Once Upon A Time In Las Vegas
Two teams well down the early-season standings of the Missouri Valley Conference meet on Saturday when the Illinois State Redbirds (6-10, 1-4 MVC) visit the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana to play the Evansville Purple Aces (4-12, 0-4). Illinois State was defeated by Indiana State 76-67 on Wednesday. The Redbirds have lost each of the last three. Evansville was defeated by the Missouri State Bears 85-62 on Wednesday. Evansville has also lost each of its last three games. Illinois State and Evansville do not have any players listed on their respective injury reports.
Illinois State is scoring an average of only 66.3 points per game (316th), while shooting 42.5% (283rd) overall and 33.6% (207th) from three-point territory. Kendall Lewis is the leading scorer for Illinois State with an average of 11.3 points per game. Lewis is shooting 45.8% overall but just 26.5% from long range. Darius Burford is the second leading scorer with an average of 11.0 points per game and is shooting 44.8% overall and a disappointing 25.7% from downtown. Each of Illinois State's next two leading scorers are shooting 43.3% or less. Burford is the leader in assists with an average of just 2.2 dishes per contest. Illinois State averages 14.5 turnovers per game.
Illinois State is allowing an average of 68.8 points per game, while opponents are shooting 44.3% overall and 32.3% from behind the line. Illinois State is averaging 33.7 rebounds per game and the Redbirds are allowing an average of 28.3 rebounds per game. The king of the boards for Illinois State is Lewis with an average of 6.7 rebounds per game and Lewis is also the leader in steals with an average of 1.6 per game. Liam McChesney is the leader in blocked shots with an average of 1.4 swats per game.