1997–98 Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball team

American college basketball season March 2026 August 2023 December 2020 Basketball 1997–98 Illinois State Redbirds Illinois State Redbirds Wordmark.png 175 Redbird Arena Kevin Stallings 5th Tom Richardson King Rice Chad Altadonna Missouri Valley Conference MVC 25–6 16–2 MVC regular season championMVC tournament champion NCAA tournament second round The 1997–98 Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball team represented Illinois State University during the 1997–98 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Redbirds, led by fifth year head coach Kevin Stallings, played their home games at Redbird Arena and were a member of the Missouri Valley Conference. The Redbirds finished the season 25–6, 16–2 in conference play to finish in first place. They were the number one seed for the Missouri Valley Conference tournament. They won their quarterfinal game versus Southern Illinois University, semifinal game versus the Wichita State University, and final game versus Southwest Missouri State University to earn the championship title. The Redbirds received the conference automatic bid into the 1998 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. They were assigned to the Midwest Regional as the number eleven seed where they defeated the University of Tennessee in the first round and were beaten by the University of Arizona in the second round. Roster Illinois State Redbirds y 1997 Rob Gibbons 6 10 Sr yes C 35 Rockaway, NJ Steve Hansell 6 4 Sr G 11 Birmingham, England Dan Muller basketball 6 6 Sr F 44 Lafayette, IN y Skipp Schaefbauer 6 3 Sr G 13 Elk River, MN Jamar Smiley 5 11 Sr G 15 West Hempstead, NY Kenneth Pierson 6 8 Jr yes F 23 Conroe, TX LeRoy Watkins 6 7 Jr yes C 32 Chicago, IL Kyle Cartmill 6 0 Jr G 24 Quincy, IL Rico Hill 6 6 Jr F 42 Calumet Park, IL y Ben Holmstrom 6 8 Jr F 14 Rockford, IL L. Dee Murdock 6 9 Jr F 50 Columbus, KS I Sean Riley 7 0 Jr C 41 Houston, TX I Ronald vanVelzen 6 10 Jr C 33 Noordwijk, Netherlands Ryan Crowley 6 5 So G 25 Naperville, IL Joe Hein 6 8 So F 30 Northbrook, IL Nic Stotler 6 0 So G 22 Brighton, IL Tarise Bryson 6 1 Fr G 12 Decatur, IL I y Kevin Stallings (Purdue) King Rice (North Carolina) Tom Richardson (Saint Xavier) Chad Altadonna (Illinois State) December 16, 2020 1997-98 Illinois State Redbirds Roster and Stats https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/illinois-state/1998.html Sports Reference Schedule yes yes |- !colspan=9 style=Illinois State Redbirds|Exhibition Season November 8, 1997 7:05 pm yes Converse All–Stars Redbird Arena Normal, IL 6,820 98–104     Cartmill 31 November 11, 1997 7:05 pm yes Mornar–Yugoslavia Redbird Arena Normal, IL 74–58     Schaefbauer 24 |- !colspan=9 style=Illinois State Redbirds|Regular Season November 16, 1997 2:05 pm yes Oakland Redbird Arena Normal, IL 8,711 101–66 Hansell 11 Hill,vanVelzen 7 Muller 21 1–0 November 18, 1997 7:00 pm yes yes 24 Wisconsin Wisconsin Field House Madison, WI 11,500 66–80 Schaefbauer 7 Hill 6 Hill 21 1–1 November 22, 1997 7:05 pm yes 24 Pittsburgh Redbird Arena Normal, IL 9,644 87–65 Smiley 14 Hill 14 Hill 22 2–1 November 29, 1997 1:00 am United Airlines Tip–Off[Semifinal] yes yes Northeast Louisiana Special Events Arena Honolulu, HI 10,254 73–60 Smiley 6 Hill 8 Hill 21 3–1 November 30, 1997 11:00 pm United Airlines Tip–Off[Final] yes yes Hawai'i Special Events Arena Honolulu, HI 9,417 63–84 Muller,Cartmill 4 Muller 8 Hill 16 3–2 December 6, 1997 7:05 pm Drake Redbird Arena Normal, IL 7,660 76–57 Schaefbauer,Smiley 6 Schaefbauer,Pierson 6 Muller 23 4–2 1–0 December 13, 1997 7:05 pm yes Creighton Omaha Civic Auditorium Omaha, NE 4,099 71–62 Hansell,Schaefbauer 5 Hill 13 Hill 17 5–2 2–0 December 16, 1997 7:00 pm yes yes Illinois–Chicago UIC Pavilion Chicago, IL 5,640 67–75 Smiley 5 Hill 9 Hill 24 5–3 December 20, 1997 7:35 pm yes yes Wisconsin–Green Bay Brown County Veterans Memorial Arena Ashwaubenon, WI 3,580 72–70 Smiley 5 Muller 5 Muller 23 6–3 December 30, 1997 7:05 pm Indiana State Redbird Arena Normal, IL 7,522 76–59 Smiley 6 Muller,Watkins 7 Hill 14 7–3 3–0 January 4, 1998 11:05 am yes Pacific Redbird Arena Normal, IL 6,422 64–63 Muller 5 Hill 6 Muller 19 8–3 ESPN2 January 7, 1998 7:05 pm yes Drake The Knapp Center Des Moines, IA 3,654 74–59 Smiley 5 Hill 13 Hill 27 9–3 4–0 January 10, 1998 7:05 pm Southern Illinois Redbird Arena Normal, IL 9,379 105–70 Smiley 10 Hill 10 Hill 20 10–3 5–0 January 15, 1998 7:35 pm yes Wichita State Henry Levitt Arena Wichita, KS 5,028 56–53 Smiley 8 Watkins 9 Hill 17 11–3 6–0 January 18, 1998 2:05 pm yes Southwest Missouri State John Q. Hammons Student Center Springfield, MO 7,632 81–89 Smiley 10 Muller,Hill 10 Hill 31 11–4 6–1 MVC–TV January 21, 1998 7:05 pm yes Bradley Carver Arena Peoria, IL 10,978 57–54 Smiley 8 Hill 6 Cartmill 15 12–4 7–1 WEEK January 24, 1998 7:05 pm Wichita State Redbird Arena Normal, IL 9,497 77–59 Smiley 8 Gibbons 10 Hill 20 13–4 8–1 January 28, 1998 7:05 pm yes Southern Illinois SIU Arena Carbondale, IL 3,520 79–67 Smiley 7 Smiley 9 Hill 20 14–4 9–1 January 31, 1998 7:05 pm Northern Iowa Redbird Arena Normal, IL 9,641 88–77 Smiley 9 Hill 15 Hill 31 15–4 10–1 February 4, 1998 7:05 pm Bradley Redbird Arena Normal, IL 10,259 76–70 Smiley 6 Muller 5 Hill 17 16–4 11–1 WMBD February 7, 1998 2:05 pm yes Indiana State Hulman Center Terre Haute, IN 10,206 75-66 Smiley 11 Hill 14 Hill 23 17–4 12–1 February 10, 1998 7:05 pm Evansville Redbird Arena Normal, IL 8,238 74–67 Smiley 8 Smiley,Hill 8 Hill 19 18–4 13–1 February 15, 1998 11:05 am Southwest Missouri State Redbird Arena Normal, IL 7,316 87–97 Smiley 6 Hill 12 Gibbons 17 18–5 13–2 ESPN February 18, 1998 7:35 pm yes Evansville Roberts Municipal Stadium Evansville, IN 8,160 80–76 OT Hansell,Muller,Cartmill 4 Muller 7 Hill 26 19–5 14–2 February 21, 1998 7:05 pm Creighton Redbird Arena Normal, IL 10,044 80–67 Smiley 7 Hill 9 Hill 21 20–5 15–2 February 23, 1998 7:05 pm yes Northern Iowa UNI Dome Cedar Falls, IA 2,232 85–65 Smiley 10 Watkins 8 Watkins 22 21–5 16–2 |- !colspan=9 style=Illinois State Redbirds|Missouri Valley Conference {MVC} tournament February 28, 1998 Quarterfinal 1 Southern Illinois 8 Kiel Center St. Louis, MO 9,679 83–73 Smiley 11 Muller 7 Hill 20 22–5 March 1, 1998 Semifinal 1 Wichita State 4 Kiel Center St. Louis, MO 11,017 75–54 Smiley 6 Hill 7 Hill 19 23–5 March 2, 1998 8:30 pm Final 1 Southwest Missouri State 3 Kiel Center St. Louis, MO 9,228 84–74 Hansell 8 Hansell 7 Watkins 18 24–5 ESPN |- !colspan=9 style=Illinois State Redbirds|National Collegiate Athletic Association {NCAA} tournament March 12, 1998 6:45 pm West Region[First Round] yes 9 Tennessee 8 ARCO Arena Sacramento, CA 15,284 82–81 OT Hansell,Cartmill 6 Muller 10 Hill 22 25–5 CBS March 14, 1998 6:00 pm West Region[Second Round] yes 9 Arizona 4 1 ARCO Arena Sacramento, CA 16,402 49–82 Cartmill,Hill 4 Hill 7 Muller 17 25–6 CBS AP Poll Central Standard Time December 16, 2020 1997-98 Illinois State Redbirds Schedule and Results https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/illinois-state/1998-schedule.html Sports Reference December 16, 2020 1997-98 Men's Basketball Schedule https://goredbirds.com/sports/mens-basketball/schedule/1998-98 Illinois State Redbirds References Category:Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball seasons Illinois State Illinois State