NORMAL - Illinois State opens play in the Missouri Valley Conference on Tuesday afternoon in a New Year's Eve battle with the UNI Panthers at Redbird Arena.
GAME INFORMATION
Illinois State Redbirds (5-7) vs. UNI Panthers (11-1)
When: Tuesday, Dec. 31
Tip-Off: 2 p.m.
Location: Normal, Illinois
Arena: Redbird Arena
TV: NBC Sports Chicago
  Kurt Pegler, play-by-play
  Bob Morris, analyst
Radio:Â WJBC 93.7 & 1230 AM
  Dick Luedke, play-by-play
  Mike Matthews, analyst
QUICK HITTERS
• The game is the final contest of the decade, which has seen Illinois State go a combined 189-145.
• The Illinois State starting group of DJ Horne, Zach Copeland, Ricky Torres, Keith Fisher II and Rey Idowu have a combined jersey total of 23, which is the lowest-such total in head coach Dan Muller's tenure.
• While on defense, Illinois State holds the opposing offense to possessions of 18.9 seconds, which is the fourth-longest such total in NCAA Division I basketball this season, according to KenPom.
• Through 11 games, Illinois State has had nine different players reach double-figure scoring, more than the team had through the entirety of last season. The team also has five different players who have led the team in scoring for at least one game this year.
• 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.
• Against Morehead State, the Redbirds did not allow a MSU player to reach double-figures in the scoring column, the first time that the ISU has held a team without a double-figure scorer in over 10 years.
• 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 (144-103).
• Under head coach Dan Muller, Illinois State is 48-29 all-time in games that are within five points at the end of regulation. ISU is 27-11 in such games over the last four seasons.
• Dan Muller is one of 38 head coaches in Division I to be coaching at his alma mater, and he has the eighth-most wins among members of that group.
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SCOUTING THE PANTHERS
UNI comes into the game receiving votes in the latest AP and Coaches Polls, and have won their last five games after a loss to West Virginia in the Cancun Challenge.
In the team's last game, an 88-80 home win against Marshall, AJ Green scored a team-high 24 points while Trae Berhow added a 23-point, 11-rebound double-double for UNI. Spencer Haldeman added 13 points with Isaiah Brown scoring 12 and Justin Dahl 10. Dahl had a team-high three blocked shots and two steals.
For the season UNI is led by a pair of scorers that are inside of the MVC's top-six in Green (16.6 points per game) and Berhow (15.5), as the pair stand third and sixth, respectively, in the MVC standings. Haldeman also averages in double-figures with 120 points over the 12 games, while Austin Phyfe (8.6) and Brown (8.5) are just behind the double-figure pace.
Phyfe has pulled down a team-best 79 rebounds, while Green paces the team with 40 assists. Phyfe has a team-high seven blocked shots, as Haldeman has 11 steals to pace the Panthers.
LOW JERSEY NUMBERS
With Illinois State's starting lineup over the previous two games, the Redbirds' jersey numbers totaled 23, the lowest combined jersey total in Dan Muller's eight seasons with the program, as the previous low was during the 2013-14 season. Below are the 10 lowest starting five jersey totals in Dan Muller's tenure with the program, and for balance, the 10 highest starting five jersey totals.
|
Rk.
|
Tot
|
Player
|
Season
|
|
1.
|
23
|
00 Horne, 2 Copeland, 3 Torres, 5 Fisher III, 13 Idowu
|
2019-20
|
|
2.
|
28
|
1 Lee, 3 Knight, 4 Hunter, 5 Samuel, 15 Zeisloft
|
2013-14
|
|
3.
|
33
|
1 Lee, 3 Knight, 4 Hunter, 10 Jones, 15 Zeisloft
|
2013-14
|
|
4.
|
37
|
1 Lee, 3 Knight, 10 Jones, 11 McIntosh, 12 Wills
|
2014-15
|
|
5.
|
38
|
00 Gassman, 2 Copeland, 3 Evans, 10 Fayne, 23 Tinsley
|
2018-19
|
|
6.
|
41
|
1 Lee, 3 Knight, 4 Hunter, 11 McIntosh, 22 Lynch
|
2014-15
|
|
7.
|
43
|
00 Horne, 2 Copeland, 5 Fisher, 13 Idowu, 25 Hillsman
|
2019-20
|
|
8.
|
45
|
3 Evans, 4 Nidaye, 5 Hein, 10 Fayne, 23 Tinsley
|
2017-18
|
|
9.
|
45
|
1 Lee, 3 Knight, 4 Hunter, 15 Zeisloft, 22 Lynch
|
2014-15
|
|
10.
|
47
|
1 Lee, 2 Clayton, 10 Fayne, 11 McIntosh, 23 Hawkins
|
2016-17
|
|
Rk.
|
Tot
|
Player
|
Season
|
|
1.
|
124
|
5 Hein, 10 Fayne, 25 Williams, 32 Bruninga, 52 Yarbrough
|
2017-18
|
|
2.
|
122
|
3 Evans, 10 Fayne, 25 Williams, 32 Bruninga, 52 Yarbrough
|
2017-18
|
|
3.
|
117
|
3 Evans, 5 Hein, 25 Williams, 32 Bruninga, 52 Yarbrough
|
2017-18
|
|
4.
|
115
|
1 Lee, 12 Wills, 23 Hawkins, 35 Griffin, 44 Akoon-Purcell
|
2015-16
|
|
5.
|
114
|
1 Brown, 15 Zeisloft, 22 Ekey, 32 Carmichael, 44 Hill
|
2012-13
|
|
6.
|
113
|
3 Evans, 10 Fayne, 23 Tinsley, 25 Williams, 52 Yarbrough
|
2017-18
|
|
7.
|
110
|
3 Evans, 10 Fayne, 22 Chastain, 23 Tinsley, 52 Yarbrough
|
2018-19
|
|
8.
|
109
|
4 Nidaye, 5 Hein, 23 Tinsley, 25 Williams, 52 Yarbrough
|
2017-18
|
|
9.
|
107
|
3 Evans, 4 Ndiaye, 23 Tinsley, 25 Williams, 52 Yarbrough
|
2017-18
|
|
10.
|
101
|
1 Brown, 2 Allen, 22 Ekey, 32 Carmichael, 44 Hill
|
2012-13
|
GETTING DEFENSIVE AT LENGTH
This season Illinois State opponents average an offensive possession length of 18.9 seconds. That time is the fourth-longest defensive possession length in the country, behind only Navy (19.5 seconds per possession), VMI (19.0), and Wofford (18.9). Below are the 10 longest defensive possession lengths in the country according to the basketball stat analysis site KenPom.
|
Rk.
|
Length
|
School
|
|
1.
|
19.5
|
Navy
|
|
2.
|
19.0
|
VMI
|
|
3.
|
18.9
|
Wofford
|
|
4.
|
18.9
|
Illinois State
|
|
5.
|
18.9
|
Washington
|
|
6.
|
18.8
|
Green Bay
|
|
7.
|
18.8
|
Northeastern
|
|
8.
|
18.8
|
UC Davis
|
|
9.
|
18.8
|
Merrimack
|
|
10.
|
18.7
|
Kansas State
|
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.
GOOD IN CLOSE GAMES
Under head coach Dan Muller, the Redbirds are 48-29 all-time in games that are within five points at the end of regulation. His teams have gotten progressively better in the categories, as ISU is 27-11 in such games over the last three seasons.
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