# 2008–09 Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball team

The 2008–09 Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball team represented Illinois State University during the 2008–09 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Redbirds, led by second year head coach Tim Jankovich, played their home games at Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena and were a member of the Missouri Valley Conference.
The Redbirds finished the season 24–10, 11–7 in conference play to finish in third place. They were the number three seed for the Missouri Valley Conference tournament. They won their quarterfinal game versus the University of Evansville and semifinal game versus Creighton University but lost their final game versus the University of Northern Iowa.
The Redbirds received an at-large bid to the 2009 National Invitation Tournament and were assigned the number five seed in the San Diego State University regional. They were defeated by Kansas State University in the first round.

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition Season |||||||||
| November 11, 2008 7:05 pm | | Illinois–Springfield | W 81–61 | | 19 – Eldridge | 10 – Odiakosa | – | Redbird Arena Normal, IL |
| Regular Season |||||||||
| November 15, 2008* 6:00 pm | | at Wright State | W 69–61 | 1–0 | 15 – Eldridge | 13 – Oguchi | 3 – Odzic | Nutter Center (6,371) Dayton, OH |
| November 21, 2008* 5:00 pm | | vs. Alabama State SMU Tip–Off Classic | W 77–71 | 2–0 | 16 – Oguchi, Eldridge | 7 – Oguchi, Eldridge | 6 – Phillips | Moody Coliseum (2,359) University Park, TX |
| November 22, 2008* 5:00 pm | | vs. Houston Baptist SMU Tip–Off Classic | W 107–70 | 3–0 | 16 – Eldridge | 5 – Thornton | 6 – Holloway | Moody Coliseum (2,372) University Park, TX |
| November 23, 2008* 7:30 pm | | at SMU SMU Tip–Off Classic | W 84–73 | 4–0 | 28 – Oguchi | 6 – Odiakosa | 6 – Eldridge | Moody Coliseum (2,321) University Park, TX |
| November 28, 2008* 6:05 pm | | Nicholls State World Vision Invitational | W 75–65 | 5–0 | 24 – Eldridge | 10 – Oguchi | 5 – Oguchi | Redbird Arena (4,125) Normal, IL |
| November 29, 2008* 6:05 pm | | Winston-Salem State World Vision Invitational | W 53–33 | 6–0 | 17 – Oguchi | 9 – Eldridge | 4 – Phillips | Redbird Arena (4,094) Normal, IL |
| November 30, 2008* 3:35 pm | | UC Santa Barbara World Vision Invitational | W 87–59 | 7–0 | 18 – Oguchi, Eldridge | 8 – Eldridge | 7 – Holloway | Redbird Arena (4,207) Normal, IL |
| December 6, 2008* 7:05 pm | | Bowling Green | W 78–65 | 8–0 | 19 – Eldridge | 8 – Eldridge, Odiakosa | 5 – Phillips | Redbird Arena (5,912) Normal, IL |
| December 14, 2008* 2:05 pm | | Morehead State | W 76–70 | 9–0 | 25 – Oguchi | 8 – Odiakosa | 4 – Eldridge, Phillips | Redbird Arena (5,029) Normal, IL |
| December 17, 2008* 6:00 pm | | at Central Michigan | W 72–69 | 10–0 | 18 – Eldridge | 9 – Odiakosa | 3 – Holloway | Daniel P. Rose Center (489) Mount Pleasant, MI |
| December 20, 2008* 7:05 pm | | UIC | W 67–60 | 11–0 | 18 – Oguchi | 13 – Odiakosa | 4 – Eldridge | Redbird Arena (6,121) Normal, IL |
| December 28, 2008 2:05 pm | | at Missouri State | W 72–69 $^{OT}$ | 12–0 (1–0) | 16 – Phillips | 6 – Holloway | 3 – Oguchi, Phillips | JQH Arena (7,087) Springfield, MO |
| December 31, 2008 2:05 pm | | Evansville | W 80–50 | 13–0 (2–0) | 22 – Eldridge | 13 – Odiakosa | 7 – Phillips | Redbird Arena (7,336) Normal, IL |
| January 3, 2009 7:05 pm, CSN/FSN | | Creighton | W 86–64 | 14–0 (3–0) | 20 – Eldridge | 9 – Eldridge | 7 – Phillips | Redbird Arena (10,200) Normal, IL |
| January 6, 2009 7:05 pm, CSN | | at Bradley | L 52–56 | 14–1 (3–1) | 17 – Eldridge | 10 – Eldridge | 4 – Phillips | Carver Arena (11,592) Peoria, IL |
| January 10, 2009 6:05 pm | | at Indiana State | L 70-75 $^{OT}$ | 14–2 (3–2) | 22 – Oguchi | 9 – Odiakosa | 5 – Holloway, Eldridge | Hulman Center (10,200) Terre Haute, IN |
| January 14, 2009 7:05 pm | | Drake | W 65–61 | 15–2 (4–2) | 29 – Oguchi | 10 – Odiakosa | 3 – Holloway, Phillips | Redbird Arena (7,634) Normal, IL |
| January 18, 2009 2:05 pm | | Missouri State | W 68–56 | 16–2 (5–2) | 15 – Holloway, Phillips | 13 – Odiakosa | 5 – Holloway, Phillips | Redbird Arena (9,055) Normal, IL |
| January 21, 2009 7:05 pm | | at Wichita State | L 58–64 | 16–3 (5–3) | 16 – Eldridge | 6 – Eldridge | 3 – Holloway, Phillips | Charles Koch Arena (10,353) Wichita, KS |
| January 24, 2009 4:05 pm, CSN/FSN | | Southern Illinois | W 70–63 | 17–3 (6–3) | 17 – Oguchi | 9 – Sampay | 4 – Phillips | Redbird Arena (10,200) Normal, IL |
| January 28, 2009 7:05 pm | | at Northern Iowa | L 55–59 | 17–4 (6–4) | 11 – Oguchi | 9 – Holloway | 7 – Phillips | McLeod Center (4,536) Cedar Falls, IA |
| January 31, 2009 3:05 pm, CSN | | Bradley | W 69–65 | 18–4 (7–4) | 15 – Holloway | 11 – Oguchi | 7 – Phillips | Redbird Arena (10,200) Normal, IL |
| February 4, 2009 7:05 pm, FSN | | at Southern Illinois | W 60–57 $^{OT}$ | 19–4 (8–4) | 15 – Oguchi | 8 – Odiakosa | 3 – Eldridge | SIU Arena (5,087) Carbondale, IL |
| February 8, 2009 6:05 pm, ESPNU | | Indiana State | L 73–75 $^{OT}$ | 19–5 (8–5) | 19 – Oguchi | 11 – Oguchi | 3 – Holloway, Sampay, Eldridge | Redbird Arena (7,849) Normal, IL |
| February 11, 2009 7:05 pm | | at Evansville | W 70–68 | 20–5 (9–5) | 18 – Eldridge | 8 – Sampay | 6 – Holloway | Roberts Municipal Stadium (5,151) Evansville, IN |
| February 15, 2009 6:05 pm, ESPNU | | at Drake | W 67–45 | 21–5 (10–5) | 14 – Eldridge | 10 – Eldridge | 6 – Holloway | The Knapp Center (4,502) Des Moines, IA |
| February 18, 2009 7:05 pm | | Wichita State | W 74–59 | 22–5 (11–5) | 16 – Oguchi | 8 – Odiakosa | 3 – Eldridge, Shipley | Redbird Arena (6,576) Normal, IL |
| February 20, 2009* 6:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at Niagara ESPNU BracketBusters | L 56–70 | 22–6 | 19 – Oguchi | 11 – Sampay | 4 – Holloway | Gallagher Center (2,400) Lewiston, NY |
| February 24, 2009 7:05 pm | | Northern Iowa | L 67–69 $^{2OT}$ | 22–7 (11–6) | 19 – Sampay | 12 – Sampay | 5 – Phillips | Redbird Arena (8,232) Normal, IL |
| February 28, 2009 1:05 pm, ESPN2 | | at Creighton | L 70–74 | 22–8 (11–7) | 14 – Holloway, Oguchi | 9 – Eldridge | 4 – Eldridge | Qwest Center Omaha (17,116) Omaha, NE |
| Missouri Valley Conference tournament |||||||||
| March 6, 2009 8:35 pm, CSN/FSN | (3) | vs. (6) Evansville Quarterfinal | W 78–68 | 23–8 | 20 – Oguchi | 8 – Odiakosa | 4 – Phillips | Scottrade Center (12,765) St. Louis, MO |
| March 7, 2009 4:05 pm, CSN/FSN | (3) | vs. (2) Creighton Semifinal | W 73–49 | 24–8 | 21 – Eldrige | 9 – Odiakosa | 4 – Phillips | Scottrade Center (15,333) St. Louis, MO |
| March 8, 2009 1:05 pm, CBS | (3) | vs. (1) Northern Iowa Final | L 57–60 $^{OT}$ | 24–9 | 21 – Eldridge | 10 – Odiakosa | 3 – Eldridge | Scottrade Center (9,136) St. Louis, MO |
| National Invitation Tournament |||||||||
| March 18, 2009 7:00 pm | (5) | at (4) Kansas State San Diego State Regional [First Round] | L 79–83 $^{OT}$ | 24–10 | 23 – Oguchi | 12 – Odiakosa | 9 – Phillips | Bramlage Coliseum (8,130) Manhattan, KS |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Standard Time. |||||||||