NORMAL, Ill. – Not only does the Illinois State men's basketball team play its home opener against Morehead State Monday, Nov. 16 at 7 p.m. on Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena, but ISU also begins a season-long three-game homestand as part of four games in nine days to start the season.The Redbirds (0-1) are aiming to bounce back after dropping their season opener at San Diego State Nov. 13. Morehead State (1-0) opened its 2015-16 season with a decisive win over NAIA foe Cincinnati Christian. Monday's Morehead State at Illinois State (at 7 p.m.) game is presented by ISU Army ROTC.
MOREHEAD STATE AT ILLINOIS STATE • MONDAY, NOV. 16, 2015 • 7 p.m. CT
THE GAME:
Illinois State opens its 28th season of basketball at Redbird Arena by hosting Morehead State Monday, Nov. 16 at 7 p.m. ISU (17-9 in home openers at Redbird Arena) is aiming to win its first home opener since 2012-13.
THE SERIES:
Monday's game marks the eighth meeting between Illinois State and Morehead State. The Redbirds lead the all-time series, 6-1. After ISU dropped the first meeting in 1972, the Redbirds have won six-straight, including ISU's most recent 77-67 victory over the Eagles March 19, 2014 at Redbird Arena in the first round of the College Basketball Invitational (CBI). ISU is 4-0 in Normal, Illinois and 3-0 at Redbird Arena versus MSU.
THE COACHES:
Illinois State: Dan Muller (Illinois State, 1998) is in his fourth season as the head coach at Illinois State (58-45). Muller is the first coach in ISU history to beat three Top-25 teams in his first three seasons.
Morehead State: Sean Woods (Kentucky, 1992) is in his fourth season as the head coach at Morehead State (53-49) and his eighth overall (103-129). His 52 wins were the most by any MSU coach in his first three seasons.
ABOUT ILLINOIS STATE:
Picked to finish fourth in the Missouri Valley Conference ... return three of five starters and six of 13 letterwinners from last year's team, which went 22-13 overall, advancing to the second round of the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) ... feature eight newcomers, including five freshmen ... ended last season by winning seven of its final nine games ... tied for third place in the 2014-15 MVC standings (11-7) ... on a three-game home win streak.
ABOUT MOREHEAD STATE:
Picked to finish second in the Ohio Valley Conference East Division ... return two of five starters and six of 14 letterwinners from last year's team which went 17-17 overall and 10-6 (third place) in the OVC East ... top returner is redshirt senior guard Brent Arrington, who ranked second on the team in scoring, averaging 11.1 points and 3.9 rebounds per game in 2014-15 ... earned bids to the NCAA Tournament in 2009 and 2011.
UP NEXT: Wednesday, Nov. 19 vs. South Dakota State (on-campus game for Cancun Challenge)
AN EARLY GRIND
ISU is in the midst of four games in nine days (with 4,000 miles of roundtrip travel), and eight games in 18 days (with 7,300 miles of roundtrip travel), to start the season. The Redbirds began their season nearly 2,000 miles away from Normal, Illinois, in San Diego, California, at San Diego State. Illinois State is now starting a three-game homestand before flying 1,300 miles to Cancun, Mexico for two games. ISU will then return home for a game before driving more than 350 miles to face Kentucky in Lexington, Kentucky. The Redbirds' other non-conference destinations include Illinois-Chicago (130 miles) and Saint Joseph's in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (800 miles). ISU will finish the road portion of its non-conference schedule more than 2,700 miles away from where it began (San Diego to Philadelphia).
SUCCESS AGAINST THE OVC
Illinois State holds a 100-54 record against current members of the Ohio Valley Conference, and head coach Dan Muller is 4-1 versus the OVC after earning an 83-57 victory against Austin Peay (Dec. 22, 2012), a 64-58 win over Tennessee State (Jan. 19, 2013), a 77-67 victory versus Morehead State (March 19, 2014) in the first round of the College Basketball Invitational (CBI), a 64-54 win over UT Martin (Dec. 17, 2014), and an 89-77 loss at Murray State (Dec. 20, 2014). ISU had won 32-straight games against members of the OVC prior to last season's setback to the Racers. The Redbirds are 6-1 versus MSU.
McCLOUD SKYS FOR BOARDS
Senior guard Justin McCloud, who averaged 1.0 rebounds per game last season, collected a career-best and game-high seven rebounds in Illinois State's season opener at San Diego State (Nov. 13). McCloud nearly doubled his previous career high of four rebounds.
GRIFFIN SHINES IN OPENER
In ISU's season opener at San Diego State (Nov. 13), freshman forward Roland Griffin led Illinois State's offensive effort by scoring a game-high 13 points. Griffin played 31 minutes off the bench, which was second-most on the team, only behind starting point guard Paris Lee's 32 minutes. Griffin shot a perfect 3-for-3 from beyond the arc, better than anyone else on opening day in the Missouri Valley Conference. Griffin also shot 5-for-10 from the field while collecting three rebounds, one block and one assist.
LEADING IN TURNOVER MARGIN
Illinois State earned a league-best +8.0 turnover margin in the Redbirds' season opener at San Diego State (Nov. 13). ISU committed just 10 turnovers while forcing SDSU to commit 18. Furthermore, the Redbirds recorded 11 assists compared to nine by the Aztecs. Senior guard Paris Lee recorded seven assists, which is most in the MVC so far this season and two away from matching his career high.
ONE OF THE BEST
Senior guard DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell is one of five 2015-16 Missouri Valley Conference Preseason Team selections. Joining Akoon-Purcell on the five-person preseason team are Wichita State's Ron Baker and Fred VanVleet, and Evansville's D.J. Balentine and Egidijus Mockevicius. As a junior at Illinois State last season, Akoon-Purcell led all Missouri Valley Conference newcomers in scoring, while ranking second on the team and seventh in the league with an average of 12.8 points per game in 2014-15. The Orlando, Florida, native finished the season as ISU's leading rebounder, averaging 5.6 boards per contest.
WATCH OUT
CollegeInsider.com has selected senior guard DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell as one of 30 players on the Lou Henson Preseason Player of the Year Watch List. The Lou Henson Award is presented annually to the mid-major player in division I college basketball.
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