NORMAL, Ill. - The Illinois State Redbirds will put its unblemished record on the line on Sunday, as the squad plays host to the Knights of UCF in a 1 p.m. tip-off at Redbird Arena..
GAME INFORMATION
Illinois State Redbirds (2-0) vs. UCF Knights (1-1)
When: Sunday, November 17, 2019
Tip-Off: 1Â p.m. (CT)
Location: Normal, Ill.
Arena: Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena
TV: NBC Sports Chicago / ESPN3
  Kurt Pegler, play-by-play
  Bob Morris, analyst
Radio:Â WJBC (AM1230) / TuneIn Radio
  Dick Luedke, play-by-play
  Mike Matthews, analyst
Live Stats: Illinois State Live Stats
QUICK HITTERS
• The game is the third meeting between the two teams spanning over the last four seasons.Â
• The Redbirds are looking for their first 3-0 start since the 2012-13 team started the season 5-0.
• Illinois State is hosting its first three games of the season for the first time since 2007-08 (the team started 3-0 that season).
• The Redbirds face off against seven opponents picked in the top four of their conference pre-season polls, including Belmont (1st), Bowling Green (t-1), Western Kentucky (1), Northern Kentucky (2), UIC (2), UTSA (2), and Cincinnati (3).
• Illinois State head coach Dan Muller is 6-13 all-time against teams currently in the American Athletic Conference. When facing off against teams as members of the AAC, Muller is 3-3 including a two-gme sweep of Tulsa during the 2017-18 season.
• According to the statistical website KenPom.com that predicts home court advantages based off of an algorythm, Redbird Arena is the fifth-toughest place to play in the country with a home court advantage of 4.4.
• Illinois State has won its last seven overtime games, the third-longest such streak in the country behind Marquette (10) and Harvard (8).
• Since Dan Muller has taken over as head coach, Illinois State has the best record within the state of Illinois (141-96).
• Under head coach Dan Muller, Illinois State is 47-26 all-time in games that are within five points at the end of regulation. ISU is 26-8 in such games over the last four seasons.
• Five times in the last six seasons Illinois State has bettered its preseason MVC poll prediction.
• Dan Muller is one of 38 head coaches in NCAA Division I to be coaching at their alma maters, and on that list, he ranks eighth with 140 victories.
• Illinois State is 3-1 all-time on November 17, including a 68-64 win over Northwestern in 2013.
• Over the first two games of the season, Illinois State has made 15-of-21 from long range in the second half, a stellar percentage of 71.4.
• Illinois State has trailed in both games this season by at least nine points, before rallying in each game.
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SCOUTING THE KNIGHTS
UCF comes into the game after falling 79-70 in its last game to the Miami Hurricanes on Tuesday evening.
In the game, Frank Bertz and Darin Green Jr. each scored 13 points, while Ceasar DeJesus scored 11. Two players, Dazon Ingram and Bertz each dished out a team-high four assists, while Ibrahim Famouke Doumbia pulled down seven rebounds, helping the Knights out-rebound Miami 40-to-33 in the game.
This season UCF has five players averaging in double-figure scoring, led by Ingram's 12.5 point per game average. Collin Smith (11.0), DeJesus (11.0), Bertz (10.5) and Green (10.5) all average in double-figure scoring. Ingram has pulled down a team-best 13 rebounds for UCF, as Ingram and Bertz lead the team with six assists apiece.
PRESEASON STRONG
Of Illinois State's 12 non-conference opponents, seven were picked to finish inside of their top four of the conference preseason polls, including Belmont and Bowling Green/Western Kentucky who were each picked to win their conferences. Below is a list of where the ISU opponents were picked to finish this season.
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 an 88-24 record at home, including a 16-1 mark during the 2016-17 season and a 12-4 mark in 2018-19.Â
CLOSING WITH STRONG SHOOTING
This season the Illinois State Redbirds have closed out games strong, and long-range shooting has had a major impact on that. Against Belmont, the Redbirds made 9-of-13 shots from long range in the second half, for a percentage of 69.2. Four days later against Little Rock, ISU converted on 6-of-8 long range shots in the second half. Over the first two games of the season, Illinois State has made 15-of-21 of its second-half shots from beyond the three-point arc.
RALLY FOR THE WIN
This season Illinois State has trailed by at least nine points in both of its games, before rallying for the win. In both situations, the opponent held a lead with under five minutes left in the game, before the Redbirds ran off runs of 10-4 against Belmont and 9-0 against Little Rock to help pull away for the victory.
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