Redbirds Close Road Campaign in Carbondale

CARBONDALE, Ill. - The Illinois State Redbirds close out the 2021-22 road season on Wednesday evening when the squad travels to Carbondale, Illinois, to take on the Salukis of SIU in a 7 p.m. tip-off.

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.
• Illinois State broadcaster Dick Luedke has announced that the 2021-22 season will be his last as a broadcaster, and he has had the call for Redbird basketball for over 1,000 games.
• Illinois State has 141 blocked shots as a team this season, which is tied for the fifth-most in a season in program history.
• ISU junior forward Kendall Lewis this season has 32 steals, 32 blocked shots and 31 assists, becoming one of just 30 players in the MVC since 1993-94, and one of just four players in ISU basketball history to have a season of at least 30 in those three categories.
• Illinois State junior guard Antonio Reeves currently leads the MVC in scoring this season, and if he holds onto the lead at the end of the season, he will be one of just three ISU players in program history to lead the conference in scoring for a full season.
• The Illinois State duo of Josiah Strong and Antonio Reeves have combind to make 147 three-point baskets this season, which is the third-highest two-person total in program history.
• With Josiah Strong and Antonio Reeves each having made at least 70 three-point field goals on the year, the Redbirds are one of six schools in the country to have two players reach the 70-make plateau this year.
• Antonio Reeves has 16 20+-point scoring games this season, which is the eighth-most in the country and the eighth-most in Illinois State history.
• According to the stat analytics website KenPom has Illinois State with two of the top-11 most exciting games during the season, including the top spot on the list with ISU's overtime win over Bucknell on Nov. 20.
• Illinois State has played in six overtime games this season, the second-most in a season in program history, and tied for the most in the country along with Valparaiso and UT Arlington.
 

SCOUTING THE SALUKIS

Southern Illinois rides a three-game win streak heading into the Wednesday evening game, including a most recent four-point win at Indiana State on Saturday.

In the team's win in Terre Haute, both Lance Jones and Marcus Domask reached the 20-point scoring plateau, led by Jones' 24, while Domask scored 21. Ben Coupet Jr. scored 16, as that trio scored 61 of the 76 points in the game. Coupet pulled down a team-best six rebounds, while Dalton Banks gave out six assists.

For the season, three players average in double-figure scoring, led by Domask's 14.8, with Lance Jones just behind at 14.7. Coupet - who has played in all 28 games for SIU - averages 10.6 points per game.

Domask's 145 rebounds lead the team, as does his 106 assists and 14 blocked shots. Jones has grabbed 52 steals to lead the team, as he also leads the team with 51 three-pointers made for the season.

SEASON BLOCKS RECORD

With 141 blocked shots this season and at least three 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. 

RARE 30-30-30

This season Illinois State junior forward Kendall Lewis has 32 steals, 32 blocked shots, and 31 assists. Since 1993-94, only 30 players the MVC have put up at least 30 points, 30 steals, and 30 assists in a single season, and he is one of just two players - along with Cameron Krutwig - to do it since 2017-18. He is the first Redbird since 2007-08 to be a part of the 30-30-30 club, and one of four players in school history to be a part of the group. Additionally, including Lewis, there are just 10 players in the country a part of the club.
            
ATOP THE CONFERENCE SCORING

Heading into the final week of the 2021-22 regular season, Illinois State junior guard Antonio Reeves stands atop the MVC in scoring average. If he ends the season on top of the conference in scoring, he will be the third Redbird in program history to be in the top spot in the category, joining Osiris Eldridge (2009-10) and Tarise Bryson (2000-01).

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 (77) and Antonio Reeves (70) who have combined 147 three-point baskets, third-most 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 70'S

Illinois State, which has Josiah Strong with 77 made three-point baskets and Antonio Reeves with 70, is one of just six schools in the country (along with Florida Atlantic, Jacksonville State, Liberty, Rice, and Syracuse) that has two players with at least 70 made three-point baskets this season (as of games played on February 21).

MANY 20'S

This season in 29 games, Illinois State guard Antonio Reeves has scored 20+ points 16 times. That total is tied for the eighth-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 260 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. 21).

MILESTONE WATCH

Now 29 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 four games later climbed to 35th all-time in scoring.

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.

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.

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.

STRONG RECOVERY

Against UNI on January 29, Illinois State's Josiah Strong had his worst collegiate shooting game from long distance, going 0-9 against the Panthers. The incredible part was his recovery, as he came back the next game and made 3-of-6 from beyond the arc against Loyola on February 2. Over the last two seasons just four players in NCAA Division I have had a similar shooting and a game later recovered with at least three three-pointers, while making at least half of their attempts. 

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 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.

BIG NUMBERS

With 29 games played into the 2021-22 season, Illinois State's Antonio Reeves ranks 20th in NCAA Division I in points per game, averaging 20.2 per contest. 

LOW TURNOVERS

When Illinois State gave away just five turnovers against Evansville on January 21, it marked a tie for the fifth-fewest turnovers in a game in school history, and the lowest total since the school committed four turnovers against Drake on January 3, 2016. It is also tied for 43rd in the NCAA this season for fewest turnovers in a game.