TELEVISION BROADCAST
Saturday's game will be televised live on Comcast SportsNet Chicago, ESPN Full Court and ESPN3. Below are channel listings where the game can be found:
- Comcast XFINITY (Bloomington-Normal):Â 56, 522, 922, 837
- DirecTV:Â 665, 724
- DISH:Â 429
- AT&T U-Verse: 741, 1741
- Comcast XFINITY (Chicago-area): 37, 200, 837
- Mediacom: 33, 733
- ESPN3.com
THE SERIES:
Bradley visits Illinois State Saturday afternoon for the 119th meeting in the all-time series dating back to 1905, which the Braves lead, 63-55. Illinois State holds a 35-19 advantage in games played against Bradley in Normal, Illinois, including a 21-5 advantage at Redbird Arena. Head coach Dan Muller is 2-2 versus Bradley and 2-0 at home.
WHAT'S AT STAKE?:
Illinois State is trying to win its eighth-straight home game versus Bradley. A win Saturday afternoon would mark ISU's longest home-court winning streak in the series' 110-year history. The Braves are aiming to win at Redbird Arena for the first time since earning a 70-62 victory Feb. 3, 2007. ISU has won eight of-the-last 10 meetings.
ILLINOIS STATE AT A GLANCE:
Fell to 10-7 overall and 2-3 in the MVC after losing in overtime, 71-70, at Indiana State (Jan. 14) ... leads the MVC in rebounding margin, blocks, steals and offensive rebounds per game ... freshman forward MiKyle McIntosh is the MVC Newcomer of the Week after averaging 10.5 points and a team-best 7.5 rebounds per game last week ... three players have recorded double-doubles this season ... selected to finish fifth in the MVC.
BRADLEY AT A GLANCE:
Fell to 6-12 overall and 1-4 in the MVC after losing, 63-52, to Northern Iowa in Peoria, Illinois (Jan. 13) ... led by junior guard Warren Jones who is averaging 13.3 points per game ... picked to finish eighth in the MVC this year after going 12-20 overall and 7-11 in the MVC for a seventh place finish last season … returning three of last year's five starters … head coach Geno Ford is in his fourth season.
BOUNCING BACK
Illinois State has had a short-term memory this season, earning a 5-1 record when coming off of a loss. The Redbirds have only lost two-straight games once this year.
DEFENSIVE DOMINANCE
The Redbirds lead the Missouri Valley Conference in both blocks (4.4) and steals (7.8) per game, which ranks No. 85 and No. 52 in the nation, respectively. Sophomore center Reggie Lynch is averaging a league-best 3.0 blocks per game, which ranks No. 13 nationally, while sophomore guard Paris Lee leads the MVC and is No. 12 in the nation with 2.5 steals per contest.
BALANCING ACT
Along with ISU's impressive defensive statistics, the Redbirds rank No. 1 in the Missouri Valley Conference with a +6.9 rebounding margin, No. 4 in the MVC with a +8.3 scoring margin and No. 2 with a +1.00 turnover margin. Comparatively, last year's Redbirds had a -3.2 rebounding margin, a -0.5 scoring margin and a +0.9 turnover margin at the same point.
REBOUNDING DIVIDEND
The Redbirds lead the Missouri Valley Conference with 13.8 offensive rebounds per game. ISU has established a +4.9 offensive rebounding margin (235-152) while holding an advantage on the offensive glass in 13 games, with one tie. ISU has capitalized on its offensive boards, scoring 91 more second-chance points than its opponents (206-115). In all five of the Redbirds' MVC games, ISU has earned the advantage in both offensive rebounds and second-chance points.
CONTROLLING THE BOARDS
Illinois State has only been outrebounded twice this season (at Murray State, Dec. 20, and vs. Indiana State, Dec. 31). The Redbirds started the year by outrebounding their opponents in five-straight games, a feat Illinois State had not accomplished since outrebounding six-straight opponents in 2010-11. ISU has earned the rebounding edge in 14 out-of-17 games, including four-straight. Sophomore center Reggie Lynch is No. 1 in the MVC with 2.9 offensive rebounds per contest.
BENCH BATTLES
Illinois State's bench has held the scoring advantage in 13 out-of 17 games this season, with one tie. When the Redbirds outscore their opponent's bench, they are 10-3 this season. ISU is also 10-6 when the bench reaches double figures. Bench production has proven key in both of Illinois State's Missouri Valley Conference victories, with the Redbird bench outscoring Drake (Jan. 7) and Missouri State (Jan. 11) by a combined 68-32 margin.
FROM WORST TO FIRST
After outrebounding Indiana State, 46-28, Wednesday night, Illinois State now leads the Missouri Valley Conference and ranks No. 27 nationally with a +6.9 rebounding margin. At the end of the 2013-14 season, the undersized Redbirds ranked last in the MVC, with a -2.6 rebounding margin. Illinois State has held the rebounding advantage in all five of its conference games this season, and ISU has only been outrebounded twice this year. ISU also leads the MVC with 13.8 offensive rebounds averaged per contest.
FIRST-HALF ATTACK
The Redbirds have held the halftime advantage in all but three games so far this season. The only times ISU trailed at intermission were during the Redbirds' losses to Seton Hall (Nov. 24), at No. 16 Wichita State (Jan. 4) and at Indiana State (Jan. 14). ISU has not yet had a halftime deficit at Redbird Arena this year. Illinois State is 10-4 when leading at halftime and 0-3 when trailing at the half. ISU has also earned a cumulative +8.6 scoring margin in the first half, compared to a -1.0 scoring margin in the second half.
SCHEDULE STRENGTH
Illinois State's non-conference strength of schedule is ranked No. 31 in the nation according to the Jan. 16 Collegiate Basketball News RPI Report. ISU's 31 NCSS ranks second in the Missouri Valley Conference behind Wichita State (No. 6). Illinois State's RPI is No. 111, which is fifth-best in the league.
SOPHOMORE MARK IN SIGHT
With two more blocks at Indiana State (Jan. 14), sophomore center Reggie Lynch increased his career total to 141 blocks, which ranks No. 4 on ISU's career blocks list. Lynch is now in pursuit of LeRoy Watkins (1996-99), whose total of 143 blocks ranks No. 3. With 45 blocks this season, Lynch is also in pursuit of ISU's sophomore record of 48, held by Joe Galvin (1976-80). Lynch's 96 blocks last season set Illinois State's freshman blocks mark.
FILLING THE VOID
When junior guard DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell - who was ISU's leading scorer at the time - was sidelined after breaking his hand at DePaul (Dec. 14), Akoon-Purcell's teammates were forced to compensate for his absence. After missing seven games, Akoon-Purcell returned to ISU's lineup at Missouri State (Jan. 11).
- Freshman forward MiKyle McIntosh made his first-collegiate start following Akoon-Purcell's injury, versus UT Martin (Dec. 17), and since then, he has started nine-straight, averaging 9.7 points and 6.1 rebounds in 23.5 minutes during his last 11 contests after averaging 2.0 points and 3.0 rebounds in 14.8 minutes through his first six games.
- Sophomore guard Tony Wills has also stepped up, averaging 9.3 points and 3.1 rebounds in 26.8 minutes during his last eight contests after averaging 3.6 points and 1.9 rebounds in 18.6 minutes through his first nine games. Wills dished out a career-best six assists versus Drake (Jan. 7).
AKOON-PURCELL RETURNS
Junior guard DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell returned to Illinois State's lineup at Missouri State (Jan. 11) after missing seven games with a broken hand (sustained at DePaul Dec. 14). In his first two games back in uniform, Akoon-Purcell has reached double-figures each time, with 12 points at Missouri State (Jan. 11) and 11 points at Indiana State (Jan. 14). He has earned double-figures in all but one game (at DePaul).
ANOTHER NEWCOMER NOD
After netting double-figures in both of Illinois State's Missouri Valley Conference victories last week, freshman forward MiKyle McIntosh is the MVC Newcomer of the Week, as announced by the league office Monday. McIntosh averaged 10.5 points and a team-best 7.5 rebounds per game, while collecting one block and one assist in Illinois State's victories against Drake (Jan. 7) and at Missouri State (Jan. 11). Illinois State has now earned three MVC Newcomer of the Week accolades in 2014-15, with DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell (Nov. 24) and Deontae Hawkins (Dec. 1) garnering the same honor earlier this season.
THE REJECTOR
After breaking the ISU and Missouri Valley Conference freshman blocks record with 96 last season, sophomore center Reggie Lynch leads the MVC and ranks No. 13 nationally with 3.0 blocks per game. Lynch recorded a career-high seven blocked shots in the Redbirds' win over Youngstown State (Nov. 29), followed by six blocks versus both VCU (Dec. 2) and at UAB (Dec. 7).
GOOD KNIGHT
Senior guard Daishon Knight has recorded double figures in a team-best 18 out-of-the-last 23 games, dating back to last season, including 13-of-17 this year. He has scored 20 or more points in a team-best nine games throughout his two-year ISU career, including 21 at Indiana State (Jan. 14). The Baltimore, Maryland, native netted a career-best 10 field goals – including three 3-pointers – for a game-best 24 points during Illinois State's contest at No. 16 Wichita State (Jan. 4). Knight became the first Redbird to score 10 or more field goals in a game since Tyler Brown accomplished the same feat in March of 2013.
PARIS ON POINT
Sophomore Paris Lee continues to consistently lead the Redbirds at the point guard position. Having started in a team-best 50-straight games, Lee leads the MVC and ranks No. 12 nationally in steals (2.5 per game), while ranking third in MVC assist-to-turnover ratio (1.7). Lee earned a career-high nine assists in ISU's win over Quincy (Dec. 29), marking the most by a Redbird since 2012.
HUNTING FOR 3-POINTERS
Redshirt senior guard Bobby Hunter leads the MVC, shooting 50.0 percent (26-for-52) from 3-point range. Hunter has made at least one 3-pointer in seven out-of-his-last eight games, matching a career-best with four 3-pointers in two games this season.
PROGRAM SETS TEAM GPA RECORD
By combining to earn a 2.99 cumulative grade-point average (GPA) during the fall of 2014 semester, the Illinois State men's basketball program established a team GPA record. Illinois State's 2.99 GPA broke the previous record by 0.13 points. ISU's former GPA mark was 2.86. Six of Illinois State's men's basketball student-athletes were named to the AFNI Honor Roll, after earning a 3.0 GPA or higher.
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