TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -Â The Illinois Redbirds start up a two-game road trip - its final two road games of the regular season - and travel to Terre Haute, Indiana, to face off against the Indiana State Sycamores on Saturday afternoon.
QUICK HITTERS
• Just two schools in the MVC have four players averaging double-figure points this season, and the two are the pair of teams in Saturday's game - Illinois State and Indiana State.
• There are 48 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 79.7 percent of their free tries during the season.
• Illinois State senior forward Kendall Lewis is one of six players in NCAA Division I with at least 22 blocks, 38 assists, 41 steals and 300 points this season.
• Redbird guard Malachi Poindexter has made 48-of-51 free throws this season and is one of just five 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 13 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 10th-highest percentage among the qualifiers.Â
• 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 13 different starting lineup combinations in 28 games, which is tied for the sixth-most different starting lineups in the country this season.
• 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 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.
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SCOUTING THE SYCAMORES
Indiana State comes into the weekend battle riding a six-game win streak, with each of the last five wins coming by 18 or more points.
In the most recent game, a 79-60 win at UIC, the Sycamores got 26 points from Courvoisier McCauley, Trenton Gibson scored 14, while Robbie Avila scored a dozen. Cameron Henry just missed the double-figure plateau while leading the team with six assists and five steals. Cooper Neese pulled down a team-leading eight rebounds, as the Sycamores out-rebounded UIC 36-to-30 in the game.
On the year, Indiana State has four players averaging double-figure scoring, led by McCauley's 17.0 points per game, with Henry (10.5), Neese (10.0), and Avila (10.0) all averaging in double-figures. McCauley has pulled down a team-best 149 rebounds, while Henry's 104 assists lead the team, just ahead of Julian Larry's 93, as Henry also holds a narrow lead over Larry in steals 38-to-35.
PUTTING THE FREE IN FREE THROWS
This season, having made 378 of 474 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 127 players in the country with at least 20 assists, steals and blocks. Additionally, he is one of just six players in NCAA Division I with at least 22 blocks, 41 steals, and 38 assists this season, while scoring at least 300 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 fifth-highest in the country for student-athletes with at least 30 made free throws.
CLIMBING NEAR MILESTONES
Earlier this season Illinois State fifth-year guard Seneca Knight scored the 1,000th point of his collegiate career. Two other Redbirds - Kendall Lewis and Darius Burford - are climbing towards the milestone during their college careers - each of which have included time at other schools - Lewis at Appalachian State and Burford at Elon. Lewis needs 59 points to reach 1,000 points while Burford is 70 points away.
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 13 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 10th-highest such percentage in the country, and the highest in the MVC this season.
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