Redbirds Return from Finals Week With Battle Against Rebels

NORMAL, Ill. - After taking time off for finals week, the Illinois State Redbirds return to action on Saturday, Dec. 16, when the squad travels to Oxford, Mississippi, to take on the Ole Miss Rebels in a 2:30 p.m. tip-off at the Pavilion at Ole Miss.

GAME INFORMATION
Illinois State Redbirds (4-6) at Ole Miss Rebels (5-4)
When: Saturday, Dec. 16
Tip-Off: 2:30 p.m.
Location: Oxford, Mississippi
Arena: The Pavilion at Ole Miss (9,500)
TV: SEC Network
    Richard Cross, play-by-play
    Sean Harrington, analyst
Radio: Illinois State Radio Network
    Dick Luedke, play-by-play
    Mike Matthews, analyst
Live Stats: Ole Miss GameTracker

SETTING THE TABLE

• While never having met as head coaches prior to the Saturday afternoon match-up, Illinois State head coach Dan Muller and Ole Miss head coach Andy Kennedy have faced off against each other multiple times when Muller was an assistant coach at Vanderbilt, and while Muller was an assistant and Kennedy was an assistant at Cincinnati. Of those meetings — nine total — Muller holds a 6-3 advantage, including two wins during the 2011-12 season.
• The Illinois State trio of Keyshawn Evans, Phil Fayne, and Milik Yarbrough combine to average 50.3 points per game, which is the highest in the MVC since 1996-97. (page 4)
• The current home-and-home series with Ole Miss was the result of a tweet from Illinois State men's basketball coach Dan Muller. (page 5)
• Within the same game, Illinois State had its best and worst halves in almost a year. The Redbirds were held to 17 points in the first half against BYU, the first time under 20 points in a half since a year earlier. ISU then rebounded and scored 51 second-half points, the first 50+ point half since 2014. (page 5)
• Illinois State's Division I opponents thus far in the season have a combined record of 43-18, a percentage of .705. That is the third-best such percentage in the country. (page 5)
• Due to the Redbirds' strong early portion of the schedule, Illinois State's strength of schedule is currently 11th in the country. (page 5)
• Muller is one of 35 head coaches across the country coaching at his alma mater, and his 108 wins has him with the 13th-most wins among that group. (page 6)
• Evans is one of just seven players in Division I to rank in the top-25 in the country in three-point field goals made, three point field goals made per game, and three-point field goal percentage. (page 6)
• Illinois State has an all-time record of 9-0 against NCAA Division I schools from the state of Mississippi. (page 7)
• Illinois State is 19-10 all-time on December 16. (page 16)

SCOUTING THE REBELS

In their most recent game, an 82-69 victory over Sam Houston State that kicked off its current five-game homestand, the Rebels used a 43-point second half to run away from the Bear Kats. 

In the game, Memphis transfer Markel Crawford paced the hosts by scoring 16 points, including making 4-of-8 shots from long range, while Devontae Shuler scored 14, Bruce Stevens 13, and Deandre Burnett 12. 

Marcanvis Hymon pulled down a game-high-tying nine rebounds, as Ole Miss out-rebounded Sam Houston State 43-to-30. Burnett dished out six assists to lead the team. 

For the year, the Rebels - who snapped a three-game losing skid with the win over Sam Houston State - are led by Terence Davis who averages 15.6 points per game, as four players average in double-figures for Ole Miss.

Burnett averages 14.6 points, while Crawford averages 11.1 and Shuler 10.4. Breein Tyree and Stevens are just off of the double-figure pace at 8.1 and 7.7 points per game, each. Hymon pulls down a team-best 7.3 rebounds per game, while Burnett has dished out 41 assists for top marks on the team. 

Hymon leads the team with 15 blocked shots, as Davis and Shuler each have 11 steals for the high-water mark on the squad.

THREE AMIGOS

We're not talking about the legendary trio of Chevy Chase, Steve Martin, and Martin Short, but Illinois State's group of three are just as good. The three-headed monster of Keyshawn Evans, Phil Fayne, and Milik Yarbrough combine to average 50.3 points per game. Not only is that the highest trio scoring in the Missouri Valley Conference this season, it is the highest in the Missouri Valley since 1996-97 (when the online season stats for the MVC ends). Below are the top-10 trio totals in the MVC since 1996-97.

IT ALL STARTED WITH A TWEET...

The series between Ole Miss and Illinois State (a game in Oxford this season, a game in Normal, Illinois, next season) started because of a tweet. Last season after the NCAA Tournament selection committee left Illinois State without an at-large bid, Redbird head coach Dan Muller went to twitter. Wanting to bolster his non-conference strength of schedule, he put out the tweet below. Not long after, Ole Miss AD Ross Bjork tweeted back, Dan Muller and Ole Miss head coach Andy Kennedy then exchanged texts, and the next thing you know, a two-game series was set.

COVERING THE COUNTRY

With Illinois State's game at BYU, which is in the Mountain Time Zone, the Redbirds will have played games in all four time zones in the contiguous United States (South Carolina, ET; home games, CT; BYU, MT; and Nevada, PT). That occurrence is the first time for Illinois State since the 1989-90 season. During the 1989-90 season the Redbirds faced Fairleigh Dickinson (ET), home games (CT), Colorado (MT), and vs. Michigan in the NCAA Tournament, played in Long Beach, California.

STRONG SCHEDULE

This season's opponents have combined for a 43-18 overall record (excluding games played against Illinois State), which is a .705 winning percentage, third-best such percentage in the country. (from the NCAA toughest schedule list for games played as of December 12).