NORMAL, Ill. – Two of three remaining teams with undefeated Missouri Valley Conference records are set for a showdown on Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena Wednesday at 8 p.m. when Illinois State hosts Missouri State. The Redbirds (10-4, 2-0 MVC) have won six of their past seven games and are undefeated at home this season. Meanwhile, the Bears (11-4, 2-0 MVC) have also won six of seven games, with their only loss during that stretch to No. 23 USC.
ILLINOIS STATE VS. MISSOURI STATE • WEDNESDAY, JAN. 4, 2017 • 8 P.M.
THE SERIES:
Wednesday's game marks the 69th meeting between Illinois State and Missouri State. ISU leads the all-time series, 39-29, with the home team winning each of last season's two meetings. The Redbirds have won four of the past six matchups. Versus the Bears, ISU is 24-6 at home and 19-6 at Redbird Arena.
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 ISU coach to beat four Top-25 teams in his first four years. He led ISU to the 2015 NIT.
Missouri State: Paul Lusk (Southern Illinois, 1995) is in his sixth season as the head coach at Missouri State Lusk helped then-junior Dequon Miller earn 2016 Missouri Valley Conference Newcomer of the Year laurels.
ILLINOIS STATE:
Was picked to finish second (out of 10 teams) in the Missouri Valley Conference ... Was the only team to feature two players (out of five) on the Preseason All-MVC First Team (Paris Lee and MiKyle McIntosh) ... Returns four of five starters and seven of 11 letterwinners from last year's team, which tied for second place in the MVC with a 12-6 record, signifying ISU's highest league finish and most conference wins since the 2007-08 season.
MISSOURI STATE:
Was picked to finish fourth (out of 10 teams) in the Missouri Valley Conference ... Returns four starters and nine letterwinners from last year's team which finished 13-19 overall and tied for sixth place in the MVC with an 8-10 record ... Junior transfer Alize Johnson is the MVC Player and Newcomer of the Week after making his MVC debut with a pair of double-doubles in wins over Northern Iowa (12 pts./10 rbnds.) and Indiana State (30 pts./15 rbnds).
FAST START
After winning their first two Missouri Valley Conference games of the season, the Redbirds are aiming to improve to 3-0 in the MVC for the second-straight year. Prior to starting last season's MVC campaign with a 3-0 mark, ISU had not achieved the feat since 2008-09. Illinois State has started conference play with a 3-0 record just seven times since joining the MVC in 1981. And, after starting 3-0, the Redbirds have gone on to finish no lower than third in the league.
THE DEFENDERS
In Illinois State's win over Loyola Chicago (Jan. 1), the Redbirds limited the Ramblers – a team that entered the game ranked fourth in the nation with a 51.5 percent shooting percentage – to 24-for-58 (41.4 percent) from the field, which was their second-lowest shooting effort of the season. Opponents have averaged 31.5 percent against Illinois State over the past five games, with ISU holding four of its past five foes to season-low averages at the time. The Redbirds' field goal defense of 38.0 percent ranks 19th nationally.
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 the Wednesday's game with 1,004 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.
PROTECTING THE NEST
Dating back to last season, Illinois State has won 13-straight games on Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena, marking ISU's longest home-court winning streak since also winning 13 in a row during the 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons. The Redbirds are now aiming to record their most-consecutive victories at Redbird Arena since winning an arena-best 17-straight games between the 1996-97 and 1997-98 seasons. ISU's second-longest Redbird Arena winning streak was 14 games, stretched across the 1992-93 and 1993-94 seasons. The Redbirds' last home-court loss occurred Jan. 15, 2016 to Evansville (L, 66-55).
WINNING ON THE ROAD
After dropping their first three road games of the season by an average margin of -4.7 points, the Redbirds have bounced back to win two-straight true road games by an average margin of +24 points.
HOT SHOT
By teaming up to shoot a season-high 28-for-49 (57.1 percent) from the field in Illinois State's win at Loyola Chicago (Jan. 1), the Redbirds recorded their highest shooting percentage since going 28-for-48 (58.3 percent) from the field at Loyola last season (Feb. 3). ISU has shot 50 percent or better twice this season.
LOCKING DOWN
Illinois State leads the Missouri Valley Conference and ranks 41st nationally with 8.1 steals per game. The Redbirds also top the league and rank 63rd nationally with 4.7 blocks per game. ISU recorded a season-high nine blocks against Evansville (Dec. 29). The program record for single-game blocks is 10.
DEEP DISH
Senior guard Paris Lee leads the MVC and ranks 47th nationally with 5.4 assists averaged per game. Lee has recorded at least three assists in every game this season, including a career-high 11 versus New Mexico (Dec. 3). His 11 assists were the most by a Redbird since Boo Richardson earned 11 versus Lewis Dec. 19, 2006. Lee ranks seventh on the ISU career steals list with 394.
TOP SEVEN
Senior forward Deontae Hawkins is one of two players in the Missouri Valley Conference to rank in the top seven in both scoring (14.4 ppg, 7th) and rebounding (6.7 rpg, 6th).
DEFENSE WINS GAMES
The Redbirds' defensive efforts have directly correlated with victories. ISU is 9-1 when forcing more turnovers than the opposition and 1-3 when committing more turnovers.
TAKING CONTROL
Illinois State has held the halftime lead in 13 of its first 14 games. ISU holds a +8.7 scoring margin in first halves this season compared to a +0.4 scoring margin in second halves. The Redbirds are shooting 46.2 percent from the field in first halves versus 41.1 percent in second halves.
 GoRedbirds.com: Your online source for Illinois State Athletics, tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
