2021–22 Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball team

2021–22 Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball
2021–22 Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball
Conference	Missouri Valley Conference
Record	13–20 (5–13 MVC)
Head coach	Dan Muller (10th season; first 26 games); Brian Jones (interim);
Assistant coaches	Marcus Belcher; Rob Johnson;
Home arena	Doug Collins Court; at Redbird Arena
	Seasons ← 2020–21 2022–23 →

The 2021–22 Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball team represented Illinois State University during the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Redbirds played their home games at Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena in Normal, Illinois as members of the Missouri Valley Conference. The team finished the season 13–20, 5–13 in MVC play to finish in eighth place. They defeated Indiana State in the first round of the MVC tournament before losing to Northern Iowa in the quarterfinals.

2021–22 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Northern Iowa	14	–	4	.778	20	–	12	.625
Missouri State	13	–	5	.722	23	–	11	.676
Drake	13	–	5	.722	25	–	11	.694
Loyola Chicago †	13	–	5	.722	25	–	8	.758
Bradley	11	–	7	.611	17	–	14	.548
Southern Illinois	9	–	9	.500	16	–	14	.533
Valparaiso	6	–	12	.333	14	–	18	.438
Illinois State	5	–	13	.278	13	–	20	.394
Indiana State	4	–	14	.222	11	–	20	.355
Evansville	2	–	16	.111	6	–	24	.200

† 2022 MVC tournament winner

Head coach Dan Muller was fired by the school after the first 26 games of the season after 10 years as head coach, but the school stated he would finish out the season^[1] A day later, Muller announced he would step down immediately and associate head coach Brian Jones was named interim coach for the remainder of the season.^[2] On March 7, 2022, the school named Ohio State assistant coach Ryan Pedon as the team's new head coach.

Previous season

In a season limited due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Redbirds finished the 2020–21 season 7–18, 4–14 in MVC play to finish in 10th place. In the MVC tournament, they lost to Northern Iowa in the first round.^[3]

Offseason

Departures

Name	#	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Comment
DJ Horne	0	G	6'1"	175	Sophomore	Raleigh, NC	Arizona State
Dedric Boyd	1	G	6'4"	195	RS Junior	Brownsville, TN	Tennessee State
Dusan Mahorcic	21	F	6'10"	240	Junior	Belgrade, Serbia	Utah^[4]

2021 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight
Julian Samuels G	Annawan, IL	Central Pointe Christian Academy	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	160 lb (73 kg)
Julian Samuels G	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR
Elijah Williams G	Lilburn, GA	Providence Christian Academy	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	180 lb (82 kg)
Elijah Williams 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: "2021 Team Ranking". Rivals.com.

Incoming transfers

Name	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Prior school
Mark Freeman	G	5'11"	165	Junior	Memphis, TN	Tennessee State
Kendall Lewis	F	6'7"	190	Junior	Snellville, GA	Appalachian State
Ryan Schmitt	F	6'11"	225	Junior	Van Meter, IA	Des Moines Area CC
Liam McChesney	F	6'10"	200	RS Sophomore	Prince Rupert, BC	Utah State

Roster

2021–22 Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Previous school	Hometown
G	0	Mark Freeman	5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)	165 lb (75 kg)	Jr	Southwind HS Tennessee State	Memphis, TN
F	1	Sy Chatman	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	230 lb (104 kg)	RS Jr	Cretin-Derham HS Massachusetts	Minneapolis, MN
G	2	Josiah Strong	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Sr	Champlin Park HS Navy Iowa Western Community College	Brooklyn Park, MN
G	3	Howard Fleming Jr.	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	So	Male HS	Louisville, KY
F	4	Abdou Ndiaye	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	RS Jr	The Nation Christian Academy	Louga, Senegal
G	5	Julian Samuels (W)	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	160 lb (73 kg)	Fr	Annawan HS Central Pointe Christian Academy	Annawan, IL
G	10	Emon Washington	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	So	South Cobb HS	Atlanta, GA
F	11	Alston Andrews	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	230 lb (104 kg)	So	Ocoee HS	Detroit, MI
G	12	Antonio Reeves	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Jr	Simeon Career Academy	Chicago, IL
F	13	Liam McChesney	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	RS So	Charles Hays Secondary School Utah State	Prince Rupert, BC
G	14	Nik Stadelman (W)	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	So	Guilford HS	Rockford, IL
F	22	Kendall Lewis	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Jr	Shiloh HS Appalachian State	Snellville, GA
F	23	Harouna Sissoko	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	RS So	Grand View Christian School	Kayes, Mali
G	24	Jayden Johnson (W)	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	So	Batavia HS	Batavia, IL
F	25	Alex Kotov	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	230 lb (104 kg)	Jr	Montverde Academy Palm Beach State College Daytona State College	Moscow, Russia
G	34	Malcolm Miller (W)	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	RS So	Shelbyville HS	Shelbyville, IL
G	45	Elijah Williams (W)	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Fr	Providence Christian Academy	Lawrenceville, GA
F	50	Ryan Schmitt	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	Jr	Van Meter HS Des Moines Area CC	Van Meter, IA

Head coach

Brian Jones (Northern Iowa)

Assistant coach(es)

Marcus Belcher (Southern Illinois)
Rob Johnson (Norfolk State)

Legend

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

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster
Last update: November 18, 2021

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
November 4, 2021* 7:00 pm		Davenport	W 85–59		34 – Reeves	8 – Lewis	10 – Freeman	Redbird Arena Normal, IL
Regular season
November 9, 2021* 7:00 pm, ESPN3		UNC Wilmington	W 68–63	1–0	29 – Reeves	10 – Chatman	3 – Tied	Redbird Arena (2,642) Normal, IL
November 12, 2021* 5:00 pm, ESPN3		at Eastern Michigan	L 98–103 ^2OT	1–1	32 – Reeves	13 – Chatman	2 – Tied	George Gervin GameAbove Center (1,905) Ypsilanti, MI
November 16, 2021* 7:00 pm, ESPN3		Murray State	L 65–77	1–2	19 – Reeves	7 – Lewis	4 – Freeman	Redbird Arena (2,904) Normal, IL
November 20, 2021* 6:00 pm, ESPN+		Bucknell Cancún Challenge campus game	W 105–100 ^OT	2–2	34 – Freeman	11 – Chatman	7 – Freeman	Redbird Arena (2,576) Normal, IL
November 23, 2021* 7:30 pm, CBSSN		vs. Saint Louis Cancún Challenge (Riviera Division) Semifinal	L 76–82	2–3	20 – Reeves	4 – Reeves	6 – Fleming Jr.	Riviera Maya (103) Cancún, Mexico
November 24, 2021* 5:00 pm, CBSSN		vs. Buffalo Cancún Challenge (Riviera Division) Consolation	L 90–106	2–4	22 – Lewis	5 – Tied	4 – Strong	Riviera Maya (144) Cancún, Mexico
November 27, 2021* 8:00 pm, Marquee		Purdue Northwest	W 81–71	3–4	20 – Reeves	12 – Chatman	7 – Freeman	Redbird Arena (1,024) Normal, IL
December 1, 2021 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Missouri State	W 79–74 ^OT	4–4 (1–0)	22 – Reeves	6 – 3 Tied	5 – Fleming Jr.	Redbird Arena (2,902) Normal, IL
December 4, 2021* 3:00 pm, ESPN3		Jackson State	L 55–61	4–5	14 – Reeves	6 – Lewis	4 – Freeman	Redbird Arena (3,089) Normal, IL
December 11, 2021* 2:00 pm, ESPN+		at Chicago State	W 81–71	5–5	28 – Reeves	6 – Lewis	4 – Freeman	Jones Convocation Center (267) Chicago, IL
December 14, 2021* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Quincy	W 81–63	6–5	19 – Reeves	7 – Chatman	4 – Freeman	Redbird Arena (2,039) Normal, IL
December 18, 2021* 3:00 pm, Marquee		Ball State	W 85–64	7–5	23 – Strong	9 – Lewis	6 – Freeman	Redbird Arena (2,704) Normal, IL
December 21, 2021* 2:00 pm, ESPN+		UTSA	W 81–64	8–5	21 – Reeves	10 – Reeves	8 – Freeman	Redbird Arena (2.345) Normal, IL
December 29, 2021* 7:00 pm, BTN		at No. 24 Wisconsin	L 85–89	8–6	23 – Reeves	7 – Chatman	3 – Tied	Kohl Center (15,718) Madison, WI
January 2, 2022 1:00 pm, ESPN+		at Valparaiso	L 76–81 ^OT	8–7 (1–1)	24 – Reeves	7 – Tied	4 – Strong	Athletics–Recreation Center (1,267) Valparaiso, IN
January 12, 2022 7:00 pm, MVC TV		at Drake	L 75–86	8–8 (1–2)	20 – Lewis	5 – Tied	6 – Strong	The Knapp Center (2,702) Des Moines, IA
January 16, 2022 7:00 pm, Marquee		Bradley I–74 Rivalry	W 74–65	9–8 (2–2)	24 – Reeves	7 – Chatman	4 – Strong	Redbird Arena (4,072) Normal, IL
January 19, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Missouri State	L 63–88	9–9 (2–3)	19 – Freeman	7 – Chatman	4 – Strong	JQH Arena (3,362) Springfield, MO
January 21, 2022 6:00 pm, ESPN+		Evansville	W 94–56	10–9 (3–3)	16 – Reeves	5 – Fleming Jr.	4 – Fleming Jr.	Redbird Arena Normal, IL
January 23, 2022 1:00 pm, MVC TV		at Evansville Rescheduled from January 9	L 53–56	10–10 (3–4)	23 – Reeves	5 – Strong	3 – Freeman	Ford Center (3,354) Evansville, IN
January 26, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Drake	L 88–89 ^OT	10–11 (3–5)	25 – Reeves	11 – Lewis	10 – Freeman	Redbird Arena (3,515) Normal, IL
January 29, 2022 1:00 pm, ESPN+		at Northern Iowa	L 64–79	10–12 (3–6)	19 – McChesney	8 – McChesney	4 – Strong	McLeod Center (0) Cedar Falls, IA
February 2, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Loyola	L 64–78	10–13 (3–7)	20 – Reeves	5 – Fleming Jr.	3 – Freeman	Gentile Arena (3,097) Chicago, IL
February 5, 2022 7:00 pm, Marquee		Southern Illinois	L 69–75	10–14 (3–8)	18 – Strong	8 – McChesney	5 – Reeves	Redbird Arena (4,276) Normal, IL
February 9, 2022 7:00 pm, Marquee		Valparaiso	W 78–75 ^OT	11–14 (4–8)	34 – Reeves	10 – McChesney	3 – Freeman	Redbird Arena (2,443) Normal, IL
February 12, 2022 1:00 pm, ESPN+		at Indiana State	L 57–60	11–15 (4–9)	13 – McChesney	10 – Lewis	4 – Fleming Jr.	Hulman Center (2,766) Terre Haute, IN
February 15, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Northern Iowa	L 70–72	11–16 (4–10)	27 – Reeves	14 – Lewis	4 – Lewis	Redbird Arena (3,039) Normal, IL
February 19, 2022 1:00 pm, MVC TV		at Bradley I–74 Rivalry	L 64–72	11–17 (4–11)	20 – Reeves	6 – Freeman	2 – Tied	Carver Arena (6,902) Peoria, IL
February 21, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Loyola Rescheduled from January 5	L 50–59	11–18 (4–12)	15 – Reeves	7 – Fleming Jr.	2 – Tied	Redbird Arena (3,354) Normal, IL
February 23, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Southern Illinois	L 69–90	11–19 (4–13)	18 – Reeves	6 – Lewis	5 – Freeman	Banterra Center (4,390) Carbondale, IL
February 26, 2022 3:00 pm, ESPN+		Indiana State	W 86–66	12–19 (5–13)	28 – Reeves	6 – Reeves	6 – Freeman	Redbird Arena (3,665) Normal, IL
MVC Tournament
March 3, 2022 6:00 pm, MVC TV	(8)	vs. (9) Indiana State Opening Round	W 58–53	13–19	15 – Reeves	8 – Lewis	4 – Fleming Jr.	Enterprise Center (0) St. Louis, MO
March 4, 2022 12:00 pm, MVC TV	(8)	vs. (1) Northern Iowa Quarterfinals	L 65–78	13–20	20 – Fleming Jr.	6 – Strong	4 – Reeves	Enterprise Center St. Louis, MO
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time.

Source^[5]^[6]^[7]

References

^ "ISU to fire men's basketball coach Dan Muller at end of the season". WGLT. February 13, 2022. Retrieved March 4, 2022.
^ "Muller Steps Down; Brian Jones To Take Over As Interim Coach". WZND Fuzed Radio. February 15, 2022. Retrieved March 4, 2022.
^ "Illinois State vs. Northern Iowa - Game Recap - March 4, 2021 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 14, 2021.
^ "Illinois State Big Man Dusan Mahorcic Transfers To Utah Basketball". KSL Sports. June 4, 2021. Retrieved December 14, 2021.
^ "2021–22 Men's Basketball Schedule". goredbirds.com. Illinois State University Athletics. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
^ "2021-22 Illinois State Redbirds Schedule and Results". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved December 14, 2021.
^ "2021-22 Illinois State Redbirds Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved December 14, 2021.

[1] "ISU to fire men's basketball coach Dan Muller at end of the season". WGLT. February 13, 2022. Retrieved March 4, 2022.

[2] "Muller Steps Down; Brian Jones To Take Over As Interim Coach". WZND Fuzed Radio. February 15, 2022. Retrieved March 4, 2022.

[3] "Illinois State vs. Northern Iowa - Game Recap - March 4, 2021 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 14, 2021.

[4] "Illinois State Big Man Dusan Mahorcic Transfers To Utah Basketball". KSL Sports. June 4, 2021. Retrieved December 14, 2021.

[5] "2021–22 Men's Basketball Schedule". goredbirds.com. Illinois State University Athletics. Retrieved November 18, 2021.

[6] "2021-22 Illinois State Redbirds Schedule and Results". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved December 14, 2021.

[7] "2021-22 Illinois State Redbirds Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved December 14, 2021.

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