Redbirds Return Home for Retro Night

NORMAL, Ill. - The Illinois State Redbirds host the Valparaiso Crusaders in the team's annual retro night, in which ISU will wear special throwback uniforms, while also welcoming back 16 members of the program's 1,000-point club including Doug Collins, Tarise Bryson, Jerry McGreal, Derrick Mayes, Rick Whitlow, Dave Schertz, Jeff Wilkins, Roger Powell, Jarrod Coleman, Mike VandeGarde, Richard Thomas, Rickie Johnson, Ron deVries, LeRoy Watkins, Tyler Brown, and Joe Galvin.

GAME INFORMATION
Illinois State Redbirds (8-17, 3-10 MVC) vs. Valparaiso Crusaders (13-13, 6-7 MVC)
When: Saturday, February 15
Tip-Off: 6 p.m.
Location: Normal, Illinois
Arena: Redbird Arena
TV: ESPN3
    Mitch Holthus, play-by-play
    Rich Zvosec, analyst
Radio: WJBC 93.7 & 1230 AM
    Dick Luedke, play-by-play
    Mike Matthews, analyst

QUICK HITTERS

• The game is the annual Retro Night game for the Redbirds, in which it will wear uniforms modeled after the 1990-era teams. ISU will also welcome the return of 18 former standouts that are members of the program's 1,000-point club.
• Against UNI, Illinois State did not go to the charity stripe in the game, just the fourth time in NCAA Division I this season that a team did not shoot a free throw.
• A part of Illinois State not attempting a free throw is that UNI committed just five fouls, which is tied for the third-fewest in a game in the NCAA this season.
• Illinois State freshman DJ Horne's 37 three-point field goals are tied for the seventh-most three-pointers by a freshman in school history, while his .420 percentage is second-best by a freshman. Abdou Ndiaye's 27 blocked shots are the sixth-most by a freshman in school history.
• Against Indiana State, the Redbirds had two players – Jaycee Hillsman and Zach Copeland – each reach the 20-point plateau. It was the first time since Dec. 16, 2018 that Illinois State had two players score 20 or more points in the same game. Illinois State now has five different players – Copeland, Hillsman, Dedric Boyd, Keith Fisher, and DJ Horne – who have scored at least 20 points in a game this season, which is tied for the highest total in the MVC.
• This season Illinois State has held its opponents to an offensive possession length of 19.2 seconds per possession, which is the longest-such time in the country. In fact, the 19.2 is the second-longest by a team since the 2015-16 season.
• Against Drake, Illinois State senior Zach Copeland scored 32 points with seven assists, eight three-point field goals, and no turnovers. He is one of just three players this season with a 30-point, 7-assist, 0-turnover game, and his eight three-point field goals tied a single-game school record.
• Illinois State has had eight different players lead the team in scoring this season, which is the second-highest-such total in the MVC this season.
• Illinois State has played against three teams currently in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top-25 poll, and have a 3-1 record in those games with wins over UNI (No. 2), Little Rock (No. 14) and Belmont (No. 20).
• Illinois State head coach Dan Muller is one of 38 head coaches in the country who are coaching at their alma mater, and his win total has him eighth on that list.
• Illinois State has used 10 different starting lineup combinations this season.
• The Redbirds have won their last seven overtime games dating back to the 2017-18 season, which is the second-longest active overtime win streak in the country.
• Illinois State is 24-12 all-time on February 15, including a 15-5 record at home on the date.

SCOUTING THE CRUSADERS

Valparaiso comes into the game after snapping a two-game losing skid with a 55-38 win over the Southern Illinois Salukis in which the Crusaders held SIU to 13-of-55 shooting (23.6%) from the field.

In the conference win, Ben Krikke scored a game-high 15 points, making 7-of-13 shots from the field while adding seven rebounds. Javon Freeman-Liberty also scored 14 points while pulling down seven rebounds. Donovan Clay dished out five assists to lead the team, while he and Nick Robinson each had two blocked shots.

For the season, Freeman-Liberty stands second in the MVC in scoring, averaging 19.2 points per game, while his 58 steals is the high-water mark in the conference. Ryan Fazekas is just off of the double-figure scoring pace at 9.9 points per game, while Mileek McMillan averages 8.8 and Clay 8.5. Freeman-Liberty also leads the team in rebounding (152 boards) and is second on the team with 79 assists, behind only Daniel Sackey's 96 helpers.

FREE OF THE CHARITY STRIPE

Against UNI on February 12, the Illinois State Redbirds did not make a trip to the free throw line for the entirety of the game. It was just the third time this season in NCAA Division I contest where a team did not attempt a free throw, and the 27th time since 2010-11. Of those 27, Illinois State appears twice on the list, including its March 4, 2017 win against Southern Illinois.

YOUNG STATS

This season, Illinois State freshmen DJ Horne and Abdou Ndiaye have climbed into the top-10 in program history in a trio of categories, as Horne currently is second for the best single-season three-point percentage by a freshman, sixth-most three-point field goals by a freshman, and Abdou Ndiaye has the sixth-most blocked shots by a freshman.

GETTING DEFENSIVE AT LENGTH

This season Illinois State opponents average an offensive possession length of 19.2 seconds. That time is the longest defensive possession length in the country. Below are the 10 longest defensive possession lengths in the country according to the basketball stat analysis site KenPom. The team's possession length is the third-longest in the NCAA since the 2015-16 season.