| Illinois State Redbirds | |
| Current: | 2023–24 Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball team |
| University: | Illinois State University |
| Conference: | Missouri Valley Conference |
| Location: | Normal, Illinois |
| Coach: | Ryan Pedon |
| Tenure: | 2nd |
| Arena: | CEFCU Arena |
| Capacity: | 10,200 |
| Nickname: | Redbirds |
| H Pattern B: | _thinsidesonwhite |
| H Pattern S: | _blanksides2 |
| H Body: | CE1126 |
| H Shorts: | CE1126 |
| A Pattern B: | _thinwhitesides |
| A Pattern S: | _thinwhitesides |
| A Body: | CE1126 |
| A Shorts: | CE1126 |
| Ncaafinalfour: | 1967* |
| Ncaaeliteeight: | 1967*, 1969* |
| Ncaasweetsixteen: | 1967*, 1968*, 1969* |
| Ncaaroundof32: | 1984, 1985, 1998 |
| Ncaatourneys: | 1957*, 1962*, 1967*, 1968*, 1969*, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1990, 1997, 1998 *at Division II level |
| Conference Season: | 1930*, 1931*, 1932*, 1935*, 1936*, 1941*, 1942*, 1943*, 1984, 1992, 1993, 1997, 1998, 2017
|
| Conference Tournament: | 1983, 1990, 1997, 1998 |
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.
Source[1]
The Redbirds have appeared in six NCAA Tournaments. Their combined record is 3–6.
| First Round | L 49–51 | |||
| First Round Second Round | W 49–48 L 61–75 | |||
| First Round Second Round | W 58–55 L 69–75 | |||
| First Round | L 70–76 | |||
| First Round | L 57–69 | |||
| First Round Second Round | W 82–81 OT L 49–82 |
Illinois State made the NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament five times and had a combined record of 6–7.
| Round of 32 | Evansville | L 96–108 | ||
| Regional Semifinals Region Third Place | Concordia (IL) Kentucky State | L 61–79 L 72–77 | ||
| 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 | ||
| Regional Semifinals Regional Finals | DePauw Indiana State | W 83–81 L 93–98 | ||
| Regional Semifinals Regional Finals Elite Eight | North Park Valparaiso Ashland | W 87–82 W 103–87 L 35–41 |
The Redbirds have appeared in 14 National Invitation Tournaments (NIT). Their combined record is 11–14.
| Regional Round Quarterfinal | at Creighton vs. Houston | W 65–58 L 90–91 | |||||
| First Round | at Indiana State | L 71–73 | |||||
| First Round Second Round | West Texas State at Illinois | W 80–63 L 65–75 | |||||
| First Round Second Round Quarterfinal | Akron at Cleveland State at La Salle | W 79–72 W 79–77 L 50–70 | |||||
| First Round | at Cleveland State | L 83–89 | |||||
| First Round Second Round | Utah State Washington State | W 93–87 L 80–83 | |||||
| First Round Second Round Quarterfinal | Mount St. Mary's at Wisconsin at Tulane | W 73–49 W 77–62 L 72–83 | |||||
| First Round | at Purdue | L 79–90 | |||||
| At-large | (2) | First Round Second Round | (7) Utah State (3) Dayton | W 61–57 L 48–55 | |||
| At-large | (5) | First Round | at (4) Kansas State | L 79–83 OT | |||
| At-large | (6) | First Round | at (3) Dayton | L 42–63 | |||
| At-large | (7) | First Round Second Round | at (2) Ole Miss at (3) Stanford | W 96–93 OT L 88–92 OT | |||
| At-large | (4) | First Round Second Round | (5) Green Bay at (1) Old Dominion | W 69–56 L 49–50 | |||
| Automatic | (1) | First Round Second Round | (8) UC Irvine (4) UCF | W 85–71 L 62–63 |
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.
| First Round Quarterfinal Semifinal | W 77–67 W 62–55 L 49–61 |
See main article: List of NCAA men's basketball 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 | 1970–1973 | [3] |
| 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 | C | 2 | 37 | San Antonio Spurs | |
| 1999 | Rico Hill | SF | 2 | 31 | Los Angeles Clippers |
The I-74 Rivalry is the rivalry between Illinois State and Bradley.
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.