Men's Basketball Returns to Action with Sunday Meeting Against Norse

HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - After eight days between games to let Illinois State student-athletes concentrate final exams, the Redbirds return to action on Sunday afternoon to battle the Northern Kentucky Norse.

GAME INFORMATION
Illinois State Redbirds (4-5) vs. Northern Kentucky Norse (7-3)
When: Sunday, December 15
Tip-Off: 1 p.m.
Location: Highland Heights, Ky.
Arena: BB&T Arena
TV: Fox Sports Ohio / ESPN+
    Brady Laber, play-by-play
    Brad Redford, analyst
Radio: WJBC 93.7 & 1230 AM / TuneIn Radio
    Greg Halbleib, play-by-play
    Mike Matthews, analyst

QUICK HITTERS

• The game is the first all-time between the two programs; however, NKU head coach Darrin Horn is 0-1 all-time against Illinois State as the Redbirds beat Horn's Western Kentucky squad 66-65 in overtime on Dec. 16, 2003.
• Illinois State freshmen Antonio Reeves and DJ Horne have climbed into the top-10 in the Dan Muller-era for single-game points for a freshman.
• Against Morehead State, the Illinois State defense did not allow a double-figure scorer, the first time the Redbirds have accomplished that feat since November 29, 2008.
• Through nine games, Illinois State has had nine different players reach double-figure scoring, more than the team had through the entirety of last season.
• Illinois State scored 51 points from its bench in a narrow loss to UCF, which is the highest reserve total in head coach Dan Muller's tenure with the squad.
• The Redbirds face off against seven opponents picked in the top four of their conference pre-season polls, including Belmont (1st), Western Kentucky (1), Northern Kentucky (2), UTSA (2), Grand Canyon (2), UIC (3), and Cincinnati (3).
• Illinois State sophomore Dedric Boyd scored 22 points off of the bench against UCF on Nov. 17, which is the fifth-most points by an individual off the bench in Muller's tenure.
• Illinois State is 55-16 against the 10 current schools in the Horizon League, and have played against nine of the 10 schools. ISU head coach Dan Muller is 6-2 all-time against teams from the league.
• According to the statistical website KenPom.com that predicts home court advantages based off of an algorithm, Redbird Arena is the fourth-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 (143-101).
• Under head coach Dan Muller, Illinois State is 47-29 all-time in games that are within five points at the end of regulation. ISU is 26-11 in such games over the last four seasons.
• Five times in the last six seasons Illinois State has bettered its preseason MVC poll prediction.
 

SCOUTING THE NORSE

Northern Kentucky comes into the weekend game having won its last two games, including a 76-57 win over Eastern Kentucky on Dec. 9.

In the win over the Colonels, the Norse put five players in double-figure scoring, led by 18 points from Dantrez Walton and Trevon Faulkner. Bryson Langdon scored 14 points while Tyler Sharpe and Adrian Nelson each added 10 points. 

Walton pulled down a game-high nine rebounds, as the Norse out-rebounded EKU 39-to-22 in the contest. Sharpe - who played all 40 minutes in the game - led the team with three steals while Faulkner dished out seven assists.

On the season, Walton - the three-time reigning Horizon Player of the Week - leads the team in scoring (18.3) and rebounding (7.3). Sharpe (12.8) and Faulkner (12.6) each average in double-figures. Langdon is the team leader in assists with 32 this season, while Faulkner is close behind with 28 assists this year. Sharpe has a team-best 20 steals while Walton and Faulkner each have 15. 

FRESHMAN SCORING

This season Illinois State has a pair of freshman in Antonio Reeves and DJ Horne have climbed into the top-10 in the Dan Muller-coached era for single-game points for a freshman. Reeves' 15 points at TCU stands tied for the sixth-best single-game scoring total under head coach Dan Muller, while Horne's 14 points against Morehead State are one of nine times that a freshman has scored that many points in a game under Muller.

FLIPPING THE SCRIPT

Coming into Illinois State's game against UIS, the Redbirds had made just 61.9 percent of its free throws on the season, a total that ranked 314th of 350 teams in NCAA Division I. Against the Prairie Stars, the Redbirds went a perfect 15-of-15 at the charity stripe, the second-best single-game free throw shooting day in the country. Over the course of one game Illinois State's percentage rose to 69.2 percent, and the team climbed to 191st in the country.

PERFECT AT THE LINE

Illinois State's 15-for-15 effort at the free throw line is the third-best single-game shooting performance in program history. Below are the five best single-game free throw shooting games in the history of the program.

NO DOUBLE-FIGURE SCORERS

Against Morehead State, Illinois State kept the Eagles from having a scorer reach double-figures. It was the first time that ISU has held an opponent from recording a double-figure scorer since the 2008-09 season. Below are the eight most recent times where a Redbird opponent has not had a single player in double-figure points.

NEAR THE TOP OF THE NCAA

When Illinois State converted on all 15 of its free throw tries against UIS, it climbed into second this season in the NCAA national rankings for single-game free throw makes, behind only Harvard's perfect 22-of-22 effort against Texas A&M a day earlier. Below are the top-eight single-game free throw performances in the NCAA this season.

PRESEASON STRONG

Of Illinois State's 11 non-conference opponents, seven were picked to finish inside of their top four of the conference preseason polls, including Belmont and 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.