Redbirds Fly West to Battle Bulldogs

NORMAL, Ill. - Illinois State will look to carry the momentum gained after its win over Indiana State into Iowa on Wednesday evening, as the Redbirds travel to take on the Drake Bulldogs in a 7 p.m. tip-off at the Knapp Center.

GAME INFORMATION
Illinois State Redbirds (12-9, 5-3 MVC) vs. Drake Bulldogs (16-5, 5-3 MVC)
When: Wednesday, Jan. 30
Tip-Off: 7 p.m.
Location: Des Moines, Iowa
Arena: Knapp Center
TV: The Valley on ESPN (ESPN+)
    Larry Morgan, play-by-play
    Adam Emmenecker, analyst
Radio: WJBC (AM 1230 / FM 93.7) / TuneIn Radio
    Dick Luedke, play-by-play
    Mike Matthews, analyst
Live Stats: Drake Live Stats 

SETTING THE TABLE

•    Illinois State is 11-0 this season when going into halftime with a lead.
•    The Illinois State pairs of Milik Yarbrough and Phil Fayne (points and rebounds) and Yarbrough and Zach Copeland (assists) rank among the top two pairs in the MVC for their respective stat categories.
•    On his current pace, Milik Yarbrough will just the third Illinois State student-athlete to lead the MVC in scoring.
•    Phil Fayne has 29 blocked shots and 22 steals this season. He is one of 11 student-athletes in the country to have reached the 20-steal and 20-block plateau in each of the last three seasons.
•    Illinois State's 134-89 record during Dan Muller's tenure is the top record in the state of Illinois during that span. 
•    Dan Muller's 134 wins are the ninth-most among coaches who are currently at their alma maters. 
•    Milik Yarbrough is one of four student-athletes in the country to rank in the top-five of his conference in points, rebounds, and assists. 
•    Yarbrough owns a career scoring average of 16.5 points against the Drake Bulldogs, while Keyshawn Evans averages 14.5. Current ISU head coach Dan Muller averaged 12.1 points per game against the Bulldogs in his four years as a student-athlete at Illinois State. 
•    Illinois State is 24-7 over the last two years in games that are within five points at the end of regulation. 
•    Milik Yarbrough has been named to the Lou Henson Award watch list, given annually to the top mid-major student-athlete in the country.
•    Illinois State has won its last seven overtime games, the second-longest active such win streak in the country.
•    Illinois State head coach Dan Muller was named to the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame Silver Anniversary Team. 
•    ISU's Keyshawn Evans is tied for sixth in the school's career three-point record book in career makes, and seventh in attempts. 
•    In each of the last five seasons, Illinois State has out-performed its MVC coaches preseason poll prediction.
•    Illinois State is 19-11 all-time on January 30. 

SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS

Drake comes into the battle between two of the three teams tied for second in the MVC riding a four-game win streak, including most recently a 70-59 win at Valparaiso.

In the win, D.J. Wilkins scored 20 points, as five players reached double-figure scoring. Anthony Murphy scored 12, Tremell Murphy and Nick McGlynn each scored 11, and Brady Ellingsworth scored 10. Anthony Murphy pulled down a game-high-tying nine rebounds, while Wilkins dished out four assists. 

For the season, McGlynn leads the Bulldogs in points (16.0), rebounds (8.1) and blocked shots (1.3). Wilkins (11.5) and Ellingston (10.8) each average double-figure points, while Wilkins has dished out 62 assists.

PAIRING UP

The top pair of players for Illinois State rank near the top in the MVC among other schools' top two in points, rebounds, and assists. In fact, Illinois State's top pair in each category rank in the top two in each of the three, including tied for the lead in assists. Milik Yarbrough and Phil Fayne combine to average 32.4 points per game, which is the second-highest top-two average in the conference, while the same pair average 13.8 rebounds per game – also second-best. Yarbrough and Zach Copeland combine to average 7.2 assists per game, tied for the top spot in the league.

LEADING THE SCORERS

This season through 20 games, Illinois State senior Milik Yarbrough leads the Missouri Valley Conference in scoring. He is putting himself on pace to become just the third player in program history to lead the MVC in scoring.

20-20 VISION

This season Phil Fayne has 29 blocked shots and 22 steals, the third straight season that Fayne has eclipsed at least 20 in both categories. That puts him as one of 11 student-athletes currently active in NCAA men's basketball to have done it over the last three seasons. The others include: Nicholas Baer (Iowa), Malik Benlevi (Georgia State), Kevarrius Hayes (Florida), Cameron Jackson (Wofford), Nick Mayo (Eastern Kentucky), Ed Polite, Jr. (Radford), Nate Renfro (San Francisco), Tahjai Teague (Ball State), Matissa Thybulle (Washington), and Grant Williams (Tennessee).