Muller looking to get ISU defense turned around vs. W. Michigan
Jon Ekey celebrated his 22nd birthday on Friday. The Illinois State junior forward couldn?t say he had a joyous time the day before in practice.
?It was a very long day, but we deserved it the way we played,? said Ekey, referring to an 81-67 loss to Wyoming on Tuesday. ?We got a few things worked out and hopefully a few mindsets changed. It was definitely good for us.?
The Redbirds (5-3) blew a 19-point second-half lead against Wyoming to lose their third straight game. ISU tries to stop the skid at 7:05 p.m. Saturday when they entertain Western Michigan (6-2) at Redbird Arena.
ISU coach Dan Muller said the Wyoming loss was the first time this season he saw his team relax.
He?s hoping it?s the last.
?We need to get better at some things. Some are mental and some are physical,? said Muller. ?We still have a ways to go. When you lose three in a row and at least two of those three, and maybe all of those three we should have won, I have to do a better job getting guys to stay intense and focused.?
Muller had been pleased with ISU?s defense in the first seven games, even in three-point losses to Northwestern and Louisville.
But he thought the Redbirds took a step back defensively against Wyoming when they were building the big lead. Wyoming shot 64 percent in the second half, which featured a number of dunks and layups for the Cowboys.
?If your team or program is consistent you can have off nights, but they can?t be like that,? said Muller. ?You can?t have those nights.?
Ekey agreed.
?It was things we?ve worked on since the first day, switching when we?re supposed to, helping each other, things we?ve worked on for months we weren?t doing,? he said. ?Coach said at the beginning (of the game) we have to tighten up on defense, and we just never did and got exposed.
?(Thursday) it was all defense in practice, working on those things. Hopefully we have those things fixed.?
It might have gone unnoticed in the loss, but Ekey seemed to have gotten his shot fixed against Wyoming. After making four of 17 attempts the previous three games, Ekey sank five of seven Tuesday, including three of four shots outside the arc, to score a season-high 13 points.
?You need to see it go through one or two times and you?re out of it,? said the 6-foot-7 Ekey. ?I never really force anything. In the past few games we had other guys hitting a lot of shots. I didn?t get that many shots, but it didn?t matter. Tyler (Brown) hit some unbelievable shots, and Jackie (Carmichael) was doing his work down low.?
Saturday is a return game from the 2011 BracketBusters when Western Michigan slipped past ISU, 68-65, in Kalamazoo. The Broncos lost their season opener at Cornell before reeling off six straight victories, their longest streak in seven years, including a win over the host team to capture the South Florida tournament title.
The same night that ISU was losing to Wyoming, No. 3-ranked Michigan routed Western Michigan, 73-41.
?They have good balance. They have a lot of guys who score between nine and 12,? said Muller. ?He (Steve Hawkins) is a really good coach. They run a whole lot of stuff and they run good stuff. They play man (defense) and play hard. They?re very capable. We have to play well.?
Records: Western Michigan 6-2; ISU 5-3
About the Broncos: Western Michigan was picked to finish third in the six-team Mid-American Conference West Division in a preseason poll of league media members. Nate Hutcheson was selected to the preseason all-MAC West Division team ? Darius Paul is the brother of Illinois senior Brandon Paul. The younger Paul has scored in double figures in seven straight games and recorded his first double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds in Tuesday?s 73-41 loss at No. 3 Michigan ? Central Catholic High School graduate Hayden Hoerdemann is a sophomore reserve guard. He has played in two games and scored two points in eight minutes. Hoerdemann averaged 3.4 points in 22 games as a freshman with a career-high 12 points at Duke.
Jon Ekey celebrated his 22nd birthday on Friday. The Illinois State junior forward couldn?t say he had a joyous time the day before in practice.
?It was a very long day, but we deserved it the way we played,? said Ekey, referring to an 81-67 loss to Wyoming on Tuesday. ?We got a few things worked out and hopefully a few mindsets changed. It was definitely good for us.?
The Redbirds (5-3) blew a 19-point second-half lead against Wyoming to lose their third straight game. ISU tries to stop the skid at 7:05 p.m. Saturday when they entertain Western Michigan (6-2) at Redbird Arena.
ISU coach Dan Muller said the Wyoming loss was the first time this season he saw his team relax.
He?s hoping it?s the last.
?We need to get better at some things. Some are mental and some are physical,? said Muller. ?We still have a ways to go. When you lose three in a row and at least two of those three, and maybe all of those three we should have won, I have to do a better job getting guys to stay intense and focused.?
Muller had been pleased with ISU?s defense in the first seven games, even in three-point losses to Northwestern and Louisville.
But he thought the Redbirds took a step back defensively against Wyoming when they were building the big lead. Wyoming shot 64 percent in the second half, which featured a number of dunks and layups for the Cowboys.
?If your team or program is consistent you can have off nights, but they can?t be like that,? said Muller. ?You can?t have those nights.?
Ekey agreed.
?It was things we?ve worked on since the first day, switching when we?re supposed to, helping each other, things we?ve worked on for months we weren?t doing,? he said. ?Coach said at the beginning (of the game) we have to tighten up on defense, and we just never did and got exposed.
?(Thursday) it was all defense in practice, working on those things. Hopefully we have those things fixed.?
It might have gone unnoticed in the loss, but Ekey seemed to have gotten his shot fixed against Wyoming. After making four of 17 attempts the previous three games, Ekey sank five of seven Tuesday, including three of four shots outside the arc, to score a season-high 13 points.
?You need to see it go through one or two times and you?re out of it,? said the 6-foot-7 Ekey. ?I never really force anything. In the past few games we had other guys hitting a lot of shots. I didn?t get that many shots, but it didn?t matter. Tyler (Brown) hit some unbelievable shots, and Jackie (Carmichael) was doing his work down low.?
Saturday is a return game from the 2011 BracketBusters when Western Michigan slipped past ISU, 68-65, in Kalamazoo. The Broncos lost their season opener at Cornell before reeling off six straight victories, their longest streak in seven years, including a win over the host team to capture the South Florida tournament title.
The same night that ISU was losing to Wyoming, No. 3-ranked Michigan routed Western Michigan, 73-41.
?They have good balance. They have a lot of guys who score between nine and 12,? said Muller. ?He (Steve Hawkins) is a really good coach. They run a whole lot of stuff and they run good stuff. They play man (defense) and play hard. They?re very capable. We have to play well.?
Records: Western Michigan 6-2; ISU 5-3
About the Broncos: Western Michigan was picked to finish third in the six-team Mid-American Conference West Division in a preseason poll of league media members. Nate Hutcheson was selected to the preseason all-MAC West Division team ? Darius Paul is the brother of Illinois senior Brandon Paul. The younger Paul has scored in double figures in seven straight games and recorded his first double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds in Tuesday?s 73-41 loss at No. 3 Michigan ? Central Catholic High School graduate Hayden Hoerdemann is a sophomore reserve guard. He has played in two games and scored two points in eight minutes. Hoerdemann averaged 3.4 points in 22 games as a freshman with a career-high 12 points at Duke.
