Hoops Showdown: Men’s Basketball Heads to Evansville to Face the Aces!

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The Illinois State men’s basketball squad heads out for an evening clash on Wednesday against two of the seven institutions tied for fourth place in the MVC standings, as the Redbirds and Aces meet at 7 p.m. inside the Ford Center.

QUICK HITTERS

• In the last decade within the NCAA, few institutions have experienced a transition from one season to the next as effectively as ISU. From last year to this year, the Redbirds have improved by 332 position rankings and .116 percentage points and currently hold the seventh spot in the nation in three-point shooting percentage.

• ISU’s 10-5 record marks the team’s best start through 15 games since opening the 2016-17 season with an 11-4 record.

• Illinois State is one of only two institutions in NCAA Division I basketball that ranks in the top-20 for field goal percentage, three-point shooting, and free throw percentage.

• If maintained, ISU’s .408 three-point shooting percentage is on track to achieve the fourth-best single-season average in the school’s history.

• Illinois State fifth-year forward Caden Boser is just five points shy of reaching 1,000 for his collegiate career, which includes his time at UMKC, Valdosta, and currently ISU.

• Jack Daugherty’s 34 three-point shots made is the 11th-highest in a season for an ISU freshman in the program’s records.

• Malachi Poindexter has achieved 86.8 percent success from the free throw line throughout his three-year tenure with the Redbirds, ranking 29th for the highest active career percentage in the NCAA.

• This season, the Illinois State Redbirds have seen seven distinct players lead the scoring through the first 15 matchups.

• Illinois State’s victory against UAB on November 23 marked the program’s third match within a four-game series where the Redbirds faced teams touted as preseason frontrunners in their respective conferences: Ohio (Mid-American Conference), McNeese (Southland Conference), and UAB (American Athletic Conference). In those contests, the Redbirds achieved a record of 2-1.

• The Redbirds are one of six programs nationwide ranked within the top-25 in both three-point field goals per game (10.6 – 21st) and three-point shooting percentage (.408 – 7th).

• Ty Pence is among five players this season who have logged at least 350 minutes with shooting percentages of .515 / .375 / .895.

• Illinois State has recorded a KenPom adjusted offensive percentage of 110.9 this season, the highest by a Redbird team during the KenPom era (from 1996 to the present).

• Dalton Banks’ three blocks in a game against Saint Louis are tied for the fourth-most this season among players standing 6-2 or shorter.

• ISU’s Chase Walker is ranked ninth in the nation for the KenPom statistic concerning Offensive Rebounding Percentage.

• Seven times this season, ISU has recorded game shooting splits of at least .500/.400/.750. No other team in school history has surpassed four such game splits in a single season, making the Redbirds tied for the highest in the NCAA.

SCOUTING EVANSVILLE

Evansville enters the mid-week matchup with an overall record of 5-10; nevertheless, they have secured victories in two of their last three games, triumphing over Missouri State and Southern Illinois, while losing to Indiana State.

In the team’s 66-62 defeat against the Sycamores, the Aces received 24 points from MVC Player of the Week Tayshawn Comer, who connected on 7-of-16 attempts from the field, while also providing seven assists and acquiring two steals. Tanner Cuff contributed 11 points for UE, while Joshua Hughes and Connor Turnbull both added 10 points. Hughes also grabbed a game-high nine rebounds and tallied five steals for the top mark.

Through 15 games this season, Gabriel Pozzato leads the team, averaging 15.4 points per game; however, he has been absent from the last five contests. Comer contributes an average of 13.1 points per game, while Cameron Haffner follows with 12.6 points. Cuff is just under double figures, averaging 8.8 points per game, also leading the team in rebounding with an average of 6.3 boards per game.

Comer leads the squad with 55 assists, just ahead of Cuff’s 46, while Cuff and Hughes share the team lead with 19 steals each. Connor Turnbull has achieved a team-high 21 blocked shots, closely followed by Hughes with 18.

SHOOTING STARS

Illinois State is one of two institutions nationally recognized within the top-20 for field goal percentage, three-point shooting percentage, and free throw percentage. The combined three rankings for ISU yield a total of 42 (18th in FG%, seventh in 3FG%, 17th in FT%), representing the second-lowest total in the nation.

FRESHMAN DEEP MAKES

As of the first 15 games of the season, Illinois State freshman Jack Daugherty has netted 34 three-point shots, ranking as the 11th highest for a freshman in the program’s history. In his most recent outing – the team’s victory over Southern Illinois – he surpassed the previous Redbird, now with the New Orleans Pelicans, Antonio Reeves.

 

REBOUNDING MARGIN

In the match against Northern Illinois on December 18, the Redbirds achieved a rebounding margin of +20, the highest against a NCAA Division I opponent since November 29, 2014, against Youngstown State. There have been only five games since the 2009-10 season where ISU has had a greater margin.

HIGH ON MAKES AND PERCENTAGE

This season, the Redbirds hold the seventh position in the NCAA for three-point field percentage (40.8) and 21st in three-point attempts per game (10.6). Only six programs nationally rank within the top-25 for both categories, including 2024-25 Redbird rivals North Dakota State and Bradley.

ONE OF A FEW

This season, Redbird sophomore Ty Pence is one of five players nationwide who have participated in at least 350 minutes, boasting shooting percentages of .515 or higher from the field, .375 or higher from long distance (with a minimum of 30 attempts), and at least .895 from the free throw line.

NEAR-CONFERENCE RECORDS

In ISU’s triumph over Trinity Christian, the Redbirds converted 20-of-40 three-point attempts, which is tied for the third-most in a conference game. Against Belmont, the 18 three-pointers made by Illinois State are the second-most in a MVC game in conference history.

OFFENSIVE REBOUNDING PERCENTAGE

After 15 games of the season, Illinois State forward Chase Walker ranks ninth in the country for the KenPom statistic relating to Offensive Rebounding Percentage. This statistic indicates the percentage of potential offensive rebounds collected by a player, and the denominator is adjusted according to the percentage of minutes played by the player within the team’s average.

STRONG NEW CLASS

With four commitments, the Illinois State men’s basketball recruiting class for the 2025 season is ranked 60th in the nation, as per 247sports.com.

Team standings. ISU has brought in forward Nick Allen, guard/forward Isaac Ericksen, and guards Tyreek Coleman and Mason Klabo. Allen, a 6-11 forward from Bradley-Bourbonnais HS, holds a national 247sports ranking of 277 and is recognized as the top-rated center in Illinois. He earned First Team All-State honors during his junior year. Ericksen, a 6-9 guard/forward from Green Level HS in Cary, North Carolina, was awarded Second Team All-State as a junior and ranks as the 13th best prospect in North Carolina. Coleman, a 6-2 guard from Waubonsie Valley HS, received Third Team All-State recognition as a junior. Klabo, a 6-1 guard from Fargo Davies HS in Fargo, North Dakota, has been named First Team All-State three times as he approaches the North Dakota boys basketball all-time scoring record as he enters his senior year.

KENPOM EFFICIENCY

KenPom, the leading analytics and statistical site for college basketball, is often likened to the contributions of Bill James in baseball, particularly in its focus on tempo-related statistics. This season, Illinois State’s adjusted offensive rating is 110.9, marking the highest figure for ISU since the KenPom ratings began in the 1996-97 season.

PERCENTAGES ALL AROUND

Throughout this season, the Illinois State men’s basketball team has had games seven times where they recorded over 50 percent in field goal attempts, 40 percent in three-point shooting, and at least 75 percent from the free-throw line. No other team in the program’s history—apart from this season’s team—has achieved more than four such performances in an entire season. This achievement is also tied for the most in the current season alongside St. Thomas. Since 2004-05, the record for the most of such games in a single season is 11, held by Oklahoma State (2004-05), Michigan (2016-17), South Dakota State (2021-22), and Colorado (2023-24).

THRILLING MATCHUPS

The prominent basketball analytics site KenPom features a statistic termed Game Excitement, which gauges the fluctuations in win probability throughout the game (utilizing a win probability algorithm based on the assumption that the teams possess equal strength). This season, the Redbirds appear in the top 10 games twice overall, with the No. 8 matchup coming from Illinois State’s narrow 84-83 victory over UAB in the Virgin Islands, while their 99-97 overtime defeat at Belmont ranks as the 10th most exciting game.

HALL OF FAMER DOUG COLLINS

On October 13, Redbird basketball icon Doug Collins was enshrined into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, the pinnacle accolade for anyone linked to the sport of basketball. Collins has participated and contributed to the game at nearly all levels, including being an All-American at Illinois State, an NBA first overall draft selection, an Olympian in 1972, a player for the Philadelphia 76ers, as well as coaching roles with the Chicago Bulls, Detroit Pistons, Philadelphia 76ers, and Washington Wizards, plus serving as a broadcaster for the NBA and Olympics for networks such as ABC/ESPN, CBS, NBC, TNT, and TBS. He was inducted into the 2024 Hall of Fame class alongside 12 others, including Chauncey Billups, Vince Carter, Seimone Augustus, Bo Ryan, Michael Cooper, Walter Davis, Charles Smith, Dick Barnett, Harley Redin, Michele Timms, Jerry West, and Herb Simon.

ALL-AMERICA WATCH LIST

On Thursday, October 31, Illinois State sophomore guard Johnny Kinziger was included in the Bracketeer.org All-American watch list. Conferences eligible for this inaugural award include: America East, ASUN, Big Sky, Big South, Big West, CAA, Conference USA, Horizon League, Ivy League, MAAC, MAC, MEAC, MVC, NEC, OVC, Patriot League, SoCon, Southland, SWAC, Summit League, Sun Belt, WAC. The 2025 Non-Power Conference Player of the Year will be declared in the last week of March 2025.

PRESEASON POLL

The Illinois State men’s basketball squad was projected to place fourth in the preseason ranking, with the voters comprising the school’s media, SIDs, and head coaches. Johnny Kinziger earned a spot on the First Team, while Malachi Poindexter was selected for the second team.