ISU senior guard Bobby Hunter is averaging 9.7 points per game. (GoRedbirds.com photo)
By Bryan Bloodworth
NORMAL – Illinois State basketball coach Dan Muller says his team has done a lot of good things, but when it comes to getting a key defensive stop in the end the Redbirds have been lacking.
The Redbirds have lost three of four games in Missouri Valley Conference play by a combined four points and all in the last seven seconds. The latest came Sunday in a 54-53 setback to No. 18 ranked Northern Iowa when Nate Buss hit a 3-point shot with five seconds remaining.
“We’ve had multiple opportunities to win games, but we haven’t gotten it done,” said Muller. “It comes down to executing the game plan and staying focused on your job through the buzzer. Unfortunately, we’ve made some mistakes and guys have made shots against us. We’re right there. We’ve just have to finish plays out.”
ISU looks to get back on the winning track Wednesday when it meets Missouri State at 7 p.m. at Redbird Arena. The Bears are 8-12 overall and 2-6 in the league and on a six-game losing streak. ISU is 12-8 overall and 4-4 in the Valley.
Coverage begins at 6 with the pregame show on WJBC 1230 AM, 93.7 FM NASH icon and your computer or smart phone at wjbc.com.
Missouri State was picked to finish third in the preseason poll, but leading scorer Marcus Marshall left the team at the semester break after getting into a disagreement with Coach Paul Lusk. Marshall was the league’s leading scorer at the time with a 19.8 average.
“They’re a lot different,” said Muller of the team the Redbirds defeated 69-55 two weeks ago in Springfield, Mo. “A lot of their offense went through Marshall when he was there, so they’ve had to adjust their offensive philosophy. They’re running a lot of the same sets, but the focus is different.
“Obviously, some guys are playing a little bit more. Defensively, they’re relatively the same, but when you focus on one dominant player, who’s getting 20 points a game, and he’s not there anymore you’re team is different as any team would be.”
Muller only used eight players in the loss against Northern Iowa, but he said during his Tuesday media gathering that nothing should be read into the fact Will Ransom and Justin McCloud didn’t play.
“The 5 position is split between three guys (Reggie Lynch, John Jones and Ransom),” said Muller. “Reggie was not in foul trouble and John Jones, I thought, was playing real well, so that cut Will out. It wasn’t anything Will did. It’s just kind of how the game went.
“And then I didn’t play Justin just because I was more comfortable with the other guys and minutes weren’t an issue with anyone.”
Muller did say 6-foot-8 freshman forward Deontae Hawkins could return to action this week. Hawkins has only played four minutes in the last 11 games because of a stress reaction in his left foot.
“He could play this week,” added Muller. “He’s getting closer. Health-wise he’s getting there, but at this point he’s missed five weeks of practice. A lot of it is ‘is he ready to play yet’ and not as much injury hopefully this time.
“I think the foot is OK, but you don’t know until he gets a lot of minutes under him. When he’s ready to play, he’ll be inserted into the game and the minutes will depend on how he’s playing and other guys are playing.”
Regardless who’s playing senior guard Bobby Hunter said the Redbirds have to be at their defensive best, especially at the end of games.
“We’ve just got to find a way at the end of the game to get a stop,” he said.
Bryan Bloodworth can be reached at [email protected]
