NORMAL, Ill. – Winners of four-straight games and a league-best seven of their last eight, the Redbirds will try to extend their winning streak while attempting to split the season series with Indiana State when the Illinois State men's basketball team hosts the Sycamores Wednesday, Feb. 17 at 7 p.m. on Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena.
INDIANA STATE AT ILLINOIS STATE • WEDNESDAY, FEB. 17, 2016 • 7 P.M.
THE SERIES:
Wednesday's game marks the 115th meeting between Illinois State and Indiana State. The Redbirds lead the all-time series, 60-54, with the Sycamores winning three-straight and six of the last eight, including this season's first meeting, 77-65, Jan. 9 in Terre Haute, Indiana. Versus Indiana State, Illinois State is 37-15 in Normal, Illinois, and 20-7 on Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena. Head coach Dan Muller is 2-5 against the Sycamores.
THE COACHES:
Illinois State: Dan Muller (Illinois State, 1998) is in his fourth season as the head coach at Illinois State (74-55). Muller is the first Redbird coach to beat four Top-25 teams in his first four seasons. He led ISU to the 2015 NIT.
Indiana State: Greg Lansing (South Dakota, 1990) is in his sixth season as the head coach at Indiana State (107-84). 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 Newcomer of the Week Nick Banyard ... on a season-long four-game winning streak after winning seven of the last eight.
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 16.5 points per game ... have lost an MVC season-high three of the last four games.
HOME STRETCH
By beating Bradley (Feb. 14), ISU improved to 10-4 in the Missouri Valley Conference and remained alone in second place with four games remaining. The Redbirds are now 10-4 in the MVC for the first time since 2007-08. A win Wednesday over Indiana State would give Illinois State its best conference record through 15 games since 1997-98 when, as a senior player, head coach Dan Muller and the Redbirds went 13-2 en route to a 16-2 MVC record, a Valley Tournament title and an NCAA Tournament first-round win. The Redbirds would also guarantee themselves 11 conference victories for the second-straight season.
STREAKING
The Redbirds enter Wednesday's game against Indiana State on a four-game winning streak, which matches a season high. Illinois State is aiming to win five straight for the first time since winning six-consecutive games near the end of the 2014-15 season. The Redbirds have won seven of their last eight games, with the lone loss coming in overtime at Missouri State (Jan. 30). ISU is trying to win eight of nine games for the first time since winning 14-straight contests to start the 2008-09 campaign. Throughout Illinois State's last eight games, MiKyle McIntosh has led ISU with 13.9 points and 5.8 rebounds per game. The Redbirds have also held a +7.4 scoring margin and +4.8 rebounding margin for a 7-1 mark.
SETTING THE STARTERS
Illinois State has featured the same starting lineup of Paris Lee, Tony Wills, DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell, MiKyle McIntosh and Deontae Hawkins in nine-straight games. During that stretch, the Redbirds have earned a 7-2 record, with McIntosh leading ISU by averaging 13.3 points and 5.9 rebounds per game.
NICK'S NEWCOMER NOD
By leading Illinois State in victories over Evansville (Feb. 11) and Bradley (Feb. 13), junior forward Nick Banyard is the Missouri Valley Conference Newcomer of the Week (as announced Feb. 15). Banyard averaged 13.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game in ISU's two wins, shooting 11-for-16 (68.8 percent) from the field, a team-best 75 percent (3-for-4) from beyond the arc and 2-for-4 at the free throw line. Banyard netted a career-high 18 points to lead Illinois State in its victory at Evansville (Feb. 11), shooting 8-for-11 (72.7 percent) from the field. He has averaged 10.7 points per game over the last three contests.
FINDING ANOTHER GEAR
Sophomore forward MiKyle McIntosh has increased his offensive productivity in Missouri Valley Conference play, averaging 12.4 points per game against league foes compared to 9.8 points per game during the non-conference season. McIntosh has netted double figures in seven of the last 10 games. The Pickering, Ontario, native has scored a career-high 25 points twice this season.
CRASHING THE GLASS
After being outrebounded in eight of their first 10 games (going 4-6 with a -4.2 rebounding margin), the Redbirds have outrebounded the opposition in 13 of their last 17 contests (going 12-5 with a +3.4 rebounding margin). ISU is 12-2 when outrebounding its opponent and 3-9 when outrebounded.
DOUBLE-DIGIT DeVAUGHN
Senior guard DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell has scored in double figures in 26 of Illinois State's 27 games this season, and dating back to last season, 32 of the last 34 games. Akoon-Purcell reached double figures in ISU's first 20 games of the season before being held to seven points versus Northern Iowa (Jan. 23). He has recorded 20 or more points four times in 2015-16 and is averaging 14.6 points (seventh in the Missouri Valley Conference) and 4.8 rebounds per contest (17th in the MVC). Akoon-Purcell has led ISU in scoring 12 times this season.
SHOCKING UPSET
With Illinois State's 58-53 upset victory over No. 21 Wichita State (Feb. 6) on Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena, ISU snapped WSU's 12-game winning streak and handed the Shockers their first Missouri Valley Conference loss of the season. The Redbirds have won two-straight games versus the Shockers, with ISU also defeating No. 8 Wichita State in last year's MVC Tournament semifinal game (March 7, 2015). Over the last two-and-a-half seasons, Illinois State's two victories over the Shockers are tied with Northern Iowa for the most by any Valley team.
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