Fewest Turnovers - Illinois State committed only three turnovers against Creighton on Jan. 13.
REDBIRD REBOUNDERS ON THE RISE
With 8.9 rebounds per game, Illinois State's Jackie Carmichael leads the Missouri Valley Conference in rebounding. By continuing his dominance, Carmichael would become only the second Redbird to lead the Valley in rebounding, joining Dinma Odiakosa, who averaged 8.7 rebounds during the 2009-10 season.
20 REBOUNDS AT ISU - A RARITY
Jackie Carmichael's career-best 20 rebounds against Drake last week equaled the most rebounds by a Redbird in the history of Redbird Arena. Carmichael's effort matched Anthony Slack's 20-rebound effort against Creighton on Feb. 27, 2008. Prior to Slack, Illinois State had not had an individual 20-rebound performance since Del Yarbrough grabbed 20 caroms against Northern Illinois, Dec. 22, 1978.
391-STRAIGHT GAMES WITH A TREY
Illinois State enters the Oakland game with at least one made three in 391-straight games. The last time ISU didn't sink a trey was an 82-43 loss at Creighton, Dec. 12, 1999.
AMONG THE REDBIRD ELITE
Head coach Tim Jankovich enters the game with 99 career victories at Illinois State. With another win, Jankovich will become only the second coach in Illinois State history to post 100 wins in five seasons at the helm. Jankovich will join Kevin Stallings, who won 107 games in his first five seasons at Illinois State.
HOME SWEET HOME
Illinois State is in its 24th season of basketball action on Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena. Under head coach Tim Jankovich, the Redbirds are 67-16 (.807) when playing at home. ISU owns a 251-92 (.732) all-time record on Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena.
CONSISTENT CARMICHAEL = CONSISTENT WINNING
In 17 games this season, Jackie Carmichael has scored in double-figures. In those contests, the Redbirds have posted a 11-6 record. Carmichael has also collected 11 double-digit rebound games this season, resulting in an 8-3 Redbird mark. When he posts a double-double, ISU is 7-2 this season.
MOORE TO COME
Freshman Nic Moore has dished out at least three assists in 20 games this season. He leads the team with 107 dimes and boasts a 1.91 assist-to-turnover ratio. Moore has dished out five or more assists in a game nine different times this season, with seven resulting in a Redbird victory. Moore collected more assists this season, through 19 games, than any Redbird had last season in 31 games.
GOOD COMPANY
With five assists at Northern Iowa last Saturday, Nic Moore became the first Illinois State freshman to post 100 assists in a single season since Victor Williams during the 1998-99 season. Williams finished with 103 assists that season and was named the 1999 Valley Freshman of the Year. Moore has 107 assists, which is the most by an ISU freshman since Richard Thomas (109) during the 1989-90 season.
TWENTY SOMETHING
After Bryant Allen's career-high 29 points against Creighton, ISU now has eight players on the roster who have scored at least 20 points in an NCAA Division I game. The eight Redbird players is the most by any team in the Valley. Jackie Carmichael has seven 20-point efforts in his career, including three this season, while Tyler Brown has five 20-point games this season and Anthony Cousin, John Wilkins, Nic Moore and Jon Ekey have each posted one. Trey Blue had a 20-point effort while playing at Fordham.
FRENCH DEFENCE
Junior John Wilkins bears the nickname "Frenchy" from his teammates, being born on French soil. Wilkins is also being called on to be the Redbird stopper this year by the ISU coaching staff. Boasting similar traits used to describe the "French Defence," Wilkins brings solidarity and resilience to the Redbird defensive game plan. Already this season, Wilkins has proven to be a challenge against some of the Valley's best.
BRYANT KNOWS
Sophomore Bryant Allen arrived on campus as a member of the Redbird football team. After his 29-point outburst against Creighton, Allen is proving himself as a legitimate threat on the hardwood. Allen's 29 tallies were the most scored by a Redbird this season and the most since Dinma Odiakosa poured in 30 points against Missouri State on Feb. 17, 2010. Allen leads the team with a 44.4 percent shooting clip on threes and has scored double-figures six times this season.
IT'S ALL DEFENSE AND REBOUNDING
It sounds a little cliché, but for ISU it is a reality. When comparing the Redbirds' stats in wins and losses, the variances on defensive field goal percentage and rebounding margin is astounding. In victory, Illinois State is holding its opponents to 37.4 percent shooting, while losses have had Redbird foes shooting 47.7 percent. In wins, the Redbirds own a +8.3 rebounding margin, but have a -5.6 margin in defeat.
NO POINTS ALLOWED
This season, Illinois State has held opponents to single-game point totals of 36, 38, 40, 41, 48, 51, 53, 54 and 55. As a result, Redbird foes are averaging 63.7 points scored. If this pace were to continue, it would be the lowest points allowed by the Redbirds since the 2007-08 season (59.3 ppg.).
BUT, ON THE FLIP SIDE
Entering this season, the most points surrendered by a Tim Jankovich coached Illinois State team was 83 points. Already this season, the Redbirds have given up 83, 86, 87 and 102.
THE PROOF IS IN THE NUMBERS
Jackie Carmichael is one of the candidates for the 2012 Larry Bird Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year Award and should challenge for a first-team all-conference spot. Carmichael is averaging 13.4 points and a league-best 8.9 rebounds this season, which is coincidently right in line with Dinma Odiakosa's numbers following the 2009-10 season. Odiakosa, who is the last Redbird post player to earn first-team all-league honors, averaged 12.8 points and 8.7 rebounds that season. In league play, Carmichael is averaging 13.5 points and 9.4 rebounds per game.
D-FENCE, D-FENCE
When the Redbird defense is clicking, Illinois State has held 12 opponents this season to under 40 percent shooting, including six Valley teams, and four teams have shot under 30 percent.
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).
BOARDING CALL
ISU's Jon Ekey is elevating his game during league play. In non-conference games, Ekey averaged 4.1 rebounds per contest, but in Valley play, Ekey is collecting 5.8 boards per game. Ekey's Valley average is second on the team, only trailing Jackie Carmichael's 9.4 rebounds per contest.
LETHAL WEAPON 3
Illinois State is averaging 8.3 made three-pointers per game this season, which is second-best in the Missouri Valley Conference. The Redbirds are also tied for No. 29 nationally in treys per game. In the Tim Jankovich-era, the Redbirds have made 1,122 threes, or 7.0 treys per game.
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 72-11 (.867) mark when leading at the half. In addition, ISU owns a 86-8 mark (.915) under Jankovich when leading with five minutes remaining in regulation.
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 55-15 record (.786) in his five seasons. When ISU opponent's score less than 70 points, the Redbirds are 84-29 (.743) 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.
