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WATCH VIDEO: Inside Redbird Basketball - MVC Tournament Week
TELEVISION BROADCAST
Saturday'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, 535, 922
- DirecTV: 665, 671
- DISH: 418, 429, 5418
- AT&T U-Verse: 649, 741, 1741, 1748, 4501
- Comcast XFINITY (Chicago-area): 37, 200, 415, 833
- Mediacom: 33, 733
- ESPN3.com
THE SERIES:
Illinois State plays Wichita State Saturday afternoon for the 78th meeting in the all-time series dating back to 1937, which the Shockers lead, 40-37. The Redbirds hold a 5-4 advantage in games played against the Shockers in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament, with WSU owning a 3-2 advantage in St. Louis. Head coach Dan Muller is 0-7 versus Wichita State, with ISU's last victory over WSU taking place Mar. 3, 2012, at the MVC Tournament.
WHAT'S AT STAKE?:
The winner of Saturday's game will advance to Sunday's Missouri Valley Conference Tournament championship game to face the winner of Northern Iowa versus Loyola.
ILLINOIS STATE AT A GLANCE:
Finished tied for third place in the final regular-season standings (20-11, 11-7 MVC) ... secured the MVC Tournament's No. 4 seed ... on a season-best five-game winning streak ... leads the MVC in blocked shots, steals and offensive rebounds per game ... DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell is Newcomer of the Year.
WICHITA STATE AT A GLANCE:
Finished first in the final regular-season standings (28-3, 17-1 MVC) after winning a league-best nine-straight games ... is the MVC Tournament's No. 1 seed ... leads the MVC in scoring offense, scoring margin, rebounding margin, turnover margin and assist-to-turnover ratio.
LAST MEETING WITH WICHITA STATE
Illinois State's DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell scored 15 of his 18 points in the second half to keep ISU close against No. 13 ranked Wichita State, but the Shockers dominated the rebounding margin, 40-26, and had 10 second-chance points that turned out to be the difference in a 68-62 defeat of the Redbirds (Feb. 14) on Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena. Akoon-Purcell was one of two Redbirds in double figures and finished with 18 points, including a 3-for-5 effort from three-point range. Reggie Lynch was the only other Redbird in double figures with 10 points, all of which were scored in the second half, to go along with eight rebounds, before he fouled out of the contest.
TAKING ON THE TOP 25
Illinois State is playing against a Top-25 foe for the fifth time this season when the Redbirds face No. 8 Wichita State Saturday afternoon. ISU is 0-4 versus the Top 25 this year.
SUCCESS AGAINST THE BEST
ISU is trying to beat a Top-25 team for the fourth time in as many seasons – a feat that has never been accomplished by the Redbirds – after topping No. 25 Dayton at home (Dec. 7, 2013), winning at No. 16 Creighton (Feb. 9, 2013), and edging No. 15 Wichita State at the MVC Tournament (Mar. 3, 2012). Versus Top-25 opponents, ISU is 10-57 overall and 1-2 at the MVC Tournament. The Redbirds are 1-5 against WSU when the Shockers are nationally ranked, with Illinois State's victory occurring March 3, 2012 in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament semifinals when the Shockers were No. 15.
AIMING FOR HISTORY
An Illinois State victory over No. 8 Wichita State would be historic for the following reasons:
- It would mark the first time in program history that ISU has beaten a Top-25 team in four-consecutive seasons.
- It would mark the first time in program history that an ISU head coach has beaten three Top-25 teams in his first three seasons.
- It would mark a win over ISU's highest ranked opponent ever at the MVC Tournament.
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 improved to 3-0 versus the Purple Aces with a victory over UE in the MVC Tournament semifinals (March 6). 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 3-1 mark in neutral site games.
STREAKING
Illinois State enters Saturday's Missouri Valley Conference Tournament semifinal riding a season-best five-game winning streak, marking ISU's longest winning streak since winning five in a row to start the 2012-13 season. ISU boasts the second-longest active winning streak in the league. An Illinois State victory Saturday would extend the Redbird streak to six, which would mark ISU's longest streak since winning six in a row during the 2009-10 season.
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. 20 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 four of ISU's last five games, leading the Redbirds to five-straight victories. In the last five games, he has averaged 13.6 points while shooting 24-for-56 (42.9 percent) from the field and 15-for-16 at the free throw line. Knight has now recorded double-figures in 27 out of the last 37 games dating back to last season. He is the only Redbird to have started all 31 of ISU's games this season, and has a team-best streak of 45-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 77 steals this season and 124 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 77 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)
77 - 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 seven 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 went 7-2 in the MVC when the Redbirds were 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 four-straight games.
FIRST-HALF ATTACK
Illinois State has held the halftime advantage in all but seven games - with two ties - this season. ISU is 18-4 when leading at halftime, 1-1 when tied, and 1-6 when trailing at the half. The Redbirds' MVC Tournament quarterfinal win over Evansville (March 6) marked the first time this season that ISU has come back from a halftime deficit to win.
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