The Bears return two starters from a team which finished 26-9 last season and advanced to the National Invitational Tournament, including 2011 Larry Bird MVC Player of the Year and 2011 Valley Preseason Player of the Year Kyle Weems.
Last Meeting
Feb. 12, 2011
NORMAL, Ill.
A DE-LAPSE
Watching Sunday's 86-71 loss at Southern Illinois, it is hard to imagine that Illinois State had limited three-straight opponents to less than 40 percent shooting in the three previous games. Southern Illinois' 86 points were the most scored against the Redbirds in the Tim Jankovich-era, while the Salukis 50.8 field goal percentage was a season-high by an opponent. SIU's 40 first-half points were also the most allowed this season, the 22-point deficit was the largest the Redbirds had faced this season and the Salukis' 16 offensive rebounds were the most surrendered.
NEW YEAR'S HANGOVER
For the third-straight season, Illinois State dropped a game on New Year's Day. The Redbirds were downed 86-71 at Southern Illinois, after falling to Missouri State in the two previous New Year's Day games, which were each played in Springfield, Mo.
D-FENCE, D-FENCE
Illinois State has held seven opponents this season to under 40 percent shooting, including a pair of three-game streaks, and three teams to under 30 percent.
LET'S GET FR-EKEY
Redbird sophomore Jon Ekey has been playing out of the norm in the last two games - and that's okay. Ekey has grabbed a career-best 13 rebounds in each of the last two games. As a result, Ekey has elevated his rebound average to 5.5 boards per contest.
BOARD-EM?
Illinois State enters the game at Missouri State allowing double-digit offensive rebounds to its opponent in five of the last six games and seven double-digit totals in seven contests this season.
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).
ALLENTOWN
Sophomore Bryant Allen came off the bench against Southern Illinois Sunday and fired in a career-best 12 points thanks to a 3-for-3 effort on threes. Allen entered the game shooting 0-for-6 on the season and having scored seven total points in his one season at Minnesota.
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. Ekey then followed his performance with a 13-point, 13-rebound effort at Southern Illinois for his second-straight double-double.
MOORE TO COME
Freshman Nic Moore has registered back-to-back double-digit scoring efforts and has collected three double-figure efforts in his last five games. Moore has scored in double-figures seven times this season. Over the last five games, Moore is averaging 9.8 points and 3.4 assists per game.
LETHAL WEAPON 3
Illinois State is averaging 8.7 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 1,011 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' four 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 10 of his last 11 games and is leading the team with 31 made threes and a 47.7 shooting percentage from beyond the arc. Brown is leading the Valley with 2.6 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 59.4 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 rank third-best in school history.
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 33 assists over the last nine games with only eight turnovers, for a 4.13 assist-to-turnover ratio during that span.
DOUBLE TRIPLE
For the sixth time on the season, and the sixth time in eight games, Illinois State dropped in at least 10 three-point field goals after making 10 treys at Southern Illinois. 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 nine 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 47.7 percent from beyond the arc, while sinking 31-for-65 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 39.1 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 19 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 52-11 record (.825) in his five seasons. When ISU opponent's score less than 70 points, the Redbirds are 78-28 (.736) during that span.
377-STRAIGHT GAMES WITH A TREY
Illinois State enters the Missouri State game with at least one made three in 377-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.
