By ISU Sports Information
NORMAL – Illinois State’s 2015-16 Missouri Valley Conference men’s basketball schedule, which begins with a Dec. 30 MVC home game against Missouri State, was released by the league office Tuesday.
After opening MVC play on Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena for the second-straight season, the Redbirds will face their first league road test Jan. 3 at Drake. In another MVC road game, Illinois State and Bradley resume the I-74 Rivalry series in Peoria, Illinois, Jan 20. The Braves will later travel to Redbird Arena for a Valentine’s Day matchup (Feb. 14).
A 2015 MVC Tournament championship game rematch is scheduled for Jan. 23 when ISU hosts Northern Iowa. The Redbirds will return the trip Feb. 20 by traveling to Cedar Falls, Iowa. Illinois State and 2015 MVC regular-season champions Wichita State will first meet Feb. 6 at Redbird Arena. ISU and WSU will then battle in the regular-season finale, Feb. 27, in Wichita, Kansas. Illinois State’s home finale is slated for Feb. 24 versus Southern Illinois, followed by the 2016 MVC Tournament, Mar. 3-6, at Scottrade Center in St. Louis.
Reigning 2015 MVC Newcomer of the Year DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell is one of three starters and six letterwinners who return from the 2014-15 team which earned a 22-13 record, advancing to the second round of the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) after falling short in the championship game of the MVC Tournament. The Redbirds upset No. 8 Wichita State during their MVC Tournament run, and ISU has beaten a Top-25 team in each of the past four seasons. Illinois State finished tied for third in the 2014-15 MVC standings with an 11-7 conference record.
Information regarding 2015-16 Illinois State men’s basketball season tickets is available by visiting GoRedbirds.com or by calling (309) 438-8000. Game times and television coverage will be announced at a later date.
Below is a detailed look at each 2015-16 Missouri Valley Conference opponent, listed in alphabetical order. View the complete conference schedule here.
Bradley (Away: Wednesday, Jan. 20) (Home: Sunday, Feb. 14)
2014-15 Overall Record: 9-24
2014-15 MVC Record (Finish): 3-15 (10th)
Starters Returning/Lost: 1/3
ISU Record Against Overall: 57-63
ISU Record Against Home: 36-19 (RBA: 22-5)
ISU Record Against Away: 18-41 (Carver: 11-23) (Neutral: 3-3)
ISU Record Against Last Season: 2-0
Current Streak: W3
Last Meeting: Feb. 18, 2015/at Bradley/W, 60-47
Notable: Bradley head coach Brian Wardle is in his first season with the Braves. Wardle previously spent five years at Green Bay, where he earned a 95-65 record. In 2014-15, Wardle led Green Bay to the 2015 Horizon League regular-season championship and a bid to the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) where the Phoenix fell to Illinois State in the first round.
Drake (Away: Sunday, Jan. 3) (Home: Tuesday, Jan. 26)
2014-15 Overall Record: 9-22
2014-15 MVC Record (Finish): 6-12 (7th)
Starters Returning/Lost: 3/2
ISU Record Against Overall: 53-29
ISU Record Against Home: 31-8 (RBA: 21-7)
ISU Record Against Away: 17-19 (Knapp: 11-12) (Neutral: 5-2)
ISU Record Against Last Season: 2-0
Current Streak: W5
Last Meeting: Jan. 20, 2015/at Drake/W, 64-56
Notable: Included among Drake’s returners is sophomore guard Reed Timmer who was named to the 2015 MVC All-Newcomer and All-Freshman teams. Timmer led Drake and ranked 10th in MVC scoring (11.5 ppg) last season. He also boasted the second-highest free throw percentage (86.1 percent).
Evansville (Home: Friday, Jan. 15) (Away: Thursday, Feb. 11)
2014-15 Overall Record: 9-9
2014-15 MVC Record (Finish): 24-12 (5th)
Starters Returning/Lost: 5/0
ISU Record Against Overall: 34-18
ISU Record Against Home: 20-3 (RBA: 19-3)
ISU Record Against Away: 11-14 (Ford: 1-3) (Neutral: 3-1)
ISU Record Against Last Season: 3-0
Current Streak: W3
Last Meeting: Mar. 6, 2015/at MVC Tournament/W, 71-67
Notable: Evansville won the 2015 CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament. After falling to Illinois State in the MVC Tournament quarterfinals, the Purple Aces earned a bid to the CIT where they won five-straight games to clinch the championship. UE features the MVC’s top scorer (D.J. Balentine, 20.1 ppg) and rebounder (Egidijus Mockevicius, 9.9 rpg) from last season. Balentine and Mockevicius were both 2015 All-MVC selections.
Indiana State (Away: Saturday, Jan. 9) (Home: Wednesday, Feb. 17)
2014-15 Overall Record: 15-16
2014-15 MVC Record (Finish): 11-7 (T3rd)
Starters Returning/Lost: 3/2
ISU Record Against Overall: 60-52
ISU Record Against Home: 37-15 (RBA: 20-7)
ISU Record Against Away: 20-36 (Hulman: 17-24) (Neutral: 3-1)
ISU Record Against Last Season: 0-2
Current Streak: L2
Last Meeting: Jan. 14, 2015/at Indiana State/L, 71-70 (OT)
Notable: Included among Indiana State’s returners is reigning 2015 MVC Freshman of the Year, sophomore guard Brenton Scott, and 2015 MVC Second-Team selection, senior guard Devonte Brown. Brown led Indiana State and ranked ninth in MVC scoring (11.9 ppg), and Scott ranked No. 13 in the league (11.4 ppg). Scott led the MVC in 3-point field goal percentage (44.4 percent).
Loyola (Home: Wednesday, Jan. 6) (Away: Wednesday, Feb. 3)
2014-15 Overall Record: 24-13
2014-15 MVC Record (Finish): 8-10 (6th)
Starters Returning/Lost: 4/1
ISU Record Against Overall: 10-4
ISU Record Against Home: 6-1 (RBA: 5-1)
ISU Record Against Away: 4-3 (Gentile: 2-1) (Neutral: 0-0)
ISU Record Against Last Season: 2-0
Current Streak: W2
Last Meeting: Feb. 21, 2015/at ISU/W, 67-60
Notable: Loyola won the 2015 College Basketball Invitational (CBI). After falling in the MVC Tournament semifinals, the Ramblers earned a bid to the CBI where they won five-straight games to secure the title. Junior guard Milton Doyle, who missed 12 games in 2014-15 due to injury, is Loyola’s leading returning scorer. Doyle ranked No. 12 in MVC scoring (11.4 ppg) last season. He also ranked third in MVC assists (4.2 apg). Senior forward Montel James was named to the 2015 MVC All-Newcomer team (9.4 ppg).
Missouri State (Home: Wednesday, Dec. 30) (Away: Saturday, Jan. 30)
2014-15 Overall Record: 11-20
2014-15 MVC Record (Finish): 5-13 (8th)
Starters Returning/Lost: 5/0
ISU Record Against Overall: 38-28
ISU Record Against Home: 23-6 (RBA: 18-6)
ISU Record Against Away: 11-19 (JQH: 3-4) (Neutral: 4-3)
ISU Record Against Last Season: 2-0
Current Streak: W2
Last Meeting: Jan. 28, 2015/at ISU/W, 67-57
Notable: Included among Missouri State’s returners is senior guard Dorrian Williams who was named to the 2015 MVC Most-Improved Team. Williams ranked second in MVC assists (4.4 apg), third in steals (1.5 spg) and fourth in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.6) last season. Fellow senior Camyn Boone ranked seventh in league rebounding (5.4 rpg) and third in field goal shooting (57.1 percent).
Northern Iowa (Home: Saturday, Jan. 23) (Away: Saturday, Feb. 20)
2014-15 Overall Record: 31-4
2014-15 MVC Record (Finish): 16-2 (2nd)
Starters Returning/Lost: 2/3
ISU Record Against Overall: 38-32
ISU Record Against Home: 21-10 (RBA: 14-10)
ISU Record Against Away: 10-18 (McLeod: 0-9) (Neutral: 7-4)
ISU Record Against Last Season: 0-3
Current Streak: L4
Last Meeting: Mar. 8, 2015/at MVC Tournament/L, 69-60
Notable: By winning the MVC Tournament, UNI earned an automatic bid to the 2015 NCAA Tournament. As a No. 5 seed, the Panthers advanced to the third round after winning their tournament opener against Wyoming. Senior guard Wes Washpun was the 2015 MVC Sixth Man of the Year. Washpun was also an MVC Honorable-Mention Selection. Along with Washpun, UNI returns senior Paul Jesperson who ranked second in 2015 MVC 3-point field goal shooting (42.9 percent).
Southern Illinois (Away: Tuesday, Jan. 12) (Home: Wednesday, Feb. 24)
2014-15 Overall Record: 12-21
2014-15 MVC Record (Finish): 4-14 (9th)
Starters Returning/Lost: 3/2
ISU Record Against Overall: 70-77
ISU Record Against Home: 47-22 (RBA: 16-11)
ISU Record Against Away: 19-48 (SIU Arena: 14-27) (Neutral: 4-7)
ISU Record Against Last Season: 1-1
Current Streak: W1
Last Meeting: Feb. 25, 2015/at ISU/W, 73-56
Notable: Included among Southern Illinois’ returners is senior guard Anthony Beane who ranked second in MVC scoring (16.1 ppg), fourth in free throw percentage (81.3 percent) and sixth in steals (1.2 spg) last season. Junior forward Sean O’Brien ranked No. 12 in league rebounding (4.9 rpg).
Wichita State (Home: Saturday, Feb. 6) (Away: Saturday, Feb. 27)
2014-15 Overall Record: 30-5
2014-15 MVC Record (Finish): 17-1 (1st)
Starters Returning/Lost: 3/2
ISU Record Against Overall: 38-40
ISU Record Against Home: 22-12 (RBA: 17-9)
ISU Record Against Away: 11-25 (Koch: 11-24) (Neutral: 5-3)
ISU Record Against Last Season: 1-2
Current Streak: W1
Last Meeting: Mar. 7, 2015/at MVC Tournament/W, 65-62
Notable: After falling to Illinois State in the MVC Tournament semifinals, Wichita State earned an at-large bid to the 2015 NCAA Tournament. As a No. 7 seed, the Shockers beat Indiana and Kansas to advance to the Sweet 16. Wichita State features the MVC’s leader in assists (Fred VanVleet, 5.2 apg), and 3-point field goals made (Ron Baker, 2.3 avg/g) from last season. Baker and VanVleet, who ranked fourth and sixth, respectively, in league scoring (14.7 ppg and 13.6 ppg), were both 2015 All-MVC selections.
Travel Packages Still Available for Cancun Trip
During the upcoming regular season, Illinois State will travel to Cancun, Mexico, to play in the 2015 Cancun Challenge with Maryland, Rhode Island and TCU in late November. Fans hoping to enjoy the Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya with the Redbird men’s basketball team, can register for an all-inclusive package through Suzi Davis Travel. Space on the Cancun trip is extremely limited, therefore, fans are being encouraged to book early. For details or to book online, please visit SuziDavis.com/REDBIRDS, or call Jill at Suzi Davis Travel at (309) 662-0455.
