College basketball took a backseat to football yesterday as roundball made the wise decision not to compete with a full slate of bowl games. There was one game worth noting, however, and it came from a conference without any football teams doing battle. The Missouri Valley is all about basketball and they continued conference play with Illinois State traveling to Wichita and beating the Shockers 49-46.There wasn't much buzz around the Redbirds before the season for a couple of reasons. They were just 15-16 last season and brought in Tim Jankovich to replace former coach Porter Moser. With Southern Illinois, Bradley and Wichita State making the Sweet Sixteen in the last two years, ISU got lost in the shuffle but people ignored some important facts when making predictions. Jankovich inherited a squad with four returning starters and several key reserves and that's paid off in a quick turnaround.
Illinois State has won five in a row, including two MVC road wins in two tries, and are doing it with a stout defense. They hold opponents to 39% shooting and 59 points per game, both well below national averages, and a key in a good defensive conference. Offensively, their experience has made them an efficient offensive team that picks up more than one assist per turnover.
Osiris Eldridge and Levi Dyer lead the offensive attack. Dyer is a three-point ace, unusual since he's 6'11", while Eldridge has a full package of skills and, only a sophomore, seems destined for a MVC Player of the Year award before he's through. Six other Redbirds play 10 minutes or more a night, there's that depth again, and almost all of them can shoot and defend at a high level.
They've got four straight home games starting Saturday when they host Southern Illinois. That gives them a chance to get a big leg up on the league. The team's free throw shooting and rebounding could be better but so long as the threes keep falling and the defense remains sound, Illinois State will be in the reckoning for the conference title. They haven't been to the NCAA Tournament in a decade, pictured above, but the drought may be ending.
