Gregory Street Tennis Courts | Illinois State University Athletics
Gregory Street Tennis Courts | Illinois State University Athletics
The Illinois State men's basketball team is set to face the Presbyterian Blue Hose in their first postseason appearance since the 2016-17 season. The game will take place on Sunday, March 23, at 5:30 p.m. CT at the Ocean Center in Daytona Beach, Florida.
Illinois State has had a notable season with several record-breaking performances. The team set a new single-season record with 330 three-point field goals, surpassing the previous record of 301 from the 2017-18 season. Sophomores Johnny Kinziger and Chase Walker have been instrumental in this success, combining for a total of 946 points this season.
The Redbirds have also excelled in maintaining low turnovers and high shooting percentages. They are tied for seventh-most games with five or fewer turnovers this season in the NCAA and rank tenth nationally in effective field goal percentage at .568.
Presbyterian enters the tournament after winning four of their last six games but suffered a narrow overtime loss to Radford in their final regular-season game. Key players for Presbyterian include Kobe Stewart, who led his team with an average of 15.3 points per game during the regular season.
ISU senior guard Dalton Banks made headlines during the MVC Tournament loss to Belmont by filling up the box score with impressive stats not seen often against NCAA Division I opponents since 2016-17.
Illinois State's strong performance throughout this season has placed them among top teams nationally in several statistical categories, including three-point field goals made and percentage. Their recruiting class for next year was ranked as one of the top classes nationally according to 247sports.com.
In addition to their on-court achievements, Illinois State celebrated former player Doug Collins' induction into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame last October.
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