NORMAL, Ill. - Coming off an appearance in the 2026 NIT Quarterfinals, the Illinois State men's basketball team opens the 2026-27 season at home on Sunday in an exhibition contest against the Northwestern Wildcats.
QUICK HITTERS
• Coming off a title at the 2025 season-ending Purple CBI and a semifinal appearance in the 206 NIT, the Illinois State men's basketball team has won six of its last seven postseason tournament games.Â
• ISU is one of two schools in the NCAA - long with Florida - to return two players who have scored 1,000 or more points at their respective schools
• Illinois State is 9-31 all-time against teams from the Big Ten, including a 3-2 mark against Northwestern, and 1-0 records against Iowa, Penn State, Rutgers, and UCLA
• ISU played in the NIT semifinals last season, and the semifinal appearance was the furthest the program has advanced in the postseason tournament, after advancing to the quarterfinals in 1977, 1987, and 1996
• Johnny Kinziger currently ranks 28th in school history in points after becoming the 47th player to eclipse the career 1,000-point plateau on January 14. Classmate Chase Walker became the 48th member of the group, scoring his 1,000th career point against Dayton in the NIT Quarterfinal, and ranks 45th all-time in the school record book
• The Redbirds have recorded back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time since 2008-09 and 2009-10, and Ryan Pedon became just the fifth coach in program history to accomplish the feat, as Pedon joins former ISU coaches Tim Jankovich, Kevin Stallings, Bob Donewald, and Gene Smithson
• Illinois State is 14-3 in its last 17 Nationally televised games
• The Redbirds have matched or bettered their win total every season during head coach Ryan Pedon's tenure, making him one of two head coaches in program history (along with Kevin Stallings) to accomplish that through their first four seasons as head coach
• Chase Walker has been named to the All-MVC First Team, as he became just the fourth player in program history to earn two or more MVC First Team Honors in their career
• The Redbirds were stellar inside their home court at CEFCU Arena last season, and outscored their opponents by 307 points, the largest home scoring margin since at least 1983-84, while the team's 19.2 point average margin of victory is also best among that time frame
THRIVING UNDER THE BRIGHT LIGHTS
In Illinois State's most recent 17 Nationally Televised Games (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, CBS, CBS Sports Network, FS1, and Peacock), the Redbirds are 14-3, including ISU's final three games of the 2025-26 season on ESPN 2 and ESPN. The current 14-3 streak directly ended a 10-game losing streak in those games, and the Redbirds were 12-18 in the 30 games prior to their current run.
1K RETURNING
Illinois State is one of two schools in the NCAA - along with Florida - to return two players who have scored 1,000 or more points while at their school. Johnny Kinziger (1,208) and Chase Walker (1,024) return for the Redbirds, as does the Florida duo of Alex Condon (1,181) and Thomas Haugh (1,111).
GETTING BETTER YEAR OVER YEAR
Illinois State has bettered its win total in each season during head coach Ryan Pedon's tenure (he's had win totals of 11, 15, 22, and 23), and he's one of only two coaches in program history (the other is Kevin Stallings) the do that at Illinois State. Of the 30 head coaches in NCAA Division I that are in their fifth year at the program, Pedon is one of three to have increased his win total every season, joining Travis Steele at Miami, and Rod Strickland at LIU.
BIG RETURNING
The Illinois State men's basketball team returns its top two scorers from last season, and are one of just 12 schools in the country to return each of their top two scorers.
HOME COURT ADVANTAGE
During the 2025-26 season, the Redbirds out-scored opponents by 307 points at home, which is the highest total in school history, and the team's average margin of victory at home - 19.2 points per game - is also a CEFCU Arena record. (through the 1983-84 season)
Â
REACHING A MILESTONE
Johnny Kinziger ranks 28th in school history as he eclipsed the career 1,000-point plateau on January 14, 2026 on the road at Indiana State. Classmate Chase Walker became the 48th player in school history — and second last season — to eclipse the 1,000-point mark as a Redbird, as he reached the mark in the first half against Dayton in the NIT.
2X FIRST TEAM ALL-MVC
Illinois State junior forward Chase Walker was named to the Missouri Valley Conference First Team; the second consecutive season he has earned this honor. He's one of just four players in program history to have been named First Team All-Conference twice in their careers with the Redbirds.
CLIMBING THE LONG-RANGE LIST
With his 62 made three-point baskets last season, and 180 for his career, Illinois State junior Johnny Kinziger has climbed into eighth place in the school record books for career made three-point baskets.
STEPPING OUT OF TRADITION
Starting in the 2023-24 season, the NCAA began allowing student-athletes to wear non-traditional jersey numbers — outside of the typical 0-5 numbers. In 2026-27, Illinois State stepped away from tradition for the first time, along with Alabama State, Binghamton, Delaware, East Tennessee State, Lehigh, Mississippi Valley, Vermont, and Wright State. Those nine schools are having their first non-traditional jersey for the first time in 2026-27. There remain just six schools in the country — Army West Point, Bethune-Cookman, Central Michigan, Holy Cross, UMES, and Western Illinois — to not have a "new number" on its rosters
