Redbirds Open Two-Game Homestand with Rockford

NORMAL, Ill. - Fresh off a two-game west coast road swing, the Illinois State men's basketball team opens a two-game homestand on Thursday evening, as the Redbirds host the Rockford Regents in a 7 p.m. tip-off inside CEFCU Arena.

QUICK HITTERS

• Illinois State comes into the season as the preseason favorite in the MVC from the conference's preseason coaches poll
• Chase Walker's 13 free throws on the road at Long Beach State are tied for the seventh-most free throws in a game in the NCAA this season (as of games played on November 17)
• With his 62 points through the first four games of the season, Ty'Reek Coleman has the second-most points through four games in program history
• Redbird freshman Ty'Reek Coleman was named the MVC's opening Freshman of the Week after his performances against Ohio and Cornell
• Illinois State committed just six turnovers against Long Beach State, tied for the 44th-fewest in a game in the NCAA this season
• Johnny Kinziger's career free throw percentage of .864 is the 19th-highest active free throw percentage in NCAA Division I, and ninth-highest among all NCAA divisions
• Coleman's home-opening performance of 24 points were tied for the eighth-most points by a freshman in the NCAA this season, and he is one of just 19 freshman across the country to have a game of 24+ points
• ISU's Kinziger has the fourth-highest field goal percentage in the country who have played at least 30 minutes per game, and are under 6-0
• Coleman is one of just nine freshman across the NCAA Division I that averages at least 15 points per game while shooting 54 percent from the field
• Illinois State's 341 three-point field goals last season were a new Illinois State single-season record, breaking the previous record of 301 set during the 2017-18 season
• The Redbirds are coming off a post-season tournament championship at the Purple CBI hosted in Daytona Beach, Florida
• Illinois State is one of just 15 schools in Division I since 2023-24 to not have a non-traditional jersey number (jerseys with numbers 6, 7, 8, or 9)
• The Redbirds return 1,786 points from last season, which is the fifth-highest returning total in the NCAA
• Illinois State is 6-1 all-time on November 20
• The Illinois State junior duo of Johnny Kinziger and Chase Walker combined for 1,042 points last season, and as such were the highest scoring sophomore duo in program history, and the second-highest in the NCAA last season. The pair became just the eighth sophomore pair in the NCAA since 2020-21 to each have 500+ points in the same season
• With 532 and 510 points, respectively, Chase Walker (5th) and Johnny Kinziger (6th) are both in the top-10 in single-season scoring by a sophomore
 

OFF TO A FAST START

Through four games, Illinois State freshman Ty'Reek Coleman has scored 62 points. Since 1955-56, only one freshman player in program history has scored more points through their first four games with the program.

Through five games, the freshman record is 90, as Tarise Bryson opened his Redbird career with scoring totals of 9, 23, 17, 13, and 28, with Billy Lewis close behind (25, 13, 20, 10, 17).

WALK (to) THE LINE

In Illinois State's win over Long Beach State, Chase Walker converted on 13-of-14 free throws, which not only is tied for the 16th-most in a game in program history, it is the seventh-most in NCAA Division I during the 2025-26 season (as of games played on Nov. 17).

CLIMBING NCAA CAREER LISTS

Over his two-plus seasons as a Redbird, ISU junior Johnny Kinziger has a career free throw percentage of .864, which is the 19th-highest active career free throw percentage in NCAA Division I and 44th overall in NCAA basketball. (minimum of 110 free throw makes). Boden Skunberg ranks 75th among active players in career points, while his 118 games played puts him 30th on the list.

HIGH SMALL PERCENTAGE

This season Johnny Kinziger has made nearly half of his 45 field goal attempts, and he is one of five players in the NCAA this season to be shooting .480 or better in 30 or more minutes played per game, all while being under 6-0 tall.

BIG HOME OPENER FOR THE ROOK

In his second game in a Redbird uniform, and the first at home, freshman Ty'Reek Coleman shined, scoring 24 points, which is the 21st-most by a freshman in program history, the second-highest in a home debut by a freshman, and he is one of just 19 freshmen in the NCAA Division I to have had a game scoring total of 24.

FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK

Using his strong second game, Illinois State freshman Ty'Reek Coleman was named the MVC Freshman of the Week, just the third Redbird to earn this honor, joining teammates Johnny Kinziger (Jan. 29, 2024 and Feb. 26, 2024) and Jack Daugherty (Dec. 23, 2025).

HIGH EXPECTATIONS

Returning three of its top four scorers from last season, including two All-Missouri Valley Conference selections, the 2025-26 Illinois State men's basketball team — and players on the team — have high expectations put on it from numerous preseason prognostications. Mid-Major Madness, Lindy's Basketball Magazine, Blue Ribbon Basketball Mazagine, and the MVC media poll have the Redbirds picked to win the MVC in 2025-26. Mid-Major Madness, Lindy's Basketball Magazine, and Blue Ribbon all have returning forward Chase Walker named as the Preseason Player of the Year, while Johnny Kinziger was named to the Preseason First Team by Blue Ribbon Basketball Magazine and Lindy's Basketball Magazine. The Field of 68 ranked Illinois State as the #3 Mid-Major Team in the country in their preseason poll, while also naming Walker the Mid-Major Preseason Player of the Year.

YOUNG AND STRONG

Through the first four games of the 2025-26 season, freshman Ty'Reek Coleman is averaging 15.5 points, while shooting 54 percent from the field. He is one of just nine freshman across the country with those similar numbers while playing at least 28 minutes per game.

RETURNING SCORING

The Redbirds return players that combined to score 1,786 points from last season — 65.49 percent of the team's scoring — which is the fifth-highest total in the NCAA returning, and the team's returning scoring percentage is 10th-best heading into the 2025-26 season.

STAYING TRADITIONAL

Starting in the 2023-24 season, the NCAA started allowing student-athletes to wear non-traditional jersey numbers, outside of the typical 0-5 numbers. In the three seasons' worth of rosters since the adjustment, there have been just 15 schools to not have a "new number" on its rosters. Joining Illinois State on that list include Alabama State, Army West Point, Bethune-Cookman, Binghamton, Central Michigan, Delaware, ETSU, HOly Cross, Lehigh, Mississippi Valley, UMES, Vermont, Western Illinois, and Wright State.