MURRAY, Ky. – Two teams projected to finish high in their respective conferences face off in the 2016-17 season opener, as Illinois State plays at Murray State Friday at 7 p.m. CT. The Redbirds were picked second in the Missouri Valley Conference preseason poll, while the Racers were selected to win the Ohio Valley Conference West Division.
ILLINOIS STATE AT MURRAY STATE • FRIDAY, NOV. 11, 2016 • 7 P.M. CT
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THE SERIES:
Friday's game marks the fourth meeting between Illinois State and Murray State. The Racers lead the all-time series, 2-1, with both Racer victories taking place in Murray, Kentucky (L, 85-74, Dec. 11, 1971 and L, 89-77, Dec. 20, 2014). ISU earned its first win in the series last season with a 63-61 victory Dec. 13, 2015 on Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena. Redbird head coach Dan Muller is 1-1 versus Murray State and 0-1 in Murray, Kentucky.
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THE COACHES:
Illinois State: Dan Muller (Illinois State, 1998) is in his fifth season as the head coach at Illinois State (76-58). Muller is the first-ever ISU coach to beat four Top-25 teams in his first four years, leading ISU to the 2015 NIT.
Murray State: Matt McMahon (Appalachian State, 2000) is in his second season as the head coach at Murray State (17-14). McMahon was previously an assistant at MSU for four seasons, helping MSU to a pair of OVC titles.
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ILLINOIS STATE:
Was picked to finish second (out of 10 teams) in the Missouri Valley Conference ... Was the only team to feature two players (out of five) on the Preseason All-MVC First Team (Paris Lee and MiKyle McIntosh) ... Returns four of five starters and seven of 11 letterwinners from last year's team, which tied for second place in the MVC with a 12-6 record, signifying ISU's highest league finish and most conference wins since the 2007-08 season.
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MURRAY STATE:
Was picked to finish first (out of six teams) in the Ohio Valley Conference West Division and second overall (behind Belmont) ... Finished 17-14 overall last year with a 10-6 mark in OVC play (tied for first in the West Division and fifth overall) ... Returns three of five starters from last year's squad, including senior guard Bryce Jones who is an OVC Preseason Team selection after averaging 12.7 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per game last season.
SEASON-OPENING SUCCESS
Throughout ISU's program history, the Redbirds have played well in their season openers. Since the 1981-82 season, Illinois State's first campaign in the Missouri Valley Conference, the Redbirds have won 20 of their 35 season openers. In the 118-year history of the program, Illinois State has compiled a 77-41 all-time record in season-opening games. In the NCAA Division I-era (1970-present), the Redbirds are 27-19 in season-openers, and ISU has won eight of its last 13 season openers. Illinois State is aiming for its first season-opening victory since 2012 and ISU's first season-opening win on the road since 2009. The Redbirds fell in their season opener last year, 71-60, at San Diego State (Nov. 13, 2015). ISU is opening its season on the road for the third time in the past four seasons. This is ISU's first opener versus MSU.
STEADY WINS THE RACE
MiKyle McIntosh performed consistently in his last two meetings with Murray State, scoring five points each time with six rebounds in 2015 and five in 2014. Meanwhile, Tony Wills netted 14 points on 5-for-5 shooting against the Racers in 2014 and Deontae Hawkins scored 16 points versus MSU in 2015.
VERSUS THE OVC
Illinois State holds a 103-54 record against current members of the Ohio Valley Conference, and head coach Dan Muller is 7-1 versus the OVC after adding three wins to his total last season (Morehead State, Murray State and Tennessee State). Muller is also credited with victories over UT Martin and Austin Peay. Along with Friday's season opener at Murray State, Illinois State also plays OVC foe UT Martin at home Dec. 10. ISU had won 32-straight games against members of the OVC prior to the Dec. 20, 2014 loss at Murray State. Since then, the Redbirds have recorded three-consecutive wins versus the OVC.
EXHIBITION STREAK
With their 84-62 exhibition victory over Quincy Sunday afternoon, the Redbirds improved to 41-9 in exhibition contests dating back to 1980. Illinois State won its 11th-straight exhibition game.
EARLY TEST
ISU's first two games of the 2016-17 season are against teams picked to finish high in their respective conferences. Murray State was chosen first (out of six teams) in the Ohio Valley Conference West Division and second overall (behind Belmont). Meanwhile, Fort Wayne was tabbed to win the Summit League.
HIGH EXPECTATIONS
Illinois State is picked to finish second in the league, according to the 2016-17 MVC Preseason Poll, as compiled from votes by MVC sports information directors, media and coaches. Illinois State's predicted second-place finish marks ISU's highest pick since also being tabbed second in the 2012-13 preseason poll. The Redbirds have now been selected to finish second or higher six times in program history (1993-94: first; 1996-97: first; 1997-98: first; 2001-02: first; 2012-13: second; 2016-17: second). ISU received 356 total points and four first-place votes. Wichita State is the favorite to win the MVC men's basketball title.
PRESEASON POLL VS. FINISH DURING MULLER ERA
2015-16: Picked 4th (323 points) – Actual Finish: T2nd (12-6)
2014-15: Picked 5th (287 points) – Actual Finish: T3rd (11-7)
2013-14: Picked 7th (139 points) – Actual Finish: T4th (9-9)
2012-13: Picked 2nd (327 points) – Actual Finish: 6th (8-10)
TWO AT THE TOP
Senior guard Paris Lee and junior forward MiKyle McIntosh are both 2016-17 MVC Preseason First Team selections. The Redbirds landed two on the five-player preseason roster for the first time since Rico Hill and current head coach Dan Muller represented ISU as preseason first-team selections in 1997-98. Hill and Muller led Illinois State to the NCAA Tournament that year after winning MVC regular-season and tournament titles. The 2016-17 Redbirds were the only team to earn two first-team honors.
IT'S A STEAL
Senior guard Paris Lee enters the 2016-17 season ranked No. 2 among active NCAA players for career steals. He needs 13 to crack into the MVC all-time Top 10 for steals.
NCAA Active Leaders, Career Steals
1. Jalan West, Northwestern State 219
2. Paris Lee, Illinois State 183
3. Monte Morris, Iowa State 172
RETURNING REDBIRDS
Senior guards Paris Lee and Tony Wills are two of four starters and seven letterwinners returning for the 2016-17 Redbirds. Illinois State's top returning scorer is Lee, who averaged 11.1 points per game to rank 20th in the league and account for 16.5 percent of the team's total scoring in 2015-16. He begins the 2016-17 season ranked fifth in league scoring (813 points). Additionally, Lee is the league's top returner in assists after averaging 3.7 per contest in 2015-16 to account for 29.1 percent of ISU's total assists. Returning senior forward Deontae Hawkins led the Redbirds and ranked ninth in the MVC by averaging 5.8 rebounds per game to account for 18 percent of Illinois State's total rebounds last season. He also averaged 10.3 points per contest. Along with Lee and Hawkins, ISU's other two returning starters include Wills (5.3 ppg, 2.0 rpg) and junior forward MiKyle McIntosh (10.9 ppg, 4.8 rpg).
PERCENTAGE BACK
The 2016-17 Redbirds return 57.2 percent of their scoring (a 6.6 percent increase from last year) and 50 percent of their rebounding. ISU also returns: 67.4 percent of assists, 64.9 percent of steals, 60 percent of blocks and 54.6 percent of minutes. Joining Illinois State's seven returning letterwinners are eight newcomers, including three true freshmen, one redshirt freshman, two junior college transfers and two Division I transfers who will be eligible to play in 2017-18.
ANOTHER TOUGH SCHEDULE
Illinois State will play games against at least five 2016 Division I postseason qualifiers – including three NCAA Tournament teams – and five opponents who won 20 or more games last season as part of the Redbirds' 2016-17 non-conference schedule. Additionally, in MVC play, ISU will play two more NCAA qualifiers and four programs that won 20 or more games during the 2015-16 campaign. Last season's Redbirds faced one of the toughest non-conference schedules in program history, ranked No. 7 nationally at the end of the regular season, according to the Collegiate Basketball News Report. Illinois State rose to the challenge by recording an upset victory over No. 21 Wichita State (Feb. 6).
RECORDS IN REACH
As the Missouri Valley Conference's active career leader in steals and assists, senior guard Paris Lee will undoubtedly leave his mark in the Illinois State record book. Lee ranks second in career steals (183) behind Ron Jones (222 from 1976-80). Lee also ranks 12th in career assists (319). Additionally, Lee begins the 2016-17 season with 813 points, just 187 away from becoming the 42nd member of the 1,000-point club. Lee scored 355 points last season and has never scored fewer than 227.
BUILDING UPON LAST SEASON
By finishing the 2015-16 MVC season with a 12-6 record, ISU tied with Evansville for second place in the league standings, signifying ISU's highest league finish since also earning second in 2007-08.
A DOZEN WINS
The 2015-16 Redbirds earned 12 MVC wins for the 13th time in program history while achieving their best league record since finishing 13-5 in 2007-08. Head coach Dan Muller earned his most MVC wins (12), passing his previous high of 11 in 2014-15. ISU has earned 11 or more MVC wins in 17 of 34 seasons.
WINNING IN THE CLASSROOM
By teaming up to earn a 2.82 cumulative team grade-point average (GPA) during the 2015-16 academic year, the Illinois State men's basketball program established a cumulative team GPA record. ISU's 2.82 cumulative team GPA in 2015-16 broke the previous mark of 2.78, established in 2014-15. During the spring, eight players earned a spot on the AFNI Honor Roll by achieving semester GPAs of 3.0 or higher.
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