ST. LOUIS, Mo. – The Illinois State men's basketball team has been picked to finish fourth in the Preseason Missouri Valley Conference Basketball Poll, announced on Wednesday morning. In addition to the team prediction, sophomore guard Johnny Kinziger was picked on the preseason First Team, and Malachi Poindexter to the preseason Second Team.
The Redbirds earned 397 points in the poll, which has votes from the Conference's head coaches, athletics communications directors, and media members.
Kinziger, who was named to the MVC All-Freshman and All-Bench squads last season, averaged 8.7 points per game, including averaging 16.4 points per game over his last eight games of the season. He was one of just two freshmen in the country last season (the other was first round NBA draft pick Jared McCain) to have a field goal percentage of at least .460, a three-point percentage of at least .390, and a free throw percentage of at least .850 while playing at least 500 minutes.
Poindexter averaged 8.6 points per game a season ago, including finishing strong by averaging over 13 points per game over the final 10 games of the season, including his career-high of 27 at home against Evansville on February 18. His Redbird career free throw percentage of .893 (100-of-112) is the second-highest in program history, second only to Vince Greene's career percentage of .899.
The Redbirds return three of its six leading scorers from last season, including Kinziger, Poindexter, and point guard Dalton Banks. Those three each started the last nine games of the season a year ago for the Redbirds, as the team also returns Jordan Davis, Brandon Lieb, Chase Walker, and Ty Pence from its 2023-24 squad.
Newcomers to the team include All-Summit League honoree Boden Skunberg, former Northern Iowa guard Landon Wolf, former UMKC and Valdosta State forward Caden Boser, and Ole Miss transfer Cameron Barnes. Also new to the team are a pair of All-State freshmen in Jack Daugherty and Cade Norris.
The Redbirds open their season with an October 26 exhibition contest against Lewis, before the regular season tips off on November 4 at home against UT Martin. Season tickets are available by going to www.goredbirds.com/tickets or by calling the ISU Athletics Ticket Office at 309-438-8000.
GoRedbirds.com and the Illinois State Redbirds App: Your sources for Illinois State tickets, Weisbecker Athletic Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
