# 1997–98 Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball team

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.

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular Season |||||||||
| November 16, 1997* | | Oakland | W 101–66 | 1–0 | 21 – Muller | 7 – Hill, vanVelzen | 11 – Hansell | Redbird Arena (8,711) Normal, IL |
| November 18, 1997* | No. 24 | at Wisconsin | L 66–80 | 1–1 | 21 – Hill | 6 – Hill | 7 – Schaefbauer | Wisconsin Field House (11,500) Madison, WI |
| November 22, 1997* | No. 24 | Pittsburgh | W 87–65 | 2–1 | 22 – Hill | 14 – Hill | 14 – Smiley | Redbird Arena (9,644) Normal, IL |
| November 28, 1997* | | vs. Northeast Louisiana United Airlines Tip-Off [Semifinal] | W 73–60 | 3–1 | 21 – Hill | 8 – Hill | 6 – Smiley | Special Events Arena (10,254) Honolulu, HI |
| November 30, 1997* 11:00 pm | | at Hawai'i United Airlines Tip-Off [Final] | L 63–84 | 3–2 | 16 – Hill | 8 – Muller | 4 – Muller, Cartmill | Special Events Arena (9,417) Honolulu, HI |
| December 6, 1997 | | Drake | W 76–57 | 4–2 (1–0) | 23 – Muller | 6 – Schaefbauer, Pierson | 6 – Schaefbauer, Smiley | Redbird Arena (7,660) Normal, IL |
| December 13, 1997 7:05 pm | | at Creighton | W 71–62 | 5–2 (2–0) | 17 – Hill | 13 – Hill | 5 – Hansell, Schaefbauer | Omaha Civic Auditorium (4,099) Omaha, NE |
| December 16, 1997* | | at Illinois–Chicago | L 67–75 | 5–3 | 24 – Hill | 9 – Hill | 5 – Smiley | UIC Pavilion (5,640) Chicago, IL |
| December 20, 1997* | | at Wisconsin–Green Bay | W 72–70 | 6–3 | 23 – Muller | 5 – Muller | 5 – Smiley | Brown County Veterans Memorial Arena (3,580) Ashwaubenon, WI |
| December 30, 1997 | | Indiana State | W 76–59 | 7–3 (3–0) | 14 – Hill | 7 – Muller, Watkins | 6 – Smiley | Redbird Arena (7,522) Normal, IL |
| January 4, 1998* 11:00 am, ESPN | | Pacific | W 64–63 | 8–3 | 19 – Muller | 6 – Hill | 5 – Muller | Redbird Arena (6,422) Normal, IL |
| January 7, 1998 | | at Drake | W 74–59 | 9–3 (4–0) | 27 – Hill | 13 – Hill | 5 – Smiley | The Knapp Center (3,654) Des Moines, IA |
| January 10, 1998 | | Southern Illinois | W 105–70 | 10–3 (5–0) | 20 – Hill | 10 – Hill | 10 – Smiley | Redbird Arena (9,379) Normal, IL |
| January 15, 1998 7:35 pm | | at Wichita State | W 56–53 | 11–3 (6–0) | 17 – Hill | 9 – Watkins | 8 – Smiley | Henry Levitt Arena (5,028) Wichita, KS |
| January 18, 1998 | | at Southwest Missouri State | L 81–89 | 11–4 (6–1) | 31 – Hill | 10 – Muller, Hill | 10 – Smiley | John Q. Hammons Student Center (7,632) Springfield, MO |
| January 21, 1998 WEEK | | at Bradley | W 57–54 | 12–4 (7–1) | 15 – Cartmill | 6 – Hill | 8 – Smiley | Carver Arena (10,978) Peoria, IL |
| January 24, 1998 7:05 pm | | Wichita State | W 77–59 | 13–4 (8–1) | 20 – Hill | 10 – Gibbons | 8 – Smiley | Redbird Arena (9,497) Normal, IL |
| January 28, 1998 | | at Southern Illinois | W 79–67 | 14–4 (9–1) | 20 – Hill | 9 – Smiley | 7 – Smiley | SIU Arena (3,520) Carbondale, IL |
| January 31, 1998 | | Northern Iowa | W 88–77 | 15–4 (10–1) | 31 – Hill | 15 – Hill | 9 – Smiley | Redbird Arena (9,641) Normal, IL |
| February 4, 1998 WMBD | | Bradley | W 76–70 | 16–4 (11–1) | 17 – Hill | 5 – Muller | 6 – Smiley | Redbird Arena (10,259) Normal, IL |
| February 7, 1998 | | at Indiana State | W 75-66 | 17–4 (12–1) | 23 – Hill | 14 – Hill | 11 – Smiley | Hulman Center (10,206) Terre Haute, IN |
| February 10, 1998 | | Evansville | W 74–67 | 18–4 (13–1) | 19 – Hill | 8 – Smiley, Hill | 8 – Smiley | Redbird Arena (8,238) Normal, IL |
| February 15, 1998 11:00 am, ESPN | | Southwest Missouri State | L 87–97 | 18–5 (13–2) | 17 – Gibbons | 12 – Hill | 6 – Smiley | Redbird Arena (7,316) Normal, IL |
| February 18, 1998 | | at Evansville | W 80–76 $^{OT}$ | 19–5 (14–2) | 26 – Hill | 7 – Muller | 4 – Hansell, Muller, Cartmill | Roberts Municipal Stadium (8,160) Evansville, IN |
| February 21, 1998 7:05 pm | | Creighton | W 80–67 | 20–5 (15–2) | 21 – Hill | 9 – Hill | 7 – Smiley | Redbird Arena (10,044) Normal, IL |
| February 23, 1998 | | at Northern Iowa | W 85–65 | 21–5 (16–2) | 22 – Watkins | 8 – Watkins | 10 – Smiley | UNI Dome (2,232) Cedar Falls, IA |
| Missouri Valley Conference {MVC} tournament |||||||||
| February 28, 1998 | (1) | (8) Southern Illinois Quarterfinal | W 83–73 | 22–5 | 20 – Hill | 7 – Muller | 11 – Smiley | Kiel Center (9,679) St. Louis, MO |
| March 1, 1998 | (1) | (4) Wichita State Semifinal | W 75–54 | 23–5 | 19 – Hill | 7 – Hill | 6 – Smiley | Kiel Center (11,017) St. Louis, MO |
| March 2, 1998 8:30 pm, ESPN | (1) | (3) Southwest Missouri State Final | W 84–74 | 24–5 | 18 – Watkins | 7 – Hansell | 8 – Hansell | Kiel Center (9,228) St. Louis, MO |
| National Collegiate Athletic Association {NCAA} tournament |||||||||
| March 12, 1998 6:45 pm, CBS | (9) | vs. (8) Tennessee West Region [First Round] | W 82–81 $^{OT}$ | 25–5 | 22 – Hill | 10 – Muller | 6 – Hansell, Cartmill | ARCO Arena (15,284) Sacramento, CA |
| March 14, 1998 6:00 pm, CBS | (9) | vs. (1) No. 4 Arizona West Region [Second Round] | L 49–82 | 25–6 | 17 – Muller | 7 – Hill | 4 – Cartmill, Hill | ARCO Arena (16,402) Sacramento, CA |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Standard Time. |||||||||