Redbirds Host UNI on Throwback Night

NORMAL, Ill. - The Illinois State Redbirds will look to snap out of its current two-game losing skid, when the squad hosts the UNI Panthers on Saturday afternoon in a throwback game for ISU.

GAME INFORMATION
Illinois State Redbirds (14-13, 8-7 MVC) vs. UNI Panthers (13-14, 5-10 MVC)
When: Saturday, Feb. 17
Tip-Off: 5 p.m.
Location: Normal, Illinois
Arena: Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena (10,200)
TV: ESPN2
   Mitch Holthus, play-by-play
   Malcolm Huckaby, analyst
Radio: Illinois State Radio Network
    Dick Luedke, play-by-play
    Mike Matthews, analyst
Live Stats: Illinois State StatBroadcast

SETTING THE TABLE

•    The game is reunion weekend for men's basketball, as the team will wear throwback uniforms including candy-stripe shorts and an I-State logo jersey top. The program will also be honoring former head coach Gene Smithson's era, in which six players that played for him were drafted
•    Milik Yarbrough is one of 15 student-athletes in NCAA Division I to rank in the top-10 in his conference in points, rebounds, and assists
•    During Illinois State head coach Dan Muller's tenure, the Redbirds have a 45-24 record over the last 12 games of the regular season, including a 5-4 mark this season. 
•    Dan Muller is 30-14 during the month of February during his career as head coach of the Redbirds. 
•    Yarbrough stands 42 points shy of reaching 1,000 career collegiate points, with 428 of those coming this season for the Redbirds, and 530 coming from his two years at Saint Louis.
•    Illinois State has played in four overtime games this season (with a 3-1 record in those games), It is the fourth-most overtime games in a season in program history, and the seventh-most overtime games in the country this season. 
•    Illinois State has had 10 different players reach double-figure scoring in a game, which is tied for the 15th-highest total in NCAA Division I this season. 
•    Illinois State has used 12 different lineups in its 27 games this season, which are the 11th-most different lineups in the country this season.
•    Yarbrough ranks fifth in the country in the KenPom category, Percentage of Possessions Used. 
•    Phil Fayne's career .593 shooting percentage ranks 23rd among active NCAA division I student-athletes.
•    During Dan Muller's tenure, Illinois State's 118-78 record is both the most wins, and highest percentage (.602) of any NCAA Division I school in the state of Illinois.
•    The Redbirds are 100-67 all-time against schools from the state of Iowa (Drake, Iowa, Iowa State, and UNI).

SCOUTING THE PANTHERS

UNI comes into the weekend game after topping Evansville on Tuesday evening by a 47-41 score. The 47 points are the second-fewest by a winning team this season, and the fourth-lowest field goal percentage by a winning team this season.

Hunter Rhodes scored a team-high 12 points, as Bennett Koch scored 10. UNI scored 30 points in the first half, and just 17 in the second. The Panthers led by 15 with 10:16 to play, and did not hit another field goal for the remainder of the game; however, was able to hold onto the lead in the contest.

Tywhon Pickford pulled down 10 rebounds, as Koch narrowly missed a double-double with nine rebounds. Clint Carlson dished out three assists, as the Panthers had nine assists on 15 made baskets.

For the season, UNI is led by Koch who averages 12.4 points, while three others: Pickford (9.6), Carlson (9.5), and Wyatt Lohaus (9.1) average over nine points per game. 

Pickford leads the team in rebounds, averaging 8.1 per game, while Koch pulls down 6.0 per contest. Juwan McCloud has dished out a team-best 62 assists, while also leading the team with 33 steals.