March 12, 2014
Game 30: Illinois state vs. Wichita State |
Date: March 15 |
Time: 4:35 p.m. (CST) |
Location: St. Charles, Mo. |
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Twitter: @ISUwbb |
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NORMAL, Ill. - Illinois State will face Wichita State in the semifi nals of the 2014 Missouri Valley Conference Tournament Saturday at 4:05 p.m., at Family Arena in St. Charles, Mo.
Illinois State leads the all-time series with Wichita State, 42-23. The series began in 1980 and the two teams have met twice annually since 1984. ISU won 15 of the first 17 meetings, with 10 victories coming by double-digits. Wichita State posted a 12-10 record against the Redbirds in the next 22 matchups. Since 2003, ISU is 16-8 against the Shockers, but Wichita State snapped a six-game losing streak to the Redbirds with a 59-56 home win on January 16, 2011. On a neutral site, WSU leads ISU, 2-0.
ISU earned the No. 6 seed in the 2014 MVC Tournament, marking the fourth time the Redbirds will compete as the No. 6 seed. The Redbirds' win over Northern Iowa marked the first time ISU advanced as the six seed. Illinois State has a 21-19 all-time record in the Gateway/Missouri Valley Conference Tournament.
ILLINOIS STATE-NORTHERN IOWA SERIES
Illinois State leads the all-time series with Northern Iowa, 40-27. The series began in 1976 and is the fourth-longest in program history. ISU started the series with a 28-3 record, which included a 22-game winning streak. Since then, UNI holds a 24-12 advantage in the series. UNI has defeated ISU twice on neutral courts. One win was during the quarterfinal round of the Valley Tournament, while the other came during the semifinal round.
THIS SEASON VS. NORTHERN IOWA
Northern Iowa won both game over Illinois State this season by a combined 39 points. Against the Panthers this season, Nelson is averaging 18 points per game and is perfect from the free throw line (14-of-14), while Crump averages 15 points per game. Crump also leads the team in rebounds with eight per game against UNI. As a team, ISU shot 35 percent from the field, while UNI connected on 54 percent of its shot attempts.
REDBIRDS FINISH TIED FOR SIXTH IN THE VALLEY
Illinois State finished the regular season tied for sixth place in the Valley standings with Missouri State. It is the third time in program history that the Redbirds finished sixth at the end of the regular season with the last time coming in 2005-06. ISU earned the No. 6 seed in the 2014 MVC Tournament, after a tiebreaker with MSU. It is the fourth time the Redbirds have been the six seed. The three times prior, when ISU was the six seed, it never advanced past the quarterfinals round.
REDBIRDS IN MVC TOURNAMENT
Illinois State has a 20-19 all-time record in the Gateway/Missouri Valley Conference Tournament. ISU’s 20 wins are the third most in conference history, behind Missouri State (36) and Drake (34). The Redbirds have won four championships, behind Missouri State (9) and Drake (5). In the 26 years that conference tournaments have been held, Illinois State has reached the championship game eight times.
TWO REDBIRDS EARN VALLEY HONORS
Two Redbirds received All-Valley honors and one received recognition for the third-straight season. Chloe Nelson was named to the All-Valley First Team and was also an All-Valley Scholar-Athlete First Team selection. Katy Winge received All-Valley Scholar-Athlete Honorable Mention accolades for the first time in her career. The Redbirds have had at least one student-athlete named to the All- Valley First Team in the last eight seasons.
ANOTHER SEASON
The Redbirds improved for the non-conference season to the conference season and continued to get better throughout the Valley season. However, the Redbirds ended the regular season with two-straight losses, a way that left a sour taste in the team’s mouth. The last time the Redbirds lost back-to-back games was against Wichita State and Missouri State from Jan. 25-27 at home. ISU hopes to get back to its winning ways at the conference tournament.
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