Redbirds Travel to Take on Badgers in Final Non-Conference Game of Season

MADISON, Wis. - In the final non-conference game of the season for both teams, the Illinois State Redbirds travel north to take on the 24th ranked Wisconsin Badgers at the Kohl Center.

QUICK HITTERS

• Illinois State's 6.2 blocked shot per game average puts them 10th in the country in the category, and on pace to shatter the school record (5.2 blocks per game)
• ISU is 12-63 all-time against nationally ranked teams, with the program's most recent win coming during the 2015-16 season against 21st ranked Wichita State.
• Since making the move to a reserve role, ISU guard Josiah Strong has scored 20 or more points three times. His three games of 20+ points are the fourth-most in the country this season.
• Reeves is one of just six players in the country to rank inside of the top-25 in both three-point makes per game (he ranks 22nd) and three-point percentage (he ranks 17th). He and Josiah Strong are one of two pair of teammates to rank inside of the top-55 in both categories.
• With his 21-point, 10-rebound, four-assists, three three-point basket game against UTSA, Antonio Reeves became just the 10th player in the country this season to put up similar numbers, and one of just seven to do it against a NCAA Division I foe.
• Antonio Reeves ranks 16th in NCAA Division I in scoring, averaging 20.8 points per game, and just behind Wednesday opponent Johnny Davis of Wisconsin who averages 20.9 for 15th place in the country. 
• With his 26 points off the bench against Chicago State, ISU guard Josiah Strong is tied for the 10th most points in a game by a non-starter in program history.
• Reeves has scored 803 career points, which puts him 67th in school history, and just 14 points away from climbing into sole possession of 65th in school history.
• Reeves has scored in double figures in all 13 games this season, which is the 14th-longest such streak to open a season in program history. He is the only player in the MVC to have scored in double-figures in every game of the season.
• Illinois State has had five different players score at least 20 points in a single game this season, which is the highest such total in the MVC this season.
• In his 10th year as head coach, Dan Muller has the third-most wins and third-best win percentage of any NCAA Division I school in Illinois.

SCOUTING THE BADGERS

Wisconsin enters the final non-conference game for each school after splitting its last two games, with a 73-55 loss to Ohio State which was followed by a 71-68 win over Nicholls.

In the win with a depleted roster against Nicholls, the Badgers were led by Brad Davison who scored 19 points, while Tyler Wahl scored 12. Three other players - Jahcobi Neath, Chucky Hepburn, and Chris Vogt - each scored nine points in the three-point victory. Neath and Vogt each pulled down seven rebounds for the Badgers, who was out-rebounded 36-to-33 in the contest.

This season Wisconsin is led in scoring by Johnny Davis, who averages 20.9 points and 6.1 rebounds per game. The 2021 Maui Invitational Tournament MVP has scored in double-figures in every game, and leads the team with 14 steals and is tied for the team lead with 21 assists. 

Davison is the only other player on the squad averaging in double-figures, as he scores an average of 15.2 points per game. Tyler Wahl (8.4), Steven Crowl (7.7), and Hepburn (7.0) all average over seven points per game. Wahl pulls down 5.0 rebounds per game, while leading the squad with 16 blocked shots.

ILLINOIS STATE AND WISCONSIN COMMONALITIES

• Wisconsin assistant coach Dean Oliver spent three seasons as an assistant coach at Illinois State, helping guide the Redbirds to a 68-34 overall record over the three seasons. 
• Wisconsin sophomore guard Justin Taphorn, a native of Pekin, Illinois, is the nephew of former Redbird standout Matt Taphorn. 
• Wisconsin center Chris Vogt faced off against Illinois State while he was in his first season at Cincinnati. The Redbirds and Vogt played in the first round of the 2019 Paradise Jam, a 66-65 Bearcat win which saw Vogt score 13 points with 13 rebounds.
• Illinois State guard Josiah Strong and Wisconsin guard Brad Davison are from neighboring cities in Minnesota, Strong from Brooklyn Park and Davison from Maple Grove. . 

SENDING AWAY

This season through 13 games, the Illinois State Redbirds rank 10th in the NCAA in blocked shots per game, averaging 6.2 per contest. The Illinois State school record for blocked shots in a season is 171 (5.2 per game)

MULTIPLE 20-POINTS OFF OF THE BENCH

Since making the move to a reserve role, Illinois State guard Josiah Strong has found his rhythm, and his shooting stroke. In six games, he has scored 20 or more points three times, while averaging 15.5 points per game in those six games. His three games of 20+ points are the fourth-most by a reserve in the country this season, trailing only the four games of reaching the scoring plateau from Matt Balanc (Quinnipiac), Tari Eason (Louisiana State), and Trevion Williams (Purdue). Since 2010-11, the most 20+ point scoring games in a reserve role is 12, held by two different student-athletes.

HIGH MAKES AND PERCENTAGE

Illinois State junior guard Antonio Reeves is one of just six student-athletes across NCAA Division I to rank inside of the top 25 in both three point field goals made per game and three-point field goal percentage. Reeves and Josiah Strong (28th in percentage and 52nd in makes per game) are one of just two pairs in the country to rank inside of the top-55 in both categories (joined by Travis Evee and Carl Pierre from Rice).

SPECIAL GAME STATS

Against UTSA, Illinois State guard Antonio Reeves scored 21 points with a career-high 10 rebounds for his first collegiate double-double. He also gave out four assists while making three three-point baskets. That stat line has only been duplicated by nine other players in NCAA Division I this season, with six others doing it against a NCAA Division I foe.

BIG NUMBERS

With 13 games played into the 2021-22 season, Illinois State's Antonio Reeves ranks 16th in NCAA Division I in points per game, averaging 20.8 per contest.

MILESTONE WATCH

With 13 games played in the 2021-22 season, Antonio Reeves is rising through the Illinois State career record book. Reeves is 197 points away from becoming Illinois State's 46th member of the 1,000-point club.

BIG SCORING OFF THE BENCH

Against Chicago State on December 11, Illinois State guard Josiah Strong came off the bench to score a career-high 26 points, including making 6-of-8 three-point shots in the contest. Strong's point total is tied for the 10th-most points in a reserve role for Illinois State since 1976-77. He is also one of 20 student-athletes in the country this season to have scored at least 26 points as a non-starter - led by Elon's Torrence Watson who scored 34 points off of the bench against High Point on December 4.

BAKER'S DOZEN SCORING START

With his 270 points over the first 13 games of the season, Antonio Reeves has the ninth-most points through the same number of games in program history. He is one of two players on the list to have accomplished that feat later than the 1978-79 season.