ISU returns home for rivalry game with Braves

NORMAL, sick – After nearly a month without a home game, the Illinois State Redbirds return home Sunday night when the team hosts I-74 rival Bradley.

FAST HITTERS

• Illinois State’s average of 5.9 blocked shots per game ranks them 13th in the nation in the category and on track to break the school record (5.2 blocked shots per game)
• Illinois State Redshirt Junior Forward Sy Chatman was named MVC Player of the Week on January 3.
• Antonio Reeves and josiah strong are two of 19 student-athletes nationwide to rank in the top 40 in three-point marks per game and three-point percentage.
• Josiah Strong 48.0 three-point percentage is on track to become the fourth-best single-season shooting mark in program history and currently ranks eighth in the nation.
• Antonio Reeves ranks 13th in NCAA Division I in scoring, averaging 20.8 points per game.
• Reeves has scored 865 career points, which ranks him 63rd in school history, and just three points from climbing into sole possession of 62nd in school history.
• Reeves has scored in double figures in all 16 games this season, the 13th longest such streak to open a season in program history. He is the only MVC player to score in double figures in every game this season.
• Illinois State has seen five different players score at least 20 points in a single game this season, which is tied for the MVC’s highest total this season.
• Illinois State head basketball coach Dan Muller is one of 44 head coaches in the country this season to be the head coach of their alma mater. His 164 victories as a coach at Illinois State are sixth among this group of coaches.
• The Redbirds’ four overtime games are tied for most in the country this season.
• Illinois State Trio Antonio Reeves, Sy Chatman, and josiah strong combine to average 49.2 points per game, which is on pace to be the sixth-highest three-person total score in MVC history.
• Illinois State is 7-1 this season when shooting as well or better than its opponent.
• Antonio Reeves’ 332 points over the first 16 games of a season is the eighth-most over the first 16 games of a season in program history.

SCOUT THE BRAVE

On Wednesday night, Bradley snapped a three-game skid with a 79-47 win over the Evansville Aces, as the Braves led for 36:27 of playing time and didn’t trail after the first timeout. medias.

Rienk Mast scored a game-high 23 points with 13 rebounds for the double-double, while Terry Roberts flirted with a triple-double with 19 points, 10 rebounds and 7 assists. Bradley rebounded Evansville 47-for-26, while shooting 9 of 16 from long range.

This season, Bradley has three players with double-digit averages, led by Roberts’ average of 15.5 points per game. Ja’Shon Henry, who has only played 10 games this year and hasn’t played in any of the team’s last six games. Malevy Leons is averaging 10.9 points per game as the No. 3 player averaging double digits, while Mast is close to the plateau averaging 9.7 rebounds per game.

Mast leads the Braves in averaging 8.1 rebounds per game, while Leons (5.8), Henry (5.1) and Roberts (5.0) all average at least five rebounds per game. Roberts’ 74 assists and 28 steals lead the team, while Mikey Howell has dished out 57 assists. Leons’ 22 blocked shots are the team’s highest mark, with Bradley having blocked 84 shots during the season along with 115 assists.

FORWARD

This season through 16 games, the Illinois State Redbirds rank 13th in the NCAA in blocked shots per game, averaging 5.9 per game. Illinois State school record for blocked shots in a season is 171 (5.2 per game)

PLAYER OF THE WEEK

On Monday, January 3, the Illinois State forward Sy Chatman was named MVC Player of the Week, his first college player of the week honor. On the week, Chatman averaged 22.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per game, making 62% of his shots from the field and 76.5% of his free throw tries. He scored 22 points at nationally ranked Wisconsin and followed that up with 23 against Valparaiso.

HIGH MARKS AND PERCENTAGES

Illinois State Guards Antonio Reeves and josiah strong are two of 19 NCAA Division I student-athletes to rank in the top 40 in three-point field goals per game and three-point field goal percentage. Reeves and Strong are the only teammates among the 19 on this list, as Reeves ranks 32nd in three-point field goals and 32nd in percentage, while Strong ranks 39th in marks per game and eighth in percentage.

SPECIAL GAME STATISTICS

Against UTSA, Illinois State Guard Antonio Reeves scored 21 points with a career-high 10 rebounds for his first collegiate double-double. He also delivered four assists while making three three-pointers. This stat line has only been duplicated by 12 other NCAA Division I players this season, and 10 others have done so against an NCAA Division I foe.

BIG FIGURES

With 16 games played in the 2021-22 season, Illinois State Antonio Reeves ranks 13th in NCAA Division I in points per game, averaging 20.8 per game.

MILESTONE WATCH

Now 16 games in the 2021-22 season, Antonio Reeves moves up the Illinois State Career Book of Records. Reeves is 135 points away from becoming the 46th member of the Illinois State 1,000 Points Club.

FIRST 16 MATCHES MARKING THE START

In Illinois State men’s basketball history since 1964-65, there had only been 15 players (listed below) who had eclipsed the 300-point plateau by their 16th game of the season. . ui guard Antonio Reeves became the 16th member of that group and scored 332 points, the ninth best in program history in 16 games.