NORMAL, Ill. - The Illinois State Basketball Coaches Show, presented by The O'Brien Auto Team, featuring Illinois State head men's basketball coach Ryan Pedon and women's basketball head coach Kristen Gillespie will air tonight live from BloNo Pizza Co. in Normal.
Fans unable to attend the show can listen on WJBC 1230 AM, the Varsity Network, and on GoRedbirds.com., as Pedon and Gillespie recap their weekend exhibitions and preview their upcoming matchups.
Head women's basketball coach Kristen Gillespie's segment of the show, hosted by Greg Halbleib, starts at 6 p.m. Gillespie will be joined by ISU graduate student Maya Wong. Wong is in her fifth season with the Redbirds and has scored 1,067 points over her Illinois State career. She was named to the Preseason All-MVC Second Team after leading Illinois State with 142 assists, as her 393 career assists ranks eighth in the Redbird record book.
Illinois State women's basketball (22-12, 13-7 MVC last season) comes into the show having picked up a 101-86 exhibition win over the Illinois Wesleyan Titans on Sunday afternoon, as which Shannon Dowell and Nevaeh Thomas scored 23 and 22 points, respectively, and Addison Martin added 18. The Redbirds open the regular season with back-to-back road games at Northwestern on Wednesday, November 6 and on Tuesday, November 12 at Saint Lewis.
Head men's basketball coach Ryan Pedon's portion of the show follows at 6:45 p.m., hosted by John Fitzgerald and Mike Matthews. Pedon will be joined this week by redshirt junior guard Landon Wolf. Wolf played two seasons at Northern Iowa before transferring to Illinois State during the most recent portal window. He was named to the MVC All-Bench Team in 2022-23 and averaged 6.1 points per game in his two seasons with the Panthers.
The men's basketball team (15-17, 9-11 MVC last season), picked up a 72-65 win over the Lewis Flyers on Saturday afternoon. Wolf scored a game-high 18 points for the Redbirds, while Johnny Kinziger scored 13, Dalton Banks 11, and Malachi Poindexter 10. ISU opens the regular season on Monday, November 4 when the Redbirds host the UT Martin Skyhawks inside CEFCU Arena with a 7 p.m. tip-off.
Fans are invited to watch Monday's show live at BloNo Pizza Co., located at 1304 Cross Creek Drive in Normal, Illinois. However, for those unable to attend the show in person, it will be broadcast live on WJBC 1230 AM, the Varsity Network, and on the Illinois State Athletics Facebook page.
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