Illinois State Basketball

Illinois State head coach Dan Muller is clearly annoyed with the NCAA selection committee for leaving his team out of the NCAA tournament, and he took to Twitter on Monday to express those frustrations:

ACC BIG 10 BIG 12 SEC PAC 12 BIG EAST. It's me again. Looking 4 home & home next year. Pls call me 4 chance 4 QUALITY road win, top 33 RPI pic.twitter.com/zYAZpR3kJn

— Dan Muller (@DanMuller) March 13, 2017

That led to the following exchange with Ole Miss athletic director Ross Bjork:

.Hey @DanMuller I'm here with Coach Kennedy & since he doesn't do Twitter, he said to give us a call. We'd love to match up. https://t.co/eLrdBp0UIn

— Ross Bjork (@RossBjorkAD) March 13, 2017

.Our people (Twitterless AK) are ready @DanMuller
Your bitmoji game is strong. Good luck in the NIT.

— Ross Bjork (@RossBjorkAD) March 13, 2017

Apparently, it didn't take long for the two sides to iron out a tentative agreement:

Talked to AK (Hope it was him & not Randy). Need to figure out dates but it's a done deal if we do. AK said it's the TWARD invitational. pic.twitter.com/NCOiWexjW3

— Dan Muller (@DanMuller) March 13, 2017

The Redbirds have a legitimate gripe. They finished 27-6 and reached the Missouri Valley Conference tournament title game, losing to Wichita State. However, the team's only top-50 win this season came against the Shockers, while the Redbirds lost to TCU, the toughest non-conference opponent the team managed to schedule.

"My team is crushed," Muller told Scott Gleeson of USA Today. "I feel terrible for them, especially my seniors. We feel we should be in but we aren't. It's tough to take but we'll have to gather ourselves and get ready for the NIT."

He added: "We ask dozens of schools to play us every year and they won't. Don't talk to me about scheduling."

The players were just as disappointed with the snub.

"I'm pretty upset, mad-slash-sad, shocked," guard Paris Lee told Mike Helfgot of the Chicago Tribune. "Everybody in that locker room is human. Everybody is hurt."

Illinois State is a No. 1 seed in the NIT, alongside California, Iowa and Syracuse, and will face UC Irvine in first-round action on Wednesday. It will be one of the favorites to win the title, though it's clearly not the title the Redbirds had been hoping to contend for this season.

The Illinois State Redbirds found themselves in familiar territory Friday night against No. 21 Creighton at Redbird Arena. 

On Wednesday night, the Redbirds fought back from a 19-point deficit to lose at Wichita State by five points. 

Call it a moral victory. 

The Redbirds were down by 18 points in the second half tonight against Creighton, but fought to bring the score to within two points against the Missouri Valley Conference frontrunners.  Creighton won 87 to 78.

Does this similar situation present a second moral victory?

Junior Jackie Carmichael, who scored 14 points, dismissed any similarities between the Wichita State loss and Creighton.

“It was it’s own game,” Carmichael said during the postgame press conference.  “We played tough and fought back.”

Most of that “fight” belonged to Minnesota transfer and reserve, Bryant Allen.  Allen scored 29 points to lead all scorers.  He recorded five three-pointers in nine attempts.

“Open shots presented themselves, and I took them,” Allen remarked.

Little did he know, shooting from beyond the arc played right into Creighton’s game plan.

Creighton head coach Greg McDermott claimed in the postgame press conference that the Bluejays’ strategy was to keep Illinois State off the foul line.  Clogging the interior, however, would leave the perimeter open.

McDermott’s strategy paid off.  The Redbirds made just eight three-pointers out of 32 attempts. 

Creighton’s Doug McDermott, the second-highest scorer in the nation, posted a team-high 20 points for the Bluejays.

The turning point in the game came with 25 seconds remaining and Creighton leading by four points.  ISU’s Johnny Hill was called for a flagrant foul on Creighton’s Grant Gibbs.  A second technical was issued to Hill and he was ejected.

Creighton’s Gibbs and teammate Antoine Young sank three free throws to extend the lead to six points. 

A third technical foul was handed out moments later to the Illinois State fans for what appeared to be an object thrown onto the court. 

The contest was signed, sealed, and delivered in favor of the Bluejays at that point. 

The two teams face off again on February 1 in Omaha.  ISU will be looking for a different result on the road.

“I think we can beat them,” Carmichael said.  “When someone shoots 57 percent [Creighton made 32 of 56 field goals], it’s going to be hard to beat them.”

Creighton extends its overall record to 15-2 (5-1 in the MVC), while Illinois State drops to 11-6 (3-3 in the MVC).  

Illinois State and head coach Tim Jankovich found an unlikely hero on Saturday afternoon as the team escaped fellow Missouri Valley Conference opponent, Evansville.  

The Redbirds won 75-73 to maintain a share of the conference lead. 

With 2.2 seconds left on the clock, Illinois State found themselves down a point. The length of the court was in front of them.

The hero was none other than junior center, Jackie Carmichael.  

Carmichael caught his teammate's one-handed sling in the corner behind the three-point line.  Not a promising position for the 6'9", 240-pound inside specialist.

Carmichael banked a three-pointer as time expired, sending the crowd of 5,333 at Redbird Arena into a frenzy.

The two Missouri Valley opponents exchanged the lead six times in the final five minutes of play.  

Carmichael led the Redbirds with 17 points, seven rebounds and four blocks.  Junior guard, Tyler Brown, added 16 points.

Colt Ryan, the Purple Aces' junior sharpshooter, scored 29 points (10-15 FGs) to lead all scorers for head coach Marty Simmons' Purple Aces.

Ryans two free throws at the 14:15 mark in the second half brought the score to 49-42, the largest lead of the game.  

But three-pointers from Minnesota transfer Bryant Allen and Tyler Brown helped swing momentum back into Illinois State's favor.  Transfer guard Anthony Cousin's three-pointer with 10:04 left to play gave the Redbirds their first lead since early in the first half.  

Illinois State is 11-4 overall (3-1 in conference), while Evansville drops to 7-7 overall (2-2 in conference).    

Rank. Team (Ranking Last Week)

1. Butler (1)

Butler remains the top mid-major in the country in early December. The Bulldogs lost a close game to Clemson a week ago, but came back strong defeating Ball State and then Valparaiso to start conference play. They will be tested twice more this week against top competition with games against Georgetown and Ohio State.

Key Wins: Northwestern (Road), UCLA (Neutral)

Key Losses: Clemson (Neutral)

2. Gonzaga (3)

After beating Washington State, Gonzaga lost a close game to Wake Forest on Saturday night. After Portland faltered, Gonzaga takes the second spot.

Key Wins: Cincinnati (Neutral), Wisconsin (Neutral)

Key Losses: Wake Forest (Home)

3. Northern Iowa (6)

Northern Iowa jumps from six to three this past week with a win at Iowa State that proves to me that the Panthers are worthy of being considered a top mid-major. They have four scorers who consistently contribute to the offense. Northern Iowa plays one game this week, which is a must win, against Iowa.

Key Wins: Boston College (Neutral), Iowa State (Road)

Key Losses: DePaul (Neutral)

4. Illinois State (11)

Illinois State remains unbeaten. Looking back, I realize that I overlooked the Redbirds last week, and they are deserving of a much higher ranking then 11th. This week, they are ranked fourth because they have continued to play great basketball and they keep winning.

Key Wins: Saint Bonaventure

Key Losses: None

5. Portland (2)

After catching the nation's attention with three straight wins over major conference teams, Portland faltered this week with a loss to in-state rival Portland State. It is hard to believe that the way Portland played at the end of November was just a fluke. Expect them to rebound this week and still make a run in the WCC.

Key Wins: Minnesota (Neutral)

Key Losses: Portland State (Home)

6. Old Dominion (5)

Old Dominion picked up a loss at Richmond this week, forcing the Monarchs to be moved down one in the rankings. They are still a top mid-major and the potential winner of the CAA.

Key Wins: Marshall (Home)

Key Losses: Mississippi State (Neutral), Richmond (Road)

7. Virginia Commonwealth (4)

At the start of the year everybody was skeptical of how good VCU could be this season, after losing their head coach and starting point guard. But they continue to exceed this year's expectations. Conference rival William & Mary knocked VCU off by one point Saturday.

Key Wins: Oklahoma (Home), Nevada (Home)

Key Losses: Western Michigan (Road)

8. Siena (7)

Siena looked bad this week, losing big to Georgia Tech. But the Saints were without their star player Edwin Ubiles in that game. When Ubiles returned, they blew out Albany. Fran McCaffrey's team has four scorers in double digits in addition to NCAA tournament hero Ronald Moore averaging 7.4 points and 8.3 assists. They play their first conference game at Iona on Monday night.

Key Wins: Northeastern (Home)

Key Losses: Temple (Road), Saint John's (Neutral)

9. George Mason (8)

George Washington demolished George Mason this week, but the Patriots rebounded with a win against UNC-Wilmington. They are currently 4-4 and still have a high talent level. 

Key Wins: Indiana (Neutral)

Key Losses: George Washington (Road)

10. Morgan State (12)

Morgan State moved up in this week's rankings mainly because teams ahead of them lost. San Diego lost multiple times this week and Creighton lost to Iona last Sunday. After losing to Loyola (MD), Morgan State came back with a win against Coppin State to start conference play.

Key Wins: Arkansas (Road)

Key Loses: Appalachian State (Road), Loyola Maryland (Road)

11. Wright State (15)

Wright State won both conference games this week. They have played well with teams at their level, and almost won their lone game against top competition.

Key Wins: Belmont (Neutral)

Key Losses: Northeastern (Road)

12. Creighton (10)

Creighton lost to Iona last Sunday and finished in last place in the Old Spice Classic. After almost beating Michigan in the first round, the Blue Jays showed that they have weak spots, including a porous defense.

Key Wins: None

Key Losses: Dayton (Road), Xavier (Neutral), Iona (Neutral)

13. Murray State (19)

Murray State has not lost since suffering a five point set back at California to open the season. The Racers are 2-0 in the Ohio Valley Conference and house five double-digit scorers, leading to their 82 points per game. They are showing that they are the team to beat in the OVC this year.

Key Wins: Eastern Kentucky (Home)

Key Losses: None

14. Ohio (13)

Ohio has played well this year. The Bobcats did not play this week, and dropped down because Murray State showed that it is a better team.

Key Wins: None

Key Losses: Marshall (Road)

15. Western Kentucky (14)

Western Kentucky lost again this week at South Carolina. I am being a little generous with them because I still think that they have the talent to do much better then they have done in the last couple of weeks.

Key Wins: Milwaukee (Neutral)

Key Losses: Indiana State (Home), South Carolina (Road)

16. San Diego (9)

San Diego dropped a lot this week due to losses to San Diego State and UC Riverside. The Toreros showed that maybe they are not as good people thought with an embarrassing loss to Washington State, and their losses this week supported that.

Key Wins: Oklahoma (Neutral), Houston (Neutral)

Key Losses: Pacific (Road), UC Riverside (Road)

17. Rider (22)

Rider showed that it still might be a top team in the MAAC this year with an eight point win against Saint Joe's. 

Key Wins: Mississippi State (Road), Saint Joe's (Home)

Key Losses: Sam Houston State (Neutral), Virginia (Road)

18. Northern Colorado (18)

Northern Colorado picked up their first loss of the season this week, but  rebounded with a win at Montana on Saturday night.

Key Wins: Air Force (Road), Montana (Road)

Key Losses: Montana State (Road)

19. Saint Mary's (20)

Saint Mary's beat Utah State on Saturday night to secure a spot in the top 20. The Gaels lost to Vanderbilt earlier in the season, and although Utah State is no Vanderbilt, the Aggies are still a good team, and Saint Mary's needed that win.

Key Wins: Utah State (Road), San Diego State (Home)

Key Losses: Vanderbilt (Home)

20. Missouri State (NR)

Missouri State is 7-0 with wins against Tulsa and Auburn. They were not expected to be good and now they are becoming one of the best mid-majors . 

Key Wins: Auburn (Home), Tulsa (Home)

Key Losses: None

21. Niagara (17)

Niagara fell at the hands of Akron early in the week, and then rebounded with a 24-point victory over the Manhattan Jaspers. Tyrone Lewis is now healthier and Niagara will start winning more games.

Key Wins: UCF (Neutral), Mount Saint Mary's (Road)

Key Losses: Austin Peay (Neutral), Akron (Road)

22. Bradley (25)

Bradley snuck into the rankings last week with a win against Illinois. The Braves continued to look good this week with a win at Northern Illinois.

Key Wins: Illinois (Neutral)

Key Losses: Brigham Young (Road)

23. Wichita State (NR)

Wichita State has won five straight games. The Shockers' one loss is against Pittsburgh. 

Key Wins: Iowa (Neutral)

Key Losses: Pitt (Neutral)

24. Long Beach State (NR)

Long Beach State became yet another team to beat UCLA this week. They have shown talent early on this season, and I am now considering them to be one of the top 25 mid-major squads.

Key Wins: UCLA (Neutral)

Key Losses: Notre Dame (Road)

25. William & Mary (NR)

William & Mary was simply not supposed to be good this season. After losing close games to Connecticut and Harvard, they have won six straight with wins against some solid competition. 

Key Wins: Wake Forest (Road), VCU (Home)

Key Losses: Harvard (Road)

Teams By Conference

MVC: 6

CAA: 4

WCC: 4

MAAC: 3

Horizon: 2

MEAC: 1

OVC: 1

MAC: 1

Sun Belt: 1

Big Sky: 1

Big West: 1

Teams Dropped

Mount Saint Mary's, Northeastern, Wofford

Teams Added

Missouri State, Wichita State, Long Beach State, William & Mary

Other Teams Considered

Montana, Nevada, Cornell, Western Carolina, Detroit, Utah State

After Porter Moser was fired, things were not looking good for Illinois State. They were 51-67 since 2003, had not had a postseason sense 2001, and did not have a single ranked recruit coming in. It would take a mastermind to rebuild the Redbirds.

Cue Tim Jankovich.

Here is a man that put North Texas basketball on the map. The Mean Green had gone 5-22 before Tim got there. With Jankovich at the helm they had the second largest turnaround in the nation that year.

In his four years at North Texas, he comprised the second-best winning percentage by a head basketball coach in school history.

But who exactly is Tim Jankovich? A few of his credentials include coaching 24 current or former NBA players during his career, coaching under Bill Self and Eddie Sutton, and he is known as one of the best teachers and recruiters in the game.

"Tim is one of the brightest coaches, at any level, that I've had the pleasure to be around. He has a great basketball mind, one that is very creative, and he has the ability to get a team to play to its full potential. He is talented, sharp, hard-working and has great people skills. I have been blessed to be around some great assistant coaches, and Tim is as talented as any of them. This should be an exciting time for Illinois State," said Bill Self, 2009 coach of the year, about his former assistant.

Deron Williams learned a thing or two from his former coach, even if it was for only one season.

“He knows a lot about the game, because he was a player himself. I know, personally, he helped me considerably with my free throws and gave me some shooting tips. Illinois State has a great coach,” said Williams.

He helped turnaround a slumping Vanderbilt team and the core of the 2004 Sweet 16 team were his recruits.

All his hard work has carried over to Illinois State where they equaled their highest win total in school history (25) in 2007-08, and Jankovich posted the most victories by any Illinois State first-year head coach.

This season the team finished 24-10 and lost 83-79 in the first round of the NIT to the team Jankovich played on for most of his career Kansas State.

If they can continue there success they will be back in the NCAA Tournament in no time.

I will agree with many people that this Tournament had few good story lines, no drama, and an all around snooze fest, but one thing you can take away from it: If you want a successful team, you need a successful coach.

If you want a successful coach, look no further then Tim Jankovich.

Yes, the glorious time of year has finally arrived. It's a time when hearts are broken, hopes are lost, and confidences are destroyed.

These games are make or break for most teams that need a final resume builder before selection Sunday, because otherwise, it means win the conference tournament or else.

Tonight, there are two huge match-ups, both of which are aired on television, and both are must-wins if any of the four teams is looking for an at-large bid.

First, at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN2, Illinois State heads to Niagara. Both teams are trying to inch closer to first place in their respective conferences and it will surely be a battle of the defenses. 

They each outscore their opponents by about nine points per game, giving up about 65 points per game while scoring in the seventies. And both have valuable senior leadership and strong guard play, key components that will make this game interesting.

Although Siena does have a strong case for a potential at-large bid, if they lose here, their chances are essentially gone. This is arguably the most important game for either team to win as we near conference tournaments and the season-ending losses.

Players to Watch: Tyrone Lewis #2 G (Niagara, 16.4 PPG), Osiris Eldrige #0 G (Illinois State, 14.0 PPG)

My Prediction: In what will be a closely fought game, I like Illinois State to come through on the road. It will be a battle of will and in my opinion, Illinois State needs it more.

Then, at 9 p.m. ET on ESPNU, Virginia Commonwealth faces Nevada. The Wolfpack, although talented, lack senior leadership on a team that is primarily led by freshman forward Luke Babbitt, who averages 16.2 points and 7.4 rebounds per game.

They currently stand at 15-10 and 8-4 in the WAC, but they really do not have a strong case for an at-large bid. Their only hope is to win the conference tournament, and that would likely mean upsetting Utah State, but the future is bright for this team. VCU on the other hand, has had some minor slip ups in the unpredictable CAA, but now sit in first place, alone.

They have an overall 19-8 record led by point guard Eric Maynor, who scores 22.9 a game, which ranks tenth nationally. But, due to the lack of a RPI top 50 win, don’t present a strong case for an at-large bid either.

Winning the conference tournament is essentially a must for both of these teams, but a win here could give either team a much needed boost before the final push.

Players to Watch: Luke Babbitt #5 F (16.2 PPG), Eric Maynor #3 G (VCU, 22.9 PPG)

My prediction: VCU comes through in yet another close game because of Maynor’s hot shooting.

This article is also featured on www.thebracketbusters.com.

Illinois State (19-5, 8-5) at Evansville (15-8, 7-6)

Line:  Pick

Illinois State suffered a defeat to last place Indiana State 75-73 on Sunday. The loss leaves the Red Birds alone in third place of the Missouri Valley Conference. With just six games remaining, there isn’t much room for error if the Red Birds still hold out hope for a conference title.

Evansville should be looking to revenge a 30-point beating they received from Illinois State back on Dec. 31. Winners of three out of their last four games, the Aces sit fourth in the conference standings, but have a tough schedule to close out the regular season.

ATS-

Illinois State s 10-10 against the spread including 4-5 on the road

Evansville is 11-8-1 against the spread including 7-5 at home

Evansville is 7-2-1 against the spread in their last 10 matchups with Illinois State

 

See the rest of the article including Dave's free prediction at cbbplace.com

 

Indiana State (4-19, 2-10) at Illinois State (19-4, 8-4)

Line: Illinois State -16

Indiana State lost another one on the road Wednesday against Wichita State 58-64. The loss was the 10th out of the Sycamores' last 11 contests. The lone victory in the stretch was a 75-70 home victory against Illinois State. Apparently Indiana State only gets up for games against the top two teams in the conference.

Illinois State was able to defeat Southern Illinois this week and maintain second place in the conference. The Redbirds were 19-for-19 from the free throw line but shot poorly everywhere else.

ATS

Indiana State is 8-13 against the spread, including 5-5 on the road.

Indiana State is 7-3 against the spread in their last 10 matchups against Illinois State.

Illinois State is 10-9 against the spread, including 6-4 at home.

I guess if you look only at the records you can make an argument for a 16-point spread. But dig any deeper like we do, and this is an easy one.

Dave’s Pick: Indiana State +16

See all of Dave's College Basketball Picks Against the Spread at cbbplace.com.