In white letters on the back of Illinois State’s black basketball warmup shirts are the words “ALL IN.” They are intended to convey the mentality of the guys in uniform.
Saturday night, for the first time this season and, perhaps, in a few seasons, there was a sense the mantra wasn’t limited to players and coaches.
Redbird Arena had a pulse. We took that for granted when Dan Muller was a Redbird player in the 1990s. It’s been largely absent in his five years as ISU’s head coach.
Saturday, in a battle for first place in the Missouri Valley Conference against the league’s established kingpin Wichita State, the season-best crowd of 9,078 provided energy in a game that required every ounce.