1996–97 Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball team

American college basketball season March 2026 August 2023 December 2020 Basketball 1996–97 Illinois State Redbirds Illinois State Redbirds Wordmark.png 175 Redbird Arena Kevin Stallings 4th Tom Richardson King Rice Jeff Wulbrun Missouri Valley Conference MVC 24–6 14–4 MVC regular season championMVC tournament champion NCAA tournament first round The 1996–97 Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball team represented Illinois State University during the 1996–97 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Redbirds, led by fourth 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 24–6, 14–4 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 Indiana State University, semifinal game versus the University of Northern Iowa, and final game versus Southwest Missouri State University to earn the championship title. The Redbirds received the conference automatic bid to the 1997 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. They were assigned to the Midwest Regional as the number eleven seed where they lost to Iowa State University in the first round. Roster Illinois State Redbirds y 1996 Rob Gibbons 6 10 Jr yes C 35 Rockaway, NJ Steve Hansell 6 4 Jr G 11 Birmingham, England Dan Muller basketball 6 6 Jr F 44 Lafayette, IN y Skipp Schaefbauer 6 3 Jr G 13 Elk River, MN Jamar Smiley 5 11 Jr G 15 West Hempstead, NY Kenneth Pierson 6 8 So yes F 23 Conroe, TX LeRoy Watkins 6 7 So yes C 32 Chicago, IL Kyle Cartmill 6 0 So G 24 Quincy, IL Rico Hill 6 6 So F 42 Calumet Park, IL y Ben Holmstrom 6 8 So F 14 Rockford, IL Ronald vanVelzen 6 10 So C 33 Noordwijk, Netherlands Ryan Crowley 6 5 Fr F 25 Naperville, IL Joe Hein 6 7 Fr F 30 Northbrook, IL Khalil Ourguis 6 9 Fr F 50 Namur, Belgium Nic Stotler 6 0 Fr G 22 Brighton, IL Kevin Stallings (Purdue) King Rice (North Carolina) Tom Richardson (Saint Xavier) Jeff Wulbrun (Cal State Fullerton) December 16, 2020 1996-97 Illinois State Redbirds Roster and Stats https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/illinois-state/1997.html Sports Reference Schedule yes yes |- !colspan=9 style=Illinois State Redbirds|Exhibition Season November 11, 1996 yes New Castle (Australia) Redbird Arena Normal, IL 79–69 Schaefbauer 6 Watkins 12 Watkins 22 November 19, 1996 yes Converse All–Stars Redbird Arena Normal, IL 87–79     Hill 19 |- !colspan=9 style=Illinois State Redbirds|Regular Season November 24, 1996 yes yes Pittsburgh Fitzgerald Field House Pittsburgh, PA 6,482 69–50 Smiley 8 Hill 8 Schaefbauer 16 1–0 November 30, 1996 yes Eastern Kentucky Redbird Arena Normal, IL 8,740 87–64 Smiley 10 Hill 10 Schaefbauer 19 2–0 December 4, 1996 yes yes DePaul Kiel Center St. Louis, MO 13,625 75–50 Smiley 9 Schaefbauer 6 Hill 23 3–0 December 7, 1996 yes Ohio Redbird Arena Normal, IL 8,153 81–69 Smiley 9 Muller,Hill 7 Hill 17 4–0 December 14, 1996 yes yes Duquesne A. J. Palumbo Center Pittsburgh, PA 3,654 64–91 Smiley 4 Muller,Watkins,Hill 7 Watkins 14 4–1 December 18, 1996 yes yes Northwestern Welsh–Ryan Arena Evanston, IL 3,423 67–47 Schaefbauer 6 Hill 7 Muller 16 5–1 December 21, 1996 yes yes Wisconsin–Green Bay Brown County Veterans Memorial Arena Ashwaubenon, WI 4,188 71–61 Smiley 6 Smiley 7 Hill 25 6–1 December 23, 1996 yes Illinois–Chicago Redbird Arena Normal, IL 9,005 78–58 Smiley 9 Hill 14 Schaefbauer 21 7–1 December 29, 1996 7:05 pm yes Creighton Omaha Civic Auditorium Omaha, NE 4,959 54–45 Smiley 7 Hill 15 Schaefbauer 17 8–1 1–0 January 4, 1997 1:30 pm Evansville Redbird Arena Normal, IL 8,088 80–67 Smiley 5 Hill 10 Hill 21 9–1 2–0 ESPN2 January 9, 1997 Northern Iowa Redbird Arena Normal, IL 6,291 71–77 OT Smiley 9 Hill 7 Hill 21 9–2 2–1 January 12, 1997 yes Southern Illinois SIU Arena Carbondale, IL 4,212 76–70 Schaefbauer 6 Watkins 6 Muller 15 10–2 3–1 January 16, 1997 Indiana State Redbird Arena Normal, IL 7,834 101–58 Smiley 14 Cartmill 7 Hill 23 11–2 4–1 January 19, 1997 yes Evansville Roberts Municipal Stadium Evansville, IN 8,412 67–53 Smiley 7 Watkins 12 Watkins 19 12–2 5–1 January 22, 1997 yes Northern Iowa UNI Dome Cedar Falls, IA 2,592 88–93 2OT Smiley 8 Muller 6 Hill 25 12–3 5–2 January 25, 1997 7:05 pm Wichita State Redbird Arena Normal, IL 9,821 79–71 Hansell 4 Hill 9 Muller 14 13–3 6–2 January 27, 1997 Southwest Missouri State Redbird Arena Normal, IL 7,065 95–84 Smiley 10 Hill 13 Hill 37 14–3 7–2 February 1, 1997 Bradley Redbird Arena Normal, IL 10,348 69–67 Smiley 10 Hill 9 Hill 21 15–3 8–2 MVC-TV February 3, 1997 yes Drake The Knapp Center Des Moines, IA 3,180 73–65 Hansell,Hill 4 Hill 13 Schaefbauer 27 16–3 9–2 February 8, 1997 7:35 pm yes Wichita State Henry Levitt Arena Wichita, KS 10,545 62–53 Smiley 5 Hill 9 Watkins 17 17–3 10–2 February 10, 1997 yes Southwest Missouri State John Q. Hammons Student Center Springfield, MO 7,764 66–79 Schaefbauer,Smiley 5 Hill 10 Schaefbauer 18 17–4 10–3 February 13, 1997 Southern Illinois Redbird Arena Normal, IL 8,187 82–77 Smiley 9 Hill 11 Hill 32 18–4 11–3 February 15, 1997 Drake Redbird Arena Normal, IL 9,755 82–51 Smiley 9 vanVelzen 7 Muller 19 19–4 12–3 February 18, 1997 yes Indiana State Hulman Center Terre Haute, IN 4,217 78-68 Smiley 7 Hill 8 Hill 24 20–4 13–3 February 22, 1997 yes Bradley Carver Arena Peoria, IL 11,207 64–69 Smiley 5 Watkins 8 Hill 18 20–5 13–4 MVC-TV February 24, 1997 7:05 pm Creighton Redbird Arena Normal, IL 8,374 74–69 Smiley 10 Hill 8 Hill 23 21–5 14–4 |- !colspan=9 style=Illinois State Redbirds|Missouri Valley Conference {MVC} tournament March 1, 1997 Quarterfinal 1 Indiana State 9 Kiel Center St. Louis, MO 9,594 72–58 Smiley 10 Muller 9 Hill 21 22–5 March 2, 1997 Semifinal 1 Northern Iowa 4 Kiel Center St. Louis, MO 13,329 69–65 Smiley 5 Hill 7 Hill 29 23–5 March 3, 1997 8:30 pm Final 1 Southwest Missouri State 3 Kiel Center St. Louis, MO 9,751 75–72 Hansell,Schaefbauer,Smiley 4 Muller 8 Hill 31 24–5 ESPN |- !colspan=9 style=Illinois State Redbirds|National Collegiate Athletic Association {NCAA} tournament March 13, 1997 2:00 pm Midwest Region[First Round] yes 11 Iowa State 18 6 The Palace of Auburn Hills Auburn Hills, MI 21,020 57–69 Smiley 12 Hill 14 Hill 14 24–6 CBS AP Poll Central Standard Time December 16, 2020 1996-97 Illinois State Redbirds Schedule and Results https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/illinois-state/1997-schedule.html Sports Reference December 16, 2020 1996-97 Men's Basketball Schedule https://goredbirds.com/sports/mens-basketball/schedule/1997-97 Illinois State Redbirds References Category:Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball seasons Illinois State Illinois State