HONOLULU – A spot in the Diamond Head Classic championship game is on the line when Illinois State faces San Francisco Friday at 9 p.m. CT in a tournament semifinal matchup at the Stan Sheriff Center. Both teams are coming off of tournament-opening victories. ISU rolled past host-Hawai'i, 71-45, and San Francisco edged Utah, 89-86, Thursday evening. The Redbirds have won three-straight and six of their past seven. The Dons have won five of six games.
ILLINOIS STATE VS. SAN FRANCISCO • FRIDAY, DEC. 23, 2016 • 9 P.M. CT
THE SERIES:
Friday's game marks the third meeting between Illinois State and San Francisco, with the Redbirds holding a 2-0 advantage in the all-time series. The two teams last squared off Nov. 30, 2013, with ISU winning, 90-76, in San Francisco at the USF Golden Gate Challenge. ISU's other victory over USF occurred Dec. 27, 1985 in Casper, Wyo.
THE COACHES:
Illinois State: Dan Muller (Illinois State, 1998) is in his fifth season as the head coach at Illinois State. Muller is the first-ever ISU coach to beat four Top-25 teams in his first four years. He led ISU to the 2015 NIT.
San Francisco: Kyle Smith (Hamilton College 1992) is in his first season as the head coach at San Francisco. Smith spent the past six seasons at Columbia where he guided the Lions to a 101-82 overall record.
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.
SAN FRANCISCO:
Was picked to finish ninth (out of 10 teams) in the West Coast Conference ... Returns no starters and six letterwinners from last year's team which finished 15-15 overall and 8-10 (fifth) in the WCC ... Returns 29 percent (675 of 2,329) of its scoring and 31 percent (364 of 1,181) of its rebounding production from the 2015-16 season ... Welcomes 10 newcomers to the 2016-17 roster, including eight freshmen.
DE-FENSE
Illinois State held Hawai'i to 25.5 percent shooting from the field and blocked seven shots in a 71-45 victory over the host-Rainbow Warriors (Dec. 22) in the Diamond Head Classic opener. By holding Hawai'i to 25.5 percent shooting, the Redbirds tied for fifth in program single-game field goal percentage defense.
WELCOME BACK
Sophomore center Daouda "David" Ndiaye made his 2016-17 debut at Hawai'i (Dec. 22) after missing nearly the entire nonconference season with a stress fracture in his right foot. Ndiaye made his presence felt by matching a career high with five blocks plus six rebounds and four points in 17 minutes.
WILLIAMS FINDS HIS WAY
Freshman guard Madison Williams contributed the best offensive effort of his career by scoring a career-best 11 points with two rebounds, two assists and one steal in the win over Hawai'i (Dec. 22).
PLAYING THE FIELD
By beating Hawai'i (Dec. 22), Illinois State secured its second-straight win over a 2016 NCAA Tournament qualifier. Before that, ISU beat tournament qualifier Saint Joseph's (Dec. 18). The Redbirds are 2-1 against the 2016 NCAA Tournament field, with their lone loss at Tulsa (Dec. 7). ISU will face either Tulsa, again, or 2016 National Invitation Tournament (NIT) qualifier San Diego State Sunday at the Diamond Head Classic.
ALOHA!
Illinois State is playing in a regular-season tournament on the Hawaiian Islands for the fourth time in program history. After winning Thursday, ISU holds a 7-2 record in regular-season tournaments in Hawaii.
TOURNAMENT TIME
The Redbirds own a 73-44 (.658) program record in regular-season tournament games, including a 9-6 mark in regular-season tournament games played during the Dan Muller era.
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