McLean County Times

The Illinois State men's basketball team is set to face the Presbyterian Blue Hose in the opening round of the Purple College Basketball Invitational (CBI). The match will take place on March 22 at 1 p.m. Central Time at the Ocean Center in Daytona Beach, Florida.

Presbyterian concluded its 2024-25 regular season with a record of 14 wins and 18 losses. The team fell to Radford in overtime during the Big South Conference's opening round, with a final score of 74-69.

Kobe Stewart has been a standout player for Presbyterian this season. The 6-foot-7 wing averages 15.3 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. Point guard Kory Mincy, a sophomore standing at 6-foot-2, contributes an average of 14.8 points per game along with 144 assists and 49 steals. Jaylen Peterson, another key player and a redshirt sophomore measuring at 6-foot-8, leads the team in rebounds with a total of 183 (averaging 5.7 per game) and also tops the blocked shots list with 49.

This upcoming game marks the first-ever meeting between Illinois State and Presbyterian on the court. Historically, Illinois State has only played once against teams from the Big South Conference which includes Charleston Southern, Gardner-Webb, High Point, Longwood, Presbyterian, Radford, UNC Asheville, USC Upstate, and Winthrop.

For more information about tickets and other related services such as Weisbecker Athletic Fund gifts or Redbird merchandise, fans can visit GoRedbirds.com or use the Illinois State Redbirds App.