Coming off a win in the team’s home opener, Ohio (1-1) will look for a second win in the first game of a three-week road stretch against Illinois State (1-1). The Redbirds are coming off a big win against North Dakota State and feature two preseason All-Missouri Valley Conference selectees.
Here’s everything to know ahead of the matchup.
Game information
Opponent: Illinois State
Location: CEFCU Arena (Normal, Illinois)
Time: Tuesday at 9 p.m.
Where to Watch: ESPN+
Follow live stats here.
Meet the opponent
Head Coach
Ryan Pedon (third season)
Projected Starters
No. 3, Dalton Banks
No. 4, Landon Wolf
No. 11, Johnny Kinziger
No. 22, Ty Pence
No. 35, Chase Walker
Statistical leaders
Points: Kinziger and Pence (14.5 per game)
Rebounds: Walker (8.5 per game)
Assists: Banks (5.0 per game)
Steals: Banks (2.5 per game)
Blocks: Kinziger (1.0 per game)
Field Goal Percentage: Pence (.563)
Three Point Percentage: Jack Daugherty (.385)
Free Throw Percentage: Kinziger (.923)
Illinois State notes
Headed by two preseason All-MVC selectees, Kinziger on the First Team and Malachi Poindexter on the Second Team, the Redbirds were selected to finish fourth in their conference.
While Kinziger and Poindexter have gotten off to slower starts in their sophomore and graduate campaigns respectively, Illinois State has proven to be one of the conference’s deeper teams through two games. Despite lacking a true center, the Redbirds have been one of the more effective teams in the country when it comes to playing through the post.
Ohio will look to shut Illinois State down from the middle on defense and attack the lack of size on offense.
Player to watch: Johnny Kinziger
After a promising freshman campaign, in which the 5-foot-11 guard averaged 8.7 points and shot 39.2% from three, Kinziger was selected to be one of the best players in the MVC as a sophomore.
While lacking efficiency thus far, Kinziger has the keys to the Redbirds’ offense as the only player on the team with double-digit field goal attempts per game. He can get hot quickly and has a smooth stroke from 3-point range that the Bobcats will have to stop if they wish to start 2-1.
