# 1977–78 Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball team

The 1977–78 Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball team represented Illinois State University during the 1977–78 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Redbirds, led by third year head coach Gene Smithson, played their home games at Horton Field House and competed as an independent (not a member of a conference). They finished the season 24–4.
The Redbirds received an invitation to the 1978 National Invitation Tournament. They were beaten by Indiana State University in the first round.

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular Season |||||||||
| November 26, 1977* 7:30 pm | | at Saint Louis | W 90–83 | 1–0 | 22 – Lewis | 9 – Lewis, Galvin | – | Kiel Auditorium (5,117) St. Louis, MO |
| November 29, 1977* 7:30 pm | | Valparaiso | W 98–81 | 2–0 | 19 – Lewis | 9 – Galvin | – | Horton Field House (5,700) Normal, IL |
| December 2, 1977* 8:00 pm | | vs. Colgate Charlotte Invitational [Semifinal] | W 94–62 | 3–0 | 21 – Galvin | 12 – Galvin | – | Charlotte Coliseum (I) (2,107) Charlotte, NC |
| December 3, 1977* 8:00 pm | | vs. Delaware Charlotte Invitational [Final] | W 89–70 | 4–0 | 21 – Lewis | 13 – Lewis | – | Charlotte Coliseum (I) (400) Charlotte, NC |
| December 5, 1977* 7:30 pm | | California State–Northridge | W 72–59 | 5–0 | 24 – Lewis | 11 – Galvin | – | Horton Field House (3,800) Normal, IL |
| December 7, 1977* 7:35 pm | | at Southern Illinois | W 51–48 | 6–0 | 16 – Lewis | 8 – Lewis | – | SIU Arena (6,320) Carbondale, IL |
| December 10, 1977* 7:30 pm | | Akron | W 86–70 | 7–0 | 33 – Lewis | 11 – Lewis | – | Horton Field House (6,000) Normal, IL |
| December 17, 1977* 3:00 pm | | New Orleans | W 93–86 $^{OT}$ | 8–0 | 30 – Lewis | 12 – Lewis | – | Horton Field House (5,400) Normal, IL |
| December 19, 1977* 7:30 pm | | Central Michigan | W 90–78 | 9–0 | 20 – Lewis | 12 – Galvin | – | Horton Field House (5,000) Normal, IL |
| December 26, 1977* 7:30 pm | | Kent State | W 79–71 | 10–0 | 21 – Galvin | 15 – Galvin | – | Horton Field House (5,000) Normal, IL |
| December 30, 1977* 7:30 pm | | Long Island | W 93–68 | 11–0 | 27 – Lewis | 13 – Lewis | – | Horton Field House (5,500) Normal, IL |
| January 2, 1978* 7:30 pm | | at Bradley | W 84–83 | 12–0 | 24 – Mayes | 8 – Lewis, Yarbrough | – | Robertson Memorial Field House (7,300) Peoria, IL |
| January 5, 1978* 10:05 pm | | at California–Santa Barbara | L 69–84 | 12–1 | 22 – Jones | 6 – Lewis, Yarbrough | – | Robertson Gymnasium (2,100) Santa Barbara, CA |
| January 7, 1978* 9:30 pm | | at California State–Fullerton | W 88–85 | 13–1 | 21 – Jones | 7 – Jones | – | Titan Gym (3,390) Fullerton, CA |
| January 11, 1978* 7:30 pm | | Northern Illinois | W 79–67 | 14–1 | 19 – Jones | 16 – Yarbrough | – | Horton Field House (8,000) Normal, IL |
| January 13, 1978* 10:15 pm | | at No. 11 Nevada–Las Vegas | L 92–94 | 14–2 | 34 – Jones | 10 – Jones | – | Las Vegas Convention Center (6,352) Winchester, NV |
| January 15, 1978* 7:30 pm | | Quincy | W 86–76 | 15–2 | 27 – Lewis | 14 – Lewis | – | Horton Field House (3,000) Normal, IL |
| January 18, 1978* 7:30 pm | | Evansville | canceled as result of Air Indiana Flight 216 crash on December 13, 1977 | canceled as result of Air Indiana Flight 216 crash on December 13, 1977 | canceled as result of Air Indiana Flight 216 crash on December 13, 1977 | canceled as result of Air Indiana Flight 216 crash on December 13, 1977 | canceled as result of Air Indiana Flight 216 crash on December 13, 1977 | Horton Field House Normal, IL |
| January 21, 1978* 2:00 pm | | No. 4 Indiana State | W 81–76 | 16–2 | 25 – Lewis | 12 – Lewis | – | Horton Field House (8,000) Normal, IL |
| January 25, 1978* 7:30 pm | No. 20 | Northern Michigan | W 75–58 | 17–2 | 34 – Lewis | 8 – Lewis | – | Horton Field House (4,000) Normal, IL |
| January 28, 1978* 7:30 pm | No. 20 | Southern Illinois–Edwardsville | W 80–73 | 18–2 | 19 – Lewis | 12 – Lewis | – | Horton Field House (6,800) Normal, IL |
| February 6, 1978* 7:30 pm | No. 19 | Oral Roberts | W 84–71 | 19–2 | 19 – Galvin | 10 – Galvin, Yarbrough | – | Horton Field House (7,500) Normal, IL |
| February 8, 1978* 7:30 pm | No. 15 | at Western Illinois | W 97–79 | 20–2 | 29 – Lewis | 11 – Lewis, Jones | – | Western Hall (4,095) Macomb, IL |
| February 15, 1978* 7:30 pm | No. 15 | at Northern Illinois | W 79–67 | 21–2 | 18 – Lewis | 13 – Lewis | – | Chick Evans Field House (5,820) DeKalb, IL |
| February 18, 1978* 2:00 pm | No. 15 | Athletes In Action Exhibition | L 97–100 $^{OT}$ | | – | – | – | Horton Field House Normal, IL |
| February 20, 1978* 7:30 pm | No. 15 | McNeese State | W 87–68 | 22–2 | 23 – Lewis | 9 – Lewis | – | Horton Field House (6,000) Normal, IL |
| February 25, 1978* 8:00 pm | No. 15 | at Centenary | W 90–77 | 23–2 | 27 – Lewis | 13 – Galvin | – | Gold Dome (2,018) Shreveport, LA |
| February 28, 1978* 7:30 pm | No. 13 | at Northern Iowa | W 82–76 | 24–2 | 25 – Lewis, Jones | 9 – Jones | – | UNI Dome (4,700) Cedar Falls, IA |
| March 4, 1978* 8:00 pm | No. 13 | at No. 4 DePaul | L 84–96 | 24–3 | 22 – Yarbrough | 11 – Yarbrough | – | Alumni Hall (5,717) Chicago, IL |
| National Invitation {NIT} Tournament |||||||||
| March 10, 1978* 6:30 pm | No. 17 | at Indiana State First Round | L 71–73 | 24–4 | 18 – Lewis | 6 – Lewis, Galvin | 9 – Mayes | Hulman Civic University Center (10,150) Terre Haute, IN |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Standard Time. |||||||||