PEORIA, Ill. - After overcoming a 20-point first half deficit in the first meeting between the two schools, the Illinois State Redbirds look for their second consecutive season sweep of the Bradley Braves.
QUICK HITTERS
• On Sunday, February 13, former Illinois State head coach Dan Muller was notified that he would not return as head coach following this current season but elected to continue to coach the team through the remainder of the 2021-22 season. One day later, he stepped down and handed the reigns of the team over to former Associate Head Coach Brian Jones.
• Interim head coach Brian Jones is a graduate of Northern Iowa (1994) and spent 14 seasons as head coach at the University of North Dakota.
• Twice this season Illinois State had rallied from deficits of at least 16 points, including a 20-point deficit against Bradley on January 16 and most recently a 16-point deficit against Valparaiso on February 9.
• ISU has played in six overtime games this season, which is tied for the most in the country, alongside UT Arlington and Valparaiso. The six overtime games are also tied for the second-most in a season in program history. The NCAA record for overtime games in a season is eight.
• In Illinois State's one-point overtime loss to Drake there were 23 lead changes, which is tied for the most in an ISU game since the 2003-04 season, and the 22 times the score was tied during that same span is the highest during that same time frame.
• This season Illinois State players have blocked 132 shots, which is the sixth-highest single-season total in program history.
• According to the statistical analysis site KenPom, Illinois State has two of its games that rank in the top-11 for most exciting games this season.
• Kendall Lewis is one of 18 student-athletes in the country to have at least 28 blocks and 28 steals this season. He is one of just five players in the MVC with at least 20 steals and 20 blocked shots.
• Josiah Strong (72) and Antonio Reeves (66) have combined to make 138 three-point field goals this year, which is tied for the fifth-highest two-person total in school history.
• Antonio Reeves' 15 20+ point games are tied for the seventh-most in the country this season and tied for 11th-most in program history.
• Illinois State, which has Josiah Strong with 72 made three-point baskets and Antonio Reeves with 66, is one of just two schools in NCAA Division I that has two players with at least 66 made three-point baskets on the season, alongside Syracuse.
Â
SCOUTING THE BRAVES
Bradley comes into the Saturday afternoon rivalry game after having its three-game win streak snapped at Southern Illinois on Tuesday night by a 65-57 final score.
In the loss, the Braves had two players reach double-figure scoring, led by 11 points from Terry Roberts and 10 from Rienk Mast. Two others - Ville Tahvanainen and Connor Hickman - each had two points. Mast narrowly missed a double-double as he added nine rebounds, while Mikey Howell, the reigning MVC Newcomer of the Week, dished out a game-high four of the Braves' eight assists in the eight-point loss.
Roberts and Mast lead the team's most recently active players in scoring, as Roberts averages 14.9 points and Mast 11.2. Bradley forward Ja'Shon Henry averages 10.4 points per game but has missed the team's most recent nine games with injury. Newcomer Malevy Leons is near the double-figure plateau, averaging 9.7 points per game.
Mast's 227 rebounds (8.4 per game) lead the team, as does Roberts' 114 assists and 41 steals. Leons leads the team with 30 blocked shots, as the Braves have 128 blocked shots as a team this season.
DON'T CALL IT A COMEBACK
Or do call it a comeback, we're just taking the advice of LL Cool J from the 1990 song Mama Said Knock You Out. In Illinois State's I-74 rivalry win against Bradley the Redbirds found themselves trailing 35-15 with 6:24 to play in the first half. The team turned it around, running off a 42-14 run over the next 19:13 of gameplay time, turning the 20-point deficit into an eight-point lead. The recovery from a 20-point deficit was the second time in ISU history that a team has rallied from such a deficit, with the largest margin was a 21-point deficit against Butler on November 27, 1989. The Redbirds picked up their second top-10 comeback this season when ISU trailed by 16 in the second half before rallying for the overtime win over Valparaiso.
The comeback against Bradley was also the eighth time an MVC school rallied from 20+ points down, with three of those eight largest comebacks coming against the Braves.
SEASON BLOCKS RECORD
With 132 blocked shots this season and at least five more games to play on the year, this season's Redbird squad is on pace to etch its name into the school record books for the most blocked shots in a season in program history. The school record was set during the 2016-17 season with 171 blocked shots.Â
DEFENSIVE 20-20 CLUB
Illinois State forward Kendall Lewis is one of five members of the MVC's defensive 20-20 club, and is joined by Valparaiso's Sheldon Edwards, Missouri State's Gaige Prim and Drake's Tremell Murphy and Tucker DeVries, as the only players in the conference with at least 20 blocks and 20 steals. With 28 blocked shots and 28 steals, Lewis is one of just 18 student-athletes in the country - and the only one in the MVC - with at least 28 in each category. He is the first Redbird player since Phil Fayne during the 2018-19 season to be a part of the 20-20 club, as Fayne had 40 blocked shots and 36 steals during that year. He is the 31st Redbird since 1992-93 to be a part of that grouping - one of which includes current Director of Player Personnel Tony Wills from the 2016-17 season.
PAIRING UP FROM DISTANCE
In the history of the collegiate three-point basket (starting in the 1985-86 season), there have been 72 pair of Redbird student-athletes to team up to make a combined 100 three-point baskets in a single season. One of those pairs is ISU guards Josiah Strong (72) and Antonio Reeves (66) who have combined 138 three-point baskets, tied for the fifth by a pair for a single season in program history. The two-person school record is 162 from Champ Oguchi (90) and Osiris Eldridge (72) from the 2008-09 season.
PAIR OF 60'S
Illinois State, which has Josiah Strong with 72 made three-point baskets and Antonio Reeves with 66, is one of just two schools in NCAA Division I that has two players with at least 66 made three-point baskets on the season, joined by Syracuse (as of games played on February 15).
MANY 20'S
This season in 27 games, Illinois State guard Antonio Reeves has scored 20+ points 15 times. That total is tied for the seventh-most such games in the country this season, and is the 14th-most in a season in school history.
EXCITING GAMES
The stat analysis website KenPom has a listing of the season's most exciting games based on categories including excitement, tension, and dominance, and have 100 games ranked this season. The Redbirds have two games inside of the top-11 in the metric, and three inside of the top-52. Illinois State's overtime win over Bucknell on November 20 is rated the top game in terms of excitement, while the team's recent overtime loss against Drake on January 26 is rated as the 11th-most exciting game in the country this season.
EXTRA TIME
This season across NCAA Division I basketball there have been 236 games that have needed at least one extra period. Illinois State has taken part in six of those games, tied the most in the country this season alongside Valparaiso and UT Arlington. Including ISU's double-overtime game against Eastern Michigan, the Redbirds have played in seven overtime periods, which is tied for the third-most this season, alongside Eastern Michigan and trailing only Valparaiso and UT Arlington's eight overtime periods. (as of games played on Feb. 15).
DIMES OFF THE BENCH
With his 10-assist effort coming off the bench against Drake, Mark Freeman is one of 14 players in NCAA Division I basketball this season to have double-digit assists in a non-starting role.
MILESTONE WATCH
Now 27 games into the 2021-22 season, Antonio Reeves is rising through the Illinois State career record book. On Feb. 2 against Southern Illinois, he became Illinois State's 46th member of the 1,000-point club, and three games later climbed to 37th all-time in scoring.
BACK-AND-FORTH HIGHS
Against Drake on January 26, the Bulldogs and Redbirds traded the lead 23 times in the 45 minutes of game play time and had 22 tie scores. The 23 lead changes are tied for the most by an ISU team since 2003-04, and the 22 tie scores are the most during that same time frame.
FUN TEAM COMBINATION
Against Drake on Wednesday, January 26, the Redbirds got 25 points from Antonio Reeves, 11 rebounds from Kendall Lewis, and 10 assists from Mark Freeman. ISU has had just seven games since the 1980-81 season where the Redbirds had three different individuals accumulate 25 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists. The last time that mark has been hit by ISU was on March 14, 2012 when Tyler Brown scored 26 points, Jackie Carmichael pulled down 10 rebounds, and Nic Moore dished out 10 assists against Ole Miss.
HIGH PERCENTAGE
Against Evansville on Friday, January 21, Illinois State converted on 70.2 percent of its field goal tries, which is the second-highest single-game percentage in school history, behind only the NCAA-record 84.3 percent a season ago against NCAA Division III Greenville. It is the best mark in program history against a NCAA Division I opponent, and the first time since February 27 of last season that a NCAA Division I school made at least 70 percent of its field goals against another Division I school. Since 2010-11, 67 Division I schools have made at least 70 percent of its field goals in a game, just 41 of those coming against Division I schools.
BIG NUMBERS
With 27 games played into the 2021-22 season, Illinois State's Antonio Reeves ranks 16th in NCAA Division I in points per game, averaging 20.2 per contest.Â
BIG MARGIN
With Illinois State's 38-point win against Evansville, it was ISU's largest win in a conference game since the school topped Indiana State by 43 on January 16, 1997. It is tied for the 46th-largest win margin in MVC history. The last time an MVC school won by at least 38 points was on February 16, 2008 when Missouri State topped Evansville 73-38 - also by 38 points. It is also the largest margin of victory in the entire Illinois State / Evansville series, topping the previous high mark of 31 in an Evansville win on February 11, 2004.
FREE FOULING
Twice this season - against Purdue Northwest on Nov. 27 and against Evansville on Jan. 21, the Illinois State Redbirds were whistled for seven and eight fouls, respectively, which are tied for the first- and third-lowest single-game foul totals in a game in program history.
Â
