| Year: | 2017–18 |
| Team: | Illinois State Redbirds |
| Mode: | Basketball |
| Conference: | Missouri Valley Conference |
| Record: | 18–15 |
| Conf Record: | 10–8 |
| Short Conf: | MVC |
| Head Coach: | Dan Muller |
| Hc Year: | 6th |
| Asst Coach1: | Brian Reese |
| Asst Coach2: | Brian Collins |
| Asst Coach3: | Brendan Mullins |
| Stadium: | Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena |
The 2017–18 Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball team represented Illinois State University during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Redbirds, led by sixth-year head coach Dan Muller, played their home games at Redbird Arena in Normal, Illinois as a member of the Missouri Valley Conference. They finished the season 18–15, 10–8 in conference play, to finish in a tie for the third place. As the number three seed in the MVC tournament, they defeated Missouri State in their quarterfinal game and Southern Illinois in their semifinal game before being beaten by Loyola–Chicago in the final.
The Redbrids finished the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season 28–7, 17–1 in conference play, to finish in a tie for first place. As the number one seed in the MVC tournament, they defeated Evansville in their quarterfinal game and Southern Illinois in their semifinal game before being beaten by Wichita State in the final.
Although not winning the conference tournament, the Redbirds held the tie-breaker for the regular season title and, as a result, received an automatic bid to the National Invitation Tournament. They were awarded a number one seed where they defeated California–Irvine in their first-round game before losing to Central Florida in their second-round game.
| Name | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Comment | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Javaka Thompson | 31 | G | 6'4" | 191 | RS Sr | Graduation | ||
| 1 | G | 6'0" | 185 | Sr | Graduation | |||
| Tony Willis | 12 | G | 6'4" | 185 | Sr | Graduation | ||
| Deontae Hawkins | 23 | F | 6'8" | 220 | RS Jr | Graduation; (graduate transfer Boston College) | ||
| 11 | F | 6'7" | 234 | RS Jr | Graduation; (graduate transfer Oregon) | |||
| Andre Washington | 15 | F | 6'8" | 195 | Fr | Hill College |
| Name | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Prior School | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jerron Martin | G | 6'0" | 175 | RS Sr | Texas Southern | ||
| Zach Copeland | G | 6'4" | 175 | Jr | City College of San Francisco | ||
| William Tinsley | G | 6'6" | 195 | Jr | Lake Land College | ||
| Matt Chastain | G/F | 6'6" | 190 | RS Fr | Loyola–Chicago |
In the conference's preseason poll, the Redbirds were picked to finish in fourth place in the MVC.[1] Junior forward Phil Fayne was named to the preseason All-MVC second team.
|-!colspan=9 style=|Exhibition Season|-!colspan=9 style=|Non-Conference Regular Season|-!colspan=9 style=|Missouri Valley Conference Regular Season|-!colspan=9 style=|State Farm
Missouri Valley Conference Tournament|-|-Source[2]