Redbirds Open Play in Cayman Islands Against Georgia

NORMAL, Ill. - The Illinois State Redbirds take a 2-1 record into the Cayman Islands, as the squad will take on the Georgia Bulldogs (2-1) in the opening round of the Cayman Islands Classic on Monday afternoon.

GAME INFORMATION
Illinois State Redbirds (2-1) vs. Georgia Bulldogs (2-1)
When: Monday, Nov. 19
Tip-Off: 12:30 p.m. (CT)
Location: George Town, Grand Cayman
Arena: John Jay Gymnasium
TV: Stadium TV on Facebook
    Noah Coslov, play-by-play
    Doug Gottlieb, play-by-play, analyst
    Tim Scarborough, analyst
    Kristen Balboni, sideline
Radio: Illinois State Radio Network / TuneIn Radio
    Dick Luedke, play-by-play
    Mike Matthews, analyst
Live Stats: Cayman Islands Sidearm Live Stats

SETTING THE TABLE

•    Illinois State is 26-8 over the last 11 in-season tournaments, including a 2-1 record last season at the Puerto Rico Tip-Off at Myrtle Beach.
•    The Redbirds are 78-20 at home during head coach Dan Muller's tenure at Illinois state.
•    Illinois State has six games this season being played on Tuesday, which is the second-highest such total in program history. Only the 1936-37 team's seven games on Tuesday is higher.
•    ISU head coach Dan Muller is in fourth in the school's record books in career wins, just ahead of Kevin Stallings. Stallings was Muller's coach during both his playing career, and was the head coach while  he was an assistant coach at Vanderbilt.
•    ISU's 124-81 record over the last six years is the best record in the state of Illinois during that span.
•    Illinois State is a combined 10-2 all-time against the current 14 members of the Southeastern Conference, and a 3-1 mark in head coach Dan Muller's tenure. Last season ISU picked up two wins over schools from the conference with wins over South Carolina and Ole MIss.
•    Of Illinois State's 10 known non-conference opponents, six were picked to finish inside of the top three in their conference's preseason polls. 
•    Dan Muller's 124 victories are the ninth most among active head coaches who are currently coaching at their alma maters.
•    Illinois State is one of three schools in the country to have two assistant coaches who had won National Titles as student-athletes, joining Duke and Washington.
•    Illinois State returns 88.6 percent of its scoring for the 2018-19 season, the 16th-most points returning in NCAA Division I.
•    Each of the last five seasons, Illinois State has out-performed its preseason MVC preseason predictions, including last season when the team was picked to finish fourth and ended third.
•    This season Illinois State is playing in eight games in the month of November, tied for the most games in November in program history. As such, ISU's five December games are tied for the fewest in the month since the 1942-43 season in which the Redbirds played four games in the calendar month.
•    Of ISU's first four games, three have or will come against coaches in the first season at their respective schools.

SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS

Georgia comes into the Island game with a 2-1 overall record with wins over Savannah State and Sam Houston State, and a loss on the road at Temple.

In the win over Sam Houston State, Rayshaun Hammonds led the team with 15 points, making 5-of-11 shots from the field, while Nicolas Claxton also reached double-figures with 13 points. In all, 12 players saw action in the game, and 11 reached the scoring column. Claxton pulled down a team-best eight rebounds, while blocking a game-high three shots. E'Torrion Wilridge dished out four of the team's 11 assists, as the Bulldogs had 11 assists and 11 turnovers.

For the year, four players - Tyree Crump (13.0), Hammonds (12.3), Derek Ogbeide (12.0) and Claxton (11.7) average in double-figures in the points column, and 12 players have seen action in all three games.

Claxton leads the team in rebounding (24), blocked shots (9) and steals (4), as the Bulldogs out-rebound their opponents by an average of 10.7 rebounds per contest. Two players: Teshaun Hightower and William Jackson II each are tied for the team lead with seven assists, as UGA has a 54-to-54 assist-to-turnover ratio on the young season.

IN SEASON TOURNAMENTS

Over the course of the program's history, Illinois State has taken part in numerous in-season tournaments, including playing in one in each of the last nine seasons. Over the last nine seasons, the Redbirds have a 26-8 record during the in-season tournaments.