NORMAL, Ill. – Following eight-straight victories, the Illinois State men's basketball team will try to remain undefeated at home this season and extend a 15-game home-court winning streak when the Redbirds (15-4, 7-0 MVC) host Drake (6-13, 4-3 MVC) Saturday at 7 p.m. on Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena.
- Redbird great Doug Collins will be honored for his recent induction into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame at halftime.
- Senior guard Paris Lee will be recognized on the arena floor immediately before the national anthem for breaking Illinois State's career-steals record Wednesday night in the win at Bradley.
- The 14th annual Taste of Redbirds will take place before Saturday's game.
ILLINOIS STATE VS. DRAKE • SATURDAY, JAN. 21, 2017 • 7 P.M.
THE SERIES:
Saturday's game marks the 85th meeting between Illinois State and Drake. ISU leads the all-time series, 55-29, with the Redbirds winning seven-straight games and eight of the past nine, which marks ISU's longest active winning streak against an MVC foe. Versus the Bulldogs, Illinois State is 32-8 at home and 22-7 at Redbird Arena. ISU has swept the regular-season series for three-straight years. Head coach Dan Muller holds a 6-1 record against the Bulldogs.
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.
Drake: Jeff Rutter (Winona State, 1988) is in his first season as the head coach at Drake. On Dec. 6, 2016, Rutter assumed head coaching duties at Drake after three-and-a-half years as an assistant coach.
ILLINOIS STATE:
Is in sole possession of first place in the Missouri Valley Conference standings (7-0) ... Features MVC Player of the Week MiKyle McIntosh ... Has won eight-straight games and 11 of the past 12 ... Is undefeated at home this season and has won 15-straight at home dating back to last year ... 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).
DRAKE:
Is tied for third place in the Missouri Valley Conference standings (4-3) ... Was picked to finish 10th in the MVC ... Returns four starters and nine letterwinners from last year's team (7-24, 2-16 10th MVC) ... Was most recently led by junior guard Ore Arogundade who is coming off a career-high 19-points, including 17 in the second half and overtime, in a win against Southern Illinois (Jan. 18) ... Started the season with a 1-10 record but has gone 5-3 in its past eight games.
THE DEFENDERS
The Redbirds' field goal defense of 37.3 percent leads the MVC and ranks fourth nationally. Illinois State is limiting opponents to a league-low 62.2 points per game which ranks 16th 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 33.5 percent and 56.9 points against Illinois State over the past 10 games, with ISU holding six of its past 10 foes to season-low averages at the time. In MVC games, ISU also ranks first in field goal defense (34.9 percent) and scoring defense (57.4 points per game).
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 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. Both teams entered the game with 5-0 MVC records. The victory knocked WSU 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 seven Missouri Valley Conference games of the season, the Redbirds have achieved their second-best start to an MVC season since joining the MVC in 1981-82. Illinois State's best start to a conference season occurred in 1982-83 when the Redbirds began MVC play with a 9-0 record before suffering a loss in game 10. Illinois State has now started conference play with a 6-0 record or better four times since joining the MVC. After starting at least 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
Illinois State's 7-0 start to MVC play marks the fourth-straight season in which a league team has gotten off to 7-0 start. The previous three teams to start 7-0 in conference play (all Wichita State) won the league.
FAST START
By beating Bradley (Jan. 18) to improve to 15-4 overall, the Redbirds achieved their best record through the first 19 games since starting the season 2008-09 season with a 16-3 record.
WINNING WAYS
Illinois State won its eighth-straight game by beating Bradley (Jan. 18) to mark ISU's longest winning streak since starting the 2008-09 season with a 14-game winning streak. The Redbirds' eight-game winning streak currently ranks as the seventh-longest in the nation.
DURING THE WINNING STREAK...
-Illinois State leads the NCAA in field goal percentage defense in the past eight games (34.0 percent).
-Illinois State ranks No. 3 in the NCAA in that span in scoring defense (57.3 ppg allowed).
-Paris Lee is tied for 12th in that span in the NCAA with 19 steals.
-The Redbirds rank No. 8 in that span in three-point field goals made (71).
PROTECTING THE NEST
Dating back to last season, Illinois State has won 15-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. The Redbirds' home winning streak is tied for 11th-best nationally, whith ISU's last home-court loss occurring Jan. 15, 2016 to Evansville (L, 66-55). Illinois State's last undefeated home season was in 1977-78 in Horton Field House.
STEALS LEE-DER
Senior guard Paris Lee broke Illinois State's career steals record at Bradley (Jan. 18) by forcing a steal from Jayden Hodgson with 4:57 remaining in the first half. Lee passed Ron Jones who held the previous record of 222 since 1980. Lee now has 225 career-steals and is the NCAA active-career leader. Lee ranks sixth in career assists (419) and 36th in points (1,062). Lee will be recognized prior to Saturday's 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, Illinois State held an RPI of 43. ISU's best-ever season-ending RPI was 27 in 1997-98 (the Redbirds were 33 on Selection Sunday that season).
ROAD WARRIORS
After dropping their first three road games by an average margin of -4.7 points, the Redbirds have won five-straight road contests by an average margin of +18.8 points.
FIVE IN A ROW ON THE ROAD
ISU's five-game road winning streak is the program's longest since also winning five-consecutive road games in 1997-98. The five-game streak ranks third-best in the nation behind Kansas (nine-straight) and Belmont (six-straight). The Redbirds won six-consecutive road games stretched across the 2007-08 and 2008-09 seasons. Additionally, ISU has won its first four MVC road games for the second time in program history and the first time since the Redbirds also won their first four MVC road games in 1982-83.
SHUTTING DOWN
In all seven 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 5.7 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).
-Darrell Brown, Bradley: Entered the game averaging 12.6 ppg / Scored 6 points (Jan. 18).
RECIPE FOR SUCCESS
The Redbirds are 9-0 this season when allowing their opponent to score fewer than 60 points and 12-1 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 73rd nationally with 4.4 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 50th nationally with 7.7 steals per game. Senior guard Paris Lee ranks second in the MVC and 21st nationally with 2.2 steals per contest.
DEEP DISH
Senior point guard Paris Lee leads the Missouri Valley Conference and ranks 48th 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. Senior forward Deontae Hawkins ranks ninth in scoring (14.8 ppg) and fourth in rebounding (6.9 rpg), and junior forward MiKyle McIntosh ranks 10th in scoring (13.9 ppg) and sixth in rebounding (6.5 rpg).
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