EVANSVILLE, Ind. – In a battle for second place in the current Missouri Valley Conference standings with six regular-season games remaining, the Illinois State men's basketball team visits Evansville Thursday, Feb. 11 for an 8 p.m. CT matchup at the Ford Center. Winners of five of their last six games, the Redbirds are coming off of an upset victory over then-No. 21 Wichita State (Feb. 6), while the Purple Aces snapped a two-game skid by beating Missouri State (Feb. 6).
THURSDAY, FEB. 11, 2016 • 8 P.M. CT • FORD CENTER (8,930) • EVANSVILLE, IND.
THE SERIES:
Thursday's game marks the 54th meeting between Illinois State and Evansville. ISU leads the all-time series, 34-19, with the Redbirds winning three of the last four, despite losing to the Purple Aces earlier this season (Jan. 15) in Normal, Illinois. Versus the Purple Aces, ISU is 11-14 in Evansville, Indiana, and 1-3 at the Ford Center.
THE COACHES:
Illinois State: Dan Muller (Illinois State, 1998) is in his fourth season as the head coach at Illinois State (72-55). Muller is the first coach in ISU history to beat four Top-25 teams in his first four seasons.
Evansville: Marty Simmons (Evansville, 1987) is in his ninth season as the head coach at Evansville (145-140). In 2015, Simmons coached the Aces to a record of 24-12, signifying UE's most wins since 1991-92.
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 ... tied for third place in the 2014-15 MVC standings (11-7) ... feature MVC preseason team selection DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell ... defeated five Top-25 teams in five-straight seasons for the first time ever.
ABOUT EVANSVILLE:
Picked to finish second (out of 10 teams) in the Missouri Valley Conference ... return all five starters and nine of 11 letterwinners from last year's team, which recorded a 24-12 overall record and an 9-9 MVC mark (fifth place) and won the 2015 CollegeInsider.com Tournament Championship ... feature MVC preseason team selections D.J. Balentine and Egidijus Mockevicius ... team is averaging a league-best 76.9 points per game.
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 the most by any Valley team. From 2013-14 until Feb. 6, WSU went 50-3 versus MVC foes, falling to Illinois State twice and Northern Iowa once (during the 2014-15 regular season).
BEATING THE BEST
By beating No. 21 Wichita State (Feb. 6), Illinois State has now defeated a Top-25 team in each of the last five seasons, marking the first time in program history that the Redbirds have accomplished such a feat. Fourth-year head coach Dan Muller is also the first-ever Redbird head coach to defeat a Top-25 team in each of his first four seasons, and he is tied with Bob Donewald for most Top-25 victories by an ISU head coach. The Redbirds have recorded 12 wins over Top-25 programs, meaning Muller's teams have accounted for one-third of those victories. The Feb. 6 triumph over No. 21 Wichita State also marked ISU's first win over a ranked MVC foe in Normal, Illinois, since beating No. 9 Tulsa in 1984 at Horton Field House. It was also the first-ever win over a ranked MVC foe at Redbird Arena and the second overall victory against a Top-25 foe at Redbird Arena (with the last one occurring Dec. 7, 2013 versus No. 25 Dayton).
COMEBACK ATTACK
Illinois State trailed by as many as 16 points with 18:48 remaining in the second half, but the Redbirds ultimately came back to upset No. 21 Wichita State (Feb. 6), marking ISU's largest deficit overcome in a win this season, which is tied for the seventh-best comeback in program history. In nine of Illinois State's 14 victories this season, the Redbirds have overcome deficits of eight points or more to win.
FINDING A WAY
One game after shooting a season-high 28-for-48 (58.3 percent) from the field in ISU's win at Loyola (Feb. 3), the Redbirds shot a season-low 15-for-55 (27.3 percent) from the field, yet still managed to win, in Illinois State's victory over then-No. 21 Wichita State (Feb. 6). ISU outrebounded WSU, 46-35.
LEE-DING THE REDBIRDS
Junior point guard Paris Lee scored a career-high 19 points on 5-for-11 shooting from the field and a 7-for-8 effort at the free throw line to lead Illinois State in its upset victory over No. 21 Wichita State (Feb. 6). Lee also recorded three steals and one assist. After being held to six first-half points, Lee was instrumental in Illinois State's second-half comeback by netting 13, including a jumper at the 6:32 mark to break the tie, and give ISU a lead it never relinquished. Lee than went 4-for-4 at the free throw line in the final 2:57 to secure the Redbird victory. Lee ranks fourth on the team in scoring, averaging 10.5 points per game.
WHAT A WEEK
After playing an instrumental role in Illinois State's victories over then-No. 21 Wichita State (Feb. 6) and at Loyola (Feb. 3), sophomore forward Deontae Hawkins was named the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week (Feb. 8). Hawkins averaged a team-best 14.0 points and 7.5 rebounds per game through ISU's past two wins. He shot 10-for-21 (47.6 percent) from the field, 5-for-10 (50.0 percent) from beyond the arc and 3-for-3 at the free throw line. Hawkins is the first Redbird to earn MVC Player of the Week accolades since Tyler Brown (Feb. 11, 2013, following Illinois State's Feb. 9 win at No. 16 Creighton).
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 averaged a team-best 15.0 points through Illinois State's last eight contests, netting 16 or more points in six of the last nine games. The Pickering, Ontario, native has scored a career-high 25 points twice this season, most recently on an 8-for-11 shooting performance from the field in ISU's win over Drake (Jan. 26).
THREE MACHINE
Sophomore forward Deontae Hawkins has shot 13-for-20 (65.0 percent) from three-point range in Illinois State's last four games, averaging 15.0 points and 5.5 rebounds during the four-game stretch in which ISU has gone 3-1. He is shooting a team-best 44-for-112 (39.3 percent) from beyond the arc this season.
DOUBLE-DIGIT DeVAUGHN
Senior guard DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell has scored in double figures in 24 of Illinois State's 25 games this season, and dating back to last season, 30 of the last 32 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 5.0 rebounds per contest (12th in the MVC). Akoon-Purcell has led ISU in scoring 12 times 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 11 of their last 15 contests (going 10-5 with a +3.5 rebounding margin). ISU is 11-2 when outrebounding its opponent and 3-9 when outrebounded. The Redbirds have earned a double-digit rebounding advantage in back-to-back games.
HAWKINS' HEIGHTS
Sophomore forward Deontae Hawkins has crashed the boards this season, averaging a team-best 5.4 rebounds per game, which ranks 10th in the Missouri Valley Conference. Hawkins recorded a game-high 10 rebounds while scoring 14 points in Illinois State's win over then-No. 21 Wichita State (Feb. 6). Earlier in the season, he matched a career high with 15 rebounds in ISU's win at Bradley (Jan. 20).
LOST LEADS
In three of Illinois State's four Missouri Valley Conference losses this season, and in four defeats overall, the Redbirds have led by nine or more points. ISU most recently lost a nine-point advantage at Missouri State (Jan. 30). Illinois State also gave up 13 and 12-point leads versus Indiana State (Jan. 9) and Southern Illinois (Jan. 12), respectively.
TRENDING
ISU is 13-1 when allowing less than 70 points and 1-10 when allowing 70 or more points; ISU is 7-2 when scoring 70 or more points; ISU is 9-1 when its starters outscore the opponent's starters; ISU is 11-2 when outrebounding its opponent and 3-9 when ISU is outrebounded; ISU is 13-2 when leading with five minutes to play and 0-9 when trailing at the five-minute mark; ISU is 11-2 when shooting more free throws.
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