Men's Basketball to Face Off in Mid-Week Battle with Missouri State

NORMAL, Ill. - Illinois State makes the trek to Springfield, Missouri, to take on the Missouri State Bears - the preseason favorite to win the MVC title this season.

GAME INFORMATION
Illinois State Redbirds (7-15, 2-8 MVC) vs. Missouri State Bears (10-13, 4-6 MVC)
When: Wednesday, Feb. 5
Tip-Off: 7 p.m.
Location: Springfield, Missouri
Arena: JQH Arena
TV: ESPN+
    Harry Schroeder, play-by-play
    Rich Zvosec, analyst
Radio: WJBC 93.7 & 1230 AM
    Dick Luedke, play-by-play
    Mike Matthews, analyst

QUICK HITTERS

• Against Evansville on Wednesday night, Illinois State had a +12 assist/turnover ratio, the sixth-best ratio by a Redbird team this century.
• The team's six turnovers against Evansville are the third-fewest turnovers in a game under Illinois State head coach Dan Muller.
• With his 32-point, 7-assist, 8-three-point field goal, 0-turnover game against Drake, he is one of just three NCAA Division I student-athletes to reach those numbers since 2010-11.
• Illinois State head Southern Illinois to just 17 points in a home loss on Jan. 25. The 17 points are the 15th fewest in a half that the Redbird defense has allowed this century.
• Zach Copeland's eight three-point baskets against Drake tied an ISU school record, and are tied for the 10th-most in a game in MVC history.
• This season, Copeland is one of just three student-athletes in Division I to have games of at least 30 points, 7 assist, and no turnovers.
• Illinois State opponents use up an average of 19.3 seconds while the Redbirds are on defense, which is the longest defensive possession length in Division I basketball this season.
• Illinois State has had eight different student-athletes lead the team in scoring, which is second-most in the MVC this season.
• Illinois State head coach Dan Muller is one of 38 coaches in the country to be leading his alma mater. Of those 38, his 146 victories at his alma mater places him eighth on the list, which is headed by Jim Boeheim (Syracuse), Roy Williams (North Carolina), Matt Painter (Purdue), and Bob Huggins (285).
• Illinois State has used 10 different lineup combinations this season.
• Illinois State freshman DJ Horne scored 22 points against UNI on Dec. 31, which is the highest single-game scoring effort by a freshman in the Dan Muller era.
• This season the Illinois State Redbirds have had a starting lineup combinations in which the jersey numbers added to 23, the lowest jersey total in Dan Muller's eight seasons. In all, ISU has used five different lineup combinations that are in the top-10 of the aforementioned list. 
• Illinois State's 146-111 record under Dan Muller gives the Redbirds the second-most wins and second-best winning percentage in the state of Illinois.
• Illinois State has won its last seven overtime games, which is the second-longest active streak in the country behind only Florida State (9).
• Illinois State is 18-12 all-time on February 5

SCOUTING THE BEARS

Missouri State comes into the game looking to break out of its current three-game losing skid after falling at home to Indiana State by a 78-68 final score.

In the loss to the Sycamores, Gaige Prim scored a team-high 23 points, hitting on 8-of-15 of his shots from the field with seven rebounds and two assists. Tulio Da Silva also reached double-figure scoring with 11 points and a team-high eight rebounds. Ja'Monta Black narrowly missed double figures with nine points, making 3-of-4 shots from beyond the arc.

For the year the team is led by Keandre Cook who averages 15 points per game and is one of just three players on the squad to have seen action in all 23 games (Lamont West and Josh Hall are the other two). Prim averaged 13.6 points per game, while Da Silva averages 9.4 points and a team-best 7.0 rebounds per game. Tyrik Dixon, who has missed the last six games, continues to lead the team in assists with 62 and steals with 22, while Prim has a team-best 12 blocked shots.

BIG RATIO

Against Evansville on Jan. 29, Illinois State has a +12 assist-to-turnover ratio, which is tied - along with its +12 margin against Drake earlier this season - for the sixth-best such ratio in the last 20 years. 

LOW TURNOVERS

For a second time this season, Illinois State committed just six turnovers in a game, the second time on Wednesday, Jan. 29 against Evansville. The two games are tied for the third-fewest turnovers in a game under head coach Dan Muller. The Muller-era-low for turnovers in a game is four against Drake on Jan. 3, 2016.

RARE AIR

When Zach Copeland had his big game against Drake (32 points, seven assists, eight three-point field goals, and no turnovers), he became one of just three NCAA Division I student-athletes since 2010-11 to have similar numbers.

LOW HALF SCORING

When Illinois State held Southern Illinois to just 17 first-half points, it was tied for the third-lowest scoring half for an MVC opponent this season. Only Missouri State has given up fewer points in a half when they held both Arkansas State and Valparaiso to 16 points in games this season.

Over the last 20 seasons, there have been 48 instances in which the Redbirds held an opponent to fewer than 20 points in a half, including 11 points in the first half against Indiana State during the 2003-04 season. Below are the 15 lowest single-half scores since the turn of the century.

SCHOOL RECORD FROM DISTANCE

With his eight three-point baskets against Drake, Illinois State senior Zach Copeland made eight three-point baskets, which ties the Illinois State single-game record, and is tied for the 10th-most in a game in MVC history. 

BIG PRODUCTION

On the road at Drake, Illinois State senior Zach Copeland put up quite the stats line in which he scored 32 points, dished out seven assists, and had zero turnovers. This season there have been just 17 players in NCAA Division I that have scored at least 30 points with seven assists in a game, and just three of those did it with no turnovers.

GETTING DEFENSIVE AT LENGTH

This season Illinois State opponents average an offensive possession length of 19.3 seconds. That time is the longest defensive possession length in the country. The Redbirds trail just Washington (19.3). Below are the 10 longest defensive possession lengths in the country according to the basketball stat analysis site KenPom.