Redbirds Tip Off Arch Madness Friday against Evansville

FAN INFORMATION: GoRedbirds.com/ArchMadness

WATCH VIDEO: Inside Redbird Basketball - MVC Tournament Week

VIEW PHOTO GALLERY: Pre-Tournament Events

TELEVISION BROADCAST
Friday's game will be televised live on Comcast SportsNet Chicago, FOX Sports Midwest and ESPN3. Below are channel listings where the game can be found:

• Comcast XFINITY (Bloomington-Normal): 56, 57, 519, 522, 533, 922, 959
• DirecTV: 665, 671
• DISH: 418, 429, 5418
• AT&T U-Verse: 647, 741, 1741, 1748
• Comcast XFINITY (Chicago-area): 37, 200, 413, 415
• Mediacom: 33, 733
• ESPN3.com

THE SERIES:
Illinois State plays Evansville in the Missouri Valley Conference quarterfinal Friday afternoon for the 52nd meeting in the all-time series dating back to 1952, which the Redbirds lead, 33-18. ISU is 2-1 versus the Purple Aces in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament, with all three games taking place at what is now known as Scottrade Center in St. Louis. Head coach Dan Muller is 4-2 versus Evansville.

WHAT'S AT STAKE?:
The winner of Friday's game will advance to Saturday's Missouri Valley Conference Tournament semifinals to face the winner of top-seeded Wichita State versus either Missouri State or Southern Illinois. Illinois State is aiming to win a quarterfinal game for the third time in the last four years. After sweeping Evansville during the regular season, the Redbirds are also trying to earn a 3-0 record against an MVC foe for the first time since 2008-09.

ILLINOIS STATE AT A GLANCE:
Finished tied for third place in the final regular-season standings (19-11, 11-7 MVC) after beating Evansville (Feb. 28) ... secured the MVC Tournament's No. 4 seed ... on a season-best four-game winning streak ... leads the MVC in blocked shots, steals and offensive rebounds per game ... DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell is Newcomer of the Year.

EVANSVILLE AT A GLANCE:
Finished fifth in the final regular-season standings (19-11, 9-9 MVC) after dropping three-straight games, matching UE's longest losing streak of the year ... is the MVC Tournament's No. 5 seed ... leads the MVC in assists and defensive rebounds ... D.J. Balentine and Egidijus Mockevicius are both All-MVC First Team selections.

ILLINOIS STATE'S 2015 ALL-MVC AWARD WINNERS
Illinois State's DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell is the Missouri Valley Conference's Newcomer of the Year, Daishon Knight and Reggie Lynch are All-MVC Second Team selections, Paris Lee and Lynch are MVC All-Defensive Team honorees and Bobby Hunter is an MVC All-Bench selection. Akoon-Purcell is also a member of the Valley's All-Newcomer Team. ISU's seven All-Missouri Valley Conference honors signifies the most for the Redbirds since also earning seven in 2008-09. The Redbirds also placed two players on the MVC All-Defensive team for the first time since 2009-10.

LAST MEETING WITH EVANSVILLE
Daishon Knight scored a baseline jumper with two seconds remaining in overtime to lift Illinois State over Evansville, 69-67, in the Missouri Valley Conference regular-season finale (Feb. 28) at the Ford Center. The Redbirds (19-11, 11-7 MVC) extended their winning streak to a season-best four games ahead of the Missouri Valley Conference Men's Basketball Tournament. With Saturday's win over the Purple Aces (19-11, 9-9 MVC), ISU tied Indiana State for third place in the final league standings and secured the MVC Tournament's No. 4 seed.

TOP-THREE
The Redbirds finished the regular season tied for third place in the Missouri Valley Conference with Indiana State, marking ISU's highest conference finish since also tying for third in 2011-12. Illinois State's 11 MVC victories are also the most since earning 11 wins in 2009-10.

SWEEPING UP
With a 69-67 victory at Evansville (Feb. 28), Illinois State earned its fifth Missouri Valley Conference regular-season sweep of the season, marking the first time that the Redbirds have swept five MVC foes since also sweeping five during the 2007-08 season. ISU finished with regular-season sweeps of Bradley, Drake, Evansville, Loyola and Missouri State.

THRICE IS NICE
After winning both regular-season meetings with Evansville, the Redbirds are aiming to go 3-0 versus the Purple Aces when the two teams match up in Friday's MVC Tournament semifinals. The last time Illinois State swept a three-game series against a Valley foe was in 2008-09 when the Redbirds earned a 3-0 mark against Evansville, winning both regular-season meetings and beating UE in the MVC Tournament quarterfinals. That season, ISU advanced to the championship game and went on to earn an NIT bid.

ROAD WARRIORS
A year after going 3-11 on the road – with just one Missouri Valley Conference victory in 2013-14 – ISU won its fifth MVC road game of the year by beating Evansville (Feb. 28), marking the first time that the Redbirds have earned five MVC road victories since going 5-4 in MVC road games during the 2007-08 season. ISU is 7-5 on the road this season, with a 2-1 mark in neutral site games.

STREAKING
Illinois State enters this week's Missouri Valley Conference Tournament riding a season-best four-game winning streak, marking ISU's longest winning streak since winning four in a row early last season. The last time ISU finished the regular season on a four-game winning streak was in 2007-08, when the Redbirds advanced to the MVC Tournament title game followed by the NIT. ISU boasts the second-longest active winning streak in the league. An Illinois State victory Friday would extend the Redbird streak to five, which would mark ISU's longest winning streak since starting the 2012-13 season with a 5-0 record.

DEFENSIVE DUO
ISU is the only program in the nation to feature players in the top 20 for both steals and blocks per game. Sophomore guard Paris Lee leads the MVC and ranks No. 8 nationally with 2.6 steals per game, while sophomore center Reggie Lynch leads the league and ranks No. 19 nationally with 2.7 blocks per game.

DOUBLE-THREAT DeVAUGHN
After leading Illinois State in scoring and rebounding during both of ISU's victories last week, junior guard DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell is the Missouri Valley Conference Newcomer of the Week (March 2). The MVC Newcomer of the Week accolade is Akoon-Purcell's second of the season and ISU's fourth overall. He also garnered the honor Nov. 24, while Deontae Hawkins and MiKyle McIntosh received the accolade Dec. 1 and Jan. 12, respectively. Akoon-Purcell guided Illinois State to a 2-0 record last week, averaging a team-best 20.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.5 steals while shooting 14-for-29 (48.3 percent) from the field, 4-for-11 (36.4 percent) from beyond the arc and a perfect 8-for-8 at the free throw line.

RE-IGkNITED
After being held scoreless for just the second time in his career (Feb. 14 against No. 13 Wichita State), senior guard Daishon Knight bounced back to reach double figures in three of ISU's last four games, leading the Redbirds to four-straight victories. In the last four games, he has averaged 14.0 points while shooting 21-for-48 (43.8 percent) from the field and a perfect 10-for-10 at the free throw line. Knight has now recorded double-figures in 26 out of the last 36 games dating back to last season. He is the only Redbird to have started all 30 of ISU's games this season, and has a team-best streak of 44-straight starts.

STEALING A RECORD
In Illinois State's game at No. 12 Northern Iowa (Feb. 11), sophomore point guard Paris Lee set the ISU single-season steals record, earning his third steal of the game and 62nd of the season at the 12:41 mark, forcing Wyatt Lohaus to turn the ball over at midcourt. Lee passed the previous record of 61, established by Todd Starks in 1986-87. Lee now has 75 steals this season and 122 for his career. Lee's 2.6 steals per game is also on pace to set ISU's season steals average mark, which is 2.0, set by Ron Jones in 1979-80.

SOPHOMORE SWATTER
Sophomore center Reggie Lynch has 76 blocks this season, establishing a school record for rejections by a sophomore player and ranking second among all-time MVC sophomores. Last year, Evansville's Egidijus Mockevicius had 65 blocks as a sophomore, and the league's record is 157.
MVC Single-Season Leaders (Sophomore Season)
157 - Benoit Benjamin, Creighton (1983-84)
76 - Reggie Lynch, Illinois State (2014-15)
75 - Grant Stout, UNI (2004-05)

FULL STRENGTH
Everyone on Illinois State's active roster has been healthy in ISU's last six games. In total, injuries caused ISU players to miss a combined 21 games: DeVaughn Akoon Purcell, seven, broken right hand; Deontae Hawkins, 10, stress reaction in left foot; Reggie Lynch, two, back pain; Paris Lee, one, knee; John Jones, one, plantar fasciitis in left foot. ISU has gone 7-2 in the MVC when the Redbirds are healthy.

REBOUNDING REDBIRDS
By outrebounding No. 12 Northern Iowa (Feb. 11), Illinois State earned the rebounding advantage in seven-consecutive games for the first time since the 2008-09 season. The streak was snapped versus No. 13 Wichita State (Feb. 14). However, ISU has now outrebounded the opposition in three-straight games.

FIRST-HALF ATTACK
Illinois State has held the halftime advantage in all but six games - with two ties - this season. ISU is 18-4 when leading at halftime, 1-1 when tied, and 0-6 when trailing at the half. ISU has also earned a cumulative +5.9 scoring margin in the first half, compared to a +0.5 second-half scoring margin.

DEFENSIVE DOMINANCE
The Redbirds lead the Missouri Valley Conference in steals (7.6) per game and blocks (4.3), which is No. 47 and No. 81 in the nation, respectively.

REBOUNDING DIVIDEND
ISU leads the MVC with 13.2 offensive rebounds per game, which ranks No. 20 nationally. Illinois State has established a +3.7 offensive rebounding margin (395-286), while holding an advantage on the offensive glass in 20 games, with two ties. ISU has capitalized on its offensive boards, scoring 138 more second-chance points than its opponents (351-213). The Redbirds' 49 offensive rebounds in their win at Evansville (Feb. 28) marked a season high.

BENCH BATTLES
Illinois State's bench has held the scoring advantage in 23 out of 30 games this season, with one tie. When the Redbirds outscore their opponent's bench, they are 16-6 this season. Bench production has proven key in all 11 of Illinois State's MVC victories, with the Redbird bench outscoring its opposition by a combined 271-183 (+88) margin in conference victories.

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