FAN INFORMATION:Â GoRedbirds.com/ArchMadness
WATCH VIDEO:Â Inside Redbird Basketball - MVC Tournament Week
TELEVISION BROADCAST
Sunday's game will be televised live on CBS. Below are channel listings where the game can be found:
- Comcast XFINITY (Bloomington-Normal):Â 7, 912
- DirecTV:Â 31
- DISH:Â 31
- AT&T U-Verse: 2, 1002
- Comcast XFINITY (Chicago-area): 2, 189
- Mediacom: 3, 8, 706
THE SERIES:
Illinois State plays Northern Iowa in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament championship game Sunday afternoon for the 70th meeting in the all-time series dating back to 1899, which was ISU's first-ever basketball season. UNI was the first, current Missouri Valley Conference school that the Redbirds ever played, with ISU winning, 12-4, April 3, 1899 in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Illinois State leads the all-time series, 38-31, and ISU holds a 6-3 record against the Panthers at the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament. Head coach Dan Muller is 2-5 versus Northern Iowa, with UNI sweeping this year's regular-season series against the Redbirds.
WHAT'S AT STAKE?:
The winner of Sunday's game earns an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Illinois State is trying to win the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament for the first time since 1998, marking the longest drought in the MVC.
ILLINOIS STATE AT A GLANCE:
Finished tied for third place with Indiana State in the final regular-season standings ... secured the MVC Tournament's No. 4 seed ... riding a season- and league-best six-game winning streak ... leads the MVC in blocked shots, steals and offensive rebounds per game ... DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell is Newcomer of the Year.
NORTHERN IOWA AT A GLANCE:
Finished second in the final regular-season standings ... is the MVC Tournament's No. 2 seed ... leads the MVC in scoring defense, field goal percentage, field goal percentage defense and 3-point field goals made ... Seth Tuttle was named the Larry Bird MVC Player of the Year after leading UNI in scoring, rebounding, assists and blocks.
LAST MEETING WITH NORTHERN IOWA
Seth Tuttle's layup at the 7:14 mark in the first half established a double-digit lead for No. 12 Northern Iowa which the Panthers never relinquished, and Illinois State lost, 83-64, Feb. 11 at the McLeod Center. Northern Iowa shot 53.7 percent from the field, and Illinois State finished with a 41.4 percent shooting clip. The Redbirds outrebounded UNI, 33-30, marking ISU's seventh-consecutive game in which Illinois State earned the rebounding edge, a feat ISU last accomplished in 2008-09.
TAKING ON THE TOP 25
Illinois State is playing against a Top-25 foe for the second-consecutive game and the sixth time this season when the Redbirds face No. 11 Northern Iowa Sunday. ISU is 1-4 versus the Top 25 this year.
SUCCESS AGAINST THE BEST
With Saturday's 65-62 win over No. 8 Wichita State, ISU beat a Top-25 team for the fourth time in as many seasons – a feat that had never been accomplished by the Redbirds – after also 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 11-57 overall and 2-2 at the MVC Tournament. The Redbirds are 0-3 against UNI when the Panthers are nationally ranked.
MAKING HISTORY
Illinois State's victory over No. 8 Wichita State was historic for the following reasons:
- It marked the first time in program history that ISU has beaten a Top-25 team in four-consecutive seasons.
- It marked the first time in program history that an ISU head coach has beaten three Top-25 teams in his first three seasons.
- It marked a Redbird win over the highest ranked opponent since beating No. 4 Indiana State in 1978.
- It marked a win over ISU's highest ranked opponent ever at the MVC Tournament.
MORE HISTORY IN STORE?
An Illinois State victory over No. 11 Northern Iowa would be historic for the following reasons:
- It would mark the first time in program history that ISU has beaten Top-25 teams in back-to-back days.
DUSTING OFF THE DANCING SHOES
Illinois State has not won the Missouri Valley Conference Men's Basketball Tournament since the 1997-98 season, when head coach Dan Muller was a senior forward, marking the league's longest tournament championship drought. ISU also has the second-longest NCAA Tournament drought, with the Redbirds last making the Big Dance in 1997-98. Loyola has not qualified for the NCAA Tournament since 1985. Illinois State's women's volleyball and women's soccer teams both earned bids to the NCAA Tournament during the fall, while the Redbird football team advanced to the FCS National Championship game.
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.
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 4-1 mark in neutral site games.
STREAKING
Illinois State enters Sunday's Missouri Valley Conference Tournament championship game riding a league- and season-best six-game winning streak, marking ISU's longest winning streak since winning seven in a row during the 2009-10 season.
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. ISU is aiming to prevent a season sweep versus Northern Iowa.
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 five of ISU's last six games, leading the Redbirds to six-straight victories. In the last six games, he has averaged a team-best 15.5 points while shooting 34-for-71 (47.9 percent) from the field and 17-for-18 at the free throw line. Knight has now recorded double-figures in 28 out of the last 38 games dating back to last season. He is the only Redbird to have started all 32 of ISU's games this season, and has a team-best streak of 46-straight starts.
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