Appreciate 'Em While Ya Can: Illinois State Red Birds Basketball '17
I wanted to take the time to appreciate a team that is from the second-oldest Division-I conference in America, and also has a 19-year NCAA Tournament drought.
Illinois State--the oldest public university in Illinois--has a basketball team that caught caught my attention during the first half of the season, when they beat Missouri Valley powerhouse Wichita State en route a 6-0 conference record. Illinois State maintained their in-conference dominance, with their only hurdle being the Shockers of Wichita State, who stomped them twice since then, including the recent Missouri Valley Conference Championship victory.
But the Redbirds are still awesome, and just in case they don't make the tournament (or even if they do) I want to remind people that this year's team played great basketball, and here is why.
They played good defense...like...,,really good defense
Illinois State is currently 14th in the nation in Adjusted Defensive Efficiency. Ken Pomeroy's points per 100 possessions numbers take into account the level of competition, so in my opinion these tempo-free statistics give the best picture of how teams are performing.
The Redbirds contest shots at the rim and defensive rebound by committee. They dig in and get into their man when playing man-to-man defense, while mixing in a matchup zone defense. Their guards fight over screens, and they remind fans that defense is about effort. While not being the most talented bunch in the nation, their intensity on the defensive end of the floor certainly makes the Missouri Valley a conference worthy of two teams in the NCAA Tournament.
Single Digit Losses
Winning games is hard at any level. So the fact that head coach Dan Muller led Illinois State to a school-record 27 wins is impressive. They ripped off win streaks of 12-games and 8-games, but the only team that really seemed to frustrate them was in-conference big-brother Wichita State. As of the date of this publication, Illinois State is 27-6. They also finished 17-1 in conference play. That strong win-loss record, along with their strong RPI is yet another thing that separates them from the rest of the "on the bubble" pack.
Paris Lee is Awesome
For those who aren't familiar with Paris Lee, you can get to know a little bit more about his past work in the above video. Today, Lee is a senior point guard and he is averaging 5 assists while shooting 41% from the 3-point line.
His mixture of play-making and scoring ability has lifted Illinois State to have a top-150 offensive rating (according to Kenpom.com), which is exactly where you want to be offensively if your team is defense-oriented. It basically means that your team is tough on the defensive end, but also have enough of an offensive skill-set that you can win close games.
Lee, who is generously listed at 6-foot 1-inches--but looks more like 5-foot-9--has struggled mightily with teams like Wichita State that can use lankier defenders to guard him. If his 18 points on 7-for-21 shooting against the Shockers in the MVC Championship was his last game, I hope he and the Redbirds know, they are appreciated.
