NORMAL - After evening the team's record with a 10-point win over UMass Lowell, the Illinois State Redbirds head home for their first home game of the 2020-21 season, as ISU hosts the highly offensive-minded attack of Greenville in a Wednesday afternoon battle.
QUICK HITTERS
• Illinois State junior Josiah Strong was named the season's first MVC Newcomer of the Week, announced by the MVC office on Monday, November 30.
• This season's Illinois State team has the seventh-highest average height in program history, as the 15 players on the team have an average height of 6-5.80.
• The Redbirds have no seniors on this season's team, the seventh time in program history a squad had no seniors. Of the six previous occurrences, four times the team made a postseason (NCAA or NIT) the following season. Illinois State is one of 10 NCAA Division I schools with no seniors on their roster.
• Along with having no seniors and just four juniors, the team's average athletic year is 1.80 (freshman = 1, seniors  = 4), which is tied for the least experienced team in program history.
• Illinois State has four players from outside of the United States, the most foreign players on a Redbird team in program history. The previous most was from the 1996-97, 2012-13, and 2013-14 seasons that had three players each from outside of the USA.
• There are 11 current NCAA Division I head coaches that either played or coached at Illinois State, including two other head coaches in the Missouri Valley Conference.
• Illinois State head coach Dan Muller is one of 34 head coaches in the country who is coaching at his alma mater. Of that group, he has the seventh-most victories. Leading the list is Jim Boeheim (Syracuse), Roy Williams (North Carolina), Matt Painter (Purdue), and Bob Huggins (West Virginia).
• Illinois State is 150-118 under head coach Dan Muller. Since he took over, he has the second-best record in the state of Illinois.
• With five steals against UMass Lowell, DJ Horne not only tied a career-high, but is also tied for the ninth-most steals in a game by a sophomore in Illinois State basketball history. The sophomore record is held by the trio of Vince Greene, Ron Jones, and Bubbles Hawkins who each had seven steals against Evansville, Northern Illinois, and Louisville, respectively.
• Illinois State is 15-10 all-time on December 2.
• The Redbirds and the Drake Bulldogs are tied for the MVC lead in scoring offense, averaging 74.5 points per game, while Abdou Ndiaye leads the MVC in blocked shots per game.
SCOUTING THE PANTHERS
NCAA Division III Greenville comes into the game after having dropped its first three games of the season - all to NCAA Division I schools. The Panthers are averaging 97.0 points per game over the three games, while giving up an average of 161.7 points.Â
Kenneth Cooley leads Greenville in scoring , averaging 14.0 points per game, while Jarred Johnson averages 13.0 and Romello Ball 10.3. In all, 16 different players have scored this season, with 12 different players having hit a three-point basket.Â
In the team's last game, a 173-95 loss to Murray State, Ball scored a team-best 15 points points while Cooley and Kameron Vinsel each scored 12. Greenville took 107 shots in the loss, 74 of which came from beyond the arc. Murray State made 77-of-105 shots from the field (74%), and had 10 players reach double-figures in the scoring column, led by KJ Williams' 22 points.
TALL TEAM
With the team having four players standing 6-9 or taller, this Illinois State squad has the seventh-biggest average height of any team in program history with an average height of 6-5.80, this years' team trails the tallest two teams (1976-77 and 1987-88) by just over 1/4 of an inch per player.
BABY BIRDS
This season's Illinois State men's basketball team has no seniors and just four juniors, with the remaining 11 student-athletes being of sophomore or freshman age. The average athletic year for the Redbirds this season is 1.80 (freshman =1, senior =4), which is tied for the youngest squad in program history.
FEW SENIORS
For the 2020-21 season, Illinois State has zero seniors on its roster. Since 1962-63, there have been just six other Redbird rosters with no seniors. Those other seasons include 1965-66, 1988-89, 1996-97, 2011-12, 2013-14, and 2017-18. In six of those previous seasons, four times the team advanced to postseason play the following season, three times (1966-67, 1989-90, 1997-98) the team earned a spot in the NCAA Tournament, while the 2014-15 team advanced to the NIT second round.
Illinois State is also one of 10 schools in the country without a senior on the squad. The other nine schools include Auburn, Belmont, Colorado State, Florida, Memphis, Rice, St. Bonaventure, Tulane, and USC Upstate.
NOT FROM AROUND HERE
The first Redbird student-athlete to come from outside of the United Stats was Roy Herald, a native of Finland, that played for Illinois State from 1977 through 1981. Since then 16 foreign-native student-athletes have played for the Redbirds. This season's team has four foreign-born student-athletes, the most on a single team in program history. The previous high mark for foreign players was three, set three times, the first in 1996-97, along with 2012-13 and 2013-14.Â
STEALING AWAY
With five steals against UMass Lowell, DJ Horne not only tied a career-high, but is also tied for the ninth-most steals in a game by a sophomore in Illinois State basketball history. The sophomore record is held by the trio of Vince Greene, Ron Jones, and Bubbles Hawkins who each had seven steals against Evansville, Northern Illinois, and Louisville, respectively.
NEW AWARD WINNER
Illinois State junior Josiah Strong was named the opening MVC Newcomer of the Week in the conference, after he averaged 18.0 points per game over the two games for the Redbirds, which was tied for the second-highest scoring average in the MVC through the opening weekend. He made 11-of-25 shots over the two games, a percentage of 44.0, and converted on 6-of-13 (46.2%) from long range. He ended the week a perfect 8-of-8 from the free throw line, ranking 15th in the country in free throw percentage in terms of percentage and number of makes.
ILLINOIS STATE vs ST. LOUIS INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETIC CONFERENCE
Illinois State, in its history, has faced off against four schools currently in the SLIAC, and ISU holds a 54-26 all-time record in those games. Of those 80 games, 76 had come against Eureka College, whom Illinois State leads 50-26. The Redbirds are undefeated all-time against Iowa Wesleyan (2-0), Greenville (1-0), and Westminster (1-0).
REDBIRD BRANCHES IN THE COACHING TREE
There are 11 current head coaches across NCAA Division I basketball that have spent time in Normal, Illinois, as either a student-athlete or coach. In addition to ISU's current head coach Dan Muller, who was a student-athlete in the program from 1994-98, the list also includes new Wake Forest head coach Steve Forbes (assistant during 2003-04 season), SMU's Tim Jankovich (head coach, 2007-12), Monmouth's King Rice (assistant, 1993-98), New Mexico State's Chris Jans (assistant, 2004-07), Tennessee State's Brian Collins (assistant, 2017-18), new UIC head coach Luke Yaklich (student-manager at ISU from 1993-98, assistant 2013-17), SIU Edwardsville's Brian Barone (assistant, 2003-07), Missouri State's Dana Ford (student-athlete at ISU, 2002-06; assistant  2012-14), Loyola Chicago's Porter Moser (head coach, 2003-07), and Chicago State's Lance Irvin (assistant, 2002-03).
