NORMAL, Ill. – Off to a 2-0 start in Missouri Valley Conference play and winners of five of their last six games, the Redbirds are aiming for their fourth-straight victory when ISU hosts Loyola Wednesday, Jan. 6 at 7 p.m.
LOYOLA AT ILLINOIS STATE • WEDNESDAY, JAN. 6, 2016 • 7 P.M.
THE SERIES:
Wednesday's game marks the 15th meeting between Illinois State and Loyola. ISU leads the all-time series, 10-4, with the Redbirds winning two-straight and six of the last seven. Versus the Ramblers, ISU is 6-1 at home and 5-1 at Redbird Arena. Head Coach Dan Muller holds a 3-1 record against Loyola through the Ramblers' first two seasons in the MVC. Loyola has not earned a victory in Normal, Illinois, since the 1990-91 season.
THE COACHES:
Illinois State: Dan Muller (Illinois State, 1998) is in his fourth season as the head coach at Illinois State (66-51). Muller is the first coach in ISU history to beat three Top-25 teams in his first three seasons.
Loyola: Porter Moser (Creighton, 1990) is in his fifth season as the head coach at Loyola (63-81). Moser, who was Illinois State's head coach from 2003-07, led LU to the 2015 College Basketball Invitational (CBI) title.
ABOUT ILLINOIS STATE:
Picked to finish fourth (out of 10 teams) 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 MVC preseason team selection DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell ... played the top-two nationally-ranked teams in a one-week span.
ABOUT LOYOLA:
Picked to finish fifth (out of 10 teams) in the Missouri Valley Conference ... return four of five starters and nine of 12 letterwinners from last year's team, which recorded a 24-13 overall record and an 8-10 MVC mark (sixth place) ... feature preseason honorable mention All-MVC selection Milton Doyle who is averaging a team-best 12.0 points per game ... won the 2015 College Basketball Invitational (CBI) and earned 24 wins for the first time since 1985.
UP NEXT: Saturday, Jan. 9 at Indiana State: 1 p.m. CT at the Hulman Center in Terre Haute, Indiana
LAST TIME OUT (W, 67-62 - JAN. 3, 2016 AT DRAKE)
Illinois State overcame a 10-point halftime deficit and DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell poured in a career-best 28 points with a season-high nine rebounds as the ISU men's basketball team improved to 2-0 in the Missouri Valley Conference with a 67-62 road victory over Drake at the Knapp Center. After trailing by as many as 12 points in the first half, Illinois State overcame a 10-point halftime deficit by outscoring Drake, 19-8, to start the second half en route to a 41-40 Redbird advantage at the 10:48 mark. ISU permanently took the lead on a Tony Wills 3-pointer with 1:22 remaining following six ties and eight lead changes.
FAST START
After winning their first two Missouri Valley Conference games of the season, the Redbirds are aiming to improve to 3-0 in the MVC for the first time since also starting 3-0 before suffering a loss during the 2008-09 season. Illinois State has started conference play with a 3-0 record just six times since joining the MVC in 1981. After starting 3-0, the Redbirds have gone on to finish no lower than third in the league.
COMING BACK
In five of Illinois State's eight victories, the Redbirds have overcome deficits of eight points or more. The Redbirds surmounted double-digit deficits in their last two games (13 versus Missouri State, Dec. 30 and 12 at Drake, Jan. 3). In five of Illinois State's eight victories, ISU has overcome deficits of eight points or more. Illinois State's win over Missouri State (Dec. 30) marked the 25th time in program history that ISU has overcome a deficit of 13 points or more to win (ISU trailed by 13 at the 6:15 mark in the first half).
A TALE OF TWO HALVES
Statistically, Illinois State has proven to be more offensively effective in the second half this season. The Redbirds are averaging a -3.3 scoring margin in the first half compared to a +2.1 scoring margin in the second half, leading to nine halftime deficits and one tie. ISU is shooting 36.0 percent from the field in the first half and 46.5 percent in the second half, a 10.5 percent difference.
CAREER DAY
Senior guard DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell achieved the best offensive game of his Illinois State career, scoring a career-high 28 points while making a career-best 13 field goals (13-for-21, 61.9 percent) and collecting a season-high nine rebounds in Illinois State's win at Drake (Jan. 3). Akoon-Purcell has now reached double figures in all 15 of ISU's games this year, and dating back to last season, 17-straight and 22 of the last 23. He has recorded 20 or more points four times in 2015-16, and Akoon-Purcell is averaging 16.3 points (fifth in the Missouri Valley Conference) and 4.7 rebounds per contest.
3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3
Illinois State shot 15-for-27 from behind the arc in ISU's Missouri Valley Conference season-opening victory over Missouri State (Dec. 30). The 15 3-pointers were the most-ever made by the Redbirds on Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena, surpassing the previous record of 14. Illinois State's 15 trifectas also tied for third-most in program history, regardless of venue, with ISU last netting 15 3-pointers at Oakland Dec. 16, 2013. After scoring five first-half three-balls, ISU drained 10 (of 13) in the second half.
DEONTAE DOMINATES
Sophomore forward Deontae Hawkins was instrumental in ISU's win over Missouri State (Dec. 30), recording a season-high 17 points on a career-best 5-for-5 three-point shooting performance. And, when Hawkins plays well, so too do the Redbirds this season. The Redbirds – now 8-7 overall – are 7-2 when Hawkins achieves double-digit scoring. ISU is 8-3 when Hawkins nets eight or more points.
SETTING THE STARTERS
The Redbirds have featured seven different starting lineups in 2015-16. While Deontae Hawkins and MiKyle McIntosh have both started 14 games, no Redbird has started in all 15 contests.
TRENDING
Now 15 games into the season, some trends have emerged: ISU is 8-0 when allowing less than 70 points; ISU is 4-0 when scoring 70 or more points; ISU is 6-0 when its starters outscore the opponent's starters and 2-7 when ISU's starters do not outscore the opponent's; ISU is 6-1 when outrebounding its opponent. The Redbirds are 7-0 when leading with five minutes to play and 0-7 when trailing at the five-minute mark.
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