NORMAL, Ill. - The Illinois State Basketball Coaches Show, presented by The O'Brien Auto Team, featuring Illinois State head men's basketball coach Ryan Pedon and women's basketball head coach Kristen Gillespie will air tonight live from Rob Dob's.
Fans are invited to watch Monday's show live at Rob Dob's, located at 801 N Hershey Road in Bloomington; however, for those unable to attend the show in person, it will be broadcast live on WJBC 1230 AM, the Varsity Network, and on the Illinois State Athletics Facebook page.
Head women's basketball coach Kristen Gillespie's segment of the show, hosted by Greg Halbleib, starts at 6 p.m. and Gillespie, whose team is 16-11 this season and 10-6 in the MVC, will be joined by sophomore guard Morgan Bruno. Illinois State women's basketball heads into the show following a split at home last week against the top two teams in the MVC standings. The Redbirds earned a thrilling 83-78 overtime win over No. 2 ranked Belmont on Friday, before falling to league-leading Murray State on Sunday by a score of 73-62.
Bruno has played seven games this season for the Redbirds coming off the bench. As a freshman last season, the Chicago native appeared in 12 games for ISU and helped Illinois State to a third consecutive 20-win season and a fifth-consecutive postseason appearance. The Redbirds will host their final game of the regular season on Thursday against Southern Illinois, before hitting the road for a Saturday matchup against Valparaiso. ISU will finish the regular season on the road at Drake (March 5) and Bradley (March 8) before heading to the Credit Union 1 MVC Women's Basketball Tournament (March 12-15) in Coralville, Iowa.
Head men's basketball coach Ryan Pedon's portion of the show follows at 6:45 p.m., hosted by John Fitzgerald and Mike Matthews. The Redbirds come into the show with a 18-11 record, and a 10-8 mark in MVC play. The Redbirds split a pair of games during the week, picking up a 78-61 win over Murray State at home on Wednesday, before falling at Bradley on Saturday.
Pedon will be joined this week by freshman forward Nick Allen. The Bourbonnais, Illinois, native, is redshirting the season, a year after being named an IBCA All-State First Team selection and the 2025 Southwest Suburban Conference Player of the Year. He is the Bradley-Bourbonnais all-time leading scorer with 1,596 career points and was twice named the Kankakee Daily Journal Player of the Year. This week the Redbirds have a pair of nationally televised contests, appearing on ESPNU on Wednesday night at 6 p.m. at Northern Iowa, and then on Sunday at 4 p.m. at Belmont on the CBS Sports Network.
Upcoming Coaches Show Schedule
Feb. 23 at Rob Dob's (801 N. Hershey Rd. Bloomington)
March 2 at Pizza Payaa (107 E. Beaufort Suite C, Normal)
March 9 at Jesse's Grille (inside the Marriott, 201 Broadway, Normal)
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