Redbirds Draw Presbyterian in First Round of CBI
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The Illinois State men's basketball team has drawn the Presbyterian Blue Hose in the opening round of the Purple College Basketball Invitational (CBI). ISU's first game will be on March 23 with a 5:30 p.m. (CT) tip-off inside the Ocean Center.
🚨Updated bracket for the 2025 Purple CBI🚨 pic.twitter.com/eOoQKAEKza
— Purple CBI (@CBITourney) March 17, 2025
Presbyterian closed the 2024-25 regular season with a 14-18 overall record, falling in overtime of the Big South Conference opening round to Radford by a 74-69 final score.
The team has been led this season by Kobe Stewart, a 6-7 wing who averages 15.3 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. Point guard Kory Mincy (6-2 sophomore) who averages 14.8 points per game with 144 assists and 49 steals. Jaylen Peterson, a 6-8 redshirt sophomore is the team's leading rebounder with 183 (5.7 per game), while also leading the team with 49 blocked shots.
The game will be the first-ever meeting against Presbyterian, and the Redbirds have just one previous game in program history against schools from the Big South Conference (Charleston Southern, Gardner-Webb, High Point, Longwood, Presbyterian, Radford, UNC Asheville, USC Upstate, and Winthrop).
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