Redbirds Host BYU in Mid-Week Battle

NORMAL, Ill. - On Wednesday evening, a pair of 5-2 programs go head-to-head, as the Illinois State Redbirds host the BYU Cougars in a mid-week key mid-major battle.

GAME INFORMATION
Illinois State Redbirds (5-2) vs. BYU Cougars (5-2)
When: Wednesday, Nov. 28
Tip-Off: 7 p.m.
Location: Normal, Illinois
Arena: Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena
TV: The Valley on ESPN (ESPN+)
    Scott Warmann, play-by-play
    Rich Zvosec, analyst
Radio: Illinois State Radio Network / TuneIn Radio
    Dick Luedke, play-by-play
    Mike Matthews, analyst
Live Stats: Illinois State Statbroadcast

SETTING THE TABLE

•    Milik Yarbrough is one of four student-athletes in the country to rank inside of his conference's top five in points, rebounds, and assists.
•    The Redbirds are 79-20 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 127-82 record over the last six-plus years is the best record in the state of Illinois during that span. 
•    Milik Yarbrough has been named to the Lou Henson Award watch list, the award given to the top mid-major player in the country. 
•    Just six of 31 total scheduled games feature teams that are currently below .500 on the season, with five of those standing just one game under .500 this year. 
•    Dan Muller's 127 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's opponents average a possession length of 18.2 this season, which ranks as the 313th-longest in the country. The shortest possession length by an opponent stands at 13.3 seconds. In six of the seven seasons under Dan Muller, the Redbirds rank at least 300 or more in the category. 
•    Milik Yarbrough's season averages of 16.9 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 4.3 assists have him as one of 10 student-athletes since 1992-93 to average those numbers.
•    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.

SCOUTING THE COUGARS

BYU comes into the mid-week meeting having dropped its last game, 76-62 at home against Houston.

In the game, TJ Haws scored a game-high 25 points, making 9-of-19 shots from the field and half of his 12 three-point attempts. Yoeli Childs added 16 points and a game-high nine rebounds. Two players, Dalton Nixon and Zac Seljaas each dished out four assists.

For the year, Childs averages a double-double with 20 points and 12 rebounds per game, and is second on the team with 22 assists. Haws averages 15.7 points, and makes 41 percent of his tries from long range (16-of-39). Jashire Hardnett also averages in double-figures, putting up 11.4 points per contest. 

Behind Childs' rebounding average, the Cougars out-rebound their opponents by 3.7 per game. Haws has dished out 36 assists, and BYU has a 123-to-62 assist-to-turnover ratio over the seven games of the season.

PAIR OF NATIONAL CHAMPIONS

Illinois State is one of three schools in the country (along with Duke and Washington) to have multiple coaches on its staff to have won national titles as student-athletes. Both Brian Reese (North Carolina, 1993) and Chris Duhon (Duke, 2001) played in their respective seasons' National Championship games.

GOING UP ON A TUESDAY

This season Illinois State has six games that are played on Tuesdays, the second-most Tuesday games in a season in program history. The record for Tuesday games in a season came during the 1936-37 season, where the team played in seven Tuesday games. Below are the top-five most Tuesday games in a season in school history

IN-SEASON TOURNAMENT

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 ten seasons, the Redbirds have a 28-9 record during the in-season tournaments.

TOP FIVE IN THE CONFERENCE

Behind his strong performances this season, Milik Yarbrough has climbed into the top-five in the MVC in points, rebounds, and assists. In doing so, he was one of just four student-athletes in the country to stand in the top-five in each in their respective conference.

NO PLACE LIKE HOME

Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena has turned itself into one of the most difficult places to play in the Missouri Valley Conference. During head coach Dan Muller's tenure, the Redbirds have a 79-20 record at home, including a 16-1 mark during the 2016-17 season and a 3-0 mark in 2018-19. 
home court records 

COACHING UP THE RECORD BOOKS

Illinois State head coach Dan Muller has a 127-82 record in his seventh season with the program. That win total is tthe fourth-highest career win total in program history. With his 124th win he moved into sole possession of fourth place in the school coaching record book, ahead of Kevin Stallings, his former head coach from his time as a student-athlete and the head coach of Vanderbilt while he was an assistant coach with the Commodore basketball program.

PLAYER OF THE YEAR WATCH LIST

Illinois State senior Milik Yarbrough has been named as one of 50 student-athletes announced to the mid-season Lou Henson Award watch list, announced on Nov. 12. The award is presented annually to the nation's top mid-major player in Division I College Basketball. The 2019 Lou Henson Award will be presented at the College Insider awards event in April at the site of the men's Division I National Championship in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

SHORT DECEMBER

In conjunction with the long November, December is unusually short. In fact, ISU's five games in the final month of the calendar year are tied for the fewest such games since the 1942-43 season where Illinois State had four games in the month. Seven other times between 1942-43 and 2018-19 the Redbirds played in five games during the month.