The Rams (4-2) are receiving votes in both the AP Top 25 and USA Today Coaches Poll after falling from their No. 14 ranking last week following losses in two out of their last three games. VCU most recently lost at Old Dominion (Nov. 29), a team that the Redbirds beat in the U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam semifinals (Nov. 23). The Rams topped ISU last season in Richmond, Virginia, and VCU leads the all-time series, 4-1.
The Redbirds (3-2) will try to earn their second-straight victory at home following an 85-73 overtime win over Youngstown State (Nov. 29). VCU and ISU are 1-1 at Redbird Arena, with current head coach and former player Dan Muller and the Redbirds earning their lone victory over the Rams, 77-68, on Dec. 18, 1994. ISU features the MVC Newcomer of the Week, Deontae Hawkins, who earned a double-double against YSU.
TELEVISION BROADCAST
Tuesday's game will be televised live on Comcast SportsNet Chicago Plus, ESPN Full Court, ESPN3 and SNY. Below are channel listings where the game can be found:
- Comcast (Bloomington-Normal): 102, 285, 536, 835
- DirecTV: 639, 665-1, 721
- DISH: 456, 462
- AT&T U-Verse: 742, 1704, 1742, 4502
- Comcast (Chicago-area): 201, 420, 834
- Mediacom: 127, 733
THE SERIES:
VCU plays on Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena in a return from a home-and-home series started last year in Richmond, Virginia, where the Redbirds fell in their 2013-14 season-opener to the Rams. While VCU leads the all-time series, 4-1, VCU and ISU are 1-1 at Redbird Arena, with current head coach and former player Dan Muller and the Redbirds earning their lone victory over the Rams, 77-68, on Dec. 18, 1994.
WHAT'S AT STAKE?:
Illinois State is trying to win its second-straight game and fourth of its last fifth, while VCU is attempting to bounce back after losing two of its last three games. ISU is also trying to beat an Atlantic 10 foe for the third-straight year.
ILLINOIS STATE AT A GLANCE:
Earned an overtime victory over Youngstown State Saturday afternoon ... advanced to the title game of the U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam with a 64-45 win over Old Dominion (Nov. 23) and a 73-64 win over Weber State (Nov. 21) ... went 18-16 and 9-9 to finish tied for fourth in the Missouri Valley Conference last season despite featuring the most inexperienced team in the nation ... selected to finish fifth in the MVC this year.
VCU AT A GLANCE:
Began last week ranked No. 14, but dropped out of the Top 25 after suffering two losses, including a 73-67 defeat at Old Dominion (Nov. 29) ... earned a bid to the 2014 NCAA Tournament, continuing the program-trend of qualifying for the NCAA Tournament every year since 2010-11 ... unanimous pick to win the Atlantic 10 this year ... amassed a 26-9 overall record and a 12-4 mark in the A-10 last season ... returning three of five starters.
CASON CONNECTION
First-year VCU assistant coach and Illinois State alum David Cason is returning to Redbird Arena when ISU hosts the Rams Tuesday night. A transfer who played his final two seasons at Illinois State in 1993-94 and 1994-95, Cason was a senior during ISU head coach Dan Muller's freshman year. Cason led the Missouri Valley Conference in assists both seasons and also guided his team to a 20-13 record and an NIT appearance as a senior. In his senior season, Cason was named the Team MVP and the Redbirds' Athlete of the Year. He is still the Redbirds' all-time leader in career assists per game with 6.0. Cason also served as an assistant coach at Vanderbilt for three years, working alongside Muller in 2011-12.
A-10 SUCCESS
Third-year Illinois State head coach Dan Muller is 2-1 versus Atlantic 10 Conference opponents, with two victories over Dayton (Dec. 19, 2012 and Dec. 7 when the Flyers were No. 25), plus last year's season-opening loss at VCU (Nov. 8). Nine Redbirds made their NCAA Division I debuts in the VCU opener.
HAWKINS NAMED MVC NEWCOMER OF THE WEEK
For the second-consecutive week, the Illinois State men's basketball team has earned the Missouri Valley Conference Newcomer of the Week accolade, with Redbird freshman forward Deontae Hawkins receiving this week's honor, as announced by the league office Monday (Dec. 1). Hawkins averaged a double-double last week, scoring 12.5 points and a team-best 10.0 rebounds per game against Seton Hall (Nov. 24) and Youngstown State (Nov. 29). The Dayton, Ohio native netted a career-best 18 points, while grabbing a career-high 15 rebounds for the game's only double-double in the Redbirds' overtime victory over YSU. It marked the first time since 2012 that a Redbird has collected 15 or more rebounds.
HUNTER HITS HIGH
Senior guard Bobby Hunter earned a career-high 23 points off the bench while netting a career-best seven field goals on 7-for-14 (50 percent) shooting against BIG EAST foe Seton Hall in the championship game of the U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam (Nov. 24) before scoring 20 points against Youngstown State. He also scored a career-high four three-pointers while shooting 4-for-7 (57.1 percent) from beyond the arc. Hunter made 5-of-6 free throws, dished out three assists and grabbed two rebounds in a season-high 30 minutes.
LYNCH'S BLOCK PARTY
Sophomore center Reggie Lynch recorded a career-high seven blocks and took sole possession of No. 7 on the ISU career blocks list, passing former Redbird Jeff Wilkins. Lynch, who now has 109-career blocks, is the first Redbird to block at least seven shots in a game since Greg Dilligard blocked seven shots at Loyola on Dec. 18, 2004, tying Lynch for fourth on the ISU single-game blocked shots list.
50 BOARDS
In all five of Illinois State's games this season, the Redbirds have either outrebounded or matched their opponent on the boards. ISU outrebounded Youngstown State, 50-29, (Nov. 29) marking ISU's first 50-rebound performance since collecting 50 rebounds against Bradley on Jan. 30, 2010. The Redbirds now rank second in the Missouri Valley Conference with a +8.2 rebounding margin.
DUNK CITY
Through ISU's first five games, the Redbirds are averaging 2.2 dunks per game. Contrast that with last season's average of 0.8 dunks. Reggie Lynch has already tallied six dunks (1.2 dunks per game) compared to 13 last season (0.4). DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell has four dunks so far this year.
RUNNERS-UP IN PARADISE
After falling behind by as many as 21 points, Illinois State fought back to pull within four, but Seton Hall held on for an 84-80 victory in the U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam championship game (Nov. 24). The Redbirds finished as the runners-up in the eight-team field, and junior guard DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell was named to the all-tournament team after averaging 15.3 points and 5.0 rebounds during the Redbirds' three tournament games. ISU's trip to the Caribbean was a homecoming of sorts for Akoon-Purcell whose father, Paul, grew up in St. Thomas before eventually moving to the U.S.
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