Illinois State learned its lesson well enough to reach NIT semifinals

Illinois State’s NCAA Tournament hopes ended in its first game of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament when it lost to eventual league tournament champion Northern Iowa.

The Redbirds (23-12, 12-8 MVC) didn’t just lose. They were thumped 74-52.

However, coach Ryan Pedon’s Illinois State squad has bounced back very well. After accepting a National Invitational Tournament invite, the Redbirds have advanced to the NIT Final Four (8:30 p.m. today, ESPN) for the first time in program history and sit just two wins away from becoming the first Illinois school to win the NIT since 1982.

“Going through tough stuff, it hardens you and can provide some scars, some bruises,” Pedon said. “At the end of the day, if you channel those scars and cuts and bruises, if you channel those adversities the right way, they can be really powerful for your team. I think that’s what you’re seeing here is we’re still playing in the month of April.”

Illinois State’s first NIT contest since 2017 was a 79-58 blowout of Kent State at home. The fourth-seeded Redbirds followed that up by traveling to face top-seeded Wake Forest, where they overcame a nine-point second-half deficit to prevail 78-75. In the quarterfinals Pedon’s unit secured another road victory, leading wire-to-wire in a 61-55 defeat of second-seeded Dayton.

The Final Four tips off in Indianapolis’ Hinkle Fieldhouse, where ISU will play Auburn.

Key to the Redbirds’ success all season has been suburban products Brandon Lieb and Ty’Reek Coleman. Lieb, a graduate student forward, attended Deerfield High School, while Coleman, an Aurora native, is a first-year guard who prepped at Waubonsie Valley.

Lieb, one of the team’s captains, has appeared in all 35 games this season and averaged 3.2 points, 4.1 rebounds and 0.8 blocks a game.

“I know my role with this team and just coming in, being a glue guy for us, and supporting where I need to be,” Lieb said. “I’ve been trying to lean into the defensive aspect of it and then just doing my job, facilitating on offense. … I’m trying to lean into however I can help and be a good captain and leader for these guys.”

In his senior year of high school, Lieb was third-team all-state and a regional champion before beginning college at Illinois. During the summer of 2023, the Deerfield product transferred to Illinois State. But ahead of the 2024-25 campaign, which was set to be his last year of college basketball, Lieb suffered a finger injury that forced him to miss the season.

Returning to the court this year, Lieb’s contributions on and off the floor have been a key piece of the Redbirds’ success.

“When I think of Brandon Lieb, I just think of maturity,” Pedon said. “His maturity as a human being has allowed him to get to this point. His road has been bumpy at times, and he’s faced a lot of adversity. He’s just kept coming.”

Coleman, who was a two-time all-state selection and regional champion in high school, has made an immediate impact for Illinois State. He ranks third on the team with 9.8 points a game, adding 2.7 rebounds and 1.8 assists.

Though Coleman hit the ground running once the season came around, scoring 24 points in his second collegiate game, summer workouts in Normal, showed him that college basketball is quicker and more intense than anything he had previously experienced.

“There was nothing that high school could have prepared you for,” Coleman said. “It couldn’t have prepared you for what a college game feels like.”

Though he started 19 games this season, Coleman has found a niche coming off the bench as the season has come down the stretch.

A 40.5% shooter from beyond the arc, Coleman has proved to be a spark plug for the Redbirds.

“He’s a guy that can change the pace and the speed of the game. He can score the ball, but he can also create, playmake,” Pedon said. “... I think he’s just scratching the surface of what he can become as a player.”

Coming off two road wins against higher seeds, Illinois State’s locker room is reverberating with confidence ahead of its tilt against the Tigers.

The Redbirds won the College Basketball Invitational, an alternative postseason tournament, last year. With their trip to Indianapolis, they are looking to end this season with a win for a second consecutive year.

“At this point in the year, we’re a nameless, faceless opponent,” Lieb said. “We know Auburn’s a good team. They’ve got good talent. They were a team that just missed making March Madness. They’ve got good talent on their team, but I think the way we’ve been playing, I honestly feel like we can play with anyone.”