Men's Basketball Closes 2023-24 Home Season Against Bears

NORMAL, Ill. - Illinois State hosts its final regular season game of the 2023-24 season on Wednesday night when Missouri State comes into CEFCU Arena.

QUICK HITTERS

• Missouri State head coach Dana Ford was a four-year letterwinner as a student-athlete at Illinois State, and later spent time on the coaching staff with the Redbirds.
• For the second time this season, Illinois State freshman Johnny Kinziger was named the MVC Freshman of the Week following his performances against Northern Iowa and Bradley.
• Illinois State freshman Johnny Kinziger and senior Myles Foster were named the MVC Player and Newcomer of the Week, respectively, on Monday February 19.
• ISU senior forward Myles Foster needs just four points to join the career 1,000-point club and would join Darius Burford and Kendall Lewis as Redbirds who have joined the milestone group this season.
• Johnny Kinziger is one of just two freshman in the MVC since 1992-93 this season to have a season field goal percentage at or above .470, a three-point field goal percentage at or above .405, and a free throw percentage at or above .860, all while scoring at least 235 points. 
• Illinois State's narrow loss to Bradley on February 24, 48-45, was the second-lowest scoring game in the NCAA this season.
• This season Illinois State has nine different members of the basketball team that have led or tied for the team lead in scoring in a game. That total is the second-most by a Redbird squad since 1983-84, with only the 2010-11 squad - who had 10 - has more. 
• ISU has out-rebounded its opponents 20 times in 2023-24, which is tied for the fourth-most in a single-season since 1988-89.
• With his 31 points against Indiana State, ISU freshman Johnny Kinziger recorded the second-most points in a single-game by a freshman in program history, second only to Tony Cadle's 41 points against Illinois Wesleyan on Feb. 20, 1957. He is also one of just 10 freshmen in the NCAA with a game of 31 points or more this season.
• Illinois State senior Myles Foster has scored the Redbirds' first points 11 times this season, while Malachi Poindexter has scored the team's first points six times and Kendall Lewis five times.
• Johnny Kinziger is one of seven players in the country to have scored 31 or more points while taking a dozen or few shot attempts in the game. 
• Twice this season Illinois State has had two different players (Myles Foster and Kendall Lewis) record double-doubles in the same game. Before this season, the last time a Redbird squad had two double-doubles happen multiple times was during the 2017-18 season when Phil Fayne and Milik Yarbrough did it three times.

SCOUTING MISSOURI STATE

The Bears come into the mid-week game riding a two-game losing skid, falling at home to Bradley and at Belmont in their final two games.

In the loss to the Bruins, four players scored in double-figures, led by Chance Moore and Matthew Lee who each scored 18, while Alston Mason scored 17 and Donovan Clay 15. Clay pulled down 10 rebounds for the double-double, while Mason gave out a team-high five assists.

For the season the team is led by Mason who averages 18.0 points per game, while Clay and Moore average 12.7 and 11.3, respectively. Lee is just off the double-figure pace at 9.0 points per game, while NJ Benson averages 8.0 points and a team-high 7.5 rebounds per game. Lee has given out 99 assists to lead the team, as Mason has 93 assists and a team-best 22 steals.

Benson leads the team with 44 blocked shots this season, as Moore and Clay have 26 and 24 blocks, respectively, as Moore and Clay have 21 and 20 steals.

CLOSING IN ON A MYLES-STONE

Illinois State senior forward is closing in on a career milestone, as the Brooklyn, N.Y. native needs just four points to reach 1,000 for his collegiate career. He would join Darius Burford and Kendall Lewis as student-athletes who reached the milestone this season. He also currently sits just 19 rebounds away from reaching 600 for his career. 

A LOT OF LEADERS

This season, Illinois State has had nine different student-athletes (Malachi Poindexter, Dalton Banks, Luke Kasubke, Darius Burford, Kendall Lewis, Johnny Kinziger, Myles Foster, Jordan Davis, and Chase Walker) lead or share the team lead in at least one game this season. Since 1983-84, there has been just one other team for ISU to have more leading scorers, as the 2010-11 squad had 10 different leading scorers.

FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK, AGAIN

On Monday, February 26, for the second time this season, Johnny Kinziger was named the MVC Freshman of the Week. The De Pere, Wisconsin, native averaged 15.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 3.0 assists per game as the 'Birds topped the UNI Panthers and fell to the Bradley Braves. 

LOW SCORING GAME

When Illinois State and Bradley played to a 48-45 game on Saturday, February 24, it was the second-lowest scoring game this season in an NCAA this season. Below are the five lowest-scoring games played in the NCAA in 2023-24.

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

On February 19, Illinois State freshman Johnny Kinziger and senior Myles Foster were named the MVC Player and Newcomer of the Week, respectively. Kinziger averaged 24.5 points, four rebounds, and four assists per game in a pair of wins, while Foster averaged 19.5 points, 10.0 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game.

BIG POINTS

With his 31-point game against Indiana State, Illinois State freshman Johnny Kinziger scored the second-most points in a game by a freshman in program history. Below are the times in which an Illinois State freshman has scored 30 or more points in a single game.

Along with having one of the best single-game scoring performances in school history, Kinziger has the sixth-highest single-game scoring total by a freshman in the NCAA this season.

EFFICIENT WITH THE ATTEMPTS

Against Indiana State, Johnny Kinziger scored his 31 points on just 12 total shots. He is one of seven players in NCAA Division I this season to have scored at least 31 points with 12 shots or fewer, and is the only Redbird since 2010-11 to accomplish the feat.

FIRST SCORES

The Redbirds this season have five players who have scored the first point of the game for ISU, with Myles Foster leading the team by scoring the first points 11 times, with Malachi Poindexter and Kendall Lewis just behind each scoring first six and five times, respectively.

DOING A LOT WITH A LITTLE

In a sport where student-athletes look for efficiency, the performance that Chase Walker put together on January 30 at Murray State stands near the top in program history. Walker led the team in scoring against the Racers, while playing just 12 minutes. That minute total represents the second-fewest minutes needed to lead ISU in scoring since 1988-89, with only ISU Athletics Percy Family Hall of Fame member Tarise Bryson needing fewer minutes (11) to lead his team in scoring in a contest.

FRESHMAN FREE THROWS

Against Evansville on January 27, Redbird freshman Chase Walker made 8-of-8 free throws against the Purple Aces. He became just the fifth freshman in program history to have a perfect free throw percentage with at least eight makes.

BIG DOUBLE-DOUBLES

Illinois State senior Myles Foster has recorded seven double-doubles this season for the Redbirds, which is tied for the 30th-most in a season in program history. Jeff Wilkins and Ron deVries each recorded 21 double-doubles in a season for the top mark in program history.