Birds Close Three-Game Homestand Against Huskies

NORMAL, Ill. - The Illinois State men's basketball team closes its three-game home stretch on Wednesday evening when the Birds host the Northern Illinois Huskies.

QUICK HITTERS

• Wednesday is Malachi Poindexter's birthday
• Illinois State guard Johnny Kinziger has four blocked shots this season, which is the fifth-most in the country for players under six feet. Only Longwood's Kyrell Luc (seven), and Siena's Justice Shoats (six), and Zakai Zeigler (Tennessee) Jaylen Murray (Ole Miss) - who each have five - have more
• One season after finishing 339th (of 351 schools - 12th from the bottom) in three-point field goal percentage (.292), the Illinois State Redbirds are 10th in three-point percentage this season (.406)
• Illinois State's win against UAB on November 23 was the program's third game in a four-game stretch where the Redbird opponent was picked as the preseason favorite in their conference: Ohio (Mid-American Conference), McNeese (Southland Conference), and UAB (American Athletic Conference). In those games, the Redbirds went 2-1
• This season the Illinois State Redbirds have had six different players lead the team in scoring through the opening 10 games of the season
• The Redbirds are one of five schools in the country to rank inside of the top-20 in the NCAA in both three-point field goals per game (10.8 - 16th) and three-point field goal percentage (.406 - 10th).
• ISU guard Dalton Banks is the first college basketball player since the 2022-23 season to finish perfect from the field with at least six attempts, perfect from three, and perfect from the charity stripe, while being 6-2 or shorter. The last person to do it was Tommie Lewis of Texas A&M Commerce on December 27, 2022.
• Ty Pence is one of five players in the country to have played at least 250 minutes with shooting percentages of .540 / .425 / .870.
• Dalton Banks' three blocked shots against Saint Louis is tied for the fourth-most in the country this season in a game by players 6-2 or shorter.
• The Redbirds rank 14th in the NCAA this season in free throw percentage, making 79.8 percent of their free tries.
• Twice this season the Redbirds have had six players reach double-figure scoring in the same game, the first against McNeese on November 22, and again against Belmont on December 4. The pair of instances are the first time that an ISU squad had more than five double-figure scorers in a game since the team had 10 against NCAA Division III foe Greenville on December 2, 2021.
• With his eight three-point baskets against Trinity Christian, freshman Jack Daugherty tied the school single-game makes record and is one of two freshmen in the country this season with eight three-point makes in a game. His total is tied for the seventh-most in a game in the NCAA this season.
• Against Ohio on November 12, the Redbirds made 61.2 percent of their field goal attempts, 52.6 percent from long range, and 93.8 percent from the free throw line. That is the only time this season in the country that a school has had those same numbers, and just the 32nd time since 2002 a team has done it against a Division I opponent.

SCOUTING NORTHERN ILLINOIS

The Huskies enter the mid-week game having won one of its last two games, with an 89-70 win over Benedictine, before falling 101-57 at Northern Iowa on December 7.

In the game against the Panthers, Joe Munden Jr. scored a team-high 14 points, while Quentin Jones had 13 and Kailon Nicholls had a dozen. Jones pulled down a team-best six rebounds, as the Huskies were out-rebounded by Northern Illinois 46-to-22. Jones, Munden, Nicholls, and James Dent Jr. each dished out two assists to lead the team in the loss.

For the season Jones leads all NIU scorers at 15.0 points per game, with Dent Jr. averaging 12.4. Ethan Butler averages 10.5, while Quaran McPherson puts up 8.8 per contest. Dent is the team's leading rebounder with 53 over the 10 games, as he also leads the team with 29 assists. Jones has 14 blocks to pace the squad, while McPerson (13), Jones (10), and Munden (10) all have double-figure steals through the first 10 games of the season.

.610 OR BETTER, TWICE 

This season in college basketball, there have been 53 games in which a school has had a field goal percentage of .610 or higher. Of those 53, Illinois State has two, and is one of two schools to appear in that group of 53 twice, along with MVC brethren Murray State and Northern Colorado.

HIGH ON MAKES AND PERCENTAGE

This season the Redbirds rank 10th in the NCAA in three-point field percentage (40.6) and 16th in three-pointers per game (10.8). There are just five schools in the country who rank inside of the top-20 in each category, including in-state foes DePaul and Bradley, along with North Dakota State and Villanova.
 

HIGH PERCENTAGES 

This season there have been 32 games in which a school has made over half of their field goal attempts, over half of their three-point attempts, and at least 82 percent of their tries from the free throw line. Of those 32, Illinois State has three, as they have reached those numbers against Ohio, Trinity Christian, and Belmont. Only Illinois State, Houston, and South Carolina State (twice each) have multiple appearances on the list. Since 2004-05, only two schools: William & Mary and St. Mary's (Calif.) have had a season with four such games (both did it in 2017-18). The teams with three in a season since 2004-05 include: 2023-24: Lipscomb, UNC Greensboro; 2022-23: Drake, Duke, South Dakota State, Villanova; 2021-22: Virginia; 2019-20: Air Force, UC Davis; 2017-28: Florida Gulf Coast, Mercer, South Dakota State, Weber State; 2016-17: Campbell, UCLA; 2015-16: Gonzaga; 2013-14: Utah Valley; 2011-12: Tennessee Tech; 2009-10: Minnesota, Montana, Notre Dame, Utah State; 2008-09: UCLA; 2005-06: Duke.

FIVE MAKES FROM DEEP

Since the inception of the three-point shot in college basketball (first during the 1986-87 season), there have been 16 different ISU student-athletes who have made five three-point baskets at least three times during a season. This season Jack Daugherty has moved into that list with five-make games against UT Martin, Trinity Christian, and Pacific.

ONE OF A FEW

This season, Redbird sophomore Ty Pence is one of five players in the country who have played at least 250 minutes with shooting percentages of .540 or better from the field, .425 or better from long range, and .870 from the charity stripe.
 

NEAR-CONFERENCE RECORDS

In ISU's win over Trinity Christian, the Redbirds made 20-of-40 three-point field goals, which is tied for the third-most in a game in conference history. Against Belmont, Illinois State's 18 made three-pointers are the second-most in a MVC game in conference history

BIG BLOCKS FROM A GUARD

In Illinois State's win over Saint Louis, guard Dalton Banks had a career-high three blocked shots. That is the fourth-most in the country this season for a player 6-2 or shorter. This season there are 17 student-athletes 6-2 or shorter with at least three blocked shots. He is the first player in the MVC, 6-2 or shorter to reach the three-block milestone since Wes Washpun of Northern Iowa did it against Evansville on February 27, 2016.
 

LARGE MARGINS 

Against Trinity Christian on Sunday, November 17, the Redbirds out-scored the Trolls by 55 points, which is the fifth-largest scoring margin in a game in program history.

BIG POINTS 

Behind a career-high 28 points against Trinity Christian, Illinois State freshman Jack Daugherty scored the seventh-most points by a freshman in program history. He is joined on that list by teammate Johnny Kinziger, who scored 31 points against nationally-ranked Indiana State last season, which is tied for the second-most freshman points in school history.

OFFENSIVE REBOUNDING PERCENTAGE

Through nine games of the season, Illinois State forward Chase Walker ranks 11th in the country in the KenPom statistcal category Offensive Rebounding Percentage. The statistic is the percentage of possible offensive rebounds a player gets and the denominator is scaled based on the percentage of a team's minutes played by the player.
 

STRONG NEW CLASS

With four signees, the Illinois State men's basketball recruiting class for the 2025 season was ranked 60th in the country according to the 247sports.com team ranking. ISU added forward Nick Allen, guard/forward Isaac Ericksen, and guards Tyreek Coleman and Mason Klabo. Allen, a 6-11 forward from Bradley-Bourbonnais HS, has a national 247sports ranking of 277, and is the top-rated center in the state of Illinois. He was named First Team All-State as a junior. Ericksen, a 6-9 guard/forward from Green Level HS in Cary, North Carolina, was named Second Team All-State as a junior, and is the 13th-rated prospect inside North Carolina. Coleman, a 6-2 guard from Waubonsie Valley HS, was named Third Team All-State as a junior. Klabo, a 6-1 guard from Fargo Davies HS in Fargo, North Dakota, was named First Team All-State three times heading into his senior season, as he is within grasp of the North Dakota boys basketball all-time scoring record.

PUTTING THE FREE IN FREE THROW

Two seasons after finishing as the national runner-up in team free throw percentage, the Redbirds are at it again, and through ten games of the season, ISU ranks 14th in the country in free throw percentage, making 79.8 percent (138-of-173) of their free tries for the season.

EXCITING GAMES

Notable basketball analytics website KenPom has a statistic called Game Excitement, which is a measure of how much the win probability changed over the course of a game (using a win probability algorithm that assumes the teams are of equal strength). This season the Redbirds appear in the list twice within the top seven games overall, with the No. 5 game coming from Illinois State's 84-83 win over UAB in the Virgin Islands, while the Redbird 99-97 overtime loss at Belmont are the seventh highest. 

STRONG WITH THE BALL

In the team's nine-point win over North Dakota State, the Redbirds committed just five turnovers, which is tied for the fifth-fewest in a game in program history. The last time an ISU squad had five or fewer turnovers was on January 21, 2022 against Evansville.

BIG FRESHMAN MAKES

With two big games within his first four contests as a Redbird, Illinois State freshman Jack Daugherty is quickly etching his name into the school record books. He opened his career by making five three-point baskets in his career-opener, which (at the time) was the fourth-most in a game in school history. In his fourth game he tied both the freshman and overall school record by making eight three-point baskets against Trinity Christian. The eight makes are tied for the most this season in the NCAA by a freshman (along with Drexel's Horace Simmons) and are tied for the 14th-most in a game in MVC history.

ALL-AROUND PERCENTAGES 

On Tuesday, November 12, the Illinois State men's basketball team made 61.2 percent of its field goal tries, 52.6 percent from long range, and 93.8 percent from the free throw line. It is the first time this season in the NCAA that a school has had those three percentages in the same game, and just the 35th time since 2002 that a school has done it - just 32 times against NCAA Division I opponents. The last time a school from the MVC accomplished the feat was in 2016 when Northern Iowa did it against Drake.

HALL OF FAMER DOUG COLLINS

On October 13, Redbird basketball legend Doug Collins was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, the highest honor for anyone associated with the game of basketball. Collins had played and worked in basketball at almost every level including being an All-American at Illinois State, an NBA top overall draft pick, an Olympian in 1972, playing for the Philadelphia 76ers, coaching the Chicago Bulls, Detroit Pistons, Philadelphia 76ers, and Washington Wizards, and an NBA and Olympic broadcaster for ABC/ESPN, CBS, NBC, TNT, and TBS. He was joined in the 2024 Hall of Fame class by 12 others including: Chauncey Billups, Vince Carter, Seimone Augustus, Bo Ryan, Michael Cooper, Walter Davis, Charles Smith, Dick Barnett, Harley Redin, Michele Timms, Jerry West, and Herb Simon.

SHORT BLOCKS

Through the first 10 games of the 2024-25 season, Illinois State sophomore Johnny Kinziger is one of nine players in NCAA Division I basketball who have at least four blocked shots while being shorter than 6-0. Kinziger ranks fifth in the country among the five-footers in total blocks.

FRESHMEN FROM DEEP 

Illinois State freshman Jack Daugherty ranks 199th in the NCAA in three-pointers made per game, and is tied for the 10th-most among freshmen inside the country. 

BIRDS OF A FEATHER

When Illinois State hosts the UT Martin Skyhawks on Monday for the season opener, it will mark the only time during the Redbirds' 2024-25 season where both teams will have mascots are fowl. This season ISU plays one bird (UT Martin Skyhawks), three large land animals (North Dakota State Bison, Belmont Bruins, Missouri State Bears), three from the feline family (Ohio Bobcats, Pacific Tigers, Northern Iowa Panthers), three canines (Northern Illinois Huskies, Southern Illinois Salukis, Drake Bulldogs), four people-based (McNeese Cowboys, Murray State Racers, Evansville Aces, Bradley Braves), and six more from who knows what category they fall into (Trinity Christian Trolls, Saint Louis Billikins, Cornell Big Red, UIC Flames, Indiana State Sycamores, Valparaiso Beacons), but no other aviary creatures.

ALL-AMERICA WATCH LIST

On Thursday, October 31, Illinois State sophomore guard Johnny Kinziger was named to the Bracketeer.org All-American watch list. Eligible conferences for the first-year award include: America East, ASUN, Big Sky, Big South, Big West, CAA, Conference USA, Horizon League, Ivy League, MAAC, MAC, MEAC, MVC, NEC, OVC, Patriot League, SoCon, Southland, SWAC, Summit League, Sun Belt, WAC. The 2025 Bracketeer.Org Non-Power Conference Player of the Year will be announced in the final week of March, 2025. 

FIRST TIME IN THE STATE

On November 7, the Redbirds will play against North Dakota State in Fargo, North Dakota. The game will be the first-ever played in the state in program history. There are just nine other states where ISU has never played a men's basketball game, including Alaska, Arizona, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, and Vermont. Additionally, ISU has played in the Cayman Islands, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.

PRESEASON POLL

The Illinois State men's basketball team was picked to finish fourth in the preseason poll, with voters in the poll consisting of school's media, SIDs, and head coaches. Johnny Kinziger was named to the First Team, while Malachi Poindexter was picked on the second team.

CHEESE STATE OVERFLOW

This season there are five different Redbirds from the state of Wisconsin - Jack Daugherty, Dalton Banks, Jordan Davis, Johnny Kinziger, and Caden Boser, which is tied for the third-most Cheese-state basketballers for a Division I school this season. Only Milwaukee and Green Bay - who each have six student-athletes from Wisconsin - have more Wisconsin natives on their team.