# 1990–91 Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball team

The 1990–91 Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball team represented Illinois State University during the 1990–91 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Redbirds, led by second year head coach Bob Bender, played their home games at Redbird Arena and competed as a member of the Missouri Valley Conference.
They finished the season 5–23, 4–14 in conference play to finish in a tie for eighth place. They were the number eight seed for the Missouri Valley Conference tournament. They lost their opening round game to Drake University.

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular Season |||||||||
| November 23, 1990* 3:30 pm, ESPN | | at Dayton | L 69–109 | 0–1 | – | – | – | University of Dayton Arena (12,814) Dayton, OH |
| November 28, 1990* | | Virginia Commonwealth | L 76–86 | 0–2 | – | – | – | Redbird Arena (8,297) Normal, IL |
| December 4, 1990* | | at Illinois–Chicago | L 65–75 | 0–3 | – | – | – | UIC Pavilion (2,457) Chicago, IL |
| December 8, 1990* | | at DePaul | L 78–96 | 0–4 | – | – | – | Rosemont Horizon (13,521) Rosemont, IL |
| December 15, 1990* 7:30 pm | | at Saint Louis | L 67–71 | 0–5 | – | – | – | Kiel Auditorium (7,443) St. Louis, MO |
| December 20, 1990 WEEK | | Bradley | L 54–74 | 0–6 (0–1) | – | – | – | Redbird Arena (7,697) Normal, IL |
| December 23, 1990* | | Kent State | L 53–69 | 0–7 | – | – | – | Redbird Arena (7,068) Normal, IL |
| December 28, 1990* | | vs. No. 14 Oklahoma All-College Tournament [Semifinal] | L 69–112 | 0–8 | – | – | – | Myriad Convention Center Arena (9,106) Oklahoma City, OK |
| December 29, 1990* | | vs. Alabama–Birmingham All-College Tournament [Third Place] | L 60–71 | 0–9 | – | – | – | Myriad Convention Center Arena (9,187) Oklahoma City, OK |
| January 5, 1991 | | at Indiana State | L 70–75 | 0–10 (0–2) | – | – | – | Hulman Center (4,640) Terre Haute, IN |
| January 7, 1991* | | Southern Utah | L 61–77 | 0–11 | – | – | – | Redbird Arena (6,047) Normal, IL |
| January 12, 1991 | | at Southwest Missouri State | L 64–70 | 0–12 (0–3) | – | – | – | John Q. Hammons Student Center (8,243) Springfield, MO |
| January 14, 1991 | | Indiana State | W 56–55 | 1–12 (1–3) | – | – | – | Redbird Arena (8,968) Normal, IL |
| January 17, 1991 | | at Drake | W 57–55 | 2–12 (2–3) | – | – | – | Veterans Memorial Auditorium (4,365) Des Monies, IA |
| January 19, 1991 2:00 pm, ESPN | | Creighton | W 71–68 | 3–12 (3–3) | 20 – Wilson | 9 – VandeGarde | 4 – Kagel, Wemhoener | Redbird Arena (9,698) Normal, IL |
| January 21, 1991* | | Loyola–Chicago | L 69–73 $^{OT}$ | 3–13 | – | – | – | Redbird Arena (9,117) Normal, IL |
| January 26, 1991 | | Southwest Missouri State | L 46–58 | 3–14 (3–4) | – | – | – | Redbird Arena (9,059) Normal, IL |
| January 28, 1991 | | Wichita State | L 60–73 | 3–15 (3–5) | 11 – Barnes, VandeGarde | 11 – Wilson | 4 – Kagel | Redbird Arena (8,714) Normal, IL |
| January 31, 1991 | | at Creighton | L 57–71 | 3–16 (3–6) | 13 – Thomas | 8 – Wilson | 3 – Thomas | Omaha Civic Auditorium (5,155) Omaha, NE |
| February 2, 1991 | | Southern Illinois | L 57–84 | 3–17 (3–7) | 27 – Wilson | 6 – Wilson | 3 – Kagel, Wemhoener | Redbird Arena (9,910) Normal, IL |
| February 7, 1991 | | at Tulsa | L 41–84 | 3–18 (3–8) | – | – | – | Tulsa Convention Center (4,836) Tulsa, OK |
| February 9, 1991 | | at Wichita State | W 78–57 | 4–18 (4–8) | 18 – Taylor | 6 – Wilson, Wemhoener | 4 – Thomas | Henry Levitt Arena (7,685) Wichita, KS |
| February 12, 1991* | | Chicago State FORFEIT (Official Score 2-0) | W 39–23 | 5–18 | 12 – Wilson | – | – | Redbird Arena (9,283) Normal, IL |
| February 16, 1991 | | Drake | L 66–71 | 5–19 (4–9) | – | – | – | Redbird Arena (9,910) Normal, IL |
| February 18, 1991 | | at Southern Illinois | L 70–90 | 5–20 (4–10) | 14 – Wilson | 6 – VandeGarde | 2 – Kagel, Thomas, Taylor, Wemhoener | SIU Arena (4,404) Carbondale, IL |
| February 21, 1991 WEEK | | at Bradley | L 63–67 | 5–21 (4–11) | – | – | – | Carver Arena (7,603) Peoria, IL |
| February 25, 1991 | | Tulsa | L 46–53 | 5–22 (4–12) | – | – | – | Redbird Arena (9,492) Normal, IL |
| Pepsi Missouri Valley Conference {MVC} tournament |||||||||
| March 1, 1991* 3:00 pm | (8) | (9) Drake Opening Round | L 55–57 | 5–23 | 16 – Williams | 7 – Taylor | 2 – Thomas, Barnes, Wemhoener | Kiel Auditorium (1,400) St. Louis, MO |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Standard Time. |||||||||