# 2014–15 Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball team

The 2014–15 Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball team represented Illinois State University during the 2014–15 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Redbirds, led by third-year head coach Dan Muller, played their home games at Redbird Arena in Normal, Illinois as a member of the Missouri Valley Conference. They finished the season 22–13, 11–7 in conference play, to finish in a tie for third place. As the number four seed in the MVC tournament, they defeated Evansville in a quarterfinal game and eighth ranked Wichita State in a semifinal game before succumbing to eleventh ranked Northern Iowa in the final. They received an at-large bid to the National Invitation Tournament where they won over Green Bay in the first round before losing to Old Dominion in the second round.
On April 7, following the conclusion of the NCAA tournament title game, deputy director of athletics Aaron Leetch and men's basketball associate head coach Torrey Ward were among seven people who perished during an airplane crash of a twin-engine Cessna 414 in a soybean field on the eastern outskirts of Bloomington, Illinois. The flight, which originated from an Indianapolis airport, was en route to Central Illinois Regional Airport.

## Previous season

The Redbirds finished the 2013–14 season 18–16, 9–9 in conference play, to finish in a tie for fourth place. For the Missouri Valley tournament they were the number five seed and were defeated by Missouri State in a quarterfinal game. They accepted an invitation to the College Basketball Invitational where they were victorious over Morehead State in the first round and Texas A&M in the quarterfinal round before losing to Siena in the semifinal round.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | # | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Comment |
| Michael Middlebrooks | 25 | F | 6'9" | 210 | Jr | Seattle, WA | Suspended; Adams State |
| Jamaal Samuel | 5 | F | 6'9" | 200 | RS So | New Orleans, LA | Louisiana–Monroe |
| Nick Zeisloft | 15 | G | 6'4" | 185 | RS So | LaGrange, IL | Indiana |
| Kaza Keane | 0 | G | 6'1" | 185 | So | Ajax, Ontario | Cleveland State |
| Zach Lofton | 23 | G | 6'4" | 200 | So | Saint Paul, MN | Minnesota |
| Matt Stacho | 31 | G | 6'1" | 180 | So | Naperville, IL | Left program |

### Arrivals
#### Transfers

| Name | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Prior School |
| DeVaughn Akoon–Purcell | G | 6'5" | 185 | Jr | Orlando, FL | Eastern Oklahoma State College |
| Nick Banyard | F | 6'8" | 205 | Jr | Flower Mound, TX | New Mexico |
| Justin McCloud | G | 6'4" | 188 | Jr | Bottineau, ND | Bismarck State College |
| Will Ransom | F | 6'8" | 235 | Jr | Green Lake, WI | Daytona Beach Community College |
| Mark Hall | G | 6'3" | 170 | RS So | Round Lake Beach, IL | Eastern Wyoming College |

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition Season |||||||||
| November 10, 2014* 7:00 pm | | Lewis | W 76–67 | | 14 – Lee | 12 – Lynch | 5 – Knight | Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena (4,063) Normal, IL |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| November 16, 2014* 4:00 pm | | Utah State | L 55–60 | 0–1 | 17 – Knight | 10 – Akoon–Purcell | 5 – Lee | Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena (4,921) Normal, IL |
| November 21, 2014* 8:00 pm | | vs. Weber State U. S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam [Quarterfinal] | W 73–64 | 1–1 | 20 – Akoon–Purcell | 7 – Akoon–Purcell | 3 – Hunter | Sports and Fitness Center (1,910) St. Thomas, USVI |
| November 23, 2014* 8:00 pm, CBSSN | | vs. Old Dominion U. S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam [Semifinal] | W 64–45 | 2–1 | 12 – Hunter, Akoon–Purcell | 8 – Knight | 5 – Knight | Sports and Fitness Center (2,005) St. Thomas, USVI |
| November 24, 2014* 8:00 pm, CBSSN | | vs. Seton Hall U. S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam [Final] | L 80–84 | 2–2 | 23 – Hunter | 7 – Jones | 6 – Knight | Sports and Fitness Center (2,955) St. Thomas, USVI |
| November 29, 2014* 2:00 pm | | Youngstown State | W 85–73 $^{OT}$ | 3–2 | 20 – Hunter | 15 – Hawkins | 4 – Lee | Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena (4,095) Normal, IL |
| December 2, 2014* 7:00 pm, CSN Chicago Plus | | VCU | L 62–66 | 3–3 | 18 – Akoon–Purcell | 7 – Akoon–Purcell | 4 – Lee | Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena (7,142) Normal, IL |
| December 7, 2014* 2:00 pm, CSN Chicago | | at UAB | W 78–73 | 4–3 | 18 – McIntosh | 9 – Lynch | 6 – Lee | Bartow Arena (2,234) Birmingham, AL |
| December 14, 2014* 3:00 pm, FS1 | | at DePaul | W 78–72 | 5–3 | 25 – Knight | 13 – Lynch | 3 – Lee | Allstate Arena (6,323) Rosemont, IL |
| December 17, 2014* 7:00 pm | | UT Martin | W 64–54 | 6–3 | 18 – Knight | 9 – McIntosh | 5 – Knight | Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena (4,037) Normal, IL |
| December 20, 2014* 3:00 pm | | at Murray State | L 77–89 | 6–4 | 26 – Knight | 8 – Jones | 3 – Lee | CFSB Center (2,979) Murray, KY |
| December 22, 2014* 6:00 pm | | IPFW | W 68–43 | 7–4 | 12 – Knight | 8 – Wills | 3 – Knight, Lee | Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena (4,108) Normal, IL |
| December 29, 2014* 6:00 pm | | Quincy | W 99–57 | 8–4 | 18 – McCloud | 7 – Jones, McIntosh | 9 – Lee | Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena (4,093) Normal, IL |
| Missouri Valley Conference regular season |||||||||
| December 31, 2014 3:00 pm, CSN Chicago | | Indiana State | L 61–63 | 8–5 (0–1) | 16 – Wills | 6 – Ransom | 3 – Wills | Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena (5,372) Normal, IL |
| January 4, 2015 4:30 pm, ESPNU | | at No. 16 Wichita State | L 62–70 | 8–6 (0–2) | 24 – Knight | 7 – McIntosh | 3 – Hunter | Charles Koch Arena (10,506) Wichita, KS |
| January 7, 2015 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Drake | W 81–45 | 9–6 (2–1) | 15 – Knight | 9 – McIntosh | 6 – Wills | Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena (3,809) Normal, IL |
| January 11, 2015 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Missouri State | W 69–55 | 10–6 (2–2) | 17 – Hunter | 7 – Lynch | 5 – Lee | JQH Arena (5,224) Springfield, MO |
| January 14, 2015 6:00 pm | | at Indiana State | L 70–71 $^{OT}$ | 10–7 (2–3) | 21 – Knight | 8 – Lynch | 4 – Lee | Hulman Center (4,335) Terre Haute, IN |
| January 17, 2015 4:00 pm, CSN Chicago | | Bradley I–74 Rivalry | W 82–72 | 11–7 (3–3) | 20 – Knight | 5 – Hunter, McIntosh | 5 – Hunter, Lee | Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena (9,627) Normal, IL |
| January 20, 2015 7:00 pm | | at Drake | W 64–56 | 12–7 (4–3) | 20 – Knight | 9 – Lynch | 3 – Wills | The Knapp Center (2,886) Des Moines, IA |
| January 25, 2015 3:00 pm, ESPNU | | No. 20 Northern Iowa | L 53–54 | 12–8 (4–4) | 13 – Hunter | 7 – Akoon–Purcell | 3 – Wills | Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena (6,118) Normal, IL |
| January 28, 2015 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Missouri State | W 67–57 | 13–8 (5–4) | 20 – Akoon–Purcell | 12 – Akoon–Purcell | 6 – Lee | Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena (4,177) Normal, IL |
| January 31, 2015 1:00 pm, MVC Network (CSN Chicago/FSMW) | | at Loyola–Chicago | W 48–45 | 14–8 (6–4) | 11 – Hawkins | 5 – Jones, Hawkins | 2 – Hunter, Knight | Joseph J. Gentile Arena (3,256) Chicago, IL |
| February 3, 2015 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Evansville | W 77–51 | 15–8 (7–4) | 16 – Lynch | 6 – Akoon–Purcell | 7 – Lee | Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena (4,352) Normal, IL |
| February 7, 2015 1:00 pm, MVC Network | | at Southern Illinois | L 59–65 | 15–9 (7–5) | 19 – Akoon–Purcell | 8 – Lynch, Hawkins | 6 – Lee | SIU Arena (4,885) Carbondale, IL |
| February 11, 2015 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at No. 13 Northern Iowa | L 64–83 | 15–10 (7–6) | 16 – Knight | 11 – Hawkins | 3 – Wills | McLeod Center (6,103) Cedar Falls, IA |
| February 14, 2015 5:00 pm, ESPN2 | | No. 15 Wichita State | L 62–68 | 15–11 (7–7) | 18 – Akoon–Purcell | 8 – Lynch | 7 – Knight | Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena (9,345) Normal, IL |
| February 18, 2015 8:00 pm, MVC Network | | at Bradley I–74 Rivalry | W 60–47 | 16–11 (8–7) | 15 – Knight | 9 – Hawkins | 3 – Knight, Hawkins | Carver Arena (7,349) Peoria, IL |
| February 21, 2015 7:00 pm, CSN Chicago | | Loyola–Chicago | W 67–60 | 17–11 (9–7) | 21 – Knight | 8 – McIntosh | 2 – Knight, Lee | Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena (6,406) Normal, IL |
| February 25, 2015 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Southern Illinois | W 73–56 | 18–11 (10–7) | 24 – Akoon–Purcell | 7 – Akoon–Purcell | 5 – Lee | Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena (5,188) Normal, IL |
| February 28, 2015 1:00 pm | | at Evansville | W 69–67 $^{OT}$ | 19–11 (11–7) | 16 – Akoon–Purcell | 9 – Jones, Akoon–Purcell | 3 – Akoon–Purcell, McCloud, Lee | Ford Center (5,491) Evansville, IN |
| State Farm Missouri Valley Conference {MVC} Tournament |||||||||
| March 6, 2015* 2:30 pm, MVC Network | (4) | vs. (5) Evansville Arch Madness [Quarterfinal] | W 71–67 | 20–11 | 17 – Hawkins | 7 – Hawkins | 4 – Lee | Scottrade Center (9,015) St. Louis, MO |
| March 7, 2015* 1:30 pm, MVC Network | (4) | vs. (1) No. 8 Wichita State Arch Madness [Semifinal] | W 65–62 | 21–11 | 25 – Knight | 7 – Lynch | 3 – Lee | Scottrade Center (13,898) St. Louis, MO |
| March 8, 2015* 1:00 pm, CBS | (4) | vs. (2) No. 11 Northern Iowa Arch Madness [Final] | L 60–69 | 21–12 | 16 – Knight | 6 – Knight | 4 – Knight, Lee | Scottrade Center (13,552) St. Louis, MO |
| National Invitation {NIT} Tournament |||||||||
| March 18, 2015* 7:00 pm, ESPNU | (4) | (5) Green Bay Old Dominion Regional [First Round] | W 69–56 | 22–12 | 18 – Lee | 9 – Hawkins | 6 – Lee | Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena (4,942) Normal, IL |
| March 23, 2015* 7:00 pm, ESPNU | (4) | at (1) Old Dominion Old Dominion Regional [Second Round] | L 49–50 | 22–13 | 14 – Knight | 8 – Akoon–Purcell | 3 – Akoon–Purcell | Ted Constant Convocation Center (5,923) Norfolk, VA |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. |||||||||
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