NORMAL, Ill. – Illinois State continues its three-game homestand by hosting Summit League preseason favorite and 2015 National Invitation Tournament (NIT) qualifier South Dakota State Thursday, Nov. 19 at 7 p.m. on Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena.
ISU (1-1) is aiming to extend its homecourt winning streak to five-straight games dating back to last season, while SDSU (2-0) is trying to remain undefeated. Thursday's game is presented by the Door Doctor, with free can koozies for the first 2,500 fans in attendance. Fans are also encouraged to bring non-perishable food and personal items to the South Dakota State game as a donation for Home Sweet Home Ministries. Collection boxes will be available at all entrances to Redbird Arena.
SOUTH DAKOTA STATE AT ILLINOIS STATE • THURSDAY, NOV. 19, 2015 • 7 p.m.
- THE GAME:
Illinois State hosts South Dakota State in the on-campus portion of the Cancun Challenge. After sharing the Summit League regular-season championship with North Dakota State, South Dakota State fell by one point to the Bison in the Summit League Tournament title game. SDSU played in the NIT, advancing to the second round. - THE SERIES:
Thursday marks the first-ever meeting between Illinois State and South Dakota State. The Redbirds are 76-50 versus current members of the Summit League, and head coach Dan Muller is 1-0 versus the Summit League after leading ISU to a 68-43 win over IPFW Dec. 22, 2014. - THE COACHES:
Illinois State: Dan Muller (Illinois State, 1998) is in his fourth season as the head coach at Illinois State (59-45). Muller is the first coach in ISU history to beat three Top-25 teams in his first three seasons.
South Dakota State: Scott Nagy (Delta State, 1988) is in his 21st season as the head coach at South Dakota State (386-232). A Champaign, Illinois, native, Nagy has guided SDSU to the postseason for four-straight 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) ... tied for third place in the 2014-15 MVC standings (11-7) ... feature eight newcomers, including five freshmen ... on a four-game home win streak dating back to last season. - ABOUT SOUTH DAKOTA STATE:
Picked to win the Summit League ... return four of five starters and 11 of 15 letterwinnners from last year's team, which went 24-11 overall and 12-4, tied for first, in the Summit League ... earned an eight seed in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) and upset No. 1 seed Colorado State before falling to No. 5 seed Vanderbilt in the second round ... feature three players on the Summit League Preseason First Team.
CANCUN CHALLENGE
Thursday's game against South Dakota State is Illinois State's first of four in the 2015 Cancun Challenge. ISU faces SDSU and Houston Baptist (Nov. 21) in the on-campus portion of the Cancun Challenge. The Redbirds will then travel to Cancun to face Maryland (Nov. 24) and either Rhode Island or TCU (Nov. 25) in either the championship game or the third-place game at the Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya Convention Center. Illinois State is playing in the Cancun challenge for the second time. In 2011, the Redbirds finished 3-1, with their lone loss coming to in-state rival Illinois in the championship game, 63-59.
SENIOR KEYS WIN
Not only did senior guard DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell score the game-winning shot in Illinois State's home-opening victory over Morehead State (Nov. 16), but he also led ISU in scoring, netting a career high nine field goals on 13 attempts (69.2 percent). Akoon-Purcell finished one shy of matching a career best with 23 points, marking his fourth 20-plus point game at ISU. The Orlando, Florida, native has reached double-figures in both of his games this year, and dating back to last season, four-straight and nine of the last 10.
ON POINT
After two games, junior point guard Paris Lee leads the Missouri Valley Conference and ranks No. 29 nationally in assists (7.0 apg). Lee's 14 total assists ranks No. 19 in the nation, and his assist-to-turnover ratio of 7.0 ranks third in the MVC and No. 14 nationally. He also tops the MVC in steals (2.5 spg).
RAINING 3-POINTERS
Two games into the regular season, Illinois State leads the Missouri Valley Conference and ranks No. 24 nationally in 3-point shooting percentage (46.2 percent). ISU's top-two 3-pointer shooters so far are sophomore Deontae Hawkins (5-for-7, No. 25 nationally) and freshman Roland Griffin (3-for-3).
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.
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.
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