NORMAL, Ill. - The Redbirds stay at home for the second of two consecutive games inside of Redbird Arena, as ISU plays host to the Valparaiso Beacons in a 7 p.m. tip-off on Wednesday.
QUICK HITTERS
• Against Southern Illinois on February 5, Illinois State guard Antonio Reeves became the program's 46th career 1,000-point scorer.
• 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.
• After a poor shooting contest against Northern Iowa on January 29, Illinois State's Josiah Strong recovered with a 3-for-6 game in the next outing against Loyola. With his performance, he is one of just four players over the last two seasons to have a similar poor shooting game, and came back with at least three three-pointers and making half of their attempts.
• According to the statistical analysis site KenPom, Illinois State has two of its games that rank in the top-10 for most exciting games.
• Dishing out 10 assists in a reserve role, Illinois State guard Mark Freeman is now one of 11 players to have dished out double-digit assists as a non-starter.
• Kendall Lewis is one of 17 student-athletes in the country to have at least 26 blocks and 26 steals this season. He and Valparaiso's Sheldon Edwards are two of just three players in the MVC with at least 20 in both steals and blocked shots.
• Josiah Strong (65) and Antonio Reeves (57) have combined to make 122 three-point field goals this year, which is tied for the 20th-highest two-person total in school history.
• Antonio Reeves' 13 20+ point games are tied for the 11th-most in the country this season and tied for 16th-most in program history.
• ISU has played in five overtime games this season, which is tied for the most in the country, alongside Valparaiso. The five overtime games are also tied for the fourth-most in a season in program history.
• Illinois State is three made three-pointers from guard Antonio Reeves to reach the 60 three-pointers, joining teammate Josiah Strong on the 60-make plateau. It will also make Illinois State the only school in the country with two players at the 60-make mark. (as of games played on Feb. 3)
• Illinois State head basketball coach Dan Muller is one of 44 head coaches in the country this season to be the head coach at their alma mater. His 166 coaching wins at Illinois State is the sixth-most among that group of coaches.
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SCOUTING THE BEACONS
Valparaiso enters the mid-week game after completing a season sweep of the Indiana State Sycamores with a 79-72 double-overtime win in Valparaiso on Saturday.
Against the Sycamores, the Beacons had two players reach the 20-point plateau as Kobe King scored a team-high 24 points, while Kevion Taylor scored 20. Three players - Taylor (47), King (43), and Ben Krikke (41) played over 40 minutes in the game. King pulled down 11 rebounds, while Darius DeAveiro dished out a team-best four assists.
For the season the Beacons have four players averaging in double-figure scoring, led by King's 14.9 scoring average and Krikke's 14.6. Taylor averages 11.8 points per game, as Sheldon Edwards has scored an average of 11.0 points. Thomas Kithier, who hasn't played since January 22, leads the team in rebounding by pulling down 6.9 rebounds per contest, while King is second on the team with a 4.9 rebound per game average.
Among the active players, DeAveiro and Kithier lead the team with 43 assists, while Edwards has the team lead in both steals (28) and blocked shots (21)
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.Â
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.
DIMES OFF THE BENCH
With his 10 assist effort coming off the bench against Drake, Mark Freeman is one of 11 players in NCAA Division I basketball this season to have double-digit assists in a non-starting role.
DEFENSIVE 20-20 CLUB
Illinois State forward Kendall Lewis is one of three members of the MVC's defensive 20-20 club, and is joined by Valparaiso's Sheldon Edwards and Drake's Tremell Murphy as the only players in the conference with at least 20 blocks and 20 steals. With 27 blocked shots and 26 steals, Lewis is one of just 17 student-athletes in the country - and the only one in the MVC - with 26 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 (65) and Antonio Reeves (57) who have combined 122 three-point baskets, tied for the 20th-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 60'S
Illinois State is three made three-pointers from guard Antonio Reeves to reach the 60 three-pointers, joining teammate Josiah Strong on the 60-make plateau. It will also make Illinois State the only school in the country with two players at the 60-make mark. (as of games played on Feb. 3)
MANY 20'S
This season in 24 games, Illinois State guard Antonio Reeves has scored 20+ points 13 times. That total is tied for the 11th-most such games in the country this season, and is the 16th-most in a season in school history.
EXTRA TIME
This season across NCAA Division I basketball there have been 206 games that have needed at least one extra period. Illinois State has taken part in five of those games, tied the most in the country this season alongside UT Arlington, High Point, and Valparaiso. With its double-overtime game against Eastern Michigan, ISU has played in six overtime periods, which is tied for the third-most this season, along with Eastern Michigan and High Point; and trailing only UT Arlington's and Valparaiso's seven overtime periods. (as of games played on Feb. 7).
MILESTONE WATCH
Now 24games into the 2021-22 season, Antonio Reeves is rising through the Illinois State career record book. Against Southern Illinois, he became Illinois State's 46th member of the 1,000-point club.
COACHING THE ALMA MATER
There are currently 44 NCAA Division I head coaches that are leading their alma maters - up from 35 a season ago - including Illinois State's Dan Muller. Muller stands sixth of those coaches in total wins with 166 in his 10th season with the program. Of that group, Jim Boeheim leads the select fraternity with 995 victories - and there are an eye popping 12 new coaches leading their alma maters for the 2021-22 season. (as of games on Feb. 7, 2022)
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-10 in the metric, and three inside of the top-38. 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 9th-most exciting game in the country this season.
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 24 games played into the 2021-22 season, Illinois State's Antonio Reeves ranks 26th in NCAA Division I in points per game, averaging 19.7 per contest.Â
FREE OF 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.
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.
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