Evansville Purple Aces at Illinois State Redbirds
· NCAA Men's Basketball
Knight scores 26 as Illinois State downs Evansville 72-53
Knight also contributed five rebounds for the Redbirds (11-20, 6-14 Missouri Valley Conference). Darius Burford was 4 of 8 shooting, including 1 for 3 from distance, and went 6 for 6 from the line to add 15 points. Kendall Lewis finished 6 of 10 from the field to finish with 13 points, while adding 11 rebounds. The Redbirds broke a six-game slide.
The Purple Aces (5-26, 1-19) were led by Kenny Strawbridge, who recorded 12 points and six rebounds. Gabe Spinelli added 10 points for Evansville. In addition, Marvin Coleman had nine points and three steals.
Illinois State took the lead with 1:17 remaining in the first half and did not give it up. The score was 31-28 at halftime, with Knight racking up 13 points. Illinois State outscored Evansville by 16 points over the final half, while Knight led the way with a team-high 13 second-half points.
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Recent Plays
| 2nd 0:00 | End of Game | 53 - 72 |
| 2nd 0:00 | End of 2nd half | 53 - 72 |
| 2nd 0:21 | Gabe Spinelli made Layup. | 53 - 72 |
| 2nd 0:26 | Illinois State Timeout | 51 - 72 |
| 2nd 0:27 | Colton Sandage made Three Point Jumper. | 51 - 72 |
Statistics
 EVAN |
 ILST |
|
|---|---|---|
| 21-56 | FG | 27-51 |
| 38 | Field Goal % | 53 |
| 5-16 | 3PT | 9-19 |
| 31 | Three Point % | 47 |
| 6-8 | FT | 9-10 |
| 75 | Free Throw % | 90 |
| 21 | Rebounds | 36 |
| 6 | Offensive Rebounds | 9 |
| 15 | Defensive Rebounds | 27 |
| 6 | Assists | 12 |
| 8 | Steals | 5 |
| 4 | Blocks | 1 |
| 11 | Turnovers | 15 |
| 2 | Team Turnovers | 1 |
| 11 | Total Turnovers | 15 |
| 0 | Technical Fouls | 0 |
| 0 | Total Technical Fouls | 0 |
| 0 | Flagrant Fouls | 0 |
| 17 | Points Off Turnovers | 13 |
| 2 | Fast Break Points | 8 |
| 28 | Points in Paint | 30 |
| 13 | Fouls | 12 |
| 6 | Largest Lead | 21 |
Game Information
Location: Normal, IL
Attendance: 3,415 | Capacity:
2025-26 Missouri Valley Conference Standings
| TEAM | CONF | GB | OVER |
|---|---|---|---|
| Belmont | 16-4 | - | 26-6 |
| Bradley | 13-7 | 3 | 21-13 |
| Illinois State | 12-8 | 4 | 23-12 |
| Murray State | 12-8 | 4 | 20-13 |
| UIC | 12-8 | 4 | 19-16 |
| Northern Iowa | 11-9 | 5 | 23-13 |
| Valparaiso | 11-9 | 5 | 18-15 |
| Southern Illinois | 10-10 | 6 | 16-16 |
| Drake | 6-14 | 10 | 14-20 |
| Indiana State | 4-16 | 12 | 11-21 |
| Evansville | 3-17 | 13 | 7-25 |