NORMAL, Ill. - The Illinois State Redbirds return to Redbird Arena for the third game in a five-game homestand, as the 'Birds play host to I-74 rival Bradley at 8 p.m. on Wednesday evening.
QUICK HITTERS
• This season Illinois State has had 12 players score in double figures at least once, which is the second-highest current total in the country, trailing only Murray State's 13. The Redbird double-figure total is also the most in a season by an ISU team since at least 1966-67.Â
• ISU has had five players score at least 20 points in a game this season, which is the top mark in the MVC, and is also tied for the sixth-most in a season for Illinois State since 1966-67. The school record for total amount of 20+ point scorers in a season is seven held by the 1968-69 squad.
• Illinois State is in the middle of a stretch of five consecutive games at home (all within a nine-day period). The last time a Redbird squad has played in five consecutive home games was during the 2009-10 season when ISU hosted Norfolk State, SEMO, St. Bonaventure, Central Michigan, and Niagara between November 27 and December 13.
• Illinois State tied a school record against Chicago State with 17 made three-point baskets, which are also tied for the 24th-most in a game in NCAA Division I this season.
• 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.
• 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 its roster this year.
• Along with having no seniors and just four juniors, the team's average athletic year is 1.71 (freshmen = 1, senior  = 4), which is 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.
SCOUTING THE BRAVES
Bradley enters the rivalry game having won its last three games of the season with a two-point road win at UNI and a home sweep of Evansville over this past weekend.Â
In the last game against Evansville - an 86-55 win - Ja'Shon Henry scored a team-high 16 points, as Terry Nolan Jr. scored 13, Ville Tahvanainen 12, and Elijah Childs 10. Childs pulled down six rebounds to lead the Braves - who out-rebounded the Aces 38-to-29. Sean East dished out four assists with a team-high three steals, as the Braves made half of their 20 three-point attempts.
This season the Braves have three players averaging in double-figures, led by Childs' 14.6 points per game. Nolan Jr. and Henry average 12 and 11.2 points per game, respectively, while East and Tahvanainen are chasing the double-figure pace, averaging 8.6 points per game, each.Â
Childs' 7.7 rebounds per game leads the team, as does his 17 blocked shots in 13 games. East has given out 57 assists, while Nolan is second on the squad with 40 helpers and leads the team with 20 steals.
DOUBLE-FIGURE SCORERS
This season through 12 games, Illinois State has had 12 different players score in double figures in at least one game. That is the second-highest total in the country, behind only the 13 double-figure scorers from Murray State this season.
HOME FOR A LONG TIME SINCE A LONG TIME
Illinois State is currently in the middle of a stretch of five consecutive home games (all played within a nine day period). The last time a Redbird squad has played in five consecutive home games was during the 2009-10 season when ISU hosted Norfolk State, SEMO, St. Bonaventure, Central Michigan, and Niagara between November 27 and December 13.
YOUNG STARTS
In the second of the two games against the Loyola Ramblers, Illinois State started three freshman: Howard Fleming Jr., Alston Andrews, and Harouna Sissoko. It was the first time since March 1, 1991 in the MVC Tournament against Drake where the Redbirds had started three freshmen in a game (Charles Barnes, Mike VandeGarde, and Scott Taylor).
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.
UNCOMMONLY COMMON
When the Illinois State Redbirds faced off against the Loyola Ramblers in back-to-back days, it was something that has happened at ISU, but is relatively rare. The last time previous to the 2020-21 MVC opener where Illinois State has played the same school in back-to-back days was on February 9 and 10, 1979 when the Redbirds faced off against Hawai'i in Honolulu. In all, there are seven previous occurrences of back-to-back games against the same opponent, seven of those coming from the 1967-68 season when as part of the IIAC (Interstate Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) the teams played the same opponent twice on a conference weekend.
NOT FROM AROUND HERE
The first Redbird student-athlete to come from outside of the United States 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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