1977–78 Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball team

American college basketball season March 2026 August 2023 December 2020 Basketball 1977–78 Illinois State Redbirds Illinois State Redbirds Wordmark.png 176 Horton Field House Gene Smithson 3rd Ron Ferguson Bill Flanagan Jeff Jones Roger Powell Independent 24–4 Charlotte Invitational champion NIT First Round The 1977–78 Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball team represented Illinois State University during the 1977–78 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Redbirds, led by third year head coach Gene Smithson, played their home games at Horton Field House and competed as an independent (not a member of a conference). They finished the season 24–4. The Redbirds received an invitation to the 1978 National Invitation Tournament. They were beaten by Indiana State University in the first round. Roster Illinois State Redbirds y 1977 Billy Lewis 6 6 195 Sr F 10 Chicago, IL Rick Ferina 6 4 180 Jr G 31 Niles, IL Derrick Mayes 6 1 170 Jr G 21 Elgin, IL Joe Galvin 7 0 218 So C 32 Bloomington, IL Ron Jones 6 5 175 So G 13 Venice, IL Larry Lowe 6 7 190 So F 35 Glenwood, IL Robert McCoy 6 5 195 So F 42 Chicago Heights, IL Del Yarbrough 6 7 220 So F 45 North Chicago, IL Roy Herold 6 8 205 Fr C 52 Helsinki, Finland Anthony Jones 6 6 186 Fr F 55 Chicago, IL W Dave Nussbaumer 6 0 172 Fr G 23 McLean, VA W Randy Smithson 6 3 180 Fr G 44 Normal, IL McKay Smith 6 5 165 Fr F 24 Springfield, IL Gene Smithson (North Central (IL)) Ron Ferguson (Illinois) Bill Flanagan (Monmouth (IL)) Jeff Jones (Illinois State) Roger Powell (Illinois State)December 15, 2020 Redbird basketball 77-78 https://videttearchive.ilstu.edu/?a=d&d=vid19771116-02 The Daily Vidette Schedule yes yes |- !colspan=9 style=Illinois State Redbirds|Regular Season November 26, 1977 7:30 pm yes yes Saint Louis Kiel Auditorium St. Louis, MO 5,117 90–83   Lewis,Galvin 9 Lewis 22 1–0 November 29, 1977 7:30 pm yes Valparaiso Horton Field House Normal, IL 5,700 98–81   Galvin 9 Lewis 19 2–0 December 2, 1977 8:00 pm Charlotte Invitational[Semifinal] yes yes Colgate Charlotte Coliseum (I) Charlotte, NC 2,107 94–62   Galvin 12 Galvin 21 3–0 December 3, 1977 8:00 pm Charlotte Invitational[Final] yes yes Delaware Charlotte Coliseum (I) Charlotte, NC 400 89–70   Lewis 13 Lewis 21 4–0 December 5, 1977 7:30 pm yes California State–Northridge Horton Field House Normal, IL 3,800 72–59   Galvin 11 Lewis 24 5–0 December 7, 1977 7:35 pm yes yes Southern Illinois SIU Arena Carbondale, IL 6,320 51–48   Lewis 8 Lewis 16 6–0 December 10, 1977 7:30 pm yes Akron Horton Field House Normal, IL 6,000 86–70   Lewis 11 Lewis 33 7–0 December 17, 1977 3:00 pm yes New Orleans Horton Field House Normal, IL 5,400 93–86 OT   Lewis 12 Lewis 30 8–0 December 19, 1977 7:30 pm yes Central Michigan Horton Field House Normal, IL 5,000 90–78   Galvin 12 Lewis 20 9–0 December 26, 1977 7:30 pm yes Kent State Horton Field House Normal, IL 5,000 79–71   Galvin 15 Galvin 21 10–0 December 30, 1977 7:30 pm yes Long Island Horton Field House Normal, IL 5,500 93–68   Lewis 13 Lewis 27 11–0 January 2, 1978 7:30 pm yes yes Bradley Robertson Memorial Field House Peoria, IL 7,300 84–83   Lewis,Yarbrough 8 Mayes 24 12–0 January 5, 1978 10:05 pm yes yes California–Santa Barbara Robertson Gymnasium Santa Barbara, CA 2,100 69–84   Lewis,Yarbrough 6 Jones 22 12–1 January 7, 1978 9:30 pm yes yes California State–Fullerton Titan Gym Fullerton, CA 3,390 88–85   Jones 7 Jones 21 13–1 January 11, 1978 7:30 pm yes Northern Illinois Horton Field House Normal, IL 8,000 79–67   Yarbrough 16 Jones 19 14–1 January 13, 1978 10:15 pm yes yes Nevada–Las Vegas 11 Las Vegas Convention Center Winchester, NV 6,352 92–94   Jones 10 Jones 34 14–2 January 15, 1978 7:30 pm yes Quincy Horton Field House Normal, IL 3,000 86–76   Lewis 14 Lewis 27 15–2 January 18, 1978 7:30 pm yes Evansville Horton Field House Normal, IL c canceled as result of Air Indiana Flight 216 crash on December 13, 1977       January 21, 1978 2:00 pm yes Indiana State 4 Horton Field House Normal, IL 8,000 81–76   Lewis 12 Lewis 25 16–2 January 25, 1978 7:30 pm yes 20 Northern Michigan Horton Field House Normal, IL 4,000 75–58   Lewis 8 Lewis 34 17–2 January 28, 1978 7:30 pm yes 20 Southern Illinois–Edwardsville Horton Field House Normal, IL 6,800 80–73   Lewis 12 Lewis 19 18–2 February 6, 1978 7:30 pm yes 19 Oral Roberts Horton Field House Normal, IL 7,500 84–71   Galvin,Yarbrough 10 Galvin 19 19–2 February 8, 1978 7:30 pm yes yes 15 Western Illinois Western Hall Macomb, IL 4,095 97–79   Lewis,Jones 11 Lewis 29 20–2 February 15, 1978 7:30 pm yes yes 15 Northern Illinois Chick Evans Field House DeKalb, IL 5,820 79–67   Lewis 13 Lewis 18 21–2 February 18, 1978 2:00 pm Exhibition yes 15 Athletes In Action Horton Field House Normal, IL 97–100 OT       February 20, 1978 7:30 pm yes 15 McNeese State Horton Field House Normal, IL 6,000 87–68   Lewis 9 Lewis 23 22–2 February 25, 1978 8:00 pm yes yes 15 Centenary Gold Dome Shreveport, LA 2,018 90–77   Galvin 13 Lewis 27 23–2 February 28, 1978 7:30 pm yes yes 13 Northern Iowa UNI Dome Cedar Falls, IA 4,700 82–76   Jones 9 Lewis,Jones 25 24–2 March 4, 1978 8:00 pm yes yes 13 DePaul 4 Alumni Hall Chicago, IL 5,717 84–96   Yarbrough 11 Yarbrough 22 24–3 |- !colspan=9 style=Illinois State Redbirds|National Invitation {NIT} Tournament March 10, 1978 6:30 pm First Round yes yes 17 Indiana State Hulman Civic University Center Terre Haute, IN 10,150 71–73 Mayes 9 Lewis,Galvin 6 Lewis 18 24–4 AP Poll Central Standard Time December 16, 2020 1977-78 Illinois State Redbirds Schedule and Results https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/illinois-state/1978-schedule.html Sports Reference December 17, 2020 1977-78 Men's Basketball Schedule https://goredbirds.com/sports/mens-basketball/schedule/1977-78 Illinois State Redbirds References Category:Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball seasons Illinois State Illinois State