NORMAL, Ill. – Riding a season-long five-game winning streak, the Illinois State men's basketball team has its sights set on sweeping the season series versus Northern Iowa when ISU faces UNI Saturday, Feb. 20 at 3 p.m. CT at the McLeod Center.
ILLINOIS STATE AT NORTHERN IOWA • SATURDAY, FEB. 20, 2016 • 3 P.M.
THE SERIES:
Saturday's game marks the 72nd meeting between Illinois State and Northern Iowa. ISU leads the all-time series, 39-32, with Illinois State winning this season's first meeting, 76-67 (Jan. 23), on Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena to snap UNI's four-game winning streak in the series. Versus the Panthers, ISU is 10-18 in Cedar Falls, Iowa, and 0-9 at the McLeod Center. The Redbirds have dropped 11-straight at UNI, marking ISU's longest active MVC road losing streak. Illinois State last won in Cedar Falls – in the UNI-Dome – Jan. 28, 2004 (12 years ago).
THE COACHES:
Illinois State: Dan Muller (Illinois State, 1998) is in his fourth season as the head coach at Illinois State (75-55). Muller is the first Redbird coach to beat four Top-25 teams in his first four seasons. He led ISU to the 2015 NIT.
Northern Iowa: Ben Jacobson (North Dakota, 1994) is in his 10th season as the head coach at UNI (213-117). Jacobson guided UNI to a 31-4 record in the 2014-15, including a school-record 16-game winning streak.
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 five-game winning streak after winning seven of the last eight.
ABOUT NORTHERN IOWA:
Picked to finish third (out of 10 teams) in the Missouri Valley Conference ... return two of five starters and nine of 14 letterwinners from last year's team, which recorded a 31-4 overall record and a 16-2 MVC mark (second place) ... by topping Illinois State to win the 2015 MVC Tournament, earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament ... has recorded wins over three Top-25 teams (No. 1 North Carolina, No. 5 Iowa State and No. 25 Wichita State).
FINAL KICK
By beating Indiana State (Feb. 17), ISU improved to 11-4 in the Missouri Valley Conference, marking the Redbirds' best MVC record through 15 games since 1997-98 when, as a senior player, head coach Dan Muller and the Redbirds went 13-2 during their first 15 contests en route to a 16-2 MVC record, a Valley Tournament title and an NCAA Tournament bid and first-round win. ISU is now alone in second place.
RISING IN THE VALLEY
The Redbirds have 11 Missouri Valley Conference victories for the second-straight season. ISU is now aiming for 12 or more MVC wins for the 13th time in program history and the first time since going 13-5 in 2007-08. A victory Saturday at Northern Iowa would mark head coach Dan Muller's most MVC regular-season wins. ISU has now earned 11 or more MVC wins 17 times out of 34 seasons, including this year.
STREAKING
The Redbirds enter Saturday's game at Northern Iowa on a season-best five-game winning streak. Illinois State is aiming to win six-straight games for the first time since also winning six-consecutive games near the end of the 2014-15 season. The Redbirds have won eight of their last nine games, with the lone loss coming in overtime at Missouri State (Jan. 30). ISU is trying to win nine of 10 games for the first time since winning 14-straight contests to start the 2008-09 campaign. Throughout Illinois State's last nine games, MiKyle McIntosh has led ISU with 13.9 points and 5.9 rebounds per game. The Redbirds have also held a +9.7 scoring margin and +5.4 rebounding margin for an 8-1 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 10-straight games. During that stretch, the Redbirds have earned a 7-2 record, with McIntosh leading ISU by averaging 13.4 points and 6.0 rebounds per game.
RAINING THREES
Illinois State averaged six 3-pointers per game to rank seventh in the MVC at the end of non-conference play. Conversely, in MVC games only, ISU leads the league, averaging 8.3 3-pointers. ISU has shot 36.9 percent from three-point range in MVC games compared to 29.7 percent versus non-conference foes.
IN CONTROL
Illinois State earned its most decisive victory of the season, beating Indiana State, 78-50 (Feb. 17). ISU's 28-point winning margin was its largest of the season, passing the previous high of 16 points versus Houston Baptist (Nov. 21). ISU led by as many as 29 points versus the Sycamores, passing the previous high of 24 points. It was also ISU's most decisive win since beating Drake by 36 points (Jan. 20, 2015).
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. Versus Indiana State (Feb. 17), he collected seven rebounds.
FINDING ANOTHER GEAR
Sophomore forward MiKyle McIntosh has increased his offensive productivity in Missouri Valley Conference play, averaging 12.5 points per game against league foes, compared to 9.8 points per game during the non-conference season. McIntosh has netted double figures in nine of the last 12 games. The Pickering, Ontario, native has scored a career-high 25 points twice this season, both times in MVC play.
CRASHING THE GLASS
After being outrebounded in eight of their first 10 games (going 44-6 with a -4.2 rebounding margin), the Redbirds have outrebounded the opposition in 14 of their last 18 contests (going 13-5 with a +3.8 rebounding margin). ISU is 13-2 when outrebounding its opponent and 3-9 when outrebounded.
DOUBLE-DIGIT DeVAUGHN
Senior guard DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell has scored in double figures in 27 of Illinois State's 28 games this season, and dating back to last season, 33 of the last 35 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 14.5 points (seventh in the Missouri Valley Conference) and 4.8 rebounds per contest (16h in the MVC).
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