Redbirds Host Drake on Senior Day

NORMAL, Ill. - Illinois State plays host to the Drake Bulldogs on Saturday afternoon, as the program will honor its four seniors - Zach Copeland, Jaycee Hillsman, Ricky Torres, and Madison Williams - in a pregame ceremony at Redbird Arena.

GAME INFORMATION
Illinois State Redbirds (8-19, 3-12 MVC) vs. Drake Bulldogs (18-10, 8-7 MVC)
When: Saturday, February 22
Tip-Off: 3:30 p.m.
Location: Normal, Illinois
Arena: Redbird Arena
TV: MVC TV / NBC Sports Chicago / ESPN3
    Tom Ackerman, play-by-play
    Kevin Lehman, analyst
Radio: WJBC 93.7 & 1230 AM
    Dick Luedke, play-by-play
    Mike Matthews, analyst

QUICK HITTERS

• Zach Copeland's 74 three-point baskets this season are five away from climbing into the single-season top-10 in program history, and are already the fourth-most by a senior in Redbird men's basketball history.
• Illinois State has forced opposing offenses to use an average of 19.1 seconds per possession, which is the longest-such average in the country this season.
• Against UNI on Feb. 12, Illinois State attempted zero free throws, the fourth time this season in Division I where a team did not attempt a free throw. Since 2010-11 there have been 27 times that a school did not attempt a free throw, and of those, Illinois State's 63 points in the game was the seventh-most points scored while not attempting a free throw.
• Illinois State freshman DJ Horne's three-point field goal percentage of .438 this season is the highest percentage by a freshman in school history. His make total has him seventh on the list, while Abdou Ndiaye's 28 blocked shots are sixth-most by a freshman.
• Zach Copeland is one of just 15 student-athletes in NCAA Division I to rank inside of the top-47 in both three-point field goals per game, and three-point field goal percentage.
• The last time Illinois State faced Drake, ISU senior Zach Copeland had one of the top overall games in the past few decades. Copeland scored 32 points with 7 assists, no turnovers, and eight three-point field goals made. He is one of just three student-athletes this season with games of 30+ points, 7+ assists, and 0 turnovers, and his three-point makes tied a single-game school record.
• Illinois State has had eight different players lead the team in scoring, which is the second-highest total in the MVC. The team has also had eight different players lead the team in rebounding (tied for the most in the MVC) and 10 lead the team in assists (second).
• Illinois State head men's basketball coach Dan Muller is one of 38 head coaches in NCAA Division I to be coaching at his alma mater. Of that list, which is headlined by Jim Boeheim (Syracuse), Roy Williams (North Carolina), Matt Painter (Purdue), and Bob Huggins (West Virginia), Muller has the eighth-most victories.
• When Illinois State started the group of DJ Horne, Zach Copeland, Ricky Torres, Keith Fisher III, and Rey Idowu, the jersey numbers of that five added to 23, the lowest starting lineup jersey combination in head coach Dan Muller's tenure at Illinois State.
• ISU freshman DJ Horne has scored at least 16 points five times this season, and Antonio Reeves has reached the plateau twice, as those seven times account for 7 of the 12 highest scoring games by a freshman under head coach Dan Muller.

SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS

Drake has won its last two games, with back-to-back home wins over Evansville (85-80) and Valparaiso (77-75, overtime). In the team's last game, the overtime win over Valparaiso, the Bulldogs put four players in double-figure scoring led by Liam Robbins' 21 points and 12 rebounds. Roman Penn scored 18 points, while Garrett Sturtz scored 15 off of the bench. D.J. Wilkins added 11 to go with three assists and three steals.

For the season, four players - Robbins (14.0), Penn (11.9), Wilkins (9.5), and Anthony Murphy (9.5) average at or near double figures. Robbins pulls down a team-best 6.6 rebounds per game, with two more players - Sturtz and Murphy - averaging 5.9 and 5.3 rebounds per game, respectively. 

Penn has dished out an MVC-best 159 assists this season, while also leading the team with 40 steals, while Robbins' 80 blocked shots more than double the next highest total in the MVC.

NOT DOUBLING THE MASCOTS

This season of the 21 different opponents that Illinois State has faced, the 'Birds have faced off against 21 different mascots - and do not have a game against two schools with the same mascot. This season the Redbirds have played against 10 animals (Belmont Bruins, Cincinnati Bearcats, Grand Canyon Antelopes, TCU Horned Frogs, Morehead State Eagles, UTSA Roadrunners, UNI Panthers, Southern Illinois Salukis, Missouri State Bears, Drake Bulldogs, Loyola Ramblers), six types of people (Little Rock Trojans, UCF Knights, Northern Kentucky Norse, Bradley Braves, Evansville Aces, Valparaiso Crusaders), and four of inanimate objects (Western Kentucky Big Red, Illinois Springfield Prairie Stars, UIC Flames, Indiana State Sycamores) 

LONG RANGE RECORDS

This season Zach Copeland has made 74 three-point field goals on 183 attempts. That makes total puts him five away from climbing into the program's single-season top-10 list, and has the fourth-most in a senior season in program history.

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. 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.