NORMAL, Ill. – In a battle for sole possession of first place in the Missouri Valley Conference standings, Illinois State hosts Wichita State Saturday at 7 p.m. on Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena. Both teams enter the game with unblemished 5-0 league records. ISU is aiming to extend its six-game winning streak and remain undefeated at home. The first 1,000 fans in attendance will receive a free white bucket hat.
ILLINOIS STATE VS. WICHITA STATE • SATURDAY, JAN. 14, 2017 • 7 P.M.
THE SERIES:
Saturday's game marks the 81st meeting between Illinois State and Wichita State. WSU leads the all-time series, 41-39, with the home team winning each of last season's two meetings. Versus the Shockers, ISU is 23-13 at home and 18-10 at Redbird Arena. Last year at Redbird Arena, Illinois State upset then-No. 21 Wichita State, 58-53, to hand WSU one of two league losses. The Shockers have won eight of the past 10 meetings with ISU.
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 Illinois State coach to beat four Top-25 teams in his first four years. He led ISU to the 2015 NIT.
Wichita State: Gregg Marshall (Randolph Macon, 1985) is in his 10th season as the head coach at Wichita State and his 19th overall. Marshall has led WSU to five-straight NCAA Tournaments.
ILLINOIS STATE:
Is tied with Wichita State for first place in the Missouri Valley Conference standings (5-0) ... Has won six-straight games and nine of the past 10 ... Holds a perfect 8-0 record at home on Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena and has won 14-straight home games dating back to last season ... Was picked to finish second (out of 10 teams) in the MVC ... Returns four of five starters and seven of 11 letterwinners from last year's team (18-14, 12-6 T2nd MVC).
WICHITA STATE:
Has won six-straight games and 10 of the past 11 ... Holds a perfect 4-0 record on the road this season and has won seven-straight true road games dating back to last season, with the last road loss occurring at Illinois State (Feb. 6, 2016) ... Was picked to finish first in the MVC ... Returns three starters and nine letterwinners from last year's team (26-9, 16-2 1st MVC) ... Earned an at-large bid to the 2016 NCAA Tournament and went 2-1.
PLAYING FOR FIRST
An Illinois State victory over Wichita State Saturday would push the Redbirds into sole possession of first place in the Missouri Valley Conference standings for the first time since the 1997-98 season (when head coach Dan Muller was a senior), which is the last time ISU won the regular-season league title. It would also knock Wichita State out of first place in the conference standings for the first time since the end of the 2013 season. The Shockers have been either alone in first place or tied for first since 2013-14.
BATTLE AT THE TOP
For the fifth time in the past 20 seasons, two league teams have started conference play with 5-0 MVC records (Illinois State and Wichita State). The last league meeting between two 5-0 teams was on Jan. 18, 2014 (Wichita State beat Indiana State, 68-48, in Wichita, Kansas, that season). Saturday marks the fourth time in the past 20 years that teams with 5-0 starts played one another before losing a league game. In the previous three meetings involving two 5-0 teams, the two met in the MVC Tournament final. The Illinois State (6-0) versus Drake (6-0) game in 2008 marked the only time in league history that two 6-0 teams played one another. Drake won, 79-73, en route to a conference regular-season and tournament title.
UNDEFEATED
After winning their first five Missouri Valley Conference games of the season to tie for first place with Wichita State in the current league standings, the Redbirds are aiming to improve to 6-0 in the MVC for the first time since starting 6-0 before suffering a loss (at Drake) during the 2007-08 season. Illinois State has now started conference play with a 5-0 record six times since joining the MVC in 1981. After starting 5-0, the Redbirds have gone on to finish no lower than second in the league, advancing to three NCAA Tournaments and one National Invitation Tournament (NIT) following 5-0 MVC starts.
FAST START
By beating Southern Illinois (Jan. 11) to improve to 13-4 overall, the Redbirds achieved their best record through the first 17 games since beginning the 2009-10 season with a 13-4 record before suffering their fifth loss in game number 18. The Redbirds are now aiming for their best record through 18 games since starting the season 2008-09 season with a 16-2 record.
STREAKING
After winning six-straight games, Illinois State is aiming to win seven games in a row for the first time since winning seven-consecutive games to begin the 2009-10 season. The Redbirds have now won nine of their past 10 contests.
PROTECTING THE NEST
Dating back to last season, Illinois State has won 14-straight games on Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena, marking ISU's longest home-court winning streak since winning an arena-best 17-straight games between the 1996-97 and 1997-98 seasons. ISU has matched its second-longest Redbird Arena winning streak which was 14 games, stretched across the 1992-93 and 1993-94 seasons. ISU's last home-court loss occurred Jan. 15, 2016 to Evansville (L, 66-55). ISU's last undefeated home season was in 1977-78.
WINNING ON THE ROAD
After dropping their first three road games by an average margin of -4.7 points, the Redbirds have won four-straight road contest by an average margin of +18.5 points. ISU's four-game road winning streak is the program's longest since also winning four-straight in 2008-09. Additionally, Illinois State has won its first three MVC road games for the first time since also winning its first three in 1997-98.
THE DEFENDERS
The Redbirds' field goal defense of 37.7 percent leads the MVC and ranks sixth nationally. Opponents have averaged 33.4 percent against Illinois State over the past eight games, with ISU holding six of its past eight foes to season-low averages at the time. The Redbirds most recently held Southern Illinois to a season-low 17-for-50 (34.0 percent) shooting from the field (Jan. 11). In MVC games, ISU also ranks first in field goal percentage defense (35.4). Illinois State's defense is allowing an average of 63.0 points per game which leads the league and ranks 24th nationally. In MVC games, ISU ranks first by allowing 58.2 points.
SHUTTING DOWN
In all five of Illinois State's MVC victories, the Redbirds have held their opponent's leading scorer below his respective scoring average entering the game, by an average of 6.3 points.
-Jaylon Brown, Evansville: Entered the game averaging 21.5 ppg / Scored 17 points (Dec. 29).
-Audre Jackson, Loyola Chicago: Entered the game averaging 15.9 ppg / Scored 5 points (Jan. 1).
-Alize Johnson, Missouri State: Entered the game averaging 14.2 ppg / Scored 7 points (Jan. 4).
-Brenton Scott, Indiana State: Entered the game averaging 19.1 ppg / Scored 12 points (Jan. 7).
-Armon Fletcher, Southern Illinois: Entered the game averaging 13.8 ppg / Scored 12 points (Jan. 11).
RECIPE FOR SUCCESS
The Redbirds are 8-0 this season when allowing their opponent to score fewer than 60 points and 10-1 when allowing fewer than 70 points. Offensively, ISU is 10-2 when scoring 70 or more points.
BLOCK PARTY
Illinois State leads the Missouri Valley Conference and ranks 86th nationally with 4.3 blocks per game. ISU recorded a season-high nine blocks against Evansville (Dec. 29). The program record for single-game blocks is 10. Phil Fayne leads ISU and ranks fifth in the MVC with 1.2 blocks per game.
DEEP DISH
Senior point guard Paris Lee leads the Missouri Valley Conference and ranks 48th nationally in assists (5.2 assists per game). He has recorded at least three assists in every game this season.
TOP EIGHT
Senior forward Deontae Hawkins is one of two players in the Missouri Valley Conference to rank in the top eight in both scoring (14.5 ppg, eighth) and rebounding (6.6 rpg, sixth).
PLAYING THE FIELD
By beating Tulsa (Dec. 25), Illinois State secured its third win over a 2016 NCAA Tournament qualifier. Before that, ISU beat tournament qualifier Saint Joseph's (Dec. 18) and Hawai'i (Dec. 22). The Redbirds are 3-1 against the 2016 NCAA Tournament field, with their lone loss at Tulsa (Dec. 7). ISU can improve upon this record when the Redbirds host 2016 NCAA Tournament qualifier Wichita State Saturday.
HEY DJ
Junior guard DJ Clayton matched a career high with 13 points on a career-best 6-for-7 (85.7 percent) shooting from the field in Illinois State's win at Southern Illinois (Jan. 11). Clayton had not reached double-digit scoring since netting 11 or more points in four-consecutive games from Nov. 16 through Nov. 30. By scoring 13 points at Southern Illinois, Clayton also led ISU in scoring for the first time this season.
COMING BACK
Illinois State has come back from seven-point deficits to win twice this season, including in ISU's victory at Southern Illinois (Jan. 11) and in the win over New Mexico (Dec. 3). Versus the Salukis, Illinois State faced a four-point halftime deficit which was the Redbirds' largest so far this season.
TAKING CONTROL
Illinois State has held the halftime lead in 14 of its 17 games. ISU holds a +8.2 scoring margin in first halves this season compared to a +0.8 scoring margin in second halves. The Redbirds are shooting 46.2 percent from the field in first halves and allowing opponents to shoot 38.0 percent. In second halves, Illinois State is shooting 41.3 percent while allowing opponents to shoot 37.7 percent.
1,000-POINT CLUB
By netting a 3-pointer from the top of the key at the 13:37 mark in the first half of Illinois State's game at Loyola Chicago (Jan. 1), Paris Lee recorded his 1,000th point, thus becoming the 42nd member of ISU's 1,000-point club. Lee, who finished the game with seven points, enters Saturday's game with 1,038 career-points. He is just the second player in Redbird history to record more than 1,000 points, 300 assists and 200 steals. Ron Jones, who played from 1976-80, also achieved this feat.
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