2020–21 Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball team

2020–21 Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball
2020–21 Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball
Conference	Missouri Valley Conference
Record	4–6 (1–3 MVC)
Head coach	Dan Muller (9th season);
Associate head coach	Brian Jones
Assistant coaches	Brian Reese; Marcus Belcher;
Home arena	Doug Collins Court; at Redbird Arena
	Seasons ← 2019–20 2021–22 →

2020–21 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
No. 17 Loyola Chicago †	16	–	2	.889	26	–	5	.839
Drake	15	–	3	.833	26	–	5	.839
Missouri State	12	–	6	.667	17	–	7	.708
Indiana State	11	–	7	.611	15	–	10	.600
Evansville	7	–	11	.389	9	–	16	.360
Valparaiso	7	–	11	.389	10	–	18	.357
Northern Iowa	7	–	11	.389	10	–	15	.400
Bradley	6	–	12	.333	12	–	16	.429
Southern Illinois	5	–	13	.278	12	–	14	.462
Illinois State	4	–	14	.222	7	–	18	.280

† 2021 MVC tournament winner Rankings from AP poll

The 2020–21 Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball team represents Illinois State University during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Redbirds, led by ninth-year head coach Dan Muller, play their home games at Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena in Normal, Illinois as members of the Missouri Valley Conference.

Previous season

The Redbrids finished the season 10–21, 5–13 in conference play to finish in ninth place. As the number 9 seed in the MVC Tournament, they lost to Drake, 75-65, in the opening round.

Offseason

Departures

Name	#	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Comment
Jaycee Hillsman	25	G	6'6"	230	RS Senior	Champaign, IL	Graduation
Zach Copeland	2	G	6'4"	195	Senior	Oakland, CA	Graduation
Ricky Torres	3	G	6'2"	180	Senior	Pinellas Park, FL	Graduation
Matt Chastain	22	G	6'6"	210	RS Junior	LeRoy, IL	Retired due to injury
Lijah Donnelly	15	G	6'2"	170	RS Junior	Bloomington, IL	Lincoln College
Keith Fisher III	5	F	6'8"	220	RS Junior	Los Angeles, CA	Opted out due to COVID-19
Taylor Bruninga	32	F	6'8"	210	RS Sophomore	Mapleton, IL	Retired due to injury
Rey Idowu	13	F	6'9"	240	Sophomore	Melbourne, FL	Tulsa

Arrivals

Transfers

Name	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Prior school
Sy Chatman	F	6'8"	220	Junior	Minneapolis, MN	UMass
Dusan Mahorcic	F	6'10"	240	Junior	Belgrade, Serbia	Moberly Area Community College
Josiah Strong	G	6'3"	195	Junior	Brooklyn Park, MN	Iowa Western Community College
Alex Kotov	F	6'10"	220	Sophomore	Moscow, Russia	Daytona State College

Recruiting Class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Alston Andrews F	Detroit, MI	Ocoee High School	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	Nov 18, 2019
Alston Andrews F	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR
Howard Fleming Jr. G	Louisville, KY	Male High School	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Nov 20, 2019
Howard Fleming Jr. G	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR
Emon Washington G	Atlanta, GA	South Cobb High School	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Nov 13, 2019
Emon Washington G	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR
Overall recruiting rankings:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2020 Team Ranking". Rivals.com.

Walk-Ons

Name	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Prior school
Jayden Johnson	G	6'6"	205	Freshman	Batavia, IL	Batavia High School
Nik Stadelham	G	6'0"	180	Freshman	Rockford, IL	Guilford High School

Roster

2020–21 Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Previous school	Hometown
G	0	DJ Horne	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	So	Trinity Academy	Raleigh, NC
G	1	Dedric Boyd	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	RS Jr	Haywood High School Eastern Kentucky	Brownsville, TN
G	2	Josiah Strong	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Jr	Champlin Park High School Navy Iowa Western Community College	Brooklyn Park, MN
G	3	Howard Fleming Jr.	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Fr	Male High School	Louisville, KY
F	4	Abdou Ndiaye	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	RS So	The Nation Christian Academy	Louga, Senegal
G	10	Emon Washington	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Fr	South Cobb High School	Atlanta, GA
F	11	Alston Andrews	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	230 lb (104 kg)	Fr	Ocoee High School	Detroit, MI
G	12	Antonio Reeves	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	So	Simeon Career Academy	Chicago, IL
G	14	Nik Stadelman (W)	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Fr	Guilford High School	Rockford, IL
F	21	Dusan Mahorcic	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	240 lb (109 kg)	Jr	Notre Dame College Prep Lewis Moberly Area Community College	Belgrade, Serbia
F	23	Harouna Sissoko	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	RS Fr	Grand View Christian School	Kayes, Mali
G	24	Jayden Johnson (W)	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	Fr	Batavia High School	Batavia, IL
F	25	Alex Kotov	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	So	Montverde Academy Palm Beach State College Daytona State College	Moscow, Russia
F	30	Sy Chatman	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	Jr	Cretin-Derham Hall Massachusetts	Minneapolis, MN
G	34	Malcolm Miller (W)	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	RS Fr	Shelbyville High School	Shelbyville, IL

Head coach

Dan Muller (Illinois State)

Assistant coach(es)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster
Last update: November 21, 2020

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Non-conference regular season
November 25, 2020* 1:00 PM, ESPN	at No. 23 Ohio State Columbus Multi-Team Event	L 67–94	0–1	17 – Reeves	7 – Reeves	7 – Fleming Jr.	Value City Arena (0) Columbus, OH
November 28, 2020* 12:00 PM	vs. UMass Lowell Columbus Multi-Team Event	W 82–72	1–1	21 – Strong	10 – Sissoko	2 – Boyd, Horne, Strong	Covelli Center (0) Columbus, OH
December 2, 2020* 5:00 PM, ESPN3	Greenville	W 177–108	2–1	30 – Washington	7 – Boyd, Ndiaye, Sissoko	11 – Strong	Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena (0) Normal, IL
December 5, 2020* 5:00 PM, ESPN+	at Murray State	L 65–76	2–2	16 – Reeves	9 – Mahorcic	5 – Strong	CFSB Center (1,290) Murray, KY
December 12, 2020* 6:00 PM, ESPN3	at Ball State	L 66–82	2–3	15 – Boyd	13 – Mahorcic	4 – Strong	John E. Worthen Arena (107) Muncie, IN
December 15, 2020* 2:00 PM, ESPN3	Chicago State	W 91–62	3–3	22 – Horne	9 – Fleming Jr.	6 – Strong	Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena (0) Normal, IL
Missouri Valley Conference regular season
December 27, 2020 3:00 PM, MVC-TV (FSI/FSKC/FSMW/NBCSCH)	at Loyola-Chicago	L 60–90	3–4 (0–1)	18 – Horne	8 – Mahorcic	2 – Horne, Fleming Jr., Washington	Joseph J. Gentile Arena (0) Chicago, IL
December 28, 2020 6:00 PM, CBSSN	at Loyola-Chicago	L 55-86	3–5 (0–2)	21 – Strong	6 – Horne	3 – Strong, Horne, Fleming Jr., Washington	Joseph J. Gentile Arena (0) Chicago, IL
January 2, 2021 4:30 PM	Valparaiso	postponed due to positive COVID-19 test results within Valparaiso program^[1]; rescheduled for January 23, 2021^[2]					Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena Normal, IL
January 3, 2021 4:30 PM	Valparaiso	postponed due to positive COVID-19 test results within Valparaiso program; rescheduled for January 24, 2021					Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena Normal, IL
January 9, 2021 1:00 PM, ESPN3	at Evansville	L 48-57	3–6 (0–3)	11 – Reeves	11 – Mahorcic	2 – Horne, Fleming Jr.	Ford Center (0) Evansville, IN
January 10, 2021 1:00 PM, ESPN3	at Evansville	W 73–68	4–6 (1–3)	21 – Reeves	9 – Sissoko	2 – Ndiaye, Fleming Jr.	Ford Center (0) Evansville, IN
January 16, 2021 3:00 PM, MVC-TV	Indiana State	L 65–73	4–7 (1–4)	16 – Horne	9 – Mahorcic	5 – Horne	Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena (0) Normal, IL
January 17, 2021 3:00 PM, Marquee	Indiana State	L 68–74	4–8 (1–5)	19 – Boyd	11 – Mahorcic	4 – Strong	Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena (0) Normal, IL
January 20, 2021 8:00 PM, Marquee	Bradley (site swap with February 17, 2021 game)	W 71–56	5–8 (2–5)	23 – Horne	9 – Mahorcic	4 – Fleming Jr.	Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena (0) Normal, IL
January 23, 2021 5:00 PM, Marquee	Valparaiso	L 60–69	5–9 (2–6)	19 – Horne	10 – Fleming Jr.	4 – Fleming Jr.	Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena (0) Normal, IL
January 24, 2021 5:00 PM, Marquee	Valparaiso	L 66–70	5–10 (2–7)	20 – Horne	6 – Fleming Jr., Washington	3 – Horne, Reeves	Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena (0) Normal, IL
January 31, 2021 2:00 PM, ESPN3	at Drake	L 76–78 ^OT	5–11 (2–8)	27 – Reeves	7 – Horne	4 – Horne, Fleming Jr.	The Knapp Center (947) Des Moines, IA
February 1, 2021 6:00 PM, ESPN3	at No. 25 Drake	L 60–95	5–12 (2–9)	20 – Reeves	7 – Ndiaye	3 – Fleming Jr.	The Knapp Center (737) Des Moines, IA
February 6, 2021 2:00 PM, ESPN3	Missouri State						Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena Normal, IL
February 7, 2021 2:00 PM, Marquee	Missouri State						Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena Normal, IL
February 13, 2021 3:00 PM, ESPN3/ESPN+	at Southern Illinois						Banterra Center Carbondale, IL
February 14, 2021 3:00 PM, ESPN3/ESPN+	at Southern Illinois						Banterra Center Carbondale, IL
February 17, 2021 7:00 PM	at Bradley (site swap with January 20, 2021 game)						Carver Arena Peoria, IL
February 26, 2021 8:00 PM, ESPNU	Northern Iowa						Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena Normal, IL
February 27, 2021 5:00 PM, CBSSN	Northern Iowa						Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena Normal, IL
State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time.

Source^[3]

NOTE: limited capacity or no spectators allowed per the corresponding local COVID-19 health guidelines.

References

^ "Valpo Men's Basketball Pauses Team Activities". www.valpoathletics.com. Valparaiso Athletics. December 22, 2020. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
^ "MVC ANNOUNCES BASKETBALL RESCHEDULING / SCHEDULE SHIFTS". www.mvc-sports.com. Missouri Valley Conference. January 7, 2021. Retrieved January 8, 2021.
^ "2020-21 Men's Basketball Schedule". Illinois State University Athletics. Retrieved January 8, 2021.

[1] "Valpo Men's Basketball Pauses Team Activities". www.valpoathletics.com. Valparaiso Athletics. December 22, 2020. Retrieved December 23, 2020.

[2] "MVC ANNOUNCES BASKETBALL RESCHEDULING / SCHEDULE SHIFTS". www.mvc-sports.com. Missouri Valley Conference. January 7, 2021. Retrieved January 8, 2021.

[3] "2020-21 Men's Basketball Schedule". Illinois State University Athletics. Retrieved January 8, 2021.

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[2]

[3]

v t e Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball
Venues	John W. Cook Hall (1898–1925) McCormick Gymnasium (1925–1963) Horton Field House (1963–1988) CEFCU Arena (1989–present)
Rivalries	Bradley
Culture & lore	Reggie Redbird "Go, You Redbirds"
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1898–99 1899–1900 1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25