# 1988–89 Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball team

The 1988–89 Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball team represented Illinois State University during the 1988–89 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Redbirds, led by eleventh year head coach Bob Donewald, played their home games at both Horton Field House (finishing December, 1988) and Redbird Arena (starting January, 1989) and were a member of the Missouri Valley Conference.
The Redbirds finished the season 13–17, 6–8 in conference play to finish in a tie for fifth place. They were the number seven seed in the Missouri Valley Conference tournament. They were victorious in a quarterfinal game versus Wichita State University but were defeated in a semifinal game versus Southern Illinois University.

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition Season |||||||||
| November 10, 1988* 7:30 pm | | Brazil | | | | | | Horton Field House Normal, IL |
| Regular Season |||||||||
| November 18, 1988* 6:30 pm | | at Indiana Big Apple NIT [First Round] | L 48–83 | 0–1 | 20 – Jackson | 8 – Coleman | – | Assembly Hall (12,165) Bloomington, IN |
| November 26, 1988* 7:30 pm | | Western Illinois | W 79–68 | 1–1 | 23 – Coleman | 11 – Coleman | – | Horton Field House (4,935) Normal, IL |
| November 28, 1988* 7:30 pm | | Coppin State | W 78–75 $^{2OT}$ | 2–1 | 20 – Coleman, Jackson | 9 – Pemberton | – | Horton Field House (6,959) Normal, IL |
| December 3, 1988* 2:30 pm, WGN | | DePaul | L 77–78 | 2–2 | 20 – Jackson | 8 – Jackson | – | Horton Field House (7,725) Normal, IL |
| December 6, 1988* 6:30 pm | | at Purdue | L 56–57 | 2–3 | 12 – Jackson | 4 – Pemberton | – | Mackey Arena (14,123) West Lafayette, IN |
| December 10, 1988* 2:30 pm | | at Illinois–Chicago | L 61–62 | 2–4 | 16 – Jackson | 6 – Coleman, Roberts | – | UIC Pavilion (3,885) Chicago, IL |
| December 17, 1988* 6:00 pm, Score | | at Saint Louis | L 55–92 | 2–5 | 17 – Coleman | 5 – Coleman | – | Kiel Auditorium (5,623) St. Louis, MO |
| December 20, 1988* 7:30 pm | | at Southwest Missouri State | W 55–51 | 3–5 | 23 – Jackson | 4 – Coleman, Roberts | – | John Q. Hammons Student Center (6,864) Springfield, MO |
| December 28, 1988* 5:30 pm | | vs. Memphis State Volunteer Classic [Semifinal] | L 45–68 | 3–6 | 20 – Coleman | 13 – Coleman | – | Thompson–Boling Arena (19,078) Knoxville, TN |
| December 29, 1988* 5:30 pm | | vs. Miami (Ohio) Volunteer Classic [Third Place] | L 58–61 | 3–7 | 25 – Coleman | 7 – Coleman | – | Thompson–Boling Arena (22,015) Knoxville, TN |
| January 5, 1989 7:30 pm | | at Drake | L 63–73 | 3–8 (0–1) | 18 – Jackson | 9 – Coleman | – | Veterans Memorial Auditorium (5,921) Des Moines, IA |
| January 9, 1989 8:00 pm, SportsVision | | at Creighton | L 58–68 | 3–9 (0–2) | 17 – Coleman | 10 – Coleman | 6 – Blair | Omaha Civic Auditorium (3,342) Omaha, NE |
| January 11, 1989* 7:30 pm | | Chicago State | W 71–70 | 4–9 | 17 – Coleman | 13 – Coleman | – | Redbird Arena (9,724) Normal, IL |
| January 15, 1989 5:00 pm, USA | | Bradley | W 91–83 | 5–9 (1–2) | 26 – Coleman | 10 – Coleman | – | Redbird Arena (10,075) Normal, IL |
| January 18, 1989* 7:30 pm, SportsVision | | Loyola–Chicago | W 82–65 | 6–9 | 22 – Coleman | 8 – Blair | – | Redbird Arena (8,979) Normal, IL |
| January 21, 1989 7:30 pm | | at Wichita State | L 53–65 | 6–10 (1–3) | 14 – Fowler | 6 – Blair | 7 – Blair | Henry Levitt Arena (10,575) Wichita, KS |
| January 23, 1989 8:00 pm | | at Tulsa | L 51-53 | 6–11 (1–4) | 16 – Jackson | 4 – Stokes | – | Tulsa Convention Center (5,006) Tulsa, OK |
| January 28, 1989 2:30 pm | | Creighton | W 76-66 | 7–11 (2–4) | 26 – Coleman | 8 – Jackson, Fowler, Stokes | 6 – Blair | Redbird Arena (9,343) Normal, IL |
| January 30, 1989 7:30 pm | | Southern Illinois | L 67-74 | 7–12 (2–5) | 25 – Coleman | 5 – Coleman, Stokes | 7 – Blair | Redbird Arena (9,191) Normal, IL |
| February 4, 1989 2:30 pm | | Tulsa | L 63–67 | 7–13 (2–6) | 21 – Coleman | 12 – Coleman | – | Redbird Arena (9,665) Normal, IL |
| February 6, 1989 8:00 pm, SportsVision | | Wichita State | W 57–52 | 8–13 (3–6) | 22 – Jackson | 9 – Fowler | 8 – Blair | Redbird Arena (8,453) Normal, IL |
| February 11, 1989 7:30 pm | | at Indiana State | W 86–83 | 9–13 (4–6) | 36 – Jackson | 10 – Jackson | – | Hulman Center (4,150) Terre Haute, IN |
| February 14, 1989* 7:30 pm | | Fairleigh Dickinson | W 60–56 | 10–13 | 14 – Coleman, Jackson | 7 – Jackson | – | Redbird Arena (9,228) Normal, IL |
| February 16, 1989 7:30 pm | | Drake | L 48–58 | 10–14 (4–7) | 17 – Coleman | 5 – Coleman | – | Redbird Arena (10,177) Normal, IL |
| February 20, 1989 8:00 pm, SportsVision | | at Bradley | L 66–78 | 10–15 (4–8) | 19 – Roberts | 9 – Coleman | – | Carver Arena (10,227) Peoria, IL |
| February 22, 1989* 7:30 pm | | at Butler | L 49–66 | 10–16 | 15 – Coleman | 5 – Blair, Fowler | – | Hinkle Fieldhouse (940) Indianapolis, IN |
| February 25, 1989 6:00 pm, SportsVision | | Indiana State | W 78–68 | 11–16 (5–8) | 25 – Coleman, Jackson | 13 – Coleman | – | Redbird Arena (10,024) Normal, IL |
| February 27, 1989 | | at Southern Illinois | W 83–82 | 12–16 (6–8) | 27 – Jackson | 8 – Coleman | 6 – Blair | SIU Arena (7,787) Carbondale, IL |
| Pepsi Missouri Valley Conference {MVC} tournament |||||||||
| March 4, 1989* | (7) | at (2) Wichita State Quarterfinal | W 66–60 | 13–16 | 22 – Jackson | 12 – Jackson | 4 – Skarich | Henry Levitt Arena (8,890) Wichita, KS |
| March 5, 1989* | (7) | vs. (6) Southern Illinois Semifinal | L 61–69 | 13–17 | 18 – Jackson | 6 – Jackson | 3 – Skarich | Henry Levitt Arena (8,870) Wichita, KS |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Standard Time. |||||||||