championship games will be broadcast on Fox Sports Midwest and Comcast SportsNet Chicago. Fans can also interact with the tournament on the MVC Blog.
REDBIRDS-SYCAMORES SERIES
Illinois State leads the all-time series with Indiana State, 43-35. The series, which began in 1972, is the second-longest in Illinois State history. Illinois State started out with a 30-16 record against Indiana State, including a string of 12-straight wins from 1980-87. Indiana State then won 13 of the next 14 meetings and Illinois State is 12-6 in the last 18 matchups. Illinois State is 3-1 against Indiana State in the MVC Tournament, including a 76-39 win over the Sycamores in the quarterfinals last season.
THIS SEASON VS. INDIANA STATE
Illinois State and Indiana State split the season series, with each team winning on its home court. Illinois State avenged a 19-point loss in Terre Haute (Jan. 8) with a 23-point win in Normal (Feb. 5). The teams averaged 74.5 points in their wins, but both scored under 55 points in their losses. Katie Broadway averaged 11.0 points per game and Emily Hanley added 10.0 points per game against the Sycamores. Shannon Thomas had 21 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks for the Sycamores in the first meeting, but was held to just nine points, six rebounds and two blocks in the loss to the Redbirds.
REDBIRDS-SALUKIS SERIES
Illinois State leads the all-time series with Southern Illinois, 48-38. In the longest running series in the school's history, Illinois State has played Southern Illinois annually since 1972. The Redbirds went 22-5 against the Salukis through 1985. After that, SIU posted a 29-13 record in the series, including a string of 12-straight wins. The Redbirds have won seven-straight over the Salukis by an average score of 18.4 points per game. ISU and SIU have split eight all-time meetings at the MVC Tournament, which is tied for the second-most between two schools with the Creighton-Drake series. The Salukis knocked the Redbirds out of four-straight tournaments (1990-93). ISU won the last meeting, 77-65, in the 2008 quarterfinals.
THIS SEASON VS. SOUTHERN ILLINOIS
Illinois State swept the season series with Southern Illinois for the 12th time overall and the fourth-consecutive season, beating the Salukis by an average of 31.5 points. The Redbirds shot 49.2 percent (62-126) from the field and 52.4 percent (11-21) from three in the two games. Southern Illinois had 53 turnovers total against the Redbirds, including 31 in the game in Carbondale. Emily Hanley averaged 17.5 points per game and Katie Broadway averaged 15.5 points per game against the Salukis in the regular season.
REDBIRDS IN MVC TOURNAMENT
Illinois State has a 18-16 all-time record in the Gateway/Missouri Valley Conference Tournament. ISU's 18 wins are the fourth-most in conference history, behind Missouri State (33), Drake (30) and Creighton (19). The Redbirds have won four championships, behind Missouri State (9) and Drake (5). In the 24 years that conference tournaments have been held, Illinois State has reached the championship game seven times and failed to qualify five times.
REDBIRDS FINISH SECOND IN THE VALLEY
Illinois State finished the regular season tied for second place in the Valley standings with Creighton and Missouri State. The Redbirds have finished in the top-two in the Valley regular season in each of the last five years. ISU earned the No. 2 seed in the State Farm MVC Tournament, marking the third time the Redbirds will compete as No. 2. In 1997, Illinois State lost a quarterfinal game against Wichita State, 81-53. In 2007, the Redbirds beat Bradley, 75-60, before losing to Creighton in the semifinals, 59-56.
REDBIRDS IN THE VALLEY RANKINGS
Illinois State had several players finish the regular season in the top-10 in the Valley rankings. Two Redbirds led the conference in different categories, with Emily Hanley ranking first in field goal percentage (51.8) and Amanda Clifton leading the league in assists (5.1 apg). Hanley also ranked fifth in scoring (14.2 ppg) and eighth in rebounding (6.9 rpg). Clifton was second in both steals (2.5 spg) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.9). Katie Broadway ranked fourth in three-point field goal percentage (36.8), sixth in three-point field goals per game (1.9) and 14th in scoring (12.2 ppg). Hannah Spanich finished seventh in blocks (1.1 bpg) and ninth in free throw percentage (77.1). Shala Jackson ranked 20th in scoring (9.7 ppg) and Kenyatta Shelton ranked seventh in rebounding (7.0 rpg).
TONIGHT ON 20/20
Illinois State's 71-63 win at Bradley March 3 secured the 14th 20-win season in program history and the fifth consecutive. The current string of five-consecutive 20-win seasons is the first in program history and the Redbirds have reached the 20-win plateau in the regular season in all five years. The recent success is even more remarkable considering that in the 16 seasons between 20-win seasons (1991-2006), ISU averaged just 11.6 wins per year.
WHERE HAS ALL THE OFFENSE GONE?
Illinois State led the Valley in scoring the majority of the season, ending the regular season tied for the scoring crown with Northern Iowa (69.6 ppg), but the Redbird offense had a serious drop off in the last six games of the year. The Redbirds averaged 60.5 points per game and shot 40.9 percent from the field during that stretch, failing to score 60 points in four games. In the 23 games prior, ISU was scoring 71.9 points per game.
