Redbirds Head to Indiana for Battle with Sycamores

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - Illinois State travels to Terre Haute to take on the Indiana State Sycamores in a battle of two teams that currently sport a 1-2 record in MVC play.

GAME INFORMATION
Illinois State Redbirds (6-9, 1-2 MVC) vs. Indiana State Sycamores (8-6, 1-2 MVC)
When: Saturday, Jan. 11
Tip-Off: 1 p.m.
Location: Terre Haute, Ind.
Arena: Hulman Center
TV: ESPN+
    Luke Martin, play-by-play
    Matt Renn, analyst
Radio: WJBC 93.7 & 1230 AM
    Dick Luedke, play-by-play
    Mike Matthews, analyst

QUICK HITTERS

• Illinois State has had eight different players lead the team in scoring this season, which is the highest such total in the MVC and have had six different leading scorers (including ties) over the last seven games.
• Illinois State's win after trailing by 15 in the MVC opener against UNI stands tied for the 11th-largest single-game comeback in program history.
• The team in the win over UNI trailed at the halftime break by 10 points. Coming back for the win, it was the 10th-largest halftime deficit overcome in Illinois State history.
• Illinois State associate head coach Brian Jones and Indiana State head coach Greg Lansing spent seven seasons on staff as assistant coaches together at Iowa, while current Illinois State assistant coach Marcus Belcher had seven seasons on staff with Lansing at Indiana State.
• This season the Illinois State defense forces opponents to use 19.2 seconds per possession, the second-longest total in the country.
• Illinois State and Redbird head coach Dan Muller has a 48-30 record over his career in games that are within five points at the end of regulation, and are 27-12 in those games over the last three seasons.
• When DJ Horne scored 22 points against UNI, it was the highest total ever scored by a freshman in head coach Dan Muller's tenure as head coach, topping the 20 points that Taylor Bruninga scored against BYU on Dec. 6, 2017. Antonio Reeves' 16 points against Missouri State stands sixth on that same list.
• When the Redbirds topped Morehead State earlier this season, it kept the Eagles from having a player reach double-figure scoring, the first time that ISU has held an opponent without a double-figure scorer since November, 2008.
• Illinois State head coach Dan Muller is one of 38 coaches currently leading their alma maters. He stands eighth in wins among that group, which is led by Syracuse's Jim Boeheim.
• According to the statistical website KenPom.com that predicts home court advantages based off of an algorithm, Redbird Arena is the ninth-toughest place to play in the country.
• Illinois State has won its last seven overtime games, the third-longest such streak in the country behind Harvard (10) and Florida State (8).
• Since Dan Muller has taken over as head coach, Illinois State has the best winning percentage within the state of Illinois (.580 / 145-105).
• This season Illinois State has faced seven schools that entered the season picked third or better in their respective conference's preseaon polls.

SCOUTING THE SYCAMORES

Indiana State comes into the game looking to snap out of its two game losing skid which had losses at Drake and at UNI, and will host the Redbirds in the first home game for the Sycamores in the 2020 calendar year.

In the last game, a 68-60 loss at UNI, Tyreke Key scored a team-high 14 points, as Jake LaRavia scored 12 and Christian Williams 10. The Sycamores were led in rebounding by LaRavia who had six rebounds, as the team was out-rebounded 33-to-20 in the contest. Key gave out three of the team's eight assists, while Jordan Barnes and Williams each picked up a pair of steals.

For the season the Redbirds are led by Key who averages 17.9 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. Barnes averages 12.2 points, while dishing out a team-best 54 assists. Cooper Neese is just off of the double-figure pace averaging 9.3 points per game, while LaRavia averages 8.6 points, including averaging 14.0 points per game over the team's last five games.

Tre Williams leads the team with 17 blocked shots over 14 games, while Barnes has 27 of the team's 82 steals this season. 

SPREADING OUT THE LEADING SCORERS

This year through 15 games of the season, Illinois State has had eight different players lead the team in scoring (Zach Copeland, Dedric Boyd, Ricky Torres, Rey Idowu, Keith Fisher III, DJ Horne, Jaycee Hillsman, and Antonio Reeves), which is the highest-such total in the MVC this season. Below are the teams in the MVC and the total number of different leading scorers each has had this season.

DON'T CALL IT A COMEBACK

Or do call it a comeback, we're just taking the advice of LL Cool J. On Dec. 31, Illinois State rallied from a 15-point first-half deficit to secure a 76-70 win over UNI. It was the 11th-best comeback in program history. Below are the 11 largest comebacks in a game in Illinois State basketball history.

In the same game against UNI, Illinois State trailed by 10 at the halftime break, which is tied for the 10th-largest halftime deficit overcome.

FAMILIAR FACE

With Illinois State heading to Terre Haute, it will be a homecoming of sorts for current Redbird assistant coach Marcus Belcher, who came to Normal after a seven-year stint as assistant coach with the Sycamores. Illinois State's other new assistant coach - Brian Jones  and Indiana State head coach Greg Lansing spent seven seasons together as assistant coaches with the Iowa Hawkeyes.

GETTING DEFENSIVE AT LENGTH

This season Illinois State opponents average an offensive possession length of 19.1 seconds. That time is the second-longest defensive possession length in the country, behind just Navy (19.6 seconds per possession). Below are the 10 longest defensive possession lengths in the country according to the basketball stat analysis site KenPom.

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 eighth-best single-game scoring total under head coach Dan Muller and his 16 against Missouri State stands sixth, while Horne's 22 points against UNI is the most that a freshman has scored that many points in a game under Muller.