Illinois State Basketball: 2018-19 season preview for the Redbirds

ST. LOUIS, MO - MARCH 4: Milik Yarbrough #52 of the Illinois State Redbirds looks to get pst Lucas Williamson #1 of the Loyola Ramblers during the Missouri Valley Conference Basketball Tournament Championship at the Scottrade Center on March 4, 2018 in St. Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images) /

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ST. LOUIS, MO – MARCH 3: Head coach Dan Muller of the Illinois State Redbirds coaches his team against the Southern Illinois Salukis during the Missouri Valley Conference Basketball Tournament Semifinals at the Scottrade Center on March 3, 2018 in St. Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images) /

Illinois State Basketball has been very close to an NCAA Tournament berth. Can the trio of Redbird stars push them over the hump in 2018-19?

After a back-and-forth battle with former Missouri Valley foe Wichita State in 2016-17, Illinois State was expected to take a step back this past season after the team’s top three scorers departed from either graduation or via transfer. Add to that head coach Dan Muller trying to beef up the non-conference schedule, things could’ve gotten ugly for the Redbirds.

That didn’t happen by a longshot. Illinois State was able to manage through that brutal early slate of games before obtaining a winning record in the Missouri Valley. Once again, the Redbirds made the conference tournament finals with an opportunity to cash their ticket to the NCAA Tournament. They ultimately fell to the regular season champion Loyola-Chicago, who went on to make the Final Four.

The Ramblers were receiving all of the attention but Illinois State and Muller deserved a ton of credit as well, staying contenders in the Missouri Valley after losing so much production from the year prior.

Now the tables have turned in favor of the Redbirds. Not only were they able to retain three key players who all scored over 15 ppg, they also brought in a couple of talented Junior College transfers who’re expected to make an immediate impact.

There’s a lot of hype surrounding the program for this upcoming season but there are also some questions that need to be answered. Will other players produce enough so that the “big three” aren’t so heavily relied upon? And can the Redbird’s poor defense be fixed to prevent constant shootouts? Lastly, did Illinois State schedule too tough again? I’ll try to answer these questions with the team’s preview for 2018-19.