Redbirds Start MVC Road Swing at Indiana State

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Illinois State puts its unblemished Missouri Valley Conference record on the line when the Redbird men's basketball team (9-7, 3-0 MVC) plays at Indiana State (8-7, 2-1 MVC) Saturday, Jan. 9, at 1 p.m. CT in the first of two-straight road games.

ILLINOIS STATE AT INDIANA STATE • SATURDAY, JAN. 9, 2016 • 1 P.M. CT

• THE SERIES:
  Saturday's game marks the 114th meeting between Illinois State and Indiana State. The Redbirds lead the all-time series, 60-53, with the Sycamores winning two-straight and five of the last seven. Versus Indiana State, Illinois State is 20-37 in Terre Haute, Indiana, and 17-25 at Hulman Center where the Sycamores have won eight-straight games, Illinois State's second-longest active MVC road losing streak. The Redbirds have lost 11-straight at Northern Iowa, and seven-straight at Wichita State. Illinois State last won in Terre Haute Feb. 14, 2007.

• THE COACHES:
  Illinois State: Dan Muller (Illinois State, 1998) is in his fourth season as the head coach at Illinois State (67-51). Muller is the first coach in ISU history to beat three Top-25 teams in his first three seasons.
  Indiana State: Greg Lansing (South Dakota, 1990) is in his sixth season as the head coach at Indiana State (102-78). Lansing led Indiana State to the NCAA Tournament in 2010-11 and recently earned his 100th victory.

• 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 ... on a season-long four-game winning streak after winning six of seven.

• ABOUT INDIANA STATE:
  Picked to finish sixth (out of 10 teams) in the Missouri Valley Conference ... return three of five starters and nine of 12 letterwinners from last year's team, which recorded a 15-16 overall record and an 11-7 MVC mark (third place) ... feature MVC preseason honorable mention selection Devonte Brown who is averaging a team-best 15.2 points and 3.1 assists per game ... Brenton Scott (13.3 ppg) was the 2015 MVC Freshman of the Year.

LAST TIME OUT (W, 54-52 - JAN. 6, 2016 VS. LOYOLA)
The Illinois State men's basketball team was in danger of losing a seven-point lead with less than a minute to go, but Nick Banyard blocked the potential game-tying shot with two seconds left to give ISU a 54-52 win over Loyola on Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena. After falling behind, 13-0, Illinois State answered with a 13-2 run to pull within two points. ISU went on to lead by five points at halftime and by as many as 10 points in the second half. DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell led the Redbirds with 14 points and four rebounds.

UNDEFEATED
After winning their first three Missouri Valley Conference games of the season, the Redbirds are aiming to improve to 4-0 in the MVC for the first time since starting 6-0 before suffering a loss during the 2007-08 season. Illinois State has started conference play with a 4-0 record just five times since joining the MVC in 1981. After starting 4-0, the Redbirds have gone on to finish no lower than second in the league, advancing to three NCAA Tournaments and one National Invitation Tournament (NIT) following 4-0 MVC starts.

ATOP THE LEAGUE
Illinois State has a chance to be one of just two undefeated teams in Missouri Valley Conference play by the end of the day Saturday. Illinois State, Southern Illinois and Wichita State all enter Saturday with 3-0 MVC records. However, with SIU hosting WSU Saturday at 3 p.m., only one of those two teams will maintain an unblemished record, meaning that a Redbird victory over the Sycamores would make Illinois State one of two remaining teams with a perfect 4-0 MVC record.

BATTLING BACK
In six of Illinois State's nine victories this season, the Redbirds have overcome deficits of eight points or more. In all three of the Redbirds' Missouri Valley Conference wins, ISU has overcome deficits of 12 or more points (down 13 vs. Missouri State, Dec. 30; down 12 at Drake, Jan. 3; down 13 vs. Loyola, Jan. 6). Illinois State's wins over Missouri State and Loyola marked the 25th and 26th times in program history, respectively, that ISU has overcome a deficit of 13 points or more to win.

DEFENSE SYSTEM
After falling behind by 13 points at home to Loyola (Jan. 6), Illinois State came back to take the halftime lead, and ultimately win, thanks in large part to the ISU's defense. Trailing 13-0, the Redbirds went on to outscore Loyola, 26-8, holding the Ramblers scoreless for a 4:43 stretch in the first half. Illinois State limited Loyola to 21 first-half points and 52 total, which were both season-lows for Redbird opponents.

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 -2.8 scoring margin in the first half compared to a +1.8 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 45.7 percent in the second half, a 9.7 percent difference.

DOUBLE-DIGIT DeVAUGHN
Senior guard DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell has reached double figures in all 16 of ISU's games this year, and dating back to last season, 18-straight and 23 of the last 24. He has recorded 20 or more points four times in 2015-16, and Akoon-Purcell is averaging 16.1 points (fifth in the Missouri Valley Conference) and 4.7 rebounds per contest (tied for 16th in the MVC). Akoon-Purcell has led ISU in scoring 10 times this season.

HAWKINS BAROMETER
When sophomore forward Deontae Hawkins plays well, so too do the Redbirds this season. ISU – now 9-7 overall – is 8-2 when Hawkins achieves double-digit scoring. The Redbirds are 9-3 when Hawkins nets eight or more points. Hawkins has scored in double figures in five-straight games, with ISU going 4-1.

TRENDING
Now 16 games into the season, some trends have emerged: ISU is 9-0 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 3-7 when ISU's starters do not outscore the opponent's; ISU is 7-1 when outrebounding its opponent. The Redbirds are 8-0 when leading with five minutes to play and 0-7 when trailing at the five-minute mark.

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