Illinois State to Battle Bears in Missouri

NORMAL, Ill. - After snapping a two-game losing skid with a win over Valparaiso on Saturday night, the Illinois State Redbirds return to action on Tuesday evening against the Missouri State Bears in a 7 p.m. tip-off.

GAME INFORMATION
Illinois State Redbirds (11-11, 5-5 MVC) vs. Missouri State Bears (15-8, 5-5 MVC)
When: Tuesday, Jan. 30
Tip-Off: 7 p.m.
Location: Springfield, Missouri
Arena: JQH Arena (11,000)
TV: ESPN3
   Tom Ackerman, play-by-play
   Danan Hughes, analyst
Radio: Illinois State Radio Network
    Dick Luedke, play-by-play
    Mike Matthews, analyst
Live Stats: Missouri State Sidearm Live Stats

SETTING THE TABLE

•    Milik Yarbrough is one of 12 student-athletes in the country who rank in the top-10 of their conference in points, rebounds, and assists.
•    Against both Southern Illinois and Valparaiso, Phil Fayne went 11-of-12 from the field, which is tied for the 10th-highest single-game field goal percentage in the country this season. He is also one of five NCAA Division I student-athletes since 2010-11 with multiple games of 11-of-12 or better shooting.
•    Illinois State is one of just three schools that have three players averaging at least 16 points per game, and joining Illinois State is Marshall and Oakland.
•    Milik Yarbrough is the only student-athlete in the country to average at least 16.9 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 4.6 assists per game. If his statistics hold thorugh the season, he will be just one of 25 players since 1992-93 to average those numbers for a full season.
•    Illinois State has used 10 different starting lineups in 22 games this season, tied for the ninth-most this season
•    Phil Fayne's career shooting percentage of .600 not only ranks second in Illinois State career history, but is also the 16th-highest among active players in NCAA Division I 
•    Illinois State has three of the top five scoring duo totals in the Missouri Valley Conference this season. 
•    The Redbirds have the 39th-highest opponent win percentage in the country, and their strength of schedule also ranks 39th in the country.
•    Of the 13 schools within the state of Illinois, Illinois State has the most wins, and highest win percentage.
•    Illinois State head coach Dan Muller is one of 35 head coaches in the country to be coaching at their alma maters, and his win total puts him 13th on that same list.
•    Illinois State has had 16 runs this season of nine points or more over the team's 22 games.
•    Illinois State is 18-11 all-time on January 30 

SCOUTING THE BEARS

Missouri State comes into the game looking to snap out of its current three-game losing skid on Tuesday evening, as the Bears have fallen at Drake, at Bradley, and at home against Southern Illinois.

In the loss to Southern Illinois, Alize Johnson scored 29 points, making 10-of-19 shots from the field, while pulling down a game-high 12 rebounds. Jarrid Rhodes scored 17 points, while Ronnie Rousseau scored 13 and Jarred Dixon 12. 

Dixon dished out a game-high seven assists, while Obediah Church blocked a team-best two shots.

For the season, Johnson is the only student-athlete on the team averaging in double-figures at 15.5 points per game. Four others - Rhodes (9.4), Reggie Scurry (8.9), Dixon (8.2), and J.T. Miller (7.9) are all near the double-figure scoring plateau. 

Johnson also leads the team with 11.6 rebounds per game, while Dixon's 59 assists are most on the team. Ryan Kreklow has grabbed 21 steals to lead the team, while Church has a team-best 44 blocked shots.