Illinois State head coach Dan Muller was named the Missouri Valley Coach of the Year on Thursday.
Muller has led the Redbirds to a 25-5 overall record — the 25 wins are a school single-season record — and a 17-1 mark in conference play, a share of the Missouri Valley regular-season title and the No. 1 seed in this week's conference tournament in St. Louis.
[MORE: Thursday on CSN: Arch Madness opening round]
Muller has led the Redbirds to 18 or more wins in each of his five seasons at the helm of the program. This year's 25-5 finish to the regular season comes after an 18-14 mark at the end of last season.
Illinois State is on the NCAA tournament bubble and could wind up in the Big Dance for the first time since 1998.
[MORE: Illinois State's Paris Lee wins major Missouri Valley Conference awards]
Muller is the fourth Illinois State head coach to win this particular honor. He joins Bob Donewald (1984), Bob Bender (1992) and Kevin Stallings (1998).
NCAA
Be sure to catch Illinois State in Missouri Valley Conference Tournament action this week on CSN.