NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State men's basketball team plays its third home game in six days when the Redbirds host Houston Baptist, Saturday, Nov. 21 at 6 p.m. on Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena in the second of two Cancun Challenge on-campus games. ISU (1-2) and HBU (1-2) are both aiming to bounce back following Thursday night losses. Saturday's game is presented by Casey's General Store.
HOUSTON BAPTIST AT ILLINOIS STATE • SATURDAY, NOV. 21, 2015 • 6 p.m.
- THE GAME:
Illinois State hosts Houston Baptist in the on-campus portion of the Cancun Challenge. HBU returns four starters from last year, including senior guard Anthony Odunsi, who led the team in scoring, averaging 12.3 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game in 2014-15. - THE SERIES:
Saturday's game marks the second meeting between Illinois State and Houston Baptist. The Redbirds won the only other meeting, 107-70, at the SMU Tipoff Classic in Dallas, Texas, Nov. 22, 2008. Illinois State is 12-3 versus current members of the Southland Conference, and this is head coach Dan Muller's first meeting with an SLC foe. - 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.
Houston Baptist: Ron Cottrell (Arkansas, 1988) is in his 25th season as the head coach at Houston Baptist (436-335). Cottrell led the Huskies back to the NCAA Division I ranks, after 16 seasons at the NAIA Division I level. - 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 ... aiming to bounce back after falling at home to South Dakota State (Nov. 19). - ABOUT HOUSTON BAPTIST:
Return four of five starters and 11 of 16 letterwinners from last season ... senior guard Anthony Odunsi was named 2015 Southland Conference honorable mention, the program's first player honor since joining the league, and is an All-SLC Preseason Second Team selection entering the year ... coming off a 12-16 season and 7-11 mark in SLC play, doubling the team's overall win total from 2013-14 and winning five more league games. - UP NEXT: Tuesday, Nov. 24 vs. No. 3 Maryland (Cancun Challenge Riviera Division Semifinal in Cancun, Mexico)
CANCUN CHALLENGE
Saturday's game against Houston Baptist is Illinois State's second of four in the 2015 Cancun Challenge. ISU already faced South Dakota State (Nov. 19) in the first game of the on-campus portion. The Redbirds will next travel to Cancun, Mexico, 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. Maryland is currently ranked No. 3 in the nation. 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 foe Illinois in the championship game, 63-59.
LEE-DING IN STEALING
After three games, junior point guard Paris Lee leads the Missouri Valley Conference with 2.7 assists averaged per game. Lee's eight total steals ranks No. 18 in the nation. In 2014-15, Lee led the MVC and ranked No. 9 nationally in steals (2.4 per game), establishing ISU's single-season steals record (82).
ON POINT
Along with his ability to force turnovers, Paris Lee is also one of the best in the Missouri Valley Conference at creating offense. He is tied for third in the MVC with 5.0 assists per game. His assist-to-turnover ratio (3.8) also ranks fourth in the league. Additionally, Lee's 49 total assists ranks No. 49 in the nation.
SPARK PLUG
Freshman forward Roland Griffin has been the first player to sub in for the Redbirds in all three of ISU's games. The Aurora, Illinois, native, is ISU's top freshman scorer and rebounder, averaging 8.0 points and 4.0 rebounds per contest.
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 all three of his games this year, and dating back to last season, five-straight and 10 of the last 11.
TEAM PLAYER
Senior guard Justin McCloud, who is ISU's active career 3-point percentage leader (36.6 percent) has found other ways to contribute so far this season. After averaging 1.0 rebounds per game last season, McCloud collected a career-best and game-high seven rebounds in Illinois State's season opener at San Diego State (Nov. 13), nearly doubling his previous career high of four rebounds. Versus South Dakota State (Nov. 19), McCloud dished out a game-high and career-best four assists.
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.
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 NCAA Division I college basketball.
RETURNING REDBIRDS
Reigning 2015 Missouri Valley Conference Newcomer of the Year DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell is one of three starters and six letterwinners returning for the 2015-16 Illinois State men's basketball team, which advanced to the MVC Tournament championship game following a third-place finish in the final league standings. The 2015-16 Redbirds return 50.6 percent of their scoring, 54.5 percent of their rebounding and 61.8 percent of their assists and steals from last season. Junior point guard Paris Lee accounted for 32.3 percent of ISU's steals and 30.4 of the team's assists, earning 2015 MVC All-Defensive Team accolades.
PICKED FOURTH
The Redbirds are tabbed to finish fourth in the league according to the 2015-16 Missouri Valley Conference Preseason Poll, as compiled from votes by MVC sports information directors, media and coaches (see poll on Pg. 7). Illinois State's fourth-place spot in the MVC Preseason Poll marks the Redbirds' highest predicted finish since being picked second in the 2012-13 poll. Since the MVC Preseason Poll began in 1985-86, the Redbirds have surpassed their preseason ranking in the final MVC standings 13 times, and they have met their preseason prediction seven times, including two first-place forecasts and finishes in 1996-97 and 1997-98. ISU has ended the regular season at or above its preseason ranking in nine of its last 11 seasons, including last year's tie for third following a fifth-place prediction.
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 facing Houston Baptist in one of three-straight home games 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).
SCHEDULE STRENGTH
Four 2015 NCAA Tournament teams and at least two National Invitation Tournament (NIT) qualifiers highlight the Illinois State men's basketball program's 2015-16 non-conference schedule. The NCAA qualifiers include: San Diego State (preseason receiving votes; earned a No. 8 seed and knocked off St. John's before falling to eventual Final Four team Duke in the Round of 32; Maryland (preseason No. 3; earned a No. 4 seed and advanced to the Round of 32 by beating Valparaiso before falling to West Virginia); Kentucky (preseason No. 1; earned a No. 1 seed and advanced to the Final Four); UAB (earned a No. 14 seed and knocked off No. 3-seeded and ninth-ranked Iowa State, 60-59, in the NCAA Second Round before falling to UCLA). NIT qualifiers include: South Dakota State and potentially Rhode Island.
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