CHICAGO – After tipping off the Missouri Valley Conference season with a 62-50 win over Evansville (Dec. 29), the Redbirds will try to improve to 2-0 in the league for the 13th time in 36 MVC seasons when ISU plays at Loyola Chicago, on New Year's Day, Sunday, Jan. 1 at 1 p.m. The Redbirds (9-4, 1-0 MVC) have won five of their past six games, while Loyola Chicago (10-4, 0-1) is coming off of a 102-98 league-opening loss at Drake (Dec. 29).
ILLINOIS STATE AT LOYOLA CHICAGO • SUNDAY, JAN. 1, 2017 • 1 P.M.
THE SERIES:
Sunday's game marks the 17th meeting between Illinois State and Loyola. ISU leads the all-time series, 12-4, with the Redbirds winning four-straight games and eight of the past nine. Versus the Ramblers, ISU is 5-3 in Chicago and 3-1 at Gentile Arena. Head Coach Dan Muller is 5-1 against Loyola and 2-1 at Gentile Arena.
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.
Loyola Chicago: Porter Moser (Creighton, 1990) is in his sixth season as the head coach at Loyola. Moser, who was Illinois State's head coach from 2003-07, led LU to the 2015 College Basketball Invitational (CBI) title.
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.
LOYOLA CHICAGO:
Was picked to finish seventh (out of 10 teams) in the Missouri Valley Conference ... Returns two starters and six letterwinners from last year's team which finished 15-17 overall and eighth in the MVC with a 7-11 record ... Junior transfer Aundre Jackson has been named MVC Player of the Week once (Nov. 28) and MVC Newcomer of the Week twice (Nov. 21 and Dec. 5) ... Senior guard Milton Doyle is the MVC's active scoring leader.
LET'S GO 2-0
After winning their Missouri Valley Conference opener by beating Evansville (Dec. 29), the Redbirds improved to 17-19 in MVC openers since joining the league in 1981-82. ISU is now aiming to improve to 2-0 in the league for the 13th time in 36 seasons. Illinois State also achieved this feat last season for the first time since the 2008-09 campaign. In years when the Redbirds started 2-0 in MVC play, they went on to average 11.8 victories with an average regular-season finish of 2.3.
THE DEFENDERS
The Redbirds have held each of their past four opponents to season-low field goal shooting percentages (Hawai'i: 25.5%, San Francisco: 36.7%, Tulsa: 26.9%, Evansville: 25.9%). Opponents have averaged just 29.0 percent against Illinois State over the past four games. ISU's cumulative field goal percentage defense of 37.7 percent ranks second in the MVC and 19th nationally.
WINNING IN THE WINDY CITY
During Illinois State head coach Dan Muller's tenure, the Redbirds have earned a 5-1 record when playing in the Chicagoland area (2-1 at Loyola, 1-0 at DePaul, 1-0 at Northwestern and 1-0 at UIC), and the Redbirds are a combined 9-2 versus Chicagoland teams on the road and at home (including the previously mentioned teams plus Chicago State). ISU has typically drawn quality crowds when playing in the Windy City, as Chicago is home to nearly 30 percent of ISU's alumni and 40 percent of its student body.
CLOSING IN ON 1,000
By scoring eight points in Illinois State's win over Evansville (Dec. 29), senior guard Paris Lee increased his career point-total to 997, which is three away from 1,000. Lee is closing in on becoming the 42nd member of ISU's 1,000-point club and the first to join since Tyler Brown scored his 1,000th point during the 2012-13 season (and finished with 1,046).
LEE FOR THREE!
Senior guard Paris Lee leads the Missouri Valley Conference and ranks 14th nationally in 3-point field goal percentage (47.8 percent). Lee has netted at least one 3-pointer in every game this season.
SHARING THE ROCK
Senior guard Paris Lee leads the MVC and ranks 43rd nationally with 5.5 assists averaged per game. In Redbird victories this season, ISU is averaging 15.4 assists and 11.7 turnovers (1.3 assist-to-turnover ratio) compared to 13.0 assists and 14.0 turnovers (0.9 assist-to-turnover ratio) in losses.
BALL THIEF
Senior guard Paris Lee leads the league and ranks 46th nationally with 2.0 steals per game. As a team, the Redbirds rank first in the MVC with 8.0 steals per game.
DEFENSE WINS GAMES
The Redbirds' defensive efforts have directly correlated with victories. ISU is 9-1 when forcing more turnovers than the opposition and 0-3 when committing more turnovers.
LOCKING DOWN
Illinois State leads the MVC and ranks 43rd nationally with 8.0 steals per game. The Redbirds also top the league and rank 59th nationally with 4.8 blocks per game. ISU recorded a season-high nine blocks against Evansville (Dec. 29). The program record for single-game blocks is 10.
A TALE OF TWO HALVES
Illinois State has held the halftime lead in 12 of its first 13 games. ISU holds a +8.5 scoring margin in first halves this season compared to a -0.5 scoring margin in second halves. The Redbirds are shooting 45.7 percent from the field in first halves versus 39.9 percent in second halves.
PROTECTING THE NEST
Dating back to last season, Illinois State has won 13-straight games on Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena. The Redbirds' last home-court loss occurred Jan. 15, 2016 to Evansville (L, 66-55). By earning an 81-72 home-court victory over Saint Joseph's (Dec. 18), the Redbirds finished their home nonconference season with a perfect 6-0 record on Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena. ISU earned its first unblemished home non-conference record since going 6-0 to start the season at home in 2008-09.
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