Redbirds Set for First True Road Game of Season at TCU

NORMAL, Ill. - Illinois State will travel to Fort Worth, Texas, for the team's first true road game of the 2019-20 season, as the squad will face off against TCU in an 8 p.m. tip-off.

GAME INFORMATION
Illinois State Redbirds (3-4) vs. TCU Horned Frogs (5-1)
When: Tuesday, December 3
Tip-Off: 8 p.m.
Location: Fort Worth, Texas
Arena: Schollmaier Arena
TV: Fox Sports Southwest+
    Brian Estridge, play-by-play
    Colin Boddicker, analyst
Radio: WJBC (93.7 FM / AM1230) / TuneIn Radio
    Dick Luedke, play-by-play
    Mike Matthews, analyst

QUICK HITTERS

• The game features two of the 38 current coaches that are leading their alma maters. On that list, Dan Muller has the eighth-most wins at their current school, while TCU's head coach Jamie Dixon's 73 wins has him 16th on the list.
• Illinois State went 15-for-15 at the charity stripe against Illinois Springfield, which is the third-best free throw shooting game in program history.
• Additionally to being the third-best free throw shooting game in program history, the 15-for-15 effort is the second-best single-game shooting performance in NCAA Division I this season.
• Through six 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 4-12 all-time against schools within the current iteration of the Big 12 Conference.
• 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 (142-100).
• 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 HORNED FROGS

TCU comes into the non-conference meeting with a 5-1 overall record after a 64-47 win over Wyoming in the final game of the MGM Resorts Main Event. 

In the game, Desmond Bane scored a game-high 22 points while pulling down 11 rebounds for the double-double. PJ Fuller scored 11 points, while Jaire Grayer scored nine points, Jaedon LeDee eight, and Edric Dennis seven. TCU out-rebounded Wyoming 38-to-28 as the Horned Frogs had a 12-to-9 assist-to-turnover ratio.

Bane has scores a team-best 18 points per game, including making 20-of-43 shots from long range, while two others - RJ Nembhard and Kevin Samuel - average in double figures at 13.4 and 10.8 points per game, each. Dennis and Grayer are just off of the double-figure pace averaging 9.5 and 8.8 points per game, as Dennis has dished out a team-best 24 assists. 

Francisco Farabello stands second on the team with 23 assists, while Bane leads the team with 11 steals this season. Samuel has pulled down 51 rebounds to pace the squad, while Bane also has 44 rebounds on the season.

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.

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.