Saturday Feb 6

[mathewson10]

Didn't think I was going to be able to make the game but at the last minute was able to make the trip to Normal. Glad I didn't miss this one! The switch to zone in the 2nd half was key & Paris Lee was huge down the stretch. It was nice to see the birds beat Baker & VanVleet in their last game at Redbird Arena. No Karate kicks tonight! Go Birds!

[Redbird Recon]

Birds playing zone forced Gregg to play more shooters. That gave Illinois State an athletic advantage much of the second half. With that said, Wichita got decent looks. They just couldn't hit or rebound their misses like they usually do.

I found it interesting how often ISU looked to isolate Ron Baker on the defensive end.

Great game. Fun night. Best of luck to Wichita going forward. Unless Indiana State can put up a fight in TH, it looks like another 17-1 run.

[DUShock]

A congratulatory well done to the Redbirds.

ISUr overcame a sizable deficit, beat the Shocks on the boards and steals, and most importantly never gave up. Wichita State came out flat to start the second half and lacked poise the entire half. During the second half I was having flashbacks to my undergrad years in the early nineties (Cohen & Thompson years). I am still in shock (no pun intended) at only scoring 20 second half points.

Go Valley!

Go Shocks!!

[Rollbird5]

I am still in shock (no pun intended) at only scoring 20 second half points.

Go Valley!

Go Shocks!!

Nobody could score on that side of the floor, maybe there actually was a lid on that hoop lol

[BirdsEyeView]

Heard one of our top priority recruits for '17 was behind the bench too. !

So was a 2019 recruit from Normal Community West High School Francis Okoro. However, he will be a top recruit and is already getting tons of interest. We may have offered him last night.

[tribecalledquest]

Fun night in the Valley last night.

More than the ISU win over the Shox was Bradley beating the Trees. And the Trees looked bad in the process. I like Lansing and that team but they were bad last night. Bradley held Brenton Scott to nine points. The Sycs committed more turnovers than BU (that's hard to do).

I thought if InST ever took the lead it would win but it never happened. Bradley made FT's down the stretch. Good game for Donte Thomas and Luuk van Bree continues to improve. He is legit. Maybe Bradley has one more win in them.

[BirdsEyeView]

A few afterthoughts from the ISUr vs WSU game on Saturday night...

1. Both teams played terribly offensively. ISUr was 2-21 or something at one point in the first half and finished 27% from the field. WSU was 1-14 for three in the 2nd half and finished 35% overall for the game. As Muller said in his postgame interview, that was the ugliest great win we have ever had.

2. No way FVV and Baker go 5-21 again this season. I think FVVs frustration on offense spilled over to his defense against Paris Lee. Lee was a stud in that 2nd half and absolutely changed the game. By far his best game of the year on both ends of the court. Bad game for FVV to show on national TV why he is the best pg in the country (CDIzzle). Offensively and defensively he was very poor.

3. Justin McCloud played 26 minutes and went 0-0 from the field AND I still think it was his best game of the year. He was playing very well defensively at the top of that zone.

4. Gregg Marshall's mannerisms on the sideline are hilarious. He plays with his watch, takes lots of sips of water (or vodka?), and paces that sideline more than any other coach except maybe Porter Moser. He was even playing with his hair down the stretch --probably nervous habits.

5. McIntosh was terrible on offense and was even benched the first 6 minutes of the 2nd half. He finished 0-10 from the field, and I still think he had a good 2nd half.

6. ISUr is the only team who can match up physically with Wichita in the Valley. I think we will lose by 20-30 points on your senior night, then I can see WSU fans REALLY hoping they don't face us in the MVC Tournament.

[hot nuts]

6. ISUr is the only team who can match up physically with Wichita in the Valley. I think we will lose by 20-30 points on your senior night, then I can see WSU fans REALLY hoping they don't face us in the MVC Tournament.

You think the Shox win in a blowout because of pure emotion? WSU shooting has to be better at home? Every game there has certain statistical anomalies both pro and con, but I came away with the impression that ISU can hang with this team. Don't get me wrong, if I had to put money on the game I'm taking the Shockers straight up...but give me 20 - 30 and I'm on the birds.

[BirdsEyeView]

A couple of reasons -
Emotional home finale for those seniors
Payback and something to prove
At least two of our starters will get in early foul trouble and the lead will balloon

We can absolutely play with them, but I would not be surprised by a blowout loss in that game.

[Championz]

6. ISUr is the only team who can match up physically with Wichita in the Valley. I think we will lose by 20-30 points on your senior night, then I can see WSU fans REALLY hoping they don't face us in the MVC Tournament.

You serious? There isn't a team in the Valley that scares WSU fans. I would RELISH the chance to play Illinois State in St. Louis. I think the team would too.

WSU controlled that game until the second half. Then they couldn't shoot. It happens. They played their worst half of the season and had a chance to tie the game with under 30 seconds left. It's not like Illinois State was torching the game. WSU would have lost to Drake Saturday night. 53 points will not win you a lot of basketball games.