ISU to Battle Racers in CEFCU Arena on Wednesday

NORMAL, Ill. -  With four games remaining in the 2022-23 regular season, the Illinois State Redbirds will host the Murray State Racers on Wednesday evening in a 7 p.m. tip-off inside CEFCU Arena.

QUICK HITTERS

• There are 39 current NCAA student-athletes who have had at least 20 assists, 20 blocks, and 20 steals in both 2021-22 and 2022-23. Two of them - Illinois State's Kendall Lewis and Bradley's Malevy Leons - are the only ones in the MVC to have done it in each the last two seasons.
• The Redbirds are fifth in NCAA Division I in free throw percentage, making 79.6 percent of their free tries during the season.
• Illinois State senior forward Kendall Lewis is one of nine players in NCAA Division I with at least 22 blocks, 35 assists, 38 steals and 280 points this season.
• Redbird guard Malachi Poindexter has made 48-of-51 free throws this season and is one of just four players in the country to have made 94 percent of their free throws with at least 40 makes.
• Illinois State seventh leading scorer (Liam McChesney) averages 6.7 points per game, which is the second-highest seventh-leading scorer in the MVC this season.
• This season the Redbirds have seven different players who have led the team in scoring, including a seven-game span in which ISU had seven different leading scorers.
• There are 14 NCAA Division I student-athletes who have made 92.5 percent of their free throws in conference play (a minimum of 35 makes. Malachi Poindexter, at 38-of-41 in MVC play, has the 12th-highest percentage among the qualifiers. 
• This season the Illinois State Redbirds have played in four overtime games, which is tied for the eighth-most by a program during the season, trailing only Manhattan, Oakland, Texas Southern, UCF, and Wisconsin who have five overtime games this season, and Idaho State, who has six.
• As Illinois State head coach Ryan Pedon adjusts his starting lineups to find the proper mix, the Redbirds have seen 12 different starting lineup combinations in 27 games, which is tied for the seventh-most different starting lineups in the country this season.
• Illinois State is 14-12 all-time against schools from the commonwealth of Kentucky.
• When Illinois State topped Missouri State by 10 in overtime on January 11, it marked the fourth-largest scoring margin in an overtime game in Redbird history.
• Illinois State is 24-13 all-time on February 15
• Illinois State graduate student Alex Kotov is one of just six players from Russia, and the only from Moscow currently playing in NCAA Division I. Harouna Sissoko is one of 22 student-athletes from Mali, and is the only one that hails from Kayes, as the majority of Division I student-athletes from the country come from Bamako.
 

SCOUTING THE RACERS

Murray State enters the Wednesday night battle with the Redbirds having dropped its last three games at Indiana State, against Drake, and at Bradley.

In the most recent loss, 83-48 in Peoria, the Racers got a team-high 13 points from DJ Burns while JaCobi Wood adding 10. Burns and Wood each pulled down a team-high four rebounds, with Brian Moore Jr. dishing out two assists while adding eight points.

Rob Perry is the team leader in scoring for Murray State, averaging 14.4 points per game, with Jamari Smith averaging 11.5 and Wood 10.9. Burns and Moore Jr. are just off of the double-figure pace at 9.0 and 8.6 points per game, respectively.

Burns has pulled down a team-leading 177 rebounds this season, while Wood leads the team with 115 assists and 38 steals. Kenny White Jr. leads the team with 22 blocked shots, and is just off of the scoring pace of the top five, averaging 7.9 points per contest. Perry and Wood are neck-in-neck for the team lead in three-point field goals, Perry with 45 and Wood with 38.

PUTTING THE FREE IN FREE THROWS

This season, having made 367 of 461 free throws, Illinois State ranks fifth in NCAA Division I in the category. There have been just 21 schools in NCAA Division I history to finish a season with a free throw percentage at .800 or better. The school record for season free throw percentage is .775 from the 2001-02 season and the MVC record is .797 set by Missouri State in 2021-22.

STRONG OVERALL NUMBERS

Later in the notes we talk about how last season ISU forward Kendall Lewis had one of just four total seasons in program history with 30+ blocks, steals, and assists. Lewis is back to his same tricks this season, as he is one of 118 players in the country with at least 20 assists, steals and blocks. Additionally, he is one of just nine players in NCAA Division I with at least 22 blocks, 38 steals, and 35 assists this season, while scoring at least 280 points.

NEAR PERFECTION

This season Illinois State guard Malachi Poindexter has made 48-of-51 tries from the charity stripe. That gives him a percentage of .941, which is the second-highest in the country for student-athletes with at least 25 made free throws.

AWARD WINNING KNIGHT

Illinois State fifth-year guard Seneca Knight was named the MVC Newcomer of the Week, announced by the conference office on Monday, October 30. Knight averaged 21.5 points per game for Illinois State, as the Redbirds went 1-1 with an overtime loss on the road at rival Bradley on Wednesday before returning and topping MVC-leader Southern Illinois on Sunday. He made 13-of-20 shots for the week (65.0%), was 4-of-5 from long range, and 13-of-15 (86.7%) from the charity stripe, as he also averaged four rebounds on the week with two assists, two blocks, and two steals.

SEVENTH HEAVEN

This season Illinois State has seven different student-athletes averaging near seven points per game and the Redbirds' Liam McChesney has the second-highest scoring average of all the seventh scorers in the conference with a season scoring average of 6.7 points per game (of those who have played in at least half of their team's games).

CONFERENCE PLAY NEAR PERFECTION

There are 14 NCAA Division I student-athletes this season who have made at least 92.5 percent of their free throws (with a minimum of 35 makes) within conference play. Illinois State's Malachi Poindexter has the 12th-highest such percentage in the country, and the highest in the MVC this season.