CHICAGO – With just three non-conference contests remaining, the Illinois State men's basketball team (4-6) begins a two-game road trip by traveling to Illinois-Chicago (1-6) for an 8 p.m. tipoff Wednesday, Dec. 16, at the UIC Pavilion.
ILLINOIS STATE AT ILLINOIS-CHICAGO • WEDNESDAY, DEC. 16, 2015 • 8 P.M.
WHERE TO WATCH (In the Bloomington-Normal Area):
XFINITY/COMCAST CHANNEL 102, 285
DIRECTV CHANNEL 665-1
DISH NETWORK CHANNEL 450
THE SERIES:
Wednesday's game marks the 21st meeting between Illinois State and Illinois-Chicago. The Redbirds lead the all-time series, 13-7, with ISU winning five-straight games against the Flames, most recently beating UIC, 53-43, Dec. 11, 2010 in Normal, Illinois. While Illinois-Chicago holds a 5-4 advantage against the Redbirds in Chicago, ISU has won two-straight at the UIC Pavilion. Dan Muller is facing UIC for the first time as a head coach.
THE COACHES:
Illinois State: Dan Muller (Illinois State, 1998) is in his fourth season as the head coach at Illinois State (62-50). Muller is the first coach in ISU history to beat three Top-25 teams in his first three seasons.
Illinois-Chicago: Steve McClain (Chadron State College, 1984) is in his first season as the head coach at Illinois-Chicago (1-6). McClain most recently served for five seasons as an associate head coach at Indiana.
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) ... played the top-two nationally-ranked teams in a one-week span ... coming off a win over 2015 Ohio Valley Conference champion Murray State.
ABOUT ILLINOIS-CHICAGO:
Picked to finish eighth (out of 12 teams) in the Horizon League ... return two of five starters and seven of 14 letterwinners from last year's team, which went 10-24 overall and 4-12 in the Horizon League to finish in sixth place ... searching for its first NCAA Division I victory of the season ... first-year UIC head coach Steve McClain owns 33 years of collegiate coaching experience, including nine seasons as an NCAA Division I head coach at Wyoming.
UP NEXT: Saturday, Dec. 19 at Saint Joseph's: 1 p.m. CT at Hagan Arena.
LAST TIME OUT (W, 63-61 - DEC. 13, 2015 vs. MURRAY STATE)
Deontae Hawkins scored a season-high 16 points and Nick Banyard added a season-high 11 points as the Illinois State men's basketball team defeated Murray State, 63-61, on Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena. Hawkins shot 6-for-11 from the field, including 3-for-4 from beyond the arc, grabbing a season-high nine rebounds. Banyard was also 3-for-4 from 3-point land and recorded a season-high seven rebounds.
THE HORIZON LINE
Illinois State holds a 60-25 (.705) record against current members of the Horizon League, and head coach Dan Muller is 2-1 versus the Horizon: L, 90-75, at Oakland (Dec. 16, 2013); W, 85-73 vs. Youngstown State (Nov. 29, 2014); W, 69-56 vs. Green Bay (March 18, 2015), in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) first round. The Redbirds are 13-7 all-time versus Illinois-Chicago.
WINNING IN THE WINDY CITY
During Illinois State head coach Dan Muller's tenure, the Redbirds have earned a 3-1 record when playing in the Chicagoland area: W, 68-64, at Northwestern (Nov. 17, 2013); L, 79-69, at Loyola (Feb. 9, 2014); W, 78-72, at DePaul (Dec. 14, 2014); W, 48-45, at Loyola (Jan. 31, 2015). Muller and the Redbirds are also a combined 7-2 versus Chicagoland teams over the last three years (Chicago State: 1-0; DePaul: 2-0; Northwestern: 1-1; Loyola: 3-1). ISU has typically drawn quality crowds when playing in the Windy City, as Chicago is home to nearly 30 percent of Illinois State's alumni and 40 percent of its student body.
RAINING 3'S
Illinois State netted a season-high 10 3-pointers in the Redbirds' 63-61 victory over defending Ohio Valley Conference champion Murray State (Dec. 13), which was more than they totaled (seven) in their last two games combined. Nick Banyard and Deontae Hawkins each netted three trifectas on four attempts, as ISU recorded its most 3-pointers since also netting 10 against Northern Iowa in the championship game of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament (March 8, 2015).
DISHING THE ROCK
In Illinois State's win over Murray State (Dec. 13), the Redbirds amassed their second-highest assist total of the season (18) while committing their fewest turnovers of the year (nine). The last time ISU recorded fewer than 10 turnovers was when the Redbirds also had nine versus Northern Iowa in the championship game of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament (March 8, 2015). Junior point guard Paris Lee led ISU and matched a season high with seven assists.
HAWKINS BAROMETER
When sophomore forward Deontae Hawkins plays well, so too do the Redbirds this season. Hawkins most recently recorded season highs in points (16) and rebounds (nine) in ISU's victory over Murray State (Dec. 13). The Redbirds – now 4-6 overall – are 4-1 when Hawkins scores in double-digits, with the lone loss to No. 2 Maryland (Nov. 24).
GO-TO GUY
Senior guard DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell is Illinois State's top offensive threat in 2015-16, reaching double figures in all 10 of ISU's games this year, and dating back to last season, 12-straight and 17 of the last 18. Akoon-Purcell has also scored 20 or more points three times this season and six times throughout his career since transferring to Illinois State as a junior. The Orlando, Florida, native is averaging a team-best 16.2 points per game, which ranks fifth in the Missouri Valley Conference. Akoon-Purcell has led ISU in scoring six times this season.
LEE-DING IN STEALING
After 10 games, junior point guard Paris Lee ranks third in the Missouri Valley Conference with 1.6 steals averaged per contest. With one steal versus UAB (Dec. 5), Lee increased his career-total to 145 steals and is in sole possession of fifth place on the career steals list, ahead of Jamar Smiley (ISU's point guard when head coach Dan Muller played). 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). After 10 games, Lee has 16 steals.
SETTING THE STARTERS
Through Illinois State's first 10 games, the Redbirds have featured five different starting lineups. DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell, Deontae Hawkins and Paris Lee have started every game, while MiKyle McIntosh has started all but one. He missed the Nov. 27 contest against Quincy with a concussion. Meanwhile, Nick Banyard (two games), Quintin Brewer (the most-recent two games), Roland Griffin (one game), Justin McCloud (one game) and Tony Wills (five games) have also appeared in the starting lineup this season.
STARTER SUCCESS
Illinois State is 3-0 when the Redbird starters outscore their opponent's starters. Conversely, ISU is 1-6 when the opposing team's starters outscore ISU's.
RACE TO THE HALF
In eight of ISU's 10 games this season, whoever is leading at halftime is also leading at the final horn. The Redbirds have trailed at the half in six of 10 games this year and are 1-5 when trailing and 3-1 when leading. ISU is also 4-0 when leading with five minutes left and 0-6 when trailing with five minutes left.
TAKING ON THE TOP TWO
The Redbirds played the top two teams in the nation during a one-week span, playing No. 2 Maryland (and falling, 77-66, Nov. 24) before traveling to No. 1 Kentucky (and falling, 75-63, Nov. 30). Prior to the two games, ISU had only matched up against a top-two team four times in program history. ISU had also never faced the No. 2 team and the No. 1 team within a one-week time frame.
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