PEORIA, Ill. – Alone atop the Missouri Valley Conference standings for the first time since 1997-98, the Illinois State men's basketball team (14-4, 6-0 MVC) takes its unblemished MVC record on the road, 35 miles west, to face Bradley (8-11, 3-3 MVC) Wednesday at 8 p.m. at Carver Arena in Peoria, Illinois. The Redbirds have matched their second-best start in MVC play since joining the league in 1981-82, while the Braves are in a four-way tie for fourth place.
ILLINOIS STATE AT BRADLEY • WEDNESDAY, JAN. 18, 2017 • 8 P.M.
THE SERIES:
Wednesday's game marks the 123rd meeting between Illinois State and Bradley. BU leads the all-time series, 63-59; however, the Redbirds have won five-straight and 13 of the past 15. Versus the Braves, ISU is 18-42 in Peoria and 11-24 in Carver Arena. Head Coach Dan Muller is 6-2 against BU. ISU swept the series the past two years.
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.
Bradley: Brian Wardle (Marquette, 2001) is in his second season as the head coach at Bradley. Wardle was the head coach at Green Bay from 2010-15, and he led the Phoenix to the 2014 Horizon League championship.
ILLINOIS STATE:
Is in sole possession of first place in the Missouri Valley Conference standings (6-0) for the first time since 1997-98 ... Features MVC Player of the Week MiKyle McIntosh ... Has won seven-straight games and 10 of the past 11 ... Has won four-straight on the road and is 3-0 in MVC road games ... Was picked to finish second (out of 10 teams) in the MVC ... Returns four starters and seven of 11 letterwinners from last year's team (18-14, 12-6 T2nd MVC).
BRADLEY:
Is tied for fourth place in the Missouri Valley Conference standings (3-3) ... Was picked to finish eighth in the MVC ... Returns all five starters and nine letterwinners from last year's team (5-27, 3-15 9th MVC) ... Features seven newcomers ... Led by freshman guard Darrell Brown who is averaging 12.6 points, 2.7 assists and 2.2 rebounds per game and was named MVC Co-Player and Co-Newcomer of the Week Nov. 28, 2016.
TOP OF THE STANDINGS
Illinois State's 76-62 victory over Wichita State (Jan. 14) lifted the Redbirds into sole possession of first place in the Missouri Valley Conference standings (6-0) for the first time since the 1997-98 season (when head coach Dan Muller was a senior), which is also the last time ISU won the MVC regular-season and tournament titles and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. The victory knocked Wichita State out of first place in the conference standings for the first time since the end of the 2013 season. The Shockers had been either alone in first place or tied for first since 2013-14.
UNDEFEATED
After winning their first six Missouri Valley Conference games of the season, the Redbirds have matched their second-best start to an MVC season and are aiming to improve to 7-0 in the MVC for the second time in program history and the first time since starting 9-0 before suffering a loss in game 10 during the 1982-83 season. Illinois State has started conference play with a 6-0 record four times since joining the MVC in 1981-82. After starting 6-0, the Redbirds have gone on to finish no lower than second in the league, advancing to two NCAA Tournaments and one NIT following 6-0 MVC starts.
BAROMETER
In the past four seasons, an MVC team has gotten off to 6-0 start four times, and all four teams went on to win the MVC regular-season title. Illinois State's 6-0 league start matches just two others (Charleston and UNC Wilmington) who have started with six-straight league wins in 2016-17. Only 31 NCAA teams are still unbeaten in their respective leagues (through Jan. 15).
FAST START
By beating Wichita State (Jan. 14) to improve to 14-4 overall, the Redbirds achieved their best record through the first 18 games since starting the season 2008-09 season with a 16-2 record.
WINNING WAYS
Illinois State won its seventh-straight game by beating Wichita State (Jan. 14) to mark ISU's longest winning streak since also earning seven-straight victories to begin the 2009-10 season. The Redbirds are aiming to win eight in a row for the first time since starting the 2008-09 season with a 14-game streak.
ROAD WARRIORS
After dropping their first three road games by an average margin of -4.7 points, the Redbirds have won four-straight road contests 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. Illinois State is aiming to win its fifth-straight road game in the same season for the first time since 1997-98. The Redbirds won six-consecutive road games stretched across the 2007-08 and 2008-09 seasons. Additionally, Illinois State has won its first three MVC road games for the first time since also winning its first three in 1997-98. When ISU travels to Bradley, the Redbirds will try to win their first four MVC road contests for the second time in program history and the first time since also winning their first four MVC road games during the 1982-83 season.
THE DEFENDERS
The Redbirds' field goal defense of 37.5 percent leads the MVC and ranks fourth nationally. Illinois State is limiting opponents to a league-low 62.9 points per game which ranks 23rd nationally. ISU's records for field goal defense and scoring defense are 40.2 percent (1996-97) and 59.1 (2005-06), respectively.
LOCKING DOWN
Opponents have averaged 33.6 percent and 57.8 points against Illinois State over the past nine games, with ISU holding six of its past nine foes to season-low averages at the time. In MVC games, ISU also ranks first in field goal defense (35.3 percent) and scoring defense (58.8 points per game).
NATIONAL ATTENTION
After beating Wichita State (Jan. 14), Illinois State earned one vote in the USA Today Coaches Poll released Jan. 16. The Redbirds were recognized in a national poll for the first time since earning three votes in the Dec. 7, 2009 (Week Five) AP Top 25 Poll. ISU most-recently received votes in the USA Today Coaches Poll Nov. 30, 2009 (Week Four). Illinois State garnered four votes in each poll that week after earning a 6-0 overall record. ISU went on to build a 7-0 record before suffering its first loss in game eight. ISU has not been ranked nationally in the Top-25 since Nov. 18, 1997 when the Redbirds were No. 24.
RPI REPORT
Following ISU's victory over Wichita State (Jan. 14), the Redbirds' NCAA RPI ranking elevated 16 spots to 27th nationally. Going into the Wichita State game, the Redbirds held an RPI of 43. Illinois State's current RPI of 27 matches the Redbirds' best-ever season-ending RPI in 1997-98. ISU's RPI was 33 on Selection Sunday and 27th at the end of the season that year.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Junior forward MiKyle McIntosh is the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week (announced Jan. 16). McIntosh's MVC Player of the Week accolade was the first of his career and the third for ISU this season after Paris Lee earned the honor twice (Dec. 5 and Dec. 19). McIntosh averaged a team-best 13.5 points per game on 9-for-15 (60.0 percent) shooting from the field to help ISU go 2-0 last week. He also went 8-for-9 (88.9 percent) at the free throw line and averaged 6.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists per contest.
SHUTTING DOWN
In all six 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 5.5 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).
-Markis McDuffie, Wichita State: Entered the game averaging 12.6 ppg / Scored 11 points (Jan. 14).
RECIPE FOR SUCCESS
The Redbirds are 8-0 this season when allowing their opponent to score fewer than 60 points and 11-1 when allowing fewer than 70 points. Offensively, ISU is 11-2 when scoring 70 or more points.
BLOCK PARTY
Illinois State leads the Missouri Valley Conference and ranks 71st nationally with 4.5 blocks per game. ISU recorded a season-high nine blocks against Evansville (Dec. 29), and the Redbirds recorded eight blocks in the win over Wichita State (Jan. 14). The program record for single-game blocks is 10.
TAKING THE ROCK
ISU leads the Missouri Valley Conference and ranks 58th nationally with 7.6 steals per game. Senior guard Paris Lee ranks second in the MVC and 40th nationally with 2.0 steals per contest.
DEEP DISH
Senior point guard Paris Lee leads the Missouri Valley Conference and ranks 45th nationally in assists (5.3 assists per game). He has recorded at least three assists in every game this season.
TWO AT THE TOP
Illinois State is the only program in the Missouri Valley Conference to feature two players who rank in the top 10 in both scoring and rebounding. Junior forward MiKyle McIntosh ranks eighth in scoring (14.6 ppg) and fifth in rebounding (6.6 rpg), and senior forward Deontae Hawkins ranks ninth in scoring (14.5 ppg) and fourth in rebounding (6.7 rpg).
PLAYING THE FIELD
By beating Wichita State (Jan. 14), Illinois State secured its fourth win over a 2016 NCAA Tournament qualifier. Before that, ISU beat tournament qualifiers Saint Joseph's (Dec. 18), Hawai'i (Dec. 22) and Tulsa (Dec. 25). The Redbirds are 4-1 against the 2016 NCAA Tournament field, with their lone loss at Tulsa (Dec. 7). ISU can improve this record with one more game against WSU and two versus Northern Iowa.
HEY DJ
Junior guard DJ Clayton shot an efficient 11-for-12 (91.7 percent) from the field to average 12.0 points in Illinois State's two Missouri Valley Conference victories last week. He 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. Clayton has now recorded double figures in back-to-back games.
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 (219) behind Ron Jones (222 from 1976-80). Lee also ranks seventh in career assists (414).
 GoRedbirds.com: Your online source for Illinois State Athletics, tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
