NORMAL — It may have taken a while to grasp. Certainly longer than Illinois State coach Dan Muller wanted or expected.
The Redbirds seem to have figured out you can't simply trade baskets and try to outscore teams. Stopping them helps, too, and sometimes that involves fighting (in a good way) with each other.
"Everybody is going to get rebounds. Sometimes we snatch rebounds from our own teammates," said ISU senior DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell. "That just shows toughness."
A revitalized defensive effort in the last 2½ games has vaulted ISU into second place in the Missouri Valley Conference.