CEDAR FALLS, Iowa - The final regular season road trip awaits the Redbirds, as the squad travels west to Cedar Falls, Iowa, to take on the Northern Iowa Panthers on Wednesday night.
QUICK HITTERS
• Landon Wolf returns home to Cedar Falls, where he spent three seasons with the Northern Iowa basketball program, after graduating from Cedar Falls High School
• Johnny Kinziger has the eighth-most made career three-point shots in program history
• This season Illinois State has an offensive rebounding percentage allowed rate of 25.2, 11th-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 24 points in the first half (fifth-best) and 58 in the second half (second-best) in conference games this season, as the Birds are one of four schools to have a positive scoring margin in both halves
• Ty'Reek Coleman's 300 points this season are the ninth-most by a freshman in program history, five behind eighth place on the list
• 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 1,100 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 13th-best in the NCAA this season
• ISU ranks in the top-100 in the NCAA in seven different statistical categories, including 40th in scoring defense, 62nd in defensive rebounds per game, and 63rd in three-point percentage defense
• 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, tied for the most in the MVC
• Ty'Reek Coleman is one of 10 freshmen in NCAA Division I since 2010-11 to average at least 10.5 or more points with shooting splits of at least .505/.410/.710
• 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)
A LOT OF LEADERS
This season Illinois State has nine different players (Johnny Kinziger, Boden Skunberg, Ty'Reek Coleman, Chase Walker, Jack Daugherty, Ty Pence, Mason Klabo, Landon Moore, and Landon Wolf) that have led the Redbirds in scoring at least once this season. That total is tied for themost in NCAA Division I basketball this season, alongside George Washington, Tarleton State, and VCU.
DEFENSIVELY REBOUNDING
In the KenPom statistic offensive rebounding percentage allowed, the Redbirds' percentage of 25.2 is the 11th-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 second-lowest percentage by the Redbirds, and the second-best national ranking by the squad.
CLIMBING THE LONG RANGE LIST
With his 45 made three-point baskets this season, and 163 for his career, Illinois State junior Johnny Kinziger has climbed into eighth place in the school record books for career made three-point baskets.
NEAR THE TOP AMONG FRESHMEN
With at least three games remaining in the season, Illinois State freshman Ty'Reek Coleman has the ninth-most points by a Redbird freshman in program history, and within range to quickly climb the list by the end of the season.
NEW YEAR, NEW ME
Prior to the new year, Illinois State senior Landon Wolf was shooting 30-of-61 49.2%) from the field, and just 7-of-35 (20.0%) from long range (with over half of those makes coming in the December finale at Drake where he was 4-of-5 from distance). Since the turn of the calendar, Wolf has been stellar, making 46-of-85 shots (54.1%) and 24-of-49 (49.0%) from three-point range.Â
SETTING UP FOR THE BIG FINISH
This season in MVC play, the Redbirds have out-scored their opponents by 36 points in the first half, the third-highest margin in the conference, and by 58 points in the second half, the second 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 UIC, Kinziger's 12 points saw him climb into sole possession of 36th place.
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 13th-best in the NCAA this season.
REDBIRDS IN THE TOP-100
Illinois State ranks in the top-100 in the NCAA in seven statistical categories this season, including: scoring defense (40th), defensive rebounds per game (62nd), three-point percentage defense (63rd), scoring margin (69th), effective field goal percentage (74th), rebound margin (79th), field goal percentage (82nd).Â
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.
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.
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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 25 players in the NCAA this season to have shooting splits of at least .505 / .410 / .710, Â while averaging 10.5 or more points per game, as there are just three freshmen on that list. Since 2010-11 he is one of just 10 freshman in the NCAA with those same numbers. Those ten 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 alongside Valparaiso, with Belmont, Drake, UIC, and Northern Iowa each having 10 players reaching double-digits in a game this season (as of games played on 2/21)
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 16 scoring runs of at least 10 points, with the longest-such mark being the 21-0 first-half run against the Rockford Regents.Â
