Redbirds Host Bradley in Rivalry Game on Saturday

NORMAL, Ill. - Illinois State hosts in-state rival Bradley on Saturday evening in a series that has seen the Redbirds win 39 of 60 games at home against the Braves.

GAME INFORMATION
Illinois State Redbirds (14-12, 7-6 MVC) vs. Bradley Braves (14-12, 6-7 MVC)
When: Saturday, Feb. 16
Tip-Off: 7 p.m.
Location: Normal, Ill.
Arena: Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena
TV: ESPN2
    Drew Fellios, play-by-play
    Malcolm Huckaby, analyst
Radio: WJBC (FM 93.7 and AM1230) / TuneIn Radio
    Dick Luedke, play-by-play
    Mike Matthews, analyst
Live Stats: Illinois State Live Stats 

SETTING THE TABLE

•    Illinois State is 13-1 this season when going into halftime with a lead, and 6-1 in games in which it shoots over 50 percent from the field.
•    The Illinois State top two in points, rebounds, and assists rank near the top in the MVC in all three categories. The tandem of Milik Yarbrough and Phil Fayne average 31.9 points per game (second best pair in the league) while also averaging 13.1 rebounds per game (third best). Yarbrough and Zach Copeland combine to average 6.6 assists per game, which is second-best in the conference.
•    The Redbirds are 86-23 under head coach Dan Muller within the confines of Redbird Arena, including a 38-7 record over the last three seasons.
•    Yarbrough is on pace to become the first ISU player since Tarise Bryson in 1999-00 to lead the program in points, rebounds, and assists in the same season. There have been just seven MVC student-athletes over the last 10 years to accomplish this feat.
•    Fayne is one of just 17 student-athletes in the country to have reached 20 blocks and 20 steals over each of the last three seasons.
•    ISU teams coached by Dan Muller have a combined 45-26 record in games that are decided by five points or less at the end of regulation. Over the last three seasons the team is 24-8 in those games.
•    Yarbrough is closing in on 1,000 career points. If he is to accomplish the milestone, he and his father (Del Yarbrough) will be the only father/son combination to each be in the program's 1,000-point club, and one of only a handful of such combinations in NCAA Division I basketball to accomplish the feat at the same school.
•    Illinois State's 136-92 record over the last seven seasons gives the Redbirds the top record in the state of Illinois during that span.
•    Behind his 21-point night against UNI, Fayne climbed into 31st in the school's career scoring record book and is 18 points away from moving into a tie for 27th.
•    Dan Muller is one of 30 head coaches in NCAA Division I basketball to be coaching at his alma mater. Of that group, he ranks ninth in career wins at the school with 136.
•    Illinois State has won its last seven overtime games, which is tied with Harvard for the second-longest such active win streak in the country.
•    Senior guard Keyshawn Evans stands sixth in school history in career three-pointers made (191) and is 13 behind current ISU head coach Dan Muller for fifth on the list.
•    Illinois State is 21-14 all-time on February 16.

SCOUTING THE BRAVES

Bradley enters the weekend game having won three straight games, including at home against Loyola on Wednesday.

In the win, Darrell Brown scored a game-high 21 points while Elijah Childs scored 13 and Luuk van Bree had a 11-point, 10-rebound double-double. Nate Kennell dished out a team-high four assists off of the bench in the win.

This season Brown leads the team in scoring, averaging 15.3 points per game while Childs is the only other Braves' player in double-figures at 11.9. Kennell (9.2) and Dwayne Lautier-Ogunleye (8.4) are both near the double-figure plateau.

Childs pulls down a team-best 7.8 rebounds per game, while Brown's 78 assists and 29 steals are both the high mark on the team.

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 rank in the top three in each of the three categories, including second in assists. Milik Yarbrough and Phil Fayne combine to average 31.9 points per game, which is the second-highest top-two average in the conference, while the same pair average 13.1 rebounds per game – which is third-best. Yarbrough and Zach Copeland combine to average 6.6 assists per game, the second-highest pairs average.

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 86-23 record at home, including a 16-1 mark during the 2016-17 season and a 10-3 mark in 2018-19. 

LEADING IN POINTS, REBOUNDS, AND ASSISTS

Milik Yarbrough currently leads the Illinois State Redbirds in points, rebounds, and assists. His current trajectory would put him as one of just seven MVC student-athletes in the last 10 seasons to lead their teams in each of the respective categories. The others on that list are Alize Johnson (Missouri State, 2017-18), Jeremy Morgan (UNI, 2016-17), Seth Tuttle (UNI, 2014-15), Desmar Jackson (Southern Illinois, 2013-14), Anthony Downing (Missouri State, 2012-13), Mamadou Seck (Southern Illinois, 2011-12).

He would also be the first Illinois State student-athlete to lead the team in all three categories since Tarise Bryson during the 1999-00 season when Bryson scored 578 points, pulled down 124 rebounds and dished out 105 assists.

20-20 VISION

This season Phil Fayne has 36 blocked shots and 26 steals and is one of 108 student-athletes to have at least 20 in both categories this season. Of that group, Fayne is one of just 17 student-athletes that have accomplished the 20-steal and 20-block plateau in each of the last three seasons. The others include: Nicholas Baer (Iowa), Malik Benlevi (Georgia State), AJ Brodeur (Penn), Andrew Eudy (Campbell),  Tarkus Ferguson (UIC), Ethan Happ (Wisconsin), Kevarrius Hayes (Florida), Cameron Jackson (Wofford), Alex Long (Norfolk State), Nick Mayo (Eastern Kentucky), Zane Najdawi (Citadel), Ed Polite, Jr. (Radford), Nate Renfro (San Francisco), Tahjai Teague (Ball State), Matissa Thybulle (Washington), and Grant Williams (Tennessee).

GOOD IN CLOSE GAMES

Under head coach Dan Muller, the Redbirds are 45-26 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 24-8 in such games over the last three seasons.

LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON

Illinois State senior Milik Yarbrough was no stranger to the Illinois State basketball program when he laced up his shoes for ISU at the beginning of last season. His father, Del Yarbrough, played for the Redbirds from 1976-80, and ranks 27th in career points (1,191), and 10th in career rebounds (750) in program history.