Redbirds Host Charleston Southern in Saturday Evening Battle

NORMAL, Ill. - Illinois State hosts its second consecutive home game when it has an evening meeting with the Charleston Southern Buccaneers on Saturday evening in an 8 p.m. tip-off at Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena.

GAME INFORMATION
Illinois State Redbirds (3-2) vs. Charleston Southern Buccaneers (3-2)
When: Saturday, Nov. 25, 2017
Tip-Off: 8 p.m. 
Location: Normal, Ill.
Arena: Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena
TV: ESPN3
    Kurt Pegler, play-by-play
    Bob Morris, analyst
Radio: Illinois State Radio Network
    Dick Luedke, play-by-play
    Mike Matthews, analyst
Live Stats: Illinois State StatBroadcast

SETTING THE TABLE

•    Keyshawn Evans was named the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week on November 20.
•    Evans and Phil Fayne combine to average 40.0 points per game this season, the highest combined total in the Missouri Valley Conference, and 14th-highest in NCAA Division I this season.
•    In six of Illinois State's first nine games, the Redbirds will be facing off against a team for the first time in program history.
•    The Redbirds are a perfect 3-0 this season when leading at halftime.
•    Evans is one of five active players in NCAA Division I averaging at least 22.0 points and 5.0 assists per game.
•    Illinois State's 107-67 record over the last five-plus seasons (Dan Muller's tenure) is the most wins and highest winning percentage in the state of Illinois.
•    Evans is the only player in the country to rank in the top-10 in three-pointers made, three-pointers made per game, and three-point field goal percentage. 
•    Illinois State has had six runs of at least nine straight points this season, including a 20-0 run against Tulsa and a 17-0 run against Boise State.
•    When Illinois State faced South Carolina, it was the fifth time in Dan Muller's tenure that one of his teams had faced a team that played in the Final Four a year earlier.
•    Both Fayne and Evans have scored in double-figures in all four games during the season.
•    In each of the last four seasons, Illinois State's men's basketball program has exceed its preseason coaches poll expectation.
•    When Illinois State and Charleston Southern meet, it will be just the third time that the Redbird basketball program has faced a team from the state of South Carolina, and the second time this season.
•    Illinois State has led for over 49 minutes more than it has trailed this season.
•    Illinois State is 3-4 all-time on November 25

SCOUTING THE BUCCANEERS

Charleston Southern has rebounded from an 0-2 start to the season to win its last three, and bring a 3-2 overall record into Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena for the Saturday evening match-up.

In Charleston Southern's last game, a 107-36 win over Toccoa Falls (NCCAA Division II), Charleston Southern scored 19 seconds into the game and never trailed again in the 71-point victory.

Five players scored in double-diguts in the win, led by Travis McConico's 15 points, as Sean Price scored 11, Christian Keeling 11, as Jamaal David and Ty Jones each added 10. Charleston Southern out-rebounded Toccoa Falls 51-to-34, while forcing 29 turnovers and 20 steals.

For the season, three players average double-figure points, led by McConico's 15.0 point per game average, while Keeling scores 12.5, and Phlandrous Fleming 11.0. 

McConico leads the team by pulling down 5.6 rebounds per game, while Cortez Mitchell (5.5) and Keeling (5.0) each average over five boards per game each.Deontaye Buskey, Fleming, and Price have each dished out 10 assists on the year,

DYNAMIC SCORING DUO

The Illinois State junior pair of Keyshawn Evans and Phil Fayne combine to average 40.0 points per game. That scoring combination not only leads the MVC, but is the 14th highest pair combo in the NCAA this season (as of games played on 11/23).

RARE AIR WITH SCORING AND PASSING

This season Illinois State junior Keyshawn Evans is averaging 22.2 points and 5.0 assists per game, which puts him in elite company. He is one of just five players to average such numbers in the NCAA this sesaon, and is on pace to become just the 32nd player in the NCAA since 1992-93 to average such numbers. AmOng others that have averaged 22 points and 5 assists per game for an entire season include Steph Curry, Penny Hardaway, Damon Stoudamire, J.J. Barea, and Markelle Fultz. Below are the active players with those averages.

DIALING UP FROM LONG RANGE

Illinois State junior Keyshawn Evans has been putting up three-point shots at a rate and at a percentage that puts him as one of the top shooters in the country through two weeks of the season. Evans ranks fifth in total three-point field goals, fourth in three-point field goals per game, and 9th in three-point field goal percentage (with a minimum of 2.5 makes per game). He is the only player in the country to rank inside of the top-10 in all three long-range shooting categories.