EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Off to a 9-0 start in Missouri Valley Conference play for just the second time in program history, the Illinois State men's basketball team is aiming for its best-ever start to an MVC season when the Redbirds play Evansville Sunday at 3 p.m. at the Ford Center. ISU has won 10-consecutive games, including five-straight on the road. The Redbirds will try to win six-consecutive road games in the same season for the first time since 1961. UE will try to snap a six-game skid.
ILLINOIS STATE AT EVANSVILLE • SUNDAY, JAN. 29, 2017 • 3 P.M. CT
THE SERIES:
Thursday's game marks the 56th meeting between Illinois State and Evansville, with the Redbirds holding a 36-19 advantage in the all-time series. Illinois State has won five of the past six games, including a 62-50 victory over the Purple Aces in Normal, Illinois, earlier this season. ISU is 12-14 in Evansville, Indiana, and 2-3 at the Ford Center.
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.
Evansville: Marty Simmons (Evansville, 1987) is in his 10th season as the head coach at Evansville. In 2015-16, Simmons helped the Purple Aces to a 25-9 mark and its second berth in the MVC championship game.
ILLINOIS STATE:
Is in sole possession of first place in the Missouri Valley Conference standings (9-0) ... Features the third-best field-goal percentage defense in the nation (37.2) ... Has won 10-straight games overall, including five-straight on the road (longest road winning streak since winning five-straight in 1997-98) ... 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).
EVANSVILLE:
Is tied for ninth place in the Missouri Valley Conference standings (1-8) ... Has lost six-straight games ... Was picked to finish ninth (out of 10 teams) in the Missouri Valley Conference ... Roster includes two starters and seven letterwinners from last year's team which finished 25-9 overall and 12-6 in the MVC (tied with Illinois State for second) ... Senior guard Jaylon Brown leads the MVC and ranks 26th nationally in scoring by averaging 20.6 points per game.
WINNING IS FOR THE `BIRDS
-Won 10-straight overall (longest winning streak since starting 2008-09 with a 14-game winning streak).
-Won nine-straight MVC games (matches a program-best nine-game MVC winning streak in 1982-83).
-Won 17-straight at home dating back to last season (longest home-court winning streak since also winning a Redbird Arena-record 17-straight between the 1996-97 and 1997-98 seasons).
-Won five-straight on the road (longest road winning streak in a single season since winning six-straight in 1960-61). ISU has never-before won six-straight road games in the same season during the DI era.
FIELD-GOAL DEFENSE
Illinois State's field-goal percentage defense of 37.2 percent ranks third nationally and leads the MVC:
1. UCF, 34.8% | 2. Cincinnati, 36.8% | 3. Illinois State, 37.2% | 4. South Carolina, 37.3%
-ISU's program record for field-goal percentage defense is 40.2 percent (1996-97).
-Since 1980, the MVC's best field-goal defense recorded was 38.3 percent by Bradley (1997-98).
-During that 37-year span, ISU has led the league in field-goal defense five times (1983, 1984, 1985, 1988 and 2009), with the Redbirds advancing to the NCAA Tournament in three of those five years.
SCORING DEFENSE
Illinois State's scoring defense of 62.2 points allowed per game ranks 12th nationally and leads the MVC:
-ISU's program record for scoring defense is 59.1 points per game (2005-06).
-Since 1980, the MVC's best scoring defense was 54.6 points per game by Northern Iowa (2014-15).
-During that 37-year span, ISU has led the league in scoring defense five times (1983, 1985, 1988, 1989 and 2008), with the Redbirds advancing to the NCAA Tournament in two of those five years.
DANCE DEFENSE
The past seven MVC teams to lead the league in field-goal percentage defense advanced to the NCAA Tournament, combining for 10 NCAA Tournament wins. Illinois State's 2009 team was the last league team to lead the MVC in that statistic and not make the NCAA Tournament.
LOCKING DOWN
Opponents have averaged 33.9 percent and 57.8 points against Illinois State over the past 12 games, with ISU holding six of its past 12 foes to season-low averages at the time. In MVC games, ISU also ranks first in field-goal percentage defense (35.2 percent) and scoring defense (58.4 points per game).
UNDEFEATED
After winning their first nine MVC games of the season, the Redbirds have matched their best start to an MVC season, which occurred in 1982-83 when the Redbirds began MVC play with a 9-0 record before suffering a loss in game 10. That year, ISU finished second in the regular-season standings (13-5) and won the MVC Tournament to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Illinois State's 9-0 league start matches UNC Wilmington for teams who started with nine-straight league wins in 2016-17. Only 14 NCAA teams are still unbeaten in their respective leagues (through Jan. 27).
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.
MIDTERM
Illinois State leads at the midway point and is 9-0 in the MVC for just the second time in its history (1982-83). Since 1992, the 35 teams in the lead (or co-lead) at the break have gone on to postseason play, with 29 of those midway leaders reaching the NCAA Tournament. This marks the fourth-straight season a league team has started off 9-0, and the previous three (all Wichita State) won the league. Only 21 teams in league history have started an MVC season with 10-straight wins (11 have occurred since World War II).
9-0 MVC Starts, Past 4 Years
2016-17: 9-0 Illinois State
2015-16: 11-0 Wichita State 16-2 (1st)
2014-15: 9-0 Wichita State 17-1 (1st)
2013-14: 18-0 *Wichita State 18-0 (1st)
*denotes MVC Tournament champion
FAST START
By beating Indiana State (Jan. 25) to improve to 17-4 overall, the Redbirds achieved their best record through the first 21 games since also starting the 2008-09 season with a 17-4 record. After 22 games, Illinois State improved to 18-4 in 2008-09.
RANKING THE STREAKS
-ISU's 10-game winning streak is tied for seventh-longest in the nation.
-ISU's nine-game conference winning streak is the fifth-longest in the nation.
-ISU's 17-game home winning streak is tied for the eighth-longest in the nation.
-ISU's five-game road winning streak is tied for sixth-longest in the nation.
Longest ISU Home Winning Streaks in DI Era
1976-77, 1977-78, 1978-79: 31 games
1973-74, 1974-75, 1975-76: 22 games
1982-83, 1983-84: 19 games
2015-16, 2016-17: 17 games (and counting)
1996-97, 1997-98: 17 games
Longest ISU Road Winning Streaks
1974-75, 1975-76: 7 games
1960-61: 6 games
2007-08, 2008-09: 6 games
2016-17: 5 games (and counting)
1997-98: 5 games
1996-97: 5 games
1976-77, 1977-78: 5 games
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. ISU's five-game road winning streak is the program's longest since also winning five-consecutive road games in 1997-98. 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. ISU has never earned five-straight MVC road wins.
PROTECTING THE NEST
Dating back to last season, Illinois State has won 17-straight games on Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena, matching ISU's longest home-court winning streak since winning an arena-best 17-straight games between the 1996-97 and 1997-98 seasons. ISU's last home-court loss occurred 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). Lee passed Ron Jones who held the previous record of 222 since 1980. Lee now has 229 career steals and is the NCAA active-career leader. He also ranks 10th in MVC career-steals.
LEAVING HIS MARK
Along with setting the career steals record, senior guard Paris Lee also ranks sixth in ISU career assists (430), 34th in points (1,084), second in games started (118), and fourth in minutes played (3,570).
NATIONAL ATTENTION
By receiving one vote in the AP Top 25 Poll release Jan. 23 (Week 12), the Redbirds were recognized in a national poll for the second-consecutive week after earning one vote in the Jan. 16 USA Today Coaches Poll (Week 11). Before that, Illinois State had not been recognized in a national poll since garnering three votes in the Dec. 7, 2009 (Week Five) AP Top 25 Poll. The Redbirds also received votes in the USA Today Coaches Poll Nov. 30, 2009 (Week Four). Illinois State has not been ranked nationally in the Top-25 since Nov. 18, 1997 when the Redbirds were ranked No. 24.
RPI REPORT
Following ISU's victory over Wichita State (Jan. 14), the Redbirds' NCAA RPI ranking elevated 16 spots from 43rd to 27th nationally. Illinois State's RPI has since dropped to 34. ISU's best-ever season-ending RPI was 27 in 1997-98 (the Redbirds were 33 on Selection Sunday that season).
BLOCK PARTY
Illinois State leads the Missouri Valley Conference and ranks 59th nationally with 4.7 blocks per game. The Redbirds recorded a program-record 11 blocks in their win over Drake (Jan. 21). MiKyle McIntosh contributed a career-high five blocks versus the Bulldogs.
TAKING THE ROCK
ISU leads the Missouri Valley Conference and ranks 50th nationally with 7.6 steals per game. Senior guard Paris Lee ranks second in the MVC and 22nd nationally with 2.2 steals per contest.
RECIPE FOR SUCCESS
The Redbirds are 10-0 this season when allowing their opponent to score fewer than 60 points and 14-1 when allowing fewer than 70 points. Offensively, ISU is 13-2 when scoring 70 or more points.
DEEP DISH
Senior point guard Paris Lee leads the Missouri Valley Conference and ranks 46th nationally in assists (5.3 assists per game). He has recorded at least three assists in every game this season.
HAWK'S ON A ROLL
Senior forward Deontae Hawkins has recorded double-digit scoring in eight-straight games and 17 of the past 18. Hawkins leads the Redbirds in both scoring (15.2 ppg) and rebounding (7.0 rpg) which ranks seventh and fourth in the MVC, respectively. He has also recorded a team-best four double-doubles.
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