Redbirds Open Play at MVC Tournament with Rematch Against Sycamores

ST. LOUIS - Facing the Indiana State Sycamores for the second time in the last six days, the Illinois State Redbirds open the MVC Tournament on Thursday night in a 6 p.m. tip-off at the Enterprise Center.

QUICK HITTERS

• 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 36 seasons and over 1,000 games. He was recognized for his time at ISU during Saturday's game against Indiana State.
• Antonio Reeves was named to the All-MVC Second Team, just the seventh time in MVC history that the conference's leading scorer did not earn a spot on the First Team.
• The game is a rematch of the two school's most recent game, an 86-66 Redbird win over Indiana State on Saturday, February 28. This is the second consecutive season the Redbirds have faced off against their regular-season finale opponent, and the fourth time since the tournament moved to St. Louis.
• Reeves became the fifth student-athlete in program history to be named the captain of the MVC Most Improved Team.
• Against the Sycamores, Reeves became the program's eighth member of the 600-point club for a season, and his 627 points this year are the seventh-most in program history.
• Illinois State has 149 blocked shots as a team this season, which is the fourth-most in a season in program history.
• ISU junior forward Kendall Lewis this season has 35 steals, 32 blocked shots and 32 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 each of those three categories.
• The Illinois State duo of Josiah Strong and Antonio Reeves have combined to make 155 three-point baskets this season, which is the second-highest two-person total in program history.
• Josiah Strong's three-point percentage this season of 41.7 is the second-best in the MVC and the 22nd-best in NCAA Division I this season.
• Antonio Reeves has 17 20+-point scoring games this season, which is the seventh-most in the country and the sixth-most in Illinois State men's basketball history.
 

SCOUTING THE SYCAMORES

Indiana State and Illinois State face off for the second time in six days on Thursday night, as the Redbirds picked up an 86-66 win in the most recent meeting.

On Saturday Zach Hobbs scored a team-high 15 points off of the bench, while Julian Larry scored 12 and Kailex Stephens added 11. Larry pulled down a team-best six rebounds, while Xavier Bledson dished out a team-high four assists.

For the season the Sycamores are led by Third Team All-MVC honoree Cooper Neese who averages 15.4 points per game despite being held to just three against the Redbirds on Saturday. Cameron Henry - who had five in the most recent meeting with Illinois State - averages 14.5 while Micah Thomas pours in 10.0 points per game.

Stephens is the team lead in rebounding with 153 boards on the year, while Henry is right behind with 152, as Larry and Neese have 109 and 107, respectively. Bledson's 94 assists pace the team, while Larry leads the team with 36 steals and Henry has a Sycamore-high 15 blocked shots.

MVC SCORING LEADERS NOT ON FIRST TEAM

Since 1957-58, there have been just seven times where the MVC scoring leader was not selected to the All-Conference First Team, including this season where Antonio Reeves earned second team All-MVC honors despite leading the MVC in scoring. The first time it happened - during the 1971-72 season - New Mexico State's John Williamson's Aggies squad was ineligible for the postseason as a transitional school into the conference.

FAMILIAR FOE

For the second time in as many seasons, the Illinois State Redbirds will open MVC play against the team they closed the regular season against. In the 31-year history of the tournament being played in St. Louis, the feat has happened 17 times prior to this season. Of those 17 other occurrences, four have involved the Redbirds. 

SHOWING IMPROVEMENT

Improving his scoring average from 12.4 points per game to an MVC-leading 20.2 this season, Illinois State junior guard has been named the team captain of the MVC Most Improved  Team - becoming the fifth different Illinois State Redbird to earn the honor. Since the award was first given in the 1994-95 season, 16 times a Redbird (including Reeves) has been named to the Most Improved Team.

600-POINT CLUB

In his team's last game, Illinois State guard Antonio Reeves became the eighth member of the single-season 600-point club at Illinois State. Of that group, Doug Collins has three seasons in that club, and the last person to join the club was Tarise Bryson in the 2000-01 season.

RARE 30-30-30

This season Illinois State junior forward Kendall Lewis has 35 steals, 32 blocked shots, and 32 assists. Since 1993-94, only 30 players in 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 16 players in the country this season with at least 32 in all three categories.

LEADING THE MVC

Heading into the 2022 Arch Madness, Illinois State junior guard Antonio Reeves holds an eight-point lead over Missouri State's Isiaih Mosley through 31 games. If Reeves ends the season on top of the conference in scoring, he will be just 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 pairs 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 (80) and Antonio Reeves (74) who have combined 154 three-point baskets, second-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 80 made three-point baskets and Antonio Reeves with 74, is one of just four schools in the country (along with Liberty, Rice, and Syracuse) that has two players with at least 74 made three-point baskets this season (as of games played on February 28).

MILESTONE WATCH

Now 31 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 33rd all-time in scoring.

SEASON BLOCKS RECORD

With 149 blocked shots this season and at least one 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. 

STRONG SHOOTING

This season, Illinois State guard Josiah Strong has made 41.7 percent of his long-range tries, which is the second-best mark in the MVC this season, and 22nd-best in NCAA Division I.

MANY 20'S

This season in 31 games, Illinois State guard Antonio Reeves has scored 20+ points 17 times. That total is tied for the seventh-most such games in the country this season, and is the sixth-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-14 in the metric, and three inside of the top-61. 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 14th-most exciting game in the country this season.

EXTRA TIME

This season across NCAA Division I basketball there have been 280 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 Presbyterian and trailing only Valparaiso and UT Arlington's eight overtime periods. (as of games played on Feb. 28).

DIMES OFF THE BENCH

With his 10-assist effort coming off the bench against Drake, Mark Freeman is one of 15 players in NCAA Division I basketball this season to have double-digit assists in a non-starting role.

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.