Illinois State women's basketball coach Barb Smith (right) is looking for her team to improve down the stretch. (Adam Studzinski/WJBC)
By Adam Studzinski
NORMAL – The Illinois State men's basketball team doesn't have much time to recover after an 83-64 road loss to Northern Iowa on Wednesday.
Missouri Valley Conference rival Wichita State (22-3, 12-1) is in town Saturday night. Head coach Dan Muller said the Redbirds (15-10, 7-6) need to execute against the Shockers, who come in ranked 13th in the nation.
"We've got to make some shots and we've got to offensive rebound like crazy," said Muller. "We've got to force turnovers. That's the other thing last night that hurt our offense and defense; we didn't force any turnovers (in) the first half."
Muller added the Shockers pride themselves on their toughness.
"They guard differently," said Muller. "They guard ball screens differently, they do a lot of different things; they press."
Redbird senior guard Daishon Knight Wichita State is extremely disciplined.
"You can tell they actually put in the work because it actually shows out there on the court. I'm excited to play the next game and to play against them," Knight said.
Junior guard DeVaugh Akoon-Purcell talked about ISU's loss to Wichita State earlier this season. The Redbirds lost in Wichita, Kan. 70-62.
"Mistakes, I think that's what it boiled down to at their place," said Akoon-Purcell. "The team that made the fewer mistakes ended up with the victory."
The Redbirds and Shockers will tip-off at 5 p.m. Saturday at Redbird Arena.
ISU women look for improvement
The ISU women's basketball team has a road matchup against Indiana State Friday night.
Head coach Barb Smith said the Sycamores (15-7, 5-6) are tough on defense.
"They have had some wins here of late," said Smith. "They're hungry. They play well at home."
Smith is looking for the ISU (1-21, 1-10) to score better as the MVC tournament gets closer.
"We haven't hit the 40 percentile much this year and a lot of that is just hitting shots and taking shots that we take in practice," Smith said.
Junior guard Lindsay Smith said she's working to get her endurance back after being injured earlier this season.
"Every game I'm getting more comfortable out there. I'm able to last longer. I'm getting back in better shape," said Lindsay. "Every game is a big step for me."
Hear the Redbirds Friday night at 6 p.m. on WJBC 1230 AM and wjbc.com.
Adam Studzinski can be reached at adam.studzinski@cumulus.com.
