2020–21 Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball team

The 2020–21 Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball team represented Illinois State University during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Redbirds, led by ninth-year head coach Dan Muller, played their home games at Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena in Normal, Illinois as members of the Missouri Valley Conference. In a season limited due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, they finished the 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.

2020–21 Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball
Conference	Missouri Valley Conference
Record	7–18 (4–14 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

Previous season

The Redbirds finished the 2019–20 season 10–21, 5–13 in MVC play to finish in ninth place. In the MVC tournament, they lost to Drake in the first 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 the COVID-19 pandemic
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

2020 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
	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
	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
	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.

Incoming 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

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 (L) 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Jr Cretin-Derham High School 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) Brian Jones (Northern Iowa) Brian Reese (North Carolina) Marcus Belcher (Southern Illinois) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on   Injured   Current redshirt Roster Last update: March 24, 2021

NOTE: (L) indicates left team in-season

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	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 – 3 tied	Covelli Center (0) Columbus, OH
December 2, 2020* 5:00 pm, ESPN3		Greenville	W 177–108	2–1	30 – Washington	7 – 3 tied	11 – Strong	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	Redbird Arena (0) Normal, IL
Missouri Valley Conference Regular Season
December 27, 2020 3:00 pm, (FSIN/FSKC/FSMW/NBCSCH)		at Loyola-Chicago	L 60–90	3–4 (0–1)	18 – Horne	8 – Mahorcic	2 – 3 tied	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 – 4 tied	Joseph J. Gentile Arena (0) Chicago, IL
January 2, 2021 4:30 pm		Valparaiso	postponed due to COVID-19 issues at Valparaiso;^[1] rescheduled for January 23, 2021^[2]					Redbird Arena  Normal, IL
January 3, 2021 4:30 pm		Valparaiso	postponed due to COVID-19 issues at Valparaiso; rescheduled for January 24, 2021					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 – tied	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 – tied	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	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	Redbird Arena (0) Normal, IL
January 20, 2021 8:00 pm, Marquee		Bradley I–74 Rivalry (site swap with February 17, 2021 game)	W 71–56	5–8 (2–5)	23 – Horne	9 – Mahorcic	4 – Fleming Jr.	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.	Redbird Arena (0) Normal, IL
January 24, 2021 5:00 pm, Marquee		Valparaiso	L 66–70	5–10 (2–7)	20 – Horne	6 – tied	3 – tied	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 – tied	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	L 67–74	5–13 (2–10)	23 – Horne	8 – Mahorcic	3 – Horne	Redbird Arena (0) Normal, IL
February 7, 2021 2:00 pm, Marquee		Missouri State	L 62–72	5–14 (2–11)	18 – Horne	15 – Mahorcic	3 – Fleming Jr.	Redbird Arena (0) Normal, IL
February 13, 2021 3:00 pm, ESPN3		at Southern Illinois	W 80–55	6–14 (3–11)	17 – Horne	10 – Washington	6 – Fleming Jr.	Banterra Center (0) Carbondale, IL
February 14, 2021 3:00 pm, ESPN3		at Southern Illinois	L 49–59	6–15 (3–12)	14 – Strong	8 – Fleming Jr.	3 – Horne	Banterra Center (0) Carbondale, IL
February 17, 2021 7:00 pm, ESPN3		at Bradley	rescheduled for February 18, 2021 due to scheduling issues^[3]^[4]					Carver Arena  Peoria, IL
February 18, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPN3		at Bradley I-74 Rivalry	W 88–71	7–15 (4–12)	20 – Washington	8 – Washington	5 – Fleming Jr.	Carver Arena (0) Peoria, IL
February 26, 2021 8:00 pm, ESPNU		Northern Iowa	L 56–70	7–16 (4–13)	18 – Mahorcic	8 – Mahorcic	4 – Fleming Jr.	Redbird Arena (0) Normal, IL
February 27, 2021 5:00 pm, CBSSN		Northern Iowa	L 87–94 ^2OT	7–17 (4–14)	34 – Horne	9 – Mahorcic	5 – Horne	Redbird Arena (0) Normal, IL
State Farm Missouri Valley Conference {MVC} tournament
March 4, 2021* 8:08 pm, MVC-TV	(10)	vs. (7) Northern Iowa Opening Round	L 60–65	7–18	15 – Mahorcic	7 – 3 tied	4 – Horne	Enterprise Center (663) St. Louis, MO
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time.

Source^[5]

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

References

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. "BRADLEY-ILLINOIS STATE CONTEST MOVED TO THURSDAY (FEB. 18)". www.mvc-sports.com. Missouri Valley Conference. February 13, 2021. Retrieved February 14, 2021.
4. Dave Eminian (February 13, 2021). "Bradley basketball rematch with Illinois State moved, player families allowed at final 3 games". www.pjstar.com. Peoria Journal Star. Retrieved February 14, 2021.
5. "2020-21 Men's Basketball Schedule". www.goredbirds.com. Illinois State University Athletics. Retrieved March 5, 2021.