The Illinois State basketball team is hurting in more ways than one as the Redbirds travel to Carbondale for a 6 p.m. Missouri Valley Conference game against Southern Illinois on Saturday at Banterra Center.
Missing three key players to injury, ISU also is smarting from a 61-56 home loss to last-place Illinois-Chicago on Wednesday.
"Overall, they just out-toughed us," Redbirds guard Dalton Banks said. "That can never be us. That's something we hold ourselves very accountable to."
With an 11-13 overall record, ISU is 10th in the 12-team MVC at 5-8. Southern is tied for fourth with Northern Iowa at 7-6 and owns a 15-9 overall mark.