ISU Closes Non-Conference Season at Cornell

ITHACA, N.Y. - The Illinois State Redbirds and the Cornell Big Red meet for the first time in their series' history, and the game is the final non-conference game of the 2024-25 season for ISU.

QUICK HITTERS

• Illinois State is one of two schools in NCAA Division I basketball to rank inside of the top-30 in field goal percentage, three-point field goal percentage, and free throw percentage
• ISU out-rebounded Northern Illinois by 20 in the Redbirds' most recent game, which is the sixth-largest rebounding margin against a Division I opponent since the 2009-10 season
• Behind his strong performance against Saint Louis in which he scored 27 points, Chase Walker was named the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week
• One season after finishing 339th (of 351 schools - 12th from the bottom) in three-point field goal percentage (.292), the Illinois State Redbirds are ninth in three-point percentage this season (.407). The difference (.115) is the second-largest in the NCAA this season, behind only IU Indy's improvement of .120 (.248 to .368). ISU's improvement of 330 spaces is 35 more than the next closest (Arizona State, 328-to-33)
• This season the Illinois State Redbirds have had six different players lead the team in scoring through the opening 11 games of the season
• 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
• 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 (10.7 - 17th) and three-point field goal percentage (.407 - 9th)
• Ty Pence is one of four players in the country to have played at least 300 minutes with shooting percentages of .540 / .410 / .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
• ISU's Chase Walker ranks seventh in the country in the KenPom stat Offensive Rebounding Percentage
• Five times this season, ISU has had games with shooting splits of .500/.400/.750. No other team in school history has had more than four such game splits in a single season, and only St. Thomas has more in the NCAA this season
• 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

SCOUTING CORNELL

Last playing on December 10, Cornell comes into its final non-conference game of the season with a 7-3 overall record, with losses only to Syracuse, Robert Morris, and La Salle.

In the team's last game, an 88-80 win at Cal, the Big Red got 24 points from AK Okereke, while Cooper Noard scored 21, Nazir Williams 18, and Jake Fiegen 11. Ryan Kiachian pulled down a team-high seven rebounds, as Okereke had three blocks and three steals, while tying for the team lead with three assists.

The Big Red - ranked second in the country in assists per game - have five players averaging double-figure scoring, led by Noard's 13.8 points per game. Williams averages 13.7, while Fiegen (12.7), Okereke (11.4), and Guy Ragland Jr. (10.3) all average in double-figures. The up-tempo Cornell squad also ranks eighth in the NCAA in three-point attempts per game (31.4), and ninth in three-pointers made per game (11.1)

Ragland leads the team with 63 rebounds, while Okereke's 45 assists lead six players in double-figures in the category. Kiachian has a team-best 10 blocked shots, with Fiegen leading the team with 14 steals.

SHOOTING STARS

Illinois State is one of two schools in the country to rank inside of the top-30 in field goal percentage, three-point field goal percentage and free throw percentage. The sum of ISU's three rankings is 53 (28th in FG%, 9th in 3FG%, 16th in FT%), and is the second-lowest sum in the country.

REBOUNDING MARGIN

Against Northern Illinois, the Redbirds had a +20 rebounding margin, which is the highest by a Redbird team against a NCAA Division I opponent since November 29, 2014 against Youngstown State. There have been just five games with a larger margin for ISU since th 2009-10 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.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Behind his strong performance against Saint Louis, Illinois State sophomore Chase Walker was named the MVC Player of the Week. The Columbus, Ohio, native scored a career-high 27 points against the Billikens, making 10-of-15 shots from the field, both of his three-point tries, and 5-of-7 shots from beyond the arc. He added eight rebounds – four offensive – with an assist and a blocked shot. Walker earns his first career MVC honor and is the first Redbird to be named MVC Player of the Week since Johnny Kinziger earned the honor on February 19 after ISU wins over Indiana State and Evansville.
 

HIGH ON MAKES AND PERCENTAGE

This season the Redbirds rank ninth in the NCAA in three-point field percentage (40.7) and 17th in three-pointers per game (10.7). 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

OFFENSIVE REBOUNDING PERCENTAGE

Through 11 games of the season, Illinois State forward Chase Walker ranks seventh in the country in the KenPom statistical 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.

PERCENTAGES ACROSS THE BOARD

Five times this season the Illinois State men's basketball team has had games where it has made over half of its field goal tries, 40 percent of the three-point attempts, and at least 75 percent from the charity stripe. No other team in school history - outside of this season's team - has had more than four such games in an entire season. The total is also the second-highest in the country this season, with only St. Thomas - who is in the middle of their reclassification to NCAA Division I - has more with six.
 

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. 

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.

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. 

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.