the regular season is in the books for Illinois State Men’s Basketball. the Redbirds finished the season with a 20–11 overall record and clinched the third seed in the Missouri Valley Tournament. Head coach Ryan Pedon shared his thoughts on his team’s growth from October to now.
“Our biggest area of growth to me has been our mental toughness, and we’ve had to go through some tough stuff, some ups and downs, twists and turns, which most college teams do. and I like the way that we’ve come out on the backside. and what I my message to our team has been, scars that you endure throughout a long college basketball season can be very powerful and useful for you if you handle adversity the right way,” Pedon said.
The Redbirds now turn their attention to St. Louis, looking to make a deep run in the MVC Tournament.
“In a tournament setting, normally your first game, regardless of opponent can often be your toughest game. And for a variety of reasons in this league, especially this year, you’re not going to get an easy opponent and there’s going to be a forty minute war. And we’ve got to be prepared for we have to be prepared for that regardless of opponent or who we who we draw in the bracket,” Pedon said.
The Redbirds are chasing their first MVC title since 1998.