TULSA, Okla. – Winners of three-straight games and four of the past five, the Illinois State men's basketball team will try to extend its winning streak versus a former Missouri Valley Conference foe when the Redbirds face Tulsa Wednesday at 7 p.m. CT at the Reynolds Center. The Redbirds and the Golden Hurricane are meeting for the first time since 1996.
ILLINOIS STATE AT TULSA • WEDNESDAY, DEC. 7, 2016 • 7 P.M. CT
THE SERIES:
Wednesday's game marks the 32nd overall meeting between Illinois State and Tulsa, with the Golden Hurricane holding a 17-14 advantage in the all-time series. The two teams last squared off March 3, 1996 at the MVC Tournament in St. Louis, with Tulsa winning the semifinal matchup, 69-52. A member of the MVC from 1934 until 1996, Tulsa is now in the American Athletic Conference. ISU is 19-26 versus current members of the American.
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.
Tulsa: Frank Haith (Elon, 1988) is in his third season as the head coach at Tulsa. He averaged 21.5 wins in his first two seasons, while leading Tulsa to the NIT in 2014-15 and the NCAA Tournament in 2015-16.
ILLINOIS STATE:
Features the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week: Paris Lee (last week: 18 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 8.5 apg) ... 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 (MiKyle McIntosh and Lee) ... Returns four of five starters and seven of 11 letterwinners from last year's team, which tied for second place in the MVC (12-6).
TULSA:
Was picked to finish ninth (out of 11 teams) in the American Athletic Conference ... Returns one starter (Pat Birt) and two letterwinners from last year's 20-12 team which finished third with a 12-6 record in the American regular-season standings ... Earned an at-large bid to the 2016 NCAA Tournament, marking the fourth-straight season in which the Golden Hurricane reached the postseason ... Features nine newcomers to the 2016-17 roster.
RENEWING THE RIVALRY
For the first time since Tulsa left the Missouri Valley Conference following the 1995-96 season, Illinois State and the Golden Hurricane are set to meet in a non-conference showdown Wednesday night. Tulsa holds a 17-14 lead in the all-time series, including a 15-13 advantage in regular-season MVC games, a 2-1 advantage in MVC Tournament contests and a 4-11 advantage in games played in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Wednesday's game marks the first-ever non-conference meeting between the two programs and also the first-ever Redbird game at the Reynolds Center, which was completed in 1998, after Tulsa left the MVC.
HISTORY WITH TULSA
-Muller: While ISU head coach Dan Muller has never coached against the Golden Hurricane, he holds a 3-1 record as a Redbird player versus Tulsa. In the most-recent ISU-Tulsa game, Muller scored a game-high 18 points as a sophomore, but ISU fell, 69-52, in the MVC Tournament semifinals (March 3, 1996).
-Big Wins: Three out of Illinois State's 12 victories over Top-25 teams have come against nationally ranked Tulsa teams: W, 79-73 at No. 12 Tulsa (Jan. 19, 1984); W, 91-81 vs. No. 9 Tulsa (March 3, 1984 in Horton Field House); W, 73-72 at No. 17 Tulsa (Feb. 6, 1985). ISU is 3-3 versus nationally ranked Tulsa teams.
WINNING AGAINST THE WEST
By beating New Mexico, 79-74, (Dec. 3) Illinois State earned its second win in five attempts throughout the Mountain West/Missouri Valley Challenge. It also marked ISU's first victory in the Challenge Series since winning the series-opener at Utah in 2009. With one Challenge Series game left, the MVC has a 5-4 edge.
STREAKING
Illinois State has won three-straight games, and the Redbird are aiming to win their fourth-straight which would signify ISU's longest winning streak since earning five-straight victories from Feb. 3-Feb. 17, 2016.
WHAT A WEEK!
For the first time in his four-year Redbird career, senior point guard Paris Lee is the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week (announced Dec. 5). Lee averaged 18.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, 8.5 assists – with just 2.0 turnovers – and 2.0 steals in 31.5 minutes per game in wins over New Mexico (Dec. 3) and IUPUI (Nov. 30). He shot 12-for-20 (60.0 percent) from the field, 6-for-11 (54.5 percent) from beyond the arc and 6-for-8 (75.0 percent) at the free throw line. Lee is the first Redbird to earn Valley Player of the Week accolades since Deontae Hawkins garnered player of the week recognition Feb. 8, 2016.
DEEP DISH
Senior guard Paris Lee dished a career-best 11 assists, with just two turnovers, in Illinois State's Mountain West/Missouri Valley Challenge victory over New Mexico (Dec. 3). Lee's 11 assists were the most by a Redbird since Boo Richardson earned 11 versus Lewis Dec. 19, 2006. Lee also matched a season high with 18 points to achieve his first-career double-double and the first ISU double-double consisting of points and assists since Nic Moore scored 24 points with 10 assists at Ole Miss March 14, 2012.
CAREER NIGHTS
Along with Paris Lee's career-best 11 assists, sophomore guard Keyshawn Evans, sophomore forward Phil Fayne and freshman guard Madison Williams each achieved career bests in Illinois State's win over New Mexico (Dec. 3). In his second year with ISU, Evans scored 12 points on 4-for-10 shooting from three-point range, surpassing his previous high of six points. Meanwhile, as first-year Redbirds, Fayne collected a career-high 10 rebounds and Williams scored a career-best seven points.
HELPING HAND
Senior guard Paris Lee leads the Missouri Valley Conference and ranks 15th nationally with 6.5 assists averaged per game. As a team, the Redbirds rank third in the league with 16.5 assists per contest.
TOP FOUR
Senior forward Deontae Hawkins is the only Missouri Valley Conference player to rank in the top four in both league scoring (fourth, 15.7 points per game) and rebounding (tied second, 7.5 rebounds per game).
MOVING ON UP
By earning a career-high 11 assists versus New Mexico (Dec. 3), senior guard Paris Lee moved into sole possession of 10th on the Illinois State career-assists list, with 358. He passed David Cason who finished his career with 357 (1993-95). Lee is now one of seven Redbirds to rank in the top 10 in both career steals (Lee is second with 196) and assists. Lee leads the league and ranks 15th nationally with 6.5 apg.
LOCKING DOWN
Illinois State leads the MVC and ranks 22nd nationally by averaging 9.0 steals per game. The Redbirds have forced more steals than the opposition in three games this season, all resulting in Redbird victories. Steals have been even in two of ISU's games, and TCU (Nov. 21) was Illinois State's only opponent so far this season to have recorded more steals than the Redbirds (resulting in one of ISU's two losses).
DEFENSE WINS GAMES
The Redbirds' defensive efforts have directly correlated with victories. ISU is now 4-0 when forcing more turnovers than the opposition and 0-2 when committing more turnovers. Additionally, ISU has turned defense into offense by scoring 100 points off of opponent turnovers compared to 86 points by opponents.
A TALE OF TWO HALVES
In ISU's first five games of the season, the Redbirds both scored first and held a halftime advantage. During those contests, ISU held a +9.0 scoring margin in the first half of games contrasted with a -2.2 scoring margin in the second half. Illinois State also had a +4.2 turnover margin in the first half compared to a -2.6 second-half turnover margin. However, in ISU's most recent victory over New Mexico (Dec. 3), the Lobos scored first and held a three-point halftime lead. However, ISU outscored New Mexico, 37-29, in the second half to secure the victory. The Redbirds overcame a deficit (seven points) in a win for the first time.
TRENDING
So far this season, Illinois State is 4-1 when: Leading with five minutes left in regulation and when ISU starters outscore the opponent's. ISU is 3-0 when outshooting its opponent. In Redbird victories, Deontae Hawkins has averaged a team-best 18.0 points per game compared to 11.0 in losses.
80 WINS
Fifth-year head coach Dan Muller earned his 80th win by beating New Mexico (Dec. 3). With a current record of 80-60, Muller is the eighth Redbird head coach (out of 19) to achieve 80 victories at Illinois State.
APPROACHING 200
By forcing two steals in Illinois State's win over New Mexico, senior guard Paris Lee increased his career steals total to 196, putting him four steals away from becoming just the second Redbird ever to force 200 or more career steals. Lee is currently second on the career-steals list behind Ron Jones (222).
IT'S A STEAL
Senior guard Paris Lee ranks No. 2 among active NCAA players for career steals. He needs just one to crack into the MVC all-time Top 10 for steals.
NCAA Active Leaders, Career Steals
1. Jalan West, Northwestern State 219 (out until at least late February with a knee injury)
2. Paris Lee, Illinois State 196
3. Monte Morris, Iowa State 179
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 (196) behind Ron Jones (222 from 1976-80). Lee also ranks 10th in career assists (358). Additionally, Lee began 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.
GOOD WORKS
Junior forward MiKyle McIntosh is one of 111 NCAA Division I men's basketball student-athletes nominated for the 2017 Allstate Good Works Team. A panel will select the final 10-member team (unveiled in February). McIntosh is a two-time AFNI Honor Roll member and has volunteered for more than 15 hours.
GoRedbirds.com: Your online source for Illinois State Athletics, tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
