Illinois State Takes to Road for Non-Conference Battle

MUNCIE, Ind. - The Illinois State Redbirds take to the road for the final time in the non-conference season, as the squad travels to Muncie, Indiana, to take on the Ball State Cardinals in the first meeting between the two teams since the 2007-08 season.

QUICK HITTERS

• In Illinois State's win over Greenville, the Redbirds set new NCAA Division I records in field goal percentage (84.3%) and total assists (57). The program also scored the fourth-most points, had the fourth-highest single-half scoring output, and the sixth-highest combined score total in NCAA Division I history.
• With his 30 points against Greenville, Illinois State freshman Emon Washington became just the fifth freshman in program history to reach the 30-point plateau, and is the first since Bubbles Hawkins accomplished the feat on February 16, 1973.
• 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.
• Against Greenville, two Redbirds, DJ Horne and Josiah Strong had point / assist double-doubles. It was the second time in program history that two players had point / assist double-doubles in the same game, and the first time since the 1973-74 season.
• The Redbirds have no seniors on this season's team, the seventh time in program history an ISU squad had no seniors. Of the six previous occurrences, four times the team made a postseason (NCAA or NIT) the following season. ISU is one of 10 NCAA Division I schools with no seniors on their roster this year.
• 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 is 10-6 all-time on December 12.
• 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 151-119 under head coach Dan Muller. Since he took over, he has the second-best record in the state of Illinois.
• Illinois State has faced off against 11 of the 12 schools currently in the MAC, including a 66-36 record all-time against Northern Illinois.

BIG NUMBERS

With Illinois State's bit 177-108 win over Greenville, the Redbirds edged their way into a number of NCAA Division I all-time top-10 stat totals, including new NCAA records in assists (57) and field goal percentage (84.3%), and top-ten standings in total points (177), combined points for both teams (285), and scoring in a half (94).
 

YOUNG SCORER

In the team's big win over Greenville, Illinois State freshman Emon Washington made 12-of-13 shots from the field for a team-high 30 points. The field goal percentage set a new single-game school record, while becoming just the fifth freshman in school history to reach the 30-point plateau. The last freshman to score 30 points in a game was Bubbles Hawkins against Jacksonville on February 16, 1973.
 

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.

CRYING FOWL

Of the school mascots in the Missouri Valley Conference, you have dogs (Drake, Southern Illinois), cats (UNI), bears (Missouri State), people (Rambler, Brave, Ace, Crusader), and even a tree (Sycamores). The Redbirds are the only fowl in the MVC, and are a smaller number across the country (55 total). Every season since 1966-67 the Redbirds have faced a bird mascot, including some outliers in the bird field such as UTSA (Roadrunner), UT Martin (Skyhawk), and Youngstown State (Penguin). The last time that Illinois State has faced a same-ish mascot (Cardinal) was on Dec. 1, 2012 when the Redbirds fell at #5 Louisville 69-66. Of the bird mascots in Division I, hawks and their varieties are the most popular (16 total), while there are 15 eagles. There are five "Cardinals" including Illinois State, Ball State, Louisville, Incarnate Word, and Lamar.

DOUBLE, DOUBLE-DOUBLE

With Illinois State's win over Greenville, two Redbird student-athletes: DJ Horne and Josiah Strong had point/assist double-doubles. The game was the first time that a Redbird student-athlete with a point/assist double-double since Paris Lee had an 18-point, 11-assist double-double against New Mexico on December 3, 2016, and it was the second time in program history that ISU had two players with point/assist double-doubles, joining Redbird legends Bubbles Hawkins and Rick Whitlow who had similar double-doubles on December 15, 1973 against Central Michigan.
 

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. 

BIG MILESTONES

In Illinois State's win over Greenville, the program also set numerous school, conference, and arena records. Among the school records set include: Points in a game, points in the first half, points in the second half, scoring margin, field goals made, field goal percentage, and assists. The MVC records set include: Points in a game, combined points, field goals made, field goal percentage in a game, and assists, while the  Redbird Arena records that were erased include points (previous mark was 105), points in first half, points in second half, scoring margin, field goals made, field goal percentage, rebound margin, assists, and the second-most field goals attempted and rebounds.

ILLINOIS STATE VS THE MAC

Illinois State has a strong 146-100 overall record against teams in the Mid-American Conference, and has faced off against 11 of the 12 schools in the conference, and only have not faced Toledo. Of those games, 102 have come against Northern Illinois, with the Redbirds holding a 66-36 lead against the Huskies.