# 1986–87 Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball team

The 1986–87 Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball team represented Illinois State University during the 1986–87 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Redbirds, led by ninth year head coach Bob Donewald, played their home games at Horton Field House and were a member of the Missouri Valley Conference.
The Redbirds finished the season 19–13, 7–7 in conference play to finish in fourth place. They were the number three seed in the Missouri Valley Conference tournament as Bradley University was on probation and therefore banned from postseason competition. They were victorious in a quarterfinal game versus Indiana State University and lost in a semifinal game versus Wichita State University.
The Redbirds received an at-large bid to the 1987 National Invitation Tournament. They defeated the University of Akron in the first round, Cleveland State University in the second round, and lost to the La Salle University in the quarterfinal round.

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition Season |||||||||
| November 19, 1986* 7:30 pm | | Bulgaria | | | | | | Horton Field House Normal, IL |
| Regular Season |||||||||
| November 29, 1986* 7:30 pm | | Wisconsin–Green Bay | W 63–44 | 1–0 | 24 – Sanders | 9 – Sanders | – | Horton Field House (6,876) Normal, IL |
| December 1, 1986* 8:00 pm, SportsVision | | at No. 4 Purdue | L 54–96 | 1–1 | 11 – Sanders, Peterson | 6 – Peterson | – | Mackey Arena (14,123) West Lafayette, IN |
| December 6, 1986* 2:30 pm, WGN | | DePaul | L 53–61 | 1–2 | 24 – Sanders | 15 – Sanders | – | Horton Field House (7,628) Normal, IL |
| December 13, 1986* 7:35 pm | | at Saint Louis | W 80–69 | 2–2 | 16 – Sanders, Taphorn, Starks | 7 – Holifield, Peterson | – | Kiel Auditorium (6,348) St. Louis, MO |
| December 15, 1986* 7:30 pm | | Armstrong State | W 90–69 | 3–2 | 25 – Harris | 11 – Holifield | – | Horton Field House (4,005) Normal, IL |
| December 19, 1986* | | vs. Kansas State Music City Invitational [Semifinal] | L 86–87 $^{OT}$ | 3–3 | 22 – Harris | 11 – Sanders | – | Memorial Gymnasium (6,559) Nashville, TN |
| December 20, 1986* 6:00 pm | | vs. Tennessee Tech Music City Invitational [Third Place] | W 101–84 | 4–3 | 24 – Holifield | 9 – Holifield | – | Memorial Gymnasium (7,016) Nashville, TN |
| December 26, 1986* | | vs. Fresno State Hoosier Classic [Semifinal] | W 60–44 | 5–3 | 16 – Sanders | 8 – Holifield | – | Market Square Arena (15,976) Indianapolis, IN |
| December 27, 1986* 9:00 pm | | vs. No. 4 Indiana Hoosier Classic [Final] | L 58–82 | 5–4 | 13 – Sanders | 9 – Sanders | – | Market Square Arena (16,585) Indianapolis, IN |
| December 30, 1986* 7:30 pm | | Southwest Missouri State | W 59–55 | 6–4 | 25 – Sanders | 11 – Peterson | – | Horton Field House (5,603) Normal, IL |
| January 3, 1987* 1:00 pm | | at Iowa State | W 61–59 | 7–4 | 17 – Harris | 8 – Peterson | – | James H. Hilton Coliseum (14,010) Ames, IA |
| January 8, 1987 7:35 pm | | at Drake | L 52–53 | 7–5 (0–1) | 17 – Sanders | 11 – Holifield | – | Veterans Memorial Auditorium (7,250) Des Moines, IA |
| January 10, 1987 2:30 pm | | Indiana State | W 86–57 | 8–5 (1–1) | 16 – Harris | 9 – Sanders | – | Horton Field House (5,538) Normal, IL |
| January 12, 1987 7:35 pm | | at Southern Illinois | W 81–70 | 9–5 (2–1) | 24 – Sanders | 9 – Holifield | 5 – Peterson | SIU Arena (2,724) Carbondale, IL |
| January 15, 1987 7:35 pm | | at Creighton | W 70–61 | 10–5 (3–1) | 25 – Harris | 10 – Holifield | 10 – Starks | Omaha Civic Auditorium (5,378) Omaha, NE |
| January 19, 1987 7:30 pm, WHOI | | Bradley | L 65–73 | 10–6 (3–2) | – | – | – | Horton Field House (7,745) Normal, IL |
| January 22, 1987 7:35 pm | | at Tulsa | L 69-71 | 10–7 (3–3) | – | – | – | Tulsa Convention Center (7,565) Tulsa, OK |
| January 24, 1987 2:00 pm | | at Wichita State | L 57–66 | 10–8 (3–4) | 16 – Holifield | 8 – Sanders | 6 – Starks | Henry Levitt Arena (8,976) Wichita, KS |
| January 29, 1987 7:30 pm | | Drake | W 52–50 | 11–8 (4–4) | – | – | – | Horton Field House (5,898) Normal, IL |
| January 31, 1987 12:00 pm | | Southern Illinois | L 73–76 | 11–9 (4–5) | 24 – Harris | 17 – Sanders | 6 – Starks | Horton Field House (6,406) Normal, IL |
| February 2, 1987* 8:15 pm, SportsVision | | at Illinois–Chicago | W 94–85 | 12–9 | – | – | – | UIC Pavilion (2,149) Chicago, IL |
| February 8, 1987 11:00 am | | at Indiana State | L 73–74 | 12–10 (4–6) | – | – | – | Hulman Center (3,909) Terre Haute, IN |
| February 12, 1987 7:30 pm | | Wichita State | W 66–63 | 13–10 (5–6) | 16 – Harris | 6 – Holifield | 9 – Starks | Horton Field House (6,095) Normal, IL |
| February 15, 1987 3:05 pm | | Tulsa | W 75–70 | 14–10 (6–6) | – | – | – | Horton Field House (6,538) Normal, IL |
| February 18, 1987 9:00 pm, ESPN | | at Bradley | L 81–93 | 14–11 (6–7) | – | – | – | Carver Arena (10,401) Peoria, IL |
| February 21, 1987* 2:30 pm | | Chicago State | W 82–65 | 15–11 | – | – | – | Horton Field House (7,520) Normal, IL |
| February 26, 1987 7:30 pm | | Creighton | W 83–68 | 16–11 (7–7) | 26 – Harris | – | 8 – Starks | Horton Field House (7,231) Normal, IL |
| Missouri Valley Conference {MVC} tournament |||||||||
| February 28, 1987 | (3) | (6) Indiana State Quarterfinal | W 70–55 | 17–11 | 26 – Coleman | 10 – Holifield | 12 – Starks | Horton Field House (3,898) Normal, IL |
| March 1, 1987 | (3) | at (2) Wichita State Semifinal | L 53–56 | 17–12 | 22 – Holifield | 10 – Peterson | 9 – Starks | Henry Levitt Arena (6,572) Wichita, KS |
| National Invitation {NIT} tournament |||||||||
| March 12, 1987 | | Akron First Round | W 59–52 | 18–12 | 23 – Holifield | 9 – Sanders | 11 – Starks | Horton Field House (4,115) Normal, IL |
| March 16, 1987 | | at Cleveland State Second Round | W 79–77 | 19–12 | 27 – Sanders | 10 – Sanders, Peterson | 7 – Starks | Woodling Gymnasium (7,443) Cleveland, OH |
| March 18, 1987 | | at La Salle Quarterfinal | L 50–70 | 19–13 | 26 – Sanders | 8 – Sanders | 6 – Starks | The Palestra (4,128) Philadelphia, PA |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Standard Time. |||||||||