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| SCHOOL INFORMATION |
| Location: |
Fort Myers, Florida |
| Enrollment: |
14,970 |
| Conference: |
Atlantic Sun |
| 2017-18 Record: |
23-12, 14-6 ASun |
| Head Coach: |
Michael Fly (first season as head coach) |
| ABOUT FLORIDA GULF COAST |
| FGCU, which went 23-12 last season and advanced to the postseason NIT after finishing as the runner-up in the 2018 Atlantic Sun Tournament, returns just one of its top six scorers from last season, and none of the five players that started at least 20 games. Leading the returnees is Dinero Mercurius, who averaged 7.9 points per game, while pulling down 1.8 rebounds per game; however, he also finished second on the team with 58 three-point makes (and a team-leading 41.4 percent). Head coach Michael Fly is in his first season as head coach of the program, after former head coach Joe Dooley was named the head coach at East Carolina University. Fly had spent seven years on staff with the Eagles, working with Dooley and previous head coach Andy Enfield. |
| SERIES HISTORY: |
| Florida Gulf Coast won the only meeting between the two schools, taking the season opener last season by a 98-87 final score in Fort Myers. In that game Keyshawn Evans scored a game-high 28 points, while Phil Fayne put in 24 points with two blocked shots. In his Redbird debut, Milik Yarbrough scored eight points with eight rebounds and a career-high 10 assists. Of the returnees to the FGCU roster this season, Mercurius and Christian Carlyle each scored 11 points against the Redbirds, while Ricky Doyle scored eight. |
| OF NOTE: |
| A walk-on to the Eagles, Ryan McAdoo's dad, Bob, was a five-time NBA All-Star, the 1973 NBA Rookie of the Year, and the 1975 NBA Most Valuable Player. FGCU's basketball nickname of "Dunk City" came after the program's 2012 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 run in which the team as the No. 15 seed knocked off No. 2 seed Georgetown and No. 7 seed San Diego State in back-to-back games, before falling to No. 3 seed Florida. |
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| SCHOOL INFORMATION |
| Location: |
Nashville, Tennessee |
| Enrollment: |
8,080 |
| Conference: |
Ohio Valley Conference |
| 2017-18 Record: |
24-9, 15-3 OVC |
| Head Coach: |
Rick Byrd (686-339 at Belmont / 778-394 overall) |
| ABOUT BELMONT |
| The Bruins cruised through their 2017-18 season with a 24-9 record, falling in the Ohio Valley Conference Championship game, before turning down an opportunity to extend the season in the CBI or CIT. Back for Belmont is 6-7 guard/forward Dylan Windler, who averaged 17.3 points and 9.3 rebounds last season, setting up a battle of two of the premier small forwards in the country between Windler and Illinois State's Milik Yarbrough. Also back for the Bruins is 6-2 guard Kevin McClain, who averaged 12.6 points while dishing out 70 assists, and 5-11 guard Nick Hopkins who averaged 7.4 points during his freshman campaign with the team. |
| SERIES HISTORY |
| Illinois State and Belmont have never faced each other on the basketball court; however, the Redbirds have a long history against many OVC opponents, and have faced at least one OVC team every season since 2006-07. |
| OF NOTE |
| Now in his 37th season of coaching, Belmont head coach Rick Byrd has never faced off against Illinois State. It is not, however, the first time a Dan Muller-coached team has faced off against Belmont. As an assistant coach at Vanderbilt from 2000-2012, Muller and the Commodores went 3-0 against the Bruins. |
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| SCHOOL INFORMATION |
| Location: |
Chicago, Illinois |
| Enrollment: |
8,080 |
| Conference: |
Western Athletic Conference |
| 2017-18 Record: |
3-29, 1-13 WAC |
| Head Coach: |
TBA |
| ABOUT CHICAGO STATE |
| Chicago State lost each of its four top scorers from last season's team, and returns just 30 percent of its scoring production from a team that went 3-29 last season. New athletic director Chris Zorich is being intentionally deliberate in making the right head coaching hire – his first coaching hire since taking over the athletics program. Among the players expected to be back is 6-5 rising senior guard Anthony Harris, who averaged 5.8 points per game last season, while also finishing second on the team with 14 blocked shots. Cameron Bowles, a 6-7 rising sophomore led the team with 26 blocked shots, while rising senior guard Rob Shaw dished out 74 assists – second-most on the team. |
| SERIES HISTORY |
| Illinois State has a firm grip on the all-time series between the two programs, holding a 21-1 record. The Redbirds won the first 13 games of the series, before the Cougars' lone win of the series came during the 1985 season. Since then the Redbirds have rattled off eight more wins, including a 76-56 win during the 2013-14 season. |
| OF NOTE |
| The last game in the series that was played in Chicago came on February 13, 1942. Illinois State is 27-6 all-time against teams currently in the WAC, with the last non-Chicago State game coming during the 1998-99 season with a win over UMKC. |
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| SCHOOL INFORMATION |
| Location: |
Athens, Georgia |
| Enrollment: |
36,574 |
| Conference: |
Southeastern Conference (SEC) |
| 2017-18 Record: |
18-15, 7-11 SEC |
| Head Coach: |
Tom Crean (first season at Georgia / 356-231 overall) |
| ABOUT GEORGIA |
| Georgia is under its first year of direction by former Marquette and Indiana head coach Tom Crean. Crean inherits a team that went 18-15 last season and returns just one of its top three leading scorers from last year. Among the players not returning is the only player who averaged in double-figures for the Bulldogs in Yante Maten, who put up 19.3 points per game. Leading the way for the returnees is 6-4 senior guard William Jackson II, who averaged 8.4 points per game. Also back is 6-9 senior forward Derek Ogbeide, who averaged 6.9 points and a returnee-best 6.2 rebounds per game. Sophomore Rayshaun Hammonds averaged 6.7 points and 4.9 rebounds per game in his first season as a collegiate player. |
| SERIES HISTORY |
| Illinois State and Georgia have never met on the basketball court. The Redbirds are, however, familiar with opponents from SEC teams, including Ole Miss, who is scheduled to come to Redbird Arena this season. In fact, under current head coach Dan Muller, the Redbirds are 3-1 against teams from the conference, including a 2-0 mark last year with wins over South Carolina and Ole Miss. |
| OF NOTE |
| Illinois State had faced off against Tom Crean once, during the 2004-05 season, in which Crean's Marquette squad topped Illinois State 60-32 in Milwaukee. The Redbirds followed up that game with a 70-52 win over Ole Miss a day later in the second day of the BCA Classic. |
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| SCHOOL INFORMATION |
| Location: |
Clemson, South Carolina |
| Enrollment: |
21,957 |
| Conference: |
Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) |
| 2017-18 Record: |
25-10, 11-7 ACC |
| Head Coach: |
Brad Brownell (149-113 at Clemson / 316-198 overall) |
| ABOUT CLEMSON |
| Clemson, who is under the direction of head coach Brad Brownell, advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 last season, topping New Mexico State and Auburn in the NCAA Tournament, eventually falling to Kansas in the Sweet 16. The squad returns its leading scorer, redshirt senior guard Marcquise Reed, who averaged 15.8 points per game. The second and third leading Tigers scorers are no longer with the squad; however, Shelton Mitchell (6-3 guard) and Elijah Thomas (6-9 forward) also return after averaging 12.2 and 10.7 points per game, respectively. |
| SERIES HISTORY |
| Clemson and Illinois State have faced off one time in each program's history, a 67-56 Tiger victory in Milwaukee on December 19, 1980. In the game, the Tigers were led by future NBA star Larry Nance, who scored 18 points and pulled down seven rebounds. The Redbirds led at halftime 30-26; however, Clemson out-scored Illinois State 41-26 over the final 20 minutes in the neutral site game. |
| OF NOTE |
| Illinois State is 3-1 all-time against Brownell, including a 1-1 record from the 1994-95 and 1995-96 seasons when Brownell was an assistant coach at UNC-Wilmington. The Redbirds were also 2-0 in a home-and-home series with the Brownell-led Wright State Raiders during the 2007-08 and 2008-09 seasons. Clemson hired former Evansville head coach Marty Simmons to an assistant to the head coach position this summer. Illinois State was 20-6 against Simmons during his reign with the Purple Aces. |
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| SCHOOL INFORMATION |
| Location: |
Akron, Ohio |
| Enrollment: |
26,000 |
| Conference: |
Mid-America Conference (MAC) |
| 2017-18 Record: |
14-18, 6-12 MAC |
| Head Coach: |
John Groce (14-18 at Akron / 194-149 overall) |
| ABOUT AKRON |
| Akron returns its top scorer in 6-6 rising junior forward Daniel Utomo, who averaged 16.7 points and 5.3 rebounds. Jimond Ivey, a 6-5 guard, also returns after averaging 13.1 points and leading the team with 113 assists and 5.7 rebounds per game. Those two are the only pair inside of the top six to return for the Zips, who bring back 54 percent of their scoring from last season. |
| SERIES HISTORY |
| Illinois State and Akron have met eight times, with the Redbirds holding a 6-2 lead in the all-time series. The last meeting came on Nov. 27, 1999, a 10-point Zip victory in Akron. The meeting would be the first neutral site meeting between the two programs. |
| OF NOTE |
| Akron head coach John Groce had also spent time as the head coach of Ohio and Illinois, before joining the Zips. Akron has three players who are eligible to play this season after sitting out because of the NCAA transfer rule (Loren Christian Jackson – Long Beach State; Eric Hester – Florida; Deng Riak – East Carolina). |
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| SCHOOL INFORMATION |
| Location: |
St. Charles, Missouri |
| Enrollment: |
17,000 |
| Conference: |
Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association |
| 2017-18 Record: |
16-13, 8-11 MIAA |
| Head Coach: |
Lance Randall (53-39 at Lindenwood / 174-118 overall) |
| ABOUT LINDENWOOD |
| Lindenwood went 16-13 last season in head coach Lance Randall's third season at the helm as, the team returns all but 26 points from the year before (98.8 percent of scoring returning). The team is looking to finish with Randall's second 20+ win season in his four seasons. The team had three players average in double-figure scoring last season, led by 6-2 guard Brad Newman who averaged 15.3 points per game. Chandler Diekvoss, a 6-7 forward, averaged 14.3 points and a team-best 6.5 rebounds per game, while Jackson Price averaged 12.1 points while making over two three-point baskets per game. |
| SERIES HISTORY |
| This will be the first meeting between Illinois State and Lindenwood. Illinois State, despite not having played against Lindenwood, has a history against schools from the MIAA. The Redbirds are 32-19 all-time against schools from the conference; however, they have not played such a game since the 1972-73 season. |
| OF NOTE |
| Last season, Lindenwood finished in the top-50 in NCAA Division II defense for the fourth straight year, while ranking in the top-10 in fewest turnovers per game. |
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| SCHOOL INFORMATION |
| Location: |
Provo, Utah |
| Enrollment: |
33,360 |
| Conference: |
West Coast Conference |
| 2017-18 Record: |
24-11, 11-7 WCC |
| Head Coach: |
Dave Rose (329-122 at BYU) |
| ABOUT BYU |
| Although BYU returns four starters, and 71 percent of its overall scoring, it will be without 2017-18 scoring leader Elijah Bryant, who declared and stayed in the NBA draft after his junior season in which he averaged 18.2 points per game. A strong core of four starters return, including 6-8 forward Yeoli Childs who averaged 17.8 points with a team-high 301 rebounds. T.J. Haws is also back after scoring 11.7 points per game and leading the team with 146 assists. |
| SERIES HISTORY |
| BYU and Illinois State met for the first time last year, a 80-68 Cougar victory in Provo, Utah. In the game, Taylor Bruninga scored a game-high-tying 20 points, while Phil Fayne scored 19, and Keyshawn Evans had 14. Haws led BYU with 20 points, while Bryant and Childs each scored 17 points, as Bryant narrowly missed a triple-double with nine rebounds and nine assists. |
| OF NOTE |
| Illinois has a strong history with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, including one of the first settlements in Nauvoo, Illinois. Members of the Mormon church settled in Nauvoo, including Joseph Smith, the leader of the LDS church. After Smith's death (his burial plot is in Nauvoo), Brigham Young helped lead a group of the remaining members to the greater Salt Lake City, Utah region, which remains home for most in the religion. Another settlement of LDS refugees (Missouri had banished those in the religion) was in Quincy, Illinois. In 2002, the 320-voice Mormon Tabernacle Choir performed for the town of Quincy and donated the proceeds of the event (approximately $75,000) back to the town in gratitude for help during their early time of need. |
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| SCHOOL INFORMATION |
| Location: |
San Diego, California |
| Enrollment: |
33,726 |
| Conference: |
Mountain West Conference |
| 2017-18 Record: |
22-11, 11-7 MWC |
| Head Coach: |
Brian Dutcher (22-11 at San Diego State) |
| ABOUT SAN DIEGO STATE |
| San Diego State comes into the season after winning the MWC Tournament title last season, before falling to Houston in the NCAA First Round. Last season the Aztecs had four players - all starters – average in double-figures, and the team returns three of those players. Back for SDSU is Devin Watson, a 6-1 senior guard who averaged 12.2 points and a team-best 114 assists, while Matt Mitchell (6-6 sophomore forward) and Jalen McDaniels (6-10 sophomore forward) each averaged 10.5 points per game. McDaniels pulled down a team-best 7.5 rebounds per game, while also blocking 19 shots, most among the returning players. |
| SERIES HISTORY |
| The all-time series between Illinois State and San Diego State is deadlocked in a 2-2 tie. The Redbirds took the first two meetings, including a 1967 NCAA College Division Championships appearance in which Illinois State toppled San Diego State 77-76 in triple overtime to advance to the semifinals, as the Redbirds ended the tournament in fourth place overall. |
| OF NOTE |
| Former Aztec head coach Steve Fisher is an alumnus of Illinois State University, and was inducted into the Athletics Hall of Fame in 2017. Fisher was a member of a three-person senior class during his final season at ISU in 1966-67, and the other two in his class were Don Feek and Duane Bruninga – uncle of current Redbird standout Taylor Bruninga. The first meeting between the two programs came in the NCAA College Division Quarterfinals, and in 2018-19, the Redbirds will face off against each of the other three teams from their half of the quarterfinals bracket: Missouri State (then called Southwest Missouri State), Valparaiso, and San Diego State. |
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| SCHOOL INFORMATION |
| Location: |
Chicago, Illinois |
| Enrollment: |
29,120 |
| Conference: |
Horizon League |
| 2017-18 Record: |
20-16, 12-6 Horizon |
| Head Coach: |
Steve McClain (42-60 at UIC / 199-175 overall) |
| ABOUT UIC |
| Last season UIC advanced to the title game of the CIT Postseason Tournament, falling at Northern Colorado. The squad returns two of its top three scorers, but loses Horizon League Defensive Player of the Year Tai Odiase, and leading scorer Dikembe Dixson, who averaged 14 points per game. Marcus Ottey, a 6-2 guard who averaged 13.8 points last season, and 6-4 guard Tarkus Ferguson, who led the team with 136 assists while scoring 10.6 points per game are set to return. Six-foot, eight-inch forward Jordan Blount also returns after leading the team in rebounding, averaging 6.8 rebounds and points per game. |
| SERIES HISTORY |
| Illinois State has a firm grip on the all-time series between the two programs, leading the series 17-6, including winning each of the last seven games since 2006-07. Illinois State even has a 5-4 record in the series in games played in Chicago. Last season the teams battled to a hard-fought 71-70 contest, edged out by the Redbirds on Doug Collins Court. |
| OF NOTE |
| Redbird assistant coach Brendan Mullins had spent two seasons at UIC prior to coming to Illinois State for the 2016-17 season. UIC's roster last season was composed of student-athletes from four different countries, and six different states. |
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| SCHOOL INFORMATION |
| Location: |
Oxford, Mississippi |
| Enrollment: |
23,780 |
| Conference: |
Southeastern Conference (SEC) |
| 2017-18 Record: |
12-20, 5-13 SEC |
| Head Coach: |
Kermit Davis (first season at Ole Miss / 469-263 overall) |
| ABOUT OLE MISS |
| Ole Miss returns three starters and three of its top four scorers from a team that went 12-20 last season, and is under the direction of new head coach Kermit Davis for the 2018-19 season. Back for the Rebels is 6-4 rising senior guard Terence Davis, who averaged 13.8 points and 6.2 rebounds last season – both the top marks on the team. Breein Tyree, a 6-2 guard and Bruce Stevens, a 6-8 forward, also return after each scoring 10.8 points per game during the year. |
| SERIES HISTORY |
| Illinois State is a perfect 4-0 all-time against Ole Miss, including a 101-97 win in Oxford last season. The last two meetings of the series have come down to an overtime game, starting with the 2012 NIT battle in which ISU won 96-93. |
| OF NOTE |
| The game is the return game set up from the infamous Dan Muller tweet, set up by former head coach Andy Kennedy and Ole Miss athletic director Ross Bjork. New head coach Kermit Davis had spent 16 seasons at Middle Tennessee State, where in the last three seasons he led the program to two NCAA Tournament wins over second-seeded Michigan State (2015) and fifth-seeded Minnesota (2016). |
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| SCHOOL INFORMATION |
| Location: |
Cleveland, Ohio |
| Enrollment: |
12,433 |
| Conference: |
Horizon League |
| 2017-18 Record: |
12-22, 6-12 Horizon League |
| Head Coach: |
Dennis Felton (12-22 at Cleveland State / 196-167 overall) |
| ABOUT CLEVELAND STATE |
| Cleveland State, in the second year under former Georgia head coach Dennis Felton, returns two of its top five scorers from a 12-22 season. The Vikings caught fire at the tail end of the season, winning four in a row, including the first three games of the Horizon League Tournament, before falling in the title game. Back for CSU is rising sophomore Tyree Appleby, who averaged 11.7 points while dishing out a team-best 130 assists and pilfering 42 steals. Classmate Stefan Kenic finished just shy of a double-figure scoring average at 9.6 points, and made 37 percent of his attempts from long range. |
| SERIES HISTORY |
| Illinois State and Cleveland State have met four times on the hardwood, with three of those meetings coming in Cleveland. The Redbirds hold a 3-1 lead in the all-time series; however, Cleveland State won the most recent contest 89-83 in the NIT first round in 1988. |
| OF NOTE |
| This season marks the first time since 2008-09 in which the Redbirds have faced off against two teams in the same season from the Horizon League in UIC and Cleveland State. In 2008-09, the team under the direction of Tim Jankovich played Wright State to open the season, and UIC to close the non-conference schedule. Cleveland State assistant coach Lou Dawkins played his collegiate basketball career at Tulsa, and was named the MVC Defensive Player of the Year after the Hurricane's run to the NCAA Sweet 16. |
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| SCHOOL INFORMATION |
| Location: |
Orlando, Florida |
| Enrollment: |
66,183 |
| Conference: |
American Athletic Conference |
| 2017-18 Record: |
19-13, 9-9 AAC |
| Head Coach: |
Johnny Dawkins (43-25 at UCF / 199-140 overall) |
| ABOUT UCF |
| Last season the Knights were bitten by the injury bug, as three expected starters missed significant time during the season. Back for UCF, who is expected to be at or near the top of the strong American Athletic Conference, is redshirt senior guard B.J. Taylor who averaged 15.9 points per game in 16 games played because of injury. Also back is 7-6 center Tacko Fall, who averaged 11.3 points and 7.3 rebounds per game before missing the second half of the season with an injury. Also back from a season-ending preseason injury is redshirt junior guard Aubrey Dawkins, a transfer from Michigan and the son of head coach Johnny Dawkins. |
| SERIES HISTORY |
| Illinois State and the Knights have played just once, a 63-62 UCF win on Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena in the postseason NIT in 2017. UCF's Taylor hit two free throws with one second left on the clock to turn a one-point deficit into a one-point victory. |
| OF NOTE: |
| At 7-6, Tacko Fall is the tallest active college basketball players in the country, and one of the 100 tallest individuals on the planet. |
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