Redbirds Play Host to Racers in Weekend Battle

NORMAL, Ill. - After a trip to Provo, Utah, the Illinois State Redbirds return home on Saturday, Dec. 9, to take on the Murray State Racers in a 3 p.m. battle at Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena.

GAME INFORMATION
Illinois State Redbirds (4-5) at Murray State Racers (5-1)
When: Saturday, Dec. 9
Tip-Off: 3 p.m.  
Location: Normal, Ill.
Arena: Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena (10,200)
TV: NBC Sports Chicago Plus+ / 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

•    Illinois State's NCAA Division I opponents so far this season have a combined 35-14 record (71.4 win percent), which is the fourth-best such percentage in the country.
•    In the NCAA's strength of schedule formula, the Redbirds' is 11th best in the country, and the best in the Missouri Valley Conference.
•    When the Redbirds traveled to Provo, Utah, to face off against BYU, it gave Illinois State men's basketball something it has not had since 1989-90 — a game in all four contiguous United States time zones.
•    The Redbirds are 4-1 this season when they lead at halftime. 
•    The Illinois State duo of Keyshawn Evans and Phil Fayne combine to average 36.6 points per game, the highest tandem total in the Missouri Valley Conference.
•    Evans' 36.4 assist percentage (per sportsreference.com) is the fourth-best in the country.
•    Illinois State head coach Dan Muller is one of 35 head coaches in the country that are leading their alma mater, and of the 35, he has the 13th-most wins with his school.
•    Evans is one of nine players in NCAA Division I to average at least 19.5 points and 4.4 assists per game
•    Kenpom.com has its own assist metric - assist rate - and Milik Yarbrough stands seventh on the list for assist rate in the country. 
•    This season Illinois State has put together nine runs of 9-0 or better, including five of 10-0 or better. 
•    Illinois State's 108-70 record over the last five-plus seasons are the best in the state of Illinois.
•    Evans' career three-point field goal percentage of .412 (85-of-206) is the 46th-best active career total in the country. 
•    Illinois State is 15-6 all-time on December 9. 

SCOUTING THE RACERS

Murray State comes into the Saturday afternoon contest riding a four-game win streak with victories over Wright State, Southern Illinois, Harris-Stowe, and Florida A&M.

In the team's most recent game, an 80-59 victory over Florida A&M (1-9 on the season), Shaq Buchanan scored 21 points, making 8-of-14 shots from the field. Terrell Miller Jr. scored 17 points, while Ja Morant added a dozen. Two others — Jonathan Stark and Anthony Smith — each missed double-figures by just one point.

Morant dished out a game-high nine assists, as Stark grabbed four rebounds and dished out four assists. Smith pulled down seven rebounds and Miller six, and the Racers out-rebounded Florida A&M 41-to-33. 

Miller leads four players in double-figure scoring average over the six games, pouring in 16.0 points per game. Stark averages 15.7, while Buchanan and Morant average 11.8 and 10.8 points, each. Three others, Byron Hawkins (9.2), Jalen DuPree (8.0), and Smith (7.2) also average a near-double-figure total.

Miller also leads the team in rebounding, pulling down 8.0 per game, while Morant has dished out 38 assists for an average of 6.3 per contest. Stark and Buchanan each have 10 steals to lead the team, as Smith and Miller have blocked five shots each.

STRONG SCHEDULE

This season's opponents have combined for a 35-14 overall record (excluding games played against Illinois State), which is a .714 winning percentage, fourth-best such percentage in the country. Below is a list of the top-10 win percentage of past opponents (from the NCAA toughest schedule list on December 7). Additionally, Illinois State's future schedule is also very strong, with all but two opponents during the upcoming schedule (three games total) holding a losing record. As such, the Redbirds' strength of schedule is ranked 11th in the country. Below are the top 15 teams in regards to strength of schedule this season, and their overall RPI. (from the NCAA nitty gritty report on Dec. 7)

THE BEST OF HALVES, THE WORST OF HALVES

Against BYU, the Illinois State Redbirds had a polar-opposite result in regards to its two halves. In the first half, Illinois State was held to just 17 points, the first time that the squad had been held to below 20 points in a half since Mar. 4, 2016. The second half was quite the opposite, as the Redbirds scored 51 points, the first time that Illinois State had scored 50 or more points in a half since Dec. 29, 2014 against Quincy.

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, Calif.

IN THE GIVING SPIRIT

This season, Keyshawn Evans has an assist percentage of 35.7. Assist percentage is an estimate of the percentage of teammate field goals a player assisted while he was on the floor. Oklahoma's Trae Young leads the country with a 47.9 assist percentage. Below are the top seven assist percentages in the country. Big thanks to Sports Reference for the research.

ANOTHER BIG GIVER

KenPom also has its own assist metric, Assist Rate. In this category, Milik Yarbrough ranks seventh in the country at 43.5. Assist rate is calculated by taking a player's assist total, divided by teammates' made field goals, and then scaled for playing time. It is based on opportunities available.