BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – In Illinois State's first true road game of the season, the Redbird men's basketball team faces UAB Sunday at 2 p.m. The non-conference matchup will be televised live on Comcast SportsNet Chicago.
ISU (3-3) is playing at UAB (3-5) for the first time in program history, and the two teams are meeting for just the third time, with the overall series tied, 1-1. Third-year head coach Dan Muller is 1-0 versus the Blazers after leading the Redbirds to a 77-65 victory over UAB Nov. 23, 2012 at the South Padre Island Invitational. Associate head coach Torrey Ward, who starred at UAB from 1997-2000, is facing his alma mater.
Illinois State is coming off of a narrow, 66-62, loss at home to VCU Tuesday night, a team ranked as high as No. 14 earlier this season. The Redbirds continue to be led by junior guard DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell who has reached double-figures in all six games. UAB earned a 58-48 win over Morehead State Thursday night, with senior forward C.J. Washington netting a team-best 14 points.
TELEVISION BROADCAST
Sunday's game will be televised live on Comcast SportsNet Chicago. Below are channel listings where the game can be found:
- Comcast (Bloomington-Normal): 56, 522, 922
- DirecTV: 665Â Â Â
- DISH: 429
- Mediacom: 33, 733
- AT&T U-Verse: 741, 1741
- Comcast (Chicago-area): 37, 200, 390
THE SERIES:
Illinois State and UAB are meeting for the third time in program history, and ISU is playing its first-ever game at UAB. The two-game series is tied, 1-1, with the Redbirds last facing the Blazers on Nov. 23, 2012, at the South Padre Island (Texas) Invitational semifinals, resulting in a 77-65 ISU victory. UAB won the first meeting, 71-60, at the All-College Tournament in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Dec. 29, 1990.
WHAT'S AT STAKE?:
In ISU's first true road game of the season, the Redbirds are aiming to start their road season positively after going 3-11 on the road in 2013-14. ISU is also hoping to bounce back following Tuesday's narrow home loss to VCU.Â
ILLINOIS STATE AT A GLANCE:
Off to a 3-3 start ... earned two out of three possible Missouri Valley Conference Newcomer of the Week accolades this season ... advanced to the title game of the U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam with a 64-45 win over Old Dominion (Nov. 23) ... went 18-16 and 9-9 to finish tied for fourth in the MVC last season despite featuring the most inexperienced team in the nation ... selected to finish fifth in the MVC this year.
UAB AT A GLANCE:
Improved to 3-5 by beating Morehead State Thursday night after playing - and losing to - three-straight Top 25 opponents ... senior forward C.J. Washington was named to Conference USA's 2014-15 Preseason All-Conference Team ... UAB went 18-13 overall and 7-9 in Conference USA last season ... returning one of five starters from last year ... Illinois State Associate Head Coach Torrey Ward starred at UAB as a basketball player from 1997-2000.
WARD'S HOMECOMINGÂ
Sunday's game at UAB will marks a return to Illinois State associate head coach Torrey Ward's alma mater. A Birmingham, Alabama, native, Ward starred at UAB from 1997-2000. Ward played in 110 games with 74 starts, while scoring almost 800 points. He was voted as the Conference USA Runner-up Defensive Player of the Year to Kenyon Martin, and Ward earned C-USA Player of the Week honors three different times. As a junior, Ward helped the Blazers to a 22-10 record, a divisional championship and a berth in the NCAA Tournament. He graduated from UAB in 2001 with a degree in justice sciences.
ON THE ROADÂ
Illinois State is playing its first true road contest of the season Sunday at UAB, marking ISU's latest road-opener since 1998 when head coach Kevin Stallings and the Redbirds did not play on the road until a Dec. 8 matchup at Purdue. This year's team opened the season with three home games and three neutral site contests at the U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam. ISU will try to improve its road record this season after the 2013-14 Redbirds went 3-11 on the road while earning a 14-3 home mark.
CONFERENCE USA SUCCESS
The Redbirds head into Sunday's game against Conference USA foe UAB with experience against another C-USA foe: Old Dominion. ISU faced ODU in the U.S. Virgin Islands semifinals (Nov. 23), with the Redbirds earning a decisive 64-45 victory. Head coach Dan Muller is 2-0 versus C-USA opponents, with the other victory occurring against the Blazers (77-65) Nov. 23, 2012 at the South Padre Island (Texas) Invitational.
VCU'S COMEBACK
Junior guard DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell led three Illinois State players in double figures with 18 points against VCU; however, 27 points scored off 24 ISU turnovers gave the Rams a narrow 66-62 victory over the Redbirds Tuesday night on Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena. After jumping out to an early 11-1 lead, ISU led for 28:32, and the game was tied for 6:28. The Redbirds shot 50 percent from the field and 53.8 percent from beyond the arc, while VCU shot 33.8 percent and 37.5 percent, respectively. ISU also outrebounded the Rams, 37-34. However, Illinois State committed 24 turnovers compared to VCU's eight, proving to be the difference.
HAWKINS NAMED MVC NEWCOMER OF THE WEEKÂ
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 in ISU's win over Youngstown State (Nov. 29). He followed that up with a five-block performance versus VCU (Dec. 2). Lynch, who now has 115-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. Lynch now ranks No. 6 on the career-blocks list, behind Joe Galvin's 132 blocks.
50 BOARDS
In all six 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 +7.3 rebounding margin.
DUNK CITY
Through ISU's first six games, the Redbirds are averaging 1.8 dunks per contest. Contrast that with last season's average of 0.8 dunks. Reggie Lynch has already tallied six dunks (1.0 dunks per game) compared to 13 last season (0.4). DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell has four dunks so far this year.
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