Drake takes on Illinois State following Stirtz’s 20-point game

Drake Bulldogs (22-2, 12-2 MVC) at Illinois State Redbirds (15-10, 7-7 MVC)

Normal, Illinois; Wednesday, 9 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Drake faces Illinois State after Bennett Stirtz scored 20 points in Drake’s 85-81 overtime win over the Indiana State Sycamores.

The Redbirds are 10-3 in home games. Illinois State ranks fifth in the MVC with 14.6 assists per game led by Dalton Banks averaging 3.7.

The Bulldogs are 12-2 in MVC play. Drake averages 71.2 points while outscoring opponents by 12.7 points per game.

Illinois State makes 48.4% of its shots from the field this season, which is 4.4 percentage points higher than Drake has allowed to its opponents (44.0%). Drake averages 71.2 points per game, 0.6 fewer than the 71.8 Illinois State allows to opponents.

TOP PERFORMERS: Chase Walker is scoring 15.4 points per game with 5.9 rebounds and 1.9 assists for the Redbirds. Johnny Kinziger is averaging 15.2 points and 3.4 rebounds while shooting 43.8% over the last 10 games.

Mitch Mascari averages 3.0 made 3-pointers per game for the Bulldogs, scoring 11.0 points while shooting 45.5% from beyond the arc. Stirtz is shooting 50.0% and averaging 19.1 points over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Redbirds: 5-5, averaging 72.6 points, 28.3 rebounds, 13.7 assists, 6.1 steals and 1.3 blocks per game while shooting 46.4% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 73.3 points per game.

Bulldogs: 10-0, averaging 69.5 points, 27.6 rebounds, 12.5 assists, 9.3 steals and 2.6 blocks per game while shooting 49.3% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 58.8 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.