Halfway to title, Redbirds ready for rest of Valley's best shots
Nine down, nine to go.
Paris Lee and his Illinois State basketball teammates have started 9-0 in the Missouri Valley Conference for only the second time in school history. Now comes the difficult part in trying to secure the Redbirds' first Valley regular-season title since 1998.
"Every team is playing so hard, every team wants to beat us," said Lee ahead of Sunday's 3 p.m. game against Evansville at the Ford Center. "We just have to get used to being at the top. This is our first time at the top and we're not used to getting everyone's best."
Pausing, Lee added, "Man, we've been getting everyone's best game."
ISU knows that will likely hold true against Evansville (10-12, 1-8), too. The Purple Aces have dropped seven straight and are tied for last place in the Valley with Indiana State.
But as the Redbirds (17-4 overall) found out Wednesday, Indiana State was no pushover. The Sycamores held a seven-point lead with eight minutes left before ISU rallied for a 71-66 victory at Redbird Arena.
"I think what our team has shown in the last week or so is a little bit of mental fatigue, getting tired of the process of what it takes to be really sharp," said ISU coach Dan Muller, whose team has won 10 straight. "They're called the 'dog days' of January and February for a reason.
"They're easy to get through when you're winning, which we are, but you can also get a little complacent on some of the discipline we built up."
That included some defensive breakdowns as Indiana State shot 42.1 percent from the field, the highest of any Valley team against the Redbirds. ISU ranks third in the nation in field goal percentage defense at .372.
Muller also is concerned with the turnovers, particularly from Lee and MiKyle McIntosh, the Redbirds' two primary ball handlers.
Lee, who is the leading contender for the Valley's Player of the Year at the halfway point, sat down for a long stretch in the first half against Indiana State after committing two turnovers.
Urged on by his teammates, Lee responded in the second half. He scored 15 points with four assists ? and no turnovers. He also came up with a crucial steal in the final minutes.
"I'm trying to make 'the' right play instead of just playing basketball," said Lee. "I feel Coach always says lose yourself in the game. I hadn't been doing a good job of that in the first half of the last game and the whole Drake game (before that)."
McIntosh injured his knee in the second half against Drake last Saturday. Although Muller said there is no structural damage, McIntosh wasn't fully healthy Wednesday.
The 6-foot-7, 234-pound junior forward had six points and two rebounds in 24 minutes, although McIntosh provided a huge block in the final minute with ISU clinging to a two-point lead. McIntosh is expected to play Sunday.
"The bottom line is MiKyle and Paris haven't played real well offensively (recently)," said Muller. "It's a credit to our team we're still winning because of our defense. We're trying to help them more on the offensive end because obviously that makes us a better team."
Nine down, nine to go.
Paris Lee and his Illinois State basketball teammates have started 9-0 in the Missouri Valley Conference for only the second time in school history. Now comes the difficult part in trying to secure the Redbirds' first Valley regular-season title since 1998.
"Every team is playing so hard, every team wants to beat us," said Lee ahead of Sunday's 3 p.m. game against Evansville at the Ford Center. "We just have to get used to being at the top. This is our first time at the top and we're not used to getting everyone's best."
Pausing, Lee added, "Man, we've been getting everyone's best game."
ISU knows that will likely hold true against Evansville (10-12, 1-8), too. The Purple Aces have dropped seven straight and are tied for last place in the Valley with Indiana State.
But as the Redbirds (17-4 overall) found out Wednesday, Indiana State was no pushover. The Sycamores held a seven-point lead with eight minutes left before ISU rallied for a 71-66 victory at Redbird Arena.
"I think what our team has shown in the last week or so is a little bit of mental fatigue, getting tired of the process of what it takes to be really sharp," said ISU coach Dan Muller, whose team has won 10 straight. "They're called the 'dog days' of January and February for a reason.
"They're easy to get through when you're winning, which we are, but you can also get a little complacent on some of the discipline we built up."
That included some defensive breakdowns as Indiana State shot 42.1 percent from the field, the highest of any Valley team against the Redbirds. ISU ranks third in the nation in field goal percentage defense at .372.
Muller also is concerned with the turnovers, particularly from Lee and MiKyle McIntosh, the Redbirds' two primary ball handlers.
Lee, who is the leading contender for the Valley's Player of the Year at the halfway point, sat down for a long stretch in the first half against Indiana State after committing two turnovers.
Urged on by his teammates, Lee responded in the second half. He scored 15 points with four assists ? and no turnovers. He also came up with a crucial steal in the final minutes.
"I'm trying to make 'the' right play instead of just playing basketball," said Lee. "I feel Coach always says lose yourself in the game. I hadn't been doing a good job of that in the first half of the last game and the whole Drake game (before that)."
McIntosh injured his knee in the second half against Drake last Saturday. Although Muller said there is no structural damage, McIntosh wasn't fully healthy Wednesday.
The 6-foot-7, 234-pound junior forward had six points and two rebounds in 24 minutes, although McIntosh provided a huge block in the final minute with ISU clinging to a two-point lead. McIntosh is expected to play Sunday.
"The bottom line is MiKyle and Paris haven't played real well offensively (recently)," said Muller. "It's a credit to our team we're still winning because of our defense. We're trying to help them more on the offensive end because obviously that makes us a better team."
