Redbirds Travel West to Face off Against Drake in Des Moines

DES MOINES, Iowa. - The Illinois State Redbirds travel west for a Thursday evening meeting with the Drake Bulldogs in Des Moines. The game was originally scheduled for Wednesday, Jan. 15; however, due to the Democratic National Committee Debate held on the Drake campus on Tuesday evening, the game slid back one day.

GAME INFORMATION
Illinois State Redbirds (6-10, 1-3 MVC) vs. Drake Bulldogs (12-5, 2-2 MVC)
When: Thursday, Jan. 16
Tip-Off: 7 p.m.
Location: Des Moines, Iowa
Arena: Knapp Center
TV: ESPN+
    Larry Morgan, play-by-play
    Adam Emmenecker, analyst
Radio: WJBC 93.7 & 1230 AM
    Dick Luedke, play-by-play
    Mike Matthews, analyst

QUICK HITTERS

• This game was moved from Wednesday to Thursday to help accommodate CNN's Democratic National Committee debate which was held on Tuesday evening.
• 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 eight games. Illinois State also leads the MVC in the number of different leading rebounders and assist leaders.
• Illinois State's opponents use an average of 19.1 seconds per possession, the longest time a defense is on the court per possession NCAA Division I this season.
• This season a pair of Redbird freshmen have peppered their names throughout the freshman record book, as both DJ Horne and Antonio Reeves have two scoring marks inside of the top-10 of Dan Muller-era freshmen.
• 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.
• Dan Muller is one of 38 head coaches across NCAA Division I who are leading their alma maters, and of that list, his 145 victories are the eighth-most, with the top four on that list comprised of Jim Boeheim (Syracuse), Roy Williams (North Carolina), Matt Painter (Purdue), and Bob Huggins (West Virginia).
• 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 men's basketball coach Dan Muller and Drake's head men's basketball coach Darian DeVries met nine times on the basketball court, as each played for MVC schools (Muller for Illinois State and DeVries for Northern Iowa) during the same four seasons. Over the 10 games during those four seasons Illinois State won the series 7-3. Muller averaged 12.7 points against DeVries, while DeVries averaged 11.8 against Illinois State. Page 8 shows the full career numbers vs. each other for Muller and DeVries.
• 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 (.578 / 145-106).
• This season Illinois State has faced seven schools that entered the season picked third or better in their respective conference's preseaon polls.
• Illinois State is 18-10 all-time on January 16, with the last game on this date coming during the 2012-13 season.

SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS

Drake enters the Thursday contest following a 66-61 loss at Valparaiso on Saturday. In the loss, Roman Penn scored 21 points with eight rebounds and seven assists en route to earning MVC Newcomer of the Week honors. Liam Robbins scored 13 points with four blocks, as Garret Sturtz added a dozen points off of the bench.

This season it has been the duo of Robbins (13.1 points per game) and Penn (12.1) to pace the Bulldogs in scoring, while Anthony Murphy (9.9) and D.J. Wilkins (9.7) are near the double-figure plateau.

Sturtz leads the team in rebounds for the year with 105, while Penn has dished out a team-best 102 assists this year - most in the MVC and has added a team-best 26 steals. Robbins' 46 blocked shots also represent the high-water mark in the conference, more than double the next closest player in the conference. 

SPACING OUT THE LEADERS

This year through 16 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. The Redbirds also have had eight different players lead the team in assists and seven lead the team in rebounding, which are also either the highest mark in the conference, or tied for the highest. Below are the teams in the MVC and the total number of different leading scorers, rebounders, and assist leaders each has had this season.

GETTING DEFENSIVE AT LENGTH

This season Illinois State opponents average an offensive possession length of 19.1 seconds. That time is the longest defensive possession length in the country. The remainder of the top-five include Merrimack (19.1), Washington (19.1), Navy (19.0), and Virginia (18.7). 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 ninth-best single-game scoring total under head coach Dan Muller, and his 16 against Missouri State stands seventh. Horne's 22 points against UNI is the most that a freshman has scored that many points in a game under Muller, while his 18 against Indiana State stands third.

SOME "EXTRA" FUN

Illinois State has rattled off seven consecutive overtime wins, dating back to its last extra session loss a year ago to Charleston Southern on Nov. 25, 2017. That stands tied as the third-longest active overtime win streak in the country, as Harvard has won its last ten overtime games, with the last Crimson extra-time loss coming on Jan. 14, 2015 against Boston College. Wyoming had won seven straight overtime games, until its streak was snapped this season on Dec. 11 against Denver. (as of games on 1/7/20)
active consecutive overtime wins