The Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball team represents Illinois State University, located in Normal, Illinois, in NCAA Division I basketball competition. They are currently led by head coach Ryan Pedon and play their home games at CEFCU Arena as a member of the Missouri Valley Conference. They have the distinction of earning the most National Invitation Tournament berths (14) without making the semifinals, and also have the longest current NCAA tournament drought (26 seasons) among Missouri Valley Conference members.
| Illinois State Redbirds | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
 | |||
| University | Illinois State University | ||
| All-time record | 940–698 (.574) | ||
| Head coach | Ryan Pedon (2nd season) | ||
| Conference | Missouri Valley Conference | ||
| Location | Normal, Illinois | ||
| Arena | CEFCU Arena (Capacity: 10,200) | ||
| Nickname | Redbirds | ||
| Colors | Red and white[1] | ||
| Uniforms | |||
| |||
| NCAA tournament Final Four | |||
| 1967* | |||
| NCAA tournament Elite Eight | |||
| 1967*, 1969* | |||
| NCAA tournament Sweet Sixteen | |||
| 1967*, 1968*, 1969* | |||
| NCAA tournament round of 32 | |||
| 1984, 1985, 1998 | |||
| NCAA tournament appearances | |||
| 1957*, 1962*, 1967*, 1968*, 1969*, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1990, 1997, 1998 *at Division II level | |||
| Conference tournament champions | |||
| 1983, 1990, 1997, 1998 | |||
| Conference regular season champions | |||
| 1930*, 1931*, 1932*, 1935*, 1936*, 1941*, 1942*, 1943*, 1984, 1992, 1993, 1997, 1998, 2017 * - Division II''' | |||
Season-by-season records
NCAA Division I
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Will Robinson (Conference of Midwestern Universities) (1970–1972) | |||||||||
| 1970–71 | First | 16–10 | 3–5 | 4th | |||||
| 1971–72 | Second | 16–10 | 6–2 | 2nd | |||||
| Will Robinson (Independent) (1972–1975) | |||||||||
| 1972–73 | Third | 13–12 | |||||||
| 1973–74 | Fourth | 17–9 | |||||||
| 1974–75 | Fifth | 16–10 | |||||||
| Will Robinson: | 78–51 (.602) | 9–7 (.563) | |||||||
| Gene Smithson (Independent) (1975–1978) | |||||||||
| 1975–76 | First | 20–7 | |||||||
| 1976–77 | Second | 22–7 | NIT Quarterfinal | ||||||
| 1977–78 | Third | 24–4 | NIT First Round | ||||||
| Gene Smithson: | 66–18 (.786) | ||||||||
| Bob Donewald (Independent) (1978–1981) | |||||||||
| 1978–79 | First | 20–10 | |||||||
| 1979–80 | Second | 20–9 | NIT Second Round | ||||||
| 1980–81 | Third | 16–11 | |||||||
| Bob Donewald (Missouri Valley Conference) (1981–1989) | |||||||||
| 1981–82 | Fourth | 17–12 | 9–7 | 5th | |||||
| 1982–83 | Fifth | 24–7 | 13–5 | 2nd | NCAA first round | ||||
| 1983–84 | Sixth | 23–8 | 13–3 | T–1st | NCAA second round | ||||
| 1984–85 | Seventh | 22–8 | 11–5 | T–2nd | NCAA second round | ||||
| 1985–86 | Eighth | 15–14 | 9–7 | 4th | |||||
| 1986–87 | Ninth | 19–13 | 7–7 | 4th | NIT Quarterfinal | ||||
| 1987–88 | Tenth | 18–13 | 9–5 | 3rd | NIT First Round | ||||
| 1988–89 | Eleventh | 13–17 | 6–8 | T–5th | |||||
| Bob Donewald: | 207–122 (.629) | 77–47 (.621) | |||||||
| Bob Bender (Missouri Valley Conference) (1989–1993) | |||||||||
| 1989–90 | First | 18–13 | 9–5 | T–2nd | NCAA first round | ||||
| 1990–91 | Second | 5–23 | 4–12 | T–8th | |||||
| 1991–92 | Third | 18–11 | 14–4 | T–1st | |||||
| 1992–93 | Fourth | 19–10 | 13–5 | 1st | |||||
| Bob Bender: | 60–57 (.513) | 40–26 (.606) | |||||||
| Kevin Stallings (Missouri Valley Conference) (1993–1999) | |||||||||
| 1993–94 | First | 16–11 | 12–6 | 4th | |||||
| 1994–95 | Second | 20–13 | 13–5 | T–2nd | NIT Second Round | ||||
| 1995–96 | Third | 22–12 | 13–5 | 2nd | NIT Quarterfinal | ||||
| 1996–97 | Fourth | 24–6 | 14–4 | 1st | NCAA first round | ||||
| 1997–98 | Fifth | 25–6 | 16–2 | 1st | NCAA second round | ||||
| 1998–99 | Sixth | 16–15 | 7–11 | 7th | |||||
| Kevin Stallings: | 123–63 (.661) | 75–33 (.694) | |||||||
| Tom Richardson (Missouri Valley Conference) (1999–2003) | |||||||||
| 1999–2000 | First | 10–20 | 5–13 | T–8th | |||||
| 2000–01 | Second | 21–9 | 12–6 | T–2nd | NIT First Round | ||||
| 2001–02 | Third | 17–14 | 12–6 | 3rd | |||||
| 2002–03 | Fourth | 8–21 | 5–13 | 10th | |||||
| Tom Richardson: | 56–64 (.467) | 34–38 (.472) | |||||||
| Porter Moser (Missouri Valley Conference) (2003–2007) | |||||||||
| 2003–04 | First | 10–19 | 4–14 | 10th | |||||
| 2004–05 | Second | 17–13 | 8–10 | 6th | |||||
| 2005–06 | Third | 9–19 | 4–14 | T–9th | |||||
| 2006–07 | Fourth | 15–16 | 6–12 | T–7th | |||||
| Porter Moser: | 51–67 (.432) | 22–50 (.306) | |||||||
| Tim Jankovich (Missouri Valley Conference) (2007–2012) | |||||||||
| 2007–08 | First | 25–10 | 13–5 | 2nd | NIT Second Round | ||||
| 2008–09 | Second | 24–10 | 11–7 | 3rd | NIT First Round | ||||
| 2009–10 | Third | 22–11 | 11–7 | 3rd | NIT First Round | ||||
| 2010–11 | Fourth | 12–19 | 4–14 | T–9th | |||||
| 2011–12 | Fifth | 21–14 | 9–9 | T–3rd | NIT Second Round | ||||
| Tim Jankovich: | 104–64 (.619) | 48–42 (.533) | |||||||
| Dan Muller (Missouri Valley Conference) (2012–2022) | |||||||||
| 2012–13 | First | 18–15 | 8–10 | 6th | |||||
| 2013–14 | Second | 18–16 | 9–9 | T–4th | CBI Semifinal | ||||
| 2014–15 | Third | 22–13 | 11–7 | T–3rd | NIT Second Round | ||||
| 2015–16 | Fourth | 18–14 | 12–6 | T–2nd | |||||
| 2016–17 | Fifth | 28–7 | 17–1 | T–1st | NIT Second Round | ||||
| 2017–18 | Sixth | 18–15 | 10–8 | 3rd | |||||
| 2018–19 | Seventh | 17–16 | 9–9 | 7th | |||||
| 2019–20 | Eighth | 10–21 | 5–13 | 9th | |||||
| 2020–21 | Ninth | 7–18 | 4–14 | 10th | |||||
| 2021–22 | Tenth | 13–20 | 5–13 | 8th | |||||
| Dan Muller: | 167–150 (.527) | 89–86 (.509) | |||||||
| Ryan Pedon (Missouri Valley Conference) (2022–present) | |||||||||
| 2022–23 | First | 11–21 | 6–14 | 9th | |||||
| 2023–24 | Second | 15–16 | 9–11 | T–7th | |||||
| Ryan Pedon: | 26–37 (.413) | 15–25 (.375) | |||||||
| Total: | 940–698 (.574) | ||||||||
National champion Postseason invitational champion | |||||||||
Source[2]
Postseason
NCAA Division I
The Redbirds have appeared in six NCAA Tournaments. Their combined record is 3–6.
| Year | Seed | Round | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | #6 | First Round | #11 Ohio | L 49–51 |
| 1984 | #8 | First Round Second Round | #9 Alabama #1DePaul | W 49–48 L 61–75 |
| 1985 | #9 | First Round Second Round | #8 USC #1 Oklahoma | W 58–55 L 69–75 |
| 1990 | #14 | First Round | #3 Michigan | L 70–76 |
| 1997 | #11 | First Round | #6 Iowa State | L 57–69 |
| 1998 | #9 | First Round Second Round | #8 Tennessee vs. #1 Arizona | W 82–81 OT L 49–82 |
Source[3]
NCAA Division II
Illinois State made the NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament five times and had a combined record of 6–7.
| Year | Round | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1957 | Round of 32 | Evansville | L 96–108 |
| 1962 | Regional Semifinals Region Third Place | Concordia (IL) Kentucky State | L 61–79 L 72–77 |
| 1967 | Regional Semifinals Regional Finals Elite Eight Final Four National Third Place | Parsons Louisiana Tech San Diego State Southwest Missouri State Kentucky Wesleyan | W 72–68 W 89–66 W 77–76 (2OT) L 76–93 L 73–112 |
| 1968 | Regional Semifinals Regional Finals | DePauw Indiana State | W 83–81 L 93–98 |
| 1969 | Regional Semifinals Regional Finals Elite Eight | North Park Valparaiso Ashland | W 87–82 W 103–87 L 35–41 |
NIT results
The Redbirds have appeared in 14 National Invitation Tournaments (NIT). Their combined record is 11–14.
| Year | Bid | Regional | Seed | Round | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | Regional Round Quarterfinal | at Creighton vs. Houston | W 65–58 L 90–91 | |||
| 1978 | First Round | at Indiana State | L 71–73 | |||
| 1980 | First Round Second Round | West Texas State at Illinois | W 80–63 L 65–75 | |||
| 1987 | First Round Second Round Quarterfinal | Akron at Cleveland State at La Salle | W 79–72 W 79–77 L 50–70 | |||
| 1988 | First Round | at Cleveland State | L 83–89 | |||
| 1995 | First Round Second Round | Utah State Washington State | W 93–87 L 80–83 | |||
| 1996 | First Round Second Round Quarterfinal | Mount St. Mary's at Wisconsin at Tulane | W 73–49 W 77–62 L 72–83 | |||
| 2001 | First Round | at Purdue | L 79–90 | |||
| 2008 | At-large | Ohio State | (2) | First Round Second Round | (7) Utah State (3) Dayton | W 61–57 L 48–55 |
| 2009 | At-large | San Diego State | (5) | First Round | at (4) Kansas State | L 79–83 OT |
| 2010 | At-large | Illinois | (6) | First Round | at (3) Dayton | L 42–63 |
| 2012 | At-large | Arizona | (7) | First Round Second Round | at (2) Ole Miss at (3) Stanford | W 96–93 OT L 88–92 OT |
| 2015 | At-large | Old Dominion | (4) | First Round Second Round | (5) Green Bay at (1) Old Dominion | W 69–56 L 49–50 |
| 2017 | Automatic | Illinois State | (1) | First Round Second Round | (8) UC Irvine (4) UCF | W 85–71 L 62–63 |
Source[3]
CBI results
The Redbirds have appeared in one College Basketball Invitational (CBI). Their record is 2–1. They turned down a bid in the 2015–16 season and again in the 2017–18 season.
| Year | Round | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | First Round Quarterfinal Semifinal | Morehead State Texas A&M at Siena | W 77–67 W 62–55 L 49–61 |
Source[3]
Players
Retired numbers
Illinois State has retired only one number in program history, that of first-team All-American and Olympian Doug Collins.
| Illinois State Redbirds retired numbers | ||||
| No. | Player | Career | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | Doug Collins | 1970–1973 | [4] | |
Redbirds drafted into the NBA
| Draft Year | Player | Position | Round | Overall | NBA Team |
| 1973 | Doug Collins | SG | 1 | 1 | Philadelphia 76ers |
| 1975 | Robert Hawkins | SF | 3 | 51 | Golden State Warriors |
| 1977 | Jeff Wilkins | C | 2 | 37 | San Antonio Spurs |
| 1999 | Rico Hill | SF | 2 | 31 | Los Angeles Clippers |
Redbirds in international leagues
- Jackie Carmichael (born 1990)
- Daishon Knight (born 1991)
- Nic Moore (born 1992)
- Zach Lofton (born 1992)
- DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell (born 1993)
- Deontae Hawkins (born 1993)
- Nick Banyard (born 1994)
- Kaza Kajami-Keane (born 1994)
- Reggie Lynch (born 1994), for Bnei Herzliya of the Israeli Basketball Premier League[5]
- Paris Lee (born 1995)
- Elijah Clarance (born 1998)
Rivalries
The I-74 Rivalry is the rivalry between Illinois State and Bradley.
Plane crash
On April 7, 2015, while flying home from the NCAA Tournament Final game in Indianapolis, a plane carrying Illinois State assistant coach Torrey Ward and six others crashed just outside Bloomington, Illinois, leaving no survivors.
