CHICAGO, Ill. - The Illinois State Redbirds head north to Chicago on Sunday for a matinee battle with UIC, as ISU looks to even the season series against the Flames.
QUICK HITTERS
• The Redbirds are second in the MVC in defensive efficiency, allowing the second-fewest points per 100 possessions in conference games this season
• This season Illinois State has an offensive rebounding percentage allowed rate of 24.2, seventh-best in the country. Offensive rebounding percentage is a measure of the possible rebounds that are gathered by the offense
• ISU has out-scored its MVC opponents by 35 points in the first half (fourth best) and 71 in the second half (MVC-best) in conference games this season, as the Birds are one of four schools to have a positive scoring margin in both halves
• Illinois State junior Johnny Kinziger became ISU's 47th member of the 1,000-point club on January 14 at Indiana State. He ranks 36th in school history in career scoring with 1,088 points
• Against Valparaiso on February 12, Illinois State was a perfect 17-of-17 at the free throw line, the fourth-best single-game shooting percentage in school history, and the 12th-best in the NCAA this season
• ISU ranks in the top-100 in the NCAA in nine different statistical categories, including 33rd in scoring defense, 44th in defensive rebounds per game, and 60th in scoring margin
• Chase Walker was named the MVC Player of the Week for the second time this season on January 19, the 11th time in school history that a student-athlete has earned two or more Player of the Week honors in the same season
• With two players from North Dakota, Illinois State has the second-highest number of Division I basketball student-athletes from the state. In all, seven schools have student-athletes from the Roughrider state, trailing just the University of North Dakota, who has five
• Redbird freshman Mason Klabo was named the MVC Freshman of the Week on December 8, the second ISU player this season to earn the honor as Ty'Reek Coleman in the season's opening week
• The Redbirds have 11 players that have scored in double-digits, the most in the MVC
• Ty'Reek Coleman is one of eight freshmen in NCAA Division I since 2016-17 to average double digit points with shooting splits of at least .490/.420/.705
• This season is the second time in program history that the Redbirds have had 11 wins before the new year
• Illinois State's 52-point win over Coastal Carolina on November 23 is the 21st-largest margin of victory in the NCAA this season by a NCAA Division I school against a NCAA Division I school
• For the seventh time in program history, the Redbirds have played in all four time zones within the contiguous United States, having played in the Eastern (at Ohio Univ.), in the Central (home vs Cornell), Mountain (vs Utah State in Salt Lake City), and Pacific (vs USC in Los Angeles)
DEFENSIVE EFFICIENCY
On the analytical website KenPom.com, they have created a "Defensive Efficiency" statistic, which in essence calculates the number of points allowed per 100 possessions. ISU's total in MVC games this season - 99.0 - is the ninth-lowest in the Redbird history of the KenPom era (1996-97 to present), and this seasons' squad is on pace to be just the sixth team to be in the top two the MVC in defensive efficiency.
DEFENSIVELY REBOUNDING
In the KenPom statistic offensive rebounding percentage allowed, the Redbirds' percentage of 24.2 is the seventh-best in the NCAA. Last season the Redbirds finished 13th in the category at 25.2. Over the 30 years of the KenPom era, this season marks the lowest percentage by the Redbirds, and the best national ranking.
SETTING UP FOR THE BIG FINISH
This season in MVC play, the Redbirds have out-scored their opponents by 35 points in the first half, the fourth-highest margin in the conference, and by 71 points in the second half, the highest margin. The Birds are one of just four schools in the MVC to have a positive scoring margin in both the first and second halves in conference games this season.
REACHING A MILESTONE
Johnny Kinziger ranks 36th in school history as he eclipsed the career 1,000-point plateau on January 14 on the road at Indiana State. Against Valparaiso, Kinziger's 21 points saw him climb four spots from 40th to his current ranking.
PUTTING THE FREE IN FREE THROW
Against Valparaiso on February 12, the Redbirds made all 17 of their free throw tries in the 22-point win. That 17-for-17 performance is the fourth-best in school history, and is tied for the 12th-best in the NCAA this season.
REDBIRDS IN THE TOP-100
Illinois State ranks in the top-100 in the NCAA in nine statistical categories this season, including: scoring defense (33rd), defensive rebounds per game (44th), scoring margin (60th), effective field goal percentage (67th), rebound margin (67th), field goal percentage (68th), field goal percentage defense (79th), winning percentage (84th), and three-point field goal percentage (86th).
REPRESENTATION FROM THE ROUGHRIDER STATE
There are just seven schools in the NCAA with a current student-athlete that claims a city in North Dakota as their hometown. Of those six, only two have multiple players from the Roughrider State. Only North Dakota - who has five - has more North Dakota natives than Illinois State. Four other schools - Northwestern, Notre Dame, Weber State, Davidson, and West Virginia - have student-athletes from the state.
LOTS OF TIE TIME
In Illinois State's loss to UIC on January 10, the Redbirds and Flames were tied for 15:39 of game-play time, the highest total for ISU since 2008-09 (when time differential was readily recorded). The next highest tie time was from the 2017-18 season when ISU and Loyola were knotted for 10:33.
WALKER EARNS SECOND PLAYER OF THE WEEK
For the second time this season, Illinois State junior center Chase Walker has been named the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week after splitting the weekends' games, highlighted by a 26-point win over I-74 rival Bradley on Saturday (Jan. 17) afternoon. Walker was previously named MVC Player of the Week on January 5. During the week he averaged an ISU-best 20.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game, as he scored 20+ points in each of the contests. He recorded his first double-double of the season on Saturday against Bradley with 20 points and a career-high-tying 11 rebounds. Against the Braves he made 8-of-12 shots from the field. The Player of the Week award was his fourth of his career, which is tied for the fourth-most in a career by a Redbird student-athlete, behind only Osiris Eldridge, Rico Hill, and Jackie Carmichael
11 WINS BEFORE THE NEW YEAR
In recording their win over Drake on December 29, the Redbirds reached the 11-win plateau before New Year's Day for the first time since 2008-09, and just the second time in program history.
AROUND THE COUNTRY
This year, when the Redbirds competed inside the Delta Center in Salt Lake City (mountain time zone), ISU had played in each of the four time zones in the contiguous United States, opening at Ohio (eastern time zone), and also playing in Los Angeles against USC (western time zone), with home games being played in the central time zone. This season was the first time since 2017-18 that ISU had played in all four time zones in the same season. In 1994-95 ISU played in five different time zones, with games in Hilo, Hawai'i; in Santa Clara, California; Logan Utah; Normal, Illinois; and Terre Haute, Indiana. The team also played in all four time zones in 1966-67, 1973-74, 1975-76, 1989-90
FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK
Using a strong week, in which he averaged 16.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game on the week, while making 13-of-18 (72.2 percent) from the field and 7-of-12 (58.3 percent) from long range, Mason Klabo was named the MVC Freshman of the Week. He is just the fourth Redbird to earn this honor, joining teammates Johnny Kinziger (Jan. 29, 2024 and Feb. 26, 2024), Jack Daugherty (Dec. 23, 2025), and Ty'Reek Coleman (Nov. 10, 2025). He led the Redbirds – and all MVC freshmen – in scoring on the week, helping the Redbirds to their seventh and eighth wins of the season. His field goal percentage on the week (.722) was fourth-best in the MVC, and he had the seventh-best three-point field goal percentage in the conference. His scoring average was tied for the 21st-best, his field goal percentage eighth best, and his three-point field goal percentage 11th-best during the week among NCAA by a freshman.
BIG SEASON FOR THE ROOK
Illinois State freshman Ty'Reek Coleman is one of just 23 players in the NCAA this season to have shooting splits of at least .500 / .420 / .705, as there are just two freshmen on that list. Since 2017-18 he is one of just eight freshman in the NCAA with those same numbers. Those eight freshmen are listed below.
BIG MARGINS
On November 23, ISU secured a 52-point, 94-42 win over Coastal Carolina. The 52-point margin of victory is tied for the 21st largest in NCAA Division I this season against a NCAA Division I opponent. Only Gonzaga (72 vs Southern Utah), Georgia (65 vs Md. Eastern Shore), Iowa State (64 vs Alcorn State), UConn (63 vs UMass-Lowell), Louisville (59 vs South Carolina State), Kansas State (59 vs Mississippi Valley State), Saint Louis (59 vs Bethune-Cookman), Illinois (58 vs Jackson State), Duke (58 vs Niagara), Louisville (57 vs NJIT), Baylor (57 vs Alcorn State), Miami (56 vs Delaware State), Iowa (55 vs Bucknell), Duke (55 vs Army), Gonzaga (55 vs Texas Southern), High Point (55 vs Gardner-Webb), Marshall (55 vs Louisiana Monroe), Arkansas (54 vs Jackson State), Oklahoma (53 vs Stetson), and Ohio State (53, Mount St. Mary's) have a higher total against a Division I school.
MANY IN DOUBLE DIGITS
Illinois State has had 11 different players (Jack Daugherty, Mason Klabo, Ty'Reek Coleman, Johnny Kinziger, Brandon Lieb, Boden Skunberg, Ty Pence, Cameron Barnes, Chase Walker, Landon Moore, and Landon Wolf) reach double-digit scoring during the year, tied for the most in the MVC, with Belmont, Drake, UIC, Northern Iowa, and Valparaiso each having 10 players reaching double-digits in a game this season (as of games played on 2/9)
GETTING DEFENSIVE
Not only was Illinois State's win over Coastal Carolina one of the top scoring margin totals in the NCAA this season, but by holding the Chanticleers to 42 points, it is tied for the 15th fewest points allowed against a Division I school in the country this 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.
COUNTING THE KILL SHOTS
In basketball terminology, a "kill shot" is a run of 10 points or more in a game. This season Illinois State has had 15 scoring runs of at least 10 points, with the longest-such mark being the 21-0 first-half run against the Rockford Regents.
