CHICAGO - The Illinois State Redbirds open play in the MVC on Sunday afternoon, in the first of two consecutive games against the Loyola Ramblers in the new MVC regular-season scheduling format.
QUICK HITTERS
• Illinois State tied a school record against Chicago State with 17 made three-point baskets, which are also tied for the 22nd-most in a game in NCAA Division I this season.
• This season Illinois State has 11 players who have scored in double-figures this season, which is the highest total in the MVC this season. The team has also had four different players score at least 20 points in a game, which is tied for the top mark in the conference.
• 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 (freshmen = 1, senior  = 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 - one of which is on the opposing sideline for the two games this weekend.
• 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).
SCOUTING THE RAMBLERS
Loyola comes into the game after snapping a two-game losing skid with a 92-55 win over St. Francis (Ill.) on Tuesday afternoon.
In the game, Tom Welch and Baylor Hebb each scored 17 points. Jacob Hutson scored 15 points, as Aher Uguak and Tate Hall scored 11 and 10, respectively. The Ramblers made 33-of-48 shots from the field (68.8 percent) and 12-of-19 (63.2 percent) from beyond the arc.
For the season Cameron Krutwig leads the team in scoring, averaging 17.0 points per game, with Tate Hall pouring in 10.0. Braden Norris and Lucas Williamson are just off of the double-figure pace with scoring averages of 9.7 and 8.8, respectively.Â
Krutwig also leads the team in rebounding, pulling down 6.4 boards per game, as the Ramblers out-rebound their opponents by an average of 6.3 rebounds per contest. Norris leads the team in assists with 18 (3.0 per game), while Williamson is just behind with 14 helpers. Krutwig has eight of the team's 12 blocked shots this year, while Hall and Williamson each lead the team with five steals.
LONG RANGE RECORDS
Against Chicago State, the Redbirds made a school-record-tying 17 three-point baskets on 36 attempts. The makes also set a Redbird Arena record and tied with two other times in school history in the ISU record books.
LOTS OF SCORERS
Through six games of the season, Illinois State has had 11 players reach the double-figure scoring plateau. That total is the top mark in the MVC this season. Additionally, There have been four players who have scored at least 20 points in a game, which is tied for the top mark in the MVC. Below are the MVC schools' double-digit and 20+ point scorers.
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
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.
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