NORMAL, Ill. – Aiming for its third-straight regular-season sweep in the I-74 Rivalry Series, the Illinois State men's basketball team – tied for first in the Missouri Valley Conference – hosts Bradley Saturday at 9 p.m. on Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena, with several promotions planned. The Redbirds are also striving to remain undefeated at home this season after winning a Redbird Arena record 18-straight home games dating back to last season. ISU beat Bradley in this season's first meeting, 69-49, in Peoria, Illinois (Jan. 18).
ILLINOIS STATE VS. BRADLEY • SATURDAY, FEB. 11, 2017 • 9 P.M.
THE SERIES:
Saturday's game marks the 124th meeting between Illinois State and Bradley. BU leads the all-time series, 63-60; however, the Redbirds have won six-straight and 14 of the past 16. Versus the Braves, ISU is 37-19 at home and 23-5 in Redbird Arena, having won nine-straight games over BU at home. Head Coach Dan Muller is 7-2 against Bradley.
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.
Bradley: Brian Wardle (Marquette, 2001) is in his second season as the head coach at Bradley. Wardle was the head coach at Green Bay from 2010-15, and he led the Phoenix to the 2014 Horizon League championship.
ILLINOIS STATE:
Is tied for first place in the Missouri Valley Conference standings with a 12-1 MVC record, which matches ISU's best league record through 13 MVC games in program history ... Features the fourth-best field-goal percentage defense in the nation (37.4) ... Has won a Redbird Arena-record 18-straight games at home ... Was picked to finish second in the MVC ... Returns four starters and seven of 11 letterwinners from last year's team (18-14, 12-6 T2nd MVC).
BRADLEY:
Is eighth in the Missouri Valley Conference standings (4-9) ... After starting MVC play with a 3-2 record, has dropped seven of the past eight games ... Was picked to finish eighth in the MVC ... Returns all five starters and nine letterwinners from last year's team (5-27, 3-15 9th MVC) ... Features seven newcomers ... Led by freshman guard Darrell Brown who is averaging 12.7 points, 2.8 assists and 2.2 rebounds and was named MVC Player of the Week.
BACK ON TRACK
After Illinois State saw its 12-game overall winning streak and program-best 11-game MVC winning streak come to an end Feb. 4 at Wichita State (L, 86-45, largest losing margin of the season), the Redbirds bounced back to beat Drake, 82-53, Feb. 7 (largest winning margin of the season). In the winning effort, ISU achieved season highs in points (82), field goals (34) and field goal percentage (57.6 percent). Additionally, Paris Lee (26 points) and Keyshawn Evans (16) recorded career highs in points. Lee also recorded a career-high 10 field goals, which marked the most made by a Redbird since DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell netted 13 field goals, also at Drake, Jan. 3, 2016. Defensively, ISU held Drake to 27.4 percent shooting from the field, which was DU's second-lowest percentage of the season and ISU's third-lowest.
FIELD-GOAL DEFENSE
Illinois State's field-goal percentage defense of 37.4 percent ranks fourth nationally and leads the MVC:
-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 11th 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.
FAST START
By winning their first 11 MVC games of the season before suffering a loss in game 12, the Redbirds recorded their best start to an MVC season, surpassing the program's previous best start of 9-0 before suffering a loss in game 10, which occurred in 1982-83. 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.
LOCKING DOWN
Opponents have averaged 35.1 percent shooting and 58.9 points against Illinois State over the past 16 games, with ISU holding six of its past 16 foes to season-low averages at the time. The Redbirds have gone 14-2 during that stretch. Conversely, during ISU's first seven games, the Redbirds earned a 4-3 record while allowing opponents to shoot 43.0 percent and average 69.1 points per game. In MVC games, ISU ranks first in field-goal percentage defense (36.2 percent) and scoring defense (59.6 points per game).
NEXT MAN UP
Junior forward MiKyle McIntosh – who ranks second on the team in scoring (13.5 ppg) and rebounding (6.2 rpg) – has missed four-straight games. He had surgery Feb. 1 to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee. The average recovery time is three weeks. DJ Clayton started in place of McIntosh at Evansville (Jan. 29) and went a career-best 7-for-8 at the free throw line. Keyshawn Evans then filled the starting roll versus Northern Iowa (Feb. 1) and scored six points in a career-high 31 minutes. At Wichita State (Feb. 4), Daouda "David" Ndiaye played a season-high 21 minutes with a career-high eight rebounds. At Drake (Feb. 7), Evans returned to the starting lineup and netted a career-high 16 points.
20 AND COUNTING
With a victory over Drake (Feb. 7), Illinois State earned its 24th 20-plus win season in program history. The Redbirds' 20-5 record is ISU's best through 25 games since also starting the 2008-09 season with a 20-5 record. The Redbirds are aiming to improve to 21-5 for the first time since also going 21-5 through their first 26 games in 2008-09. Illinois State is also trying to secure its 17th 21-plus win season in program history. Just 24 teams nationally have hit 20 wins.
BLOCK PARTY
Illinois State leads the MVC and ranks 61st nationally with 4.5 blocks per game. The Redbirds recorded a program-record 11 blocks in their win over Drake (Jan. 21).
TAKING THE ROCK
ISU leads the Missouri Valley Conference and ranks 62nd nationally with 7.3 steals per game. Senior guard Paris Lee ranks first in the MVC and 26th nationally with 2.1 steals per contest.
RECIPE FOR SUCCESS
The Redbirds are 13-0 this season when allowing their opponent to score fewer than 60 points and 17-1 when allowing fewer than 70 points. Offensively, ISU is 14-2 when scoring 70 or more points.
DEEP DISH
Senior point guard Paris Lee leads the Missouri Valley Conference and ranks 54th nationally in assists (5.1 assists per game). He has recorded at least two assists in every game this season.
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 236 career steals and is the NCAA active-career leader. He also ranks ninth 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 (446), 32nd in points (1,147), second in games started (122), and fourth in minutes played (3,691).
PROTECTING THE NEST
Dating back to last season, Illinois State has won 18-straight games on Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena to set an arena record and pass the previous mark of 17-straight games won at Redbird Arena between the 1996-97 and 1997-98 seasons. ISU's last home-court loss occurred Jan. 15, 2016 to Evansville (L, 66-55). The home-court winning streak ranks as the program's fourth-longest during the Division I era and is currently tied for sixth-longest in the nation. Illinois State's last undefeated home season was in 1977-78, in Horton Field House.
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: 18 games (and counting)
1996-97, 1997-98: 17 games
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