Dons Notes: Previewing Illinois State Redbirds

Nov 17, 2013; Evanston, IL, USA; Northwestern Wildcats guard Dave Sobolewski (3) ties to dribble past Illinois State Redbirds guard Paris Lee (1) during the first half at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

Play in the inaugural Golden Gate Challenge wraps up today as the Dons take on the Illinois State Redbirds and Vermont takes on Sonoma State. So far in the contests, USF leads all teams with a 2-0 record. Illinois State and Vermont sit at 1-1 as the Seawolves from Sonoma State are winless at 0-2. With a win tonight, the Dons can improve their non-conference record to 6-3 before a short break that extends into mid-December.

Illinois State and the Dons have squared off once before in 1985 during the “Cowboy Shootout”. ISU defeated the Green & Gold that day by a final score of 68-52. Last night, during the win over Sonoma State, the Redbirds had 6 of 10 players reach statistical career highs in one or more categories. Daishon Knight led the Redbirds with 21 points – matching his career high. On the Dons side of the ball, Cole Dickerson was on fire last night scoring 28 points against Vermont. That brings his total points for the Golden Gate Challenge to 54 points.

By now, we all know about Cody Doolin’s departure from the Dons basketball team; however, the Redbird lost a player of their own prior to the Golden Gate Challenge. When the Redbirds arrived in San Francisco, ISU head coach, Dan Muller, explained that Michael Middlebrooks, a junior forward who leads the team in rebounds, did not travel with the team and was indefinitely suspended for conduct detrimental to the team.

During the off-season,  Muller also announced that he had dismissed senior guard Bryant Allen for violating team rules. According to Illinois State Police, Allen was earlier charged with charged with possession of marijuana and delivery, driving on a suspended license, and disregarding a stop sign. ISU also lost three seniors to graduation and another player via transfer. This ISU team looks much different than an 18 win squad that was unfortunately bumped out of the MVC tourney early last year by a good Wichita State team.

Both ISU and USF are going though a rough patch in the season. I would not be surprised to see the Redbirds come out of their shell and end their San Francisco experience with a win. However, USF is the team going into this match up with some real momentum and a chance to take the Challenge crown. This game will be determined by second half action and a certain teams ability to adapt to their opponents play. Illinois State has two instances this year where they have seen a double digit lead disappear in the second half. One of those games ultimately led to a loss for the Redbirds.

Lastly, with the conclusion of the Golden Gate Challenge, the Dons will be off until December 13th when Nicholls State comes to the Hilltop. During this break, the San Francisco athletic department may have time to reflect on the Doolin situation which transpired over last weekend’s road trip. During a pregame talk at USF on Wednesday night, Athletic Director Scott Sidwell mentioned that there is an investigation in progress that involves the athletic department and other USF departments.

One For The Road

Even though the Redbirds could not advance to the MVC Championship last year, they were able to accomplish that feat in 2012. The Redbirds were defeated by Creighton in OT.