# 2024–25 Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball team

The 2024–25 Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball team represents Illinois State University during the 2024–25 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Redbirds play their home games on Doug Collins Court at CEFCU Arena in Normal, Illinois as members of the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC).

## Previous season

The Redbirds finished the 2023–24 season 15–17, 9–11 in the Missouri Valley Conference play to finish in a tie for seventh place. As the seventh seed in the MVC tournament, they lost to tenth seeded Evansville in the opening round.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | # | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Comment |
| Kendall Lewis | 22 | F | 6'8" | 210 | Fifth Year | Snellville, GA | Graduated (undrafted; signed with Bristol Flyers) |
| Ryan Schmitt | 50 | F | 6'11" | 220 | Fifth Year | Van Meter, IA | Graduated (Illinois Wesleyan Graduate Assistant) |
| Harouna Sissoko | 23 | F | 6'7" | 217 | Redshirt Senior | Kayes, Mali | Arkansas-Monticello |
| Darius Burford | 10 | G | 6'0" | 175 | Senior | Bolingbrook, IL | Texas-Arlington |
| Myles Foster | 4 | F | 6'7" | 235 | Senior | Brooklyn, NY | Clemson |
| Luke Kasubke | 0 | G | 6'5" | 190 | Senior | St. Louis, MO | North Dakota State |
| Nik Stadelman | 14 | G | 6'0" | 180 | Senior | Rockford, IL | Graduated (Radford Graduate Assistant) |

### 2024 recruiting class

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Jack Daugherty F | Brookfield, WI | Brookfield Central HS | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 205 lb (93 kg) | Sep 12, 2023 |
| Star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Nick Feather F | Heyworth, IL | Heyworth Jr/Sr School | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 280 lb (130 kg) | May 10, 2024 |
| Star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Cade Norris G | Hilliard, OH | Hilliard Bradley HS | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 205 lb (93 kg) | Sep 4, 2023 |
| Star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2024 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 3, 2024. ||||||

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Prior school |
| Boden Skunberg | G | 6'5" | 205 | Graduate | Jamestown, ND | North Dakota State |
| Caden Boser | F | 6'8" | 225 | Fifth Year | Eau Claire, WI | Valdosta State |
| Landon Wolf | G | 6'5" | 205 | Redshirt Junior | Cedar Falls, IA | Northern Iowa |
| Cameron Barnes | F | 6'10" | 205 | Redshirt Freshman | Duncanville, TX | Mississippi |

## Preseason

The Redbirds were picked to finish in fourth place in the conference's preseason poll.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition Season |||||||||
| October 26, 2024* 2:00 pm | | Lewis | W 72–65 | | 18 – Wolf | 7 – Banks | 4 – Tied | CEFCU Arena Normal, IL |
| Regular Season |||||||||
| November 4, 2024* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Tennessee–Martin | L 65–67 | 0–1 | 15 – Daugherty | 7 – Tied | 6 – Banks | CEFCU Arena (3,854) Normal, IL |
| November 7, 2024* 7:30 pm, MidCo Sports Plus | | at North Dakota State | W 77–68 | 1–1 | 20 – Kinziger | 10 – Walker | 4 – Banks | Scheels Center (1,353) Fargo, ND |
| November 12, 2024* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Ohio | W 85–75 | 2–1 | 23 – Banks | 5 – Tied | 7 – Kinziger | CEFCU Arena (3,923) Normal, IL |
| November 17, 2024* 4:30 pm, ESPN+ | | Trinity Christian | W 107–52 | 3–1 | 28 – Daugherty | 6 – Tied | 5 – Banks | CEFCU Arena (3,974) Normal, IL |
| November 22, 2024* 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | vs. McNeese U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam [Quarterfinal] | L 68–76 | 3–2 | 14 – Pence | 6 – Pence | 4 – Banks | Elridge Wilburn Blake Sports and Fitness Center (1,525) Charlotte Amalie West, Saint Thomas, USVI |
| November 23, 2024* 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | vs. UAB U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam [Consolation Semifinal] | W 84–83 | 4–2 | 21 – Kinziger | 8 – Walker | 5 – Banks | Elridge Wilburn Blake Sports and Fitness Center (1,886) Charlotte Amalie West, Saint Thomas, USVI |
| November 25, 2024* 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | vs. George Washington U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam [Fourth Place] | L 64–72 | 4–3 | 18 – Walker | 8 – Pence | 1 – Tied | Elridge Wilburn Blake Sports and Fitness Center (1,986) Charlotte Amalie West, Saint Thomas, USVI |
| December 4, 2024 6:00 pm, MVC TV Network/ESPN+ | | at Belmont | L 97–99 $^{OT}$ | 4–4 (0–1) | 17 – Boser | 7 – Pence | 9 – Banks | Curb Event Center (1,301) Nashville, TN |
| December 7, 2024* 6:00 pm, Marquee/ESPN+ | | Pacific | W 72–61 | 5–4 | 22 – Walker | 11 – Walker | 4 – Tied | CEFCU Arena (3,595) Normal, IL |
| December 15, 2024* 4:00 pm, Marquee/ESPN+ | | Saint Louis | W 81–77 | 6–4 | 27 – Walker | 8 – Walker | 4 – Banks | CEFCU Arena (4,188) Normal, IL |
| December 18, 2024* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Northern Illinois | W 81–60 | 7–4 | 17 – Banks | 8 – Banks | 6 – Kinziger | CEFCU Arena (2,927) Normal, IL |
| December 22, 2024* 11:00 am, ESPN+ | | at Cornell | W 80–77 | 8–4 | 16 – Daugherty | 7 – Walker | 5 – Kinziger | Newman Arena (568) Ithaca, NY |
| December 29, 2024 4:00 pm, Marquee/ESPN+ | | UIC | L 67–73 | 8–5 (0–2) | 20 – Poindexter | 5 – Davis | 5 – Banks | CEFCU Arena (3,841) Normal, IL |
| January 2, 2025 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Murray State | W 74–68 | 9–5 (1–2) | 17 – Tied | 8 – Pence | 4 – Kinziger | CFSB Center (4,585) Murray, KY |
| January 5, 2025 3:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Southern Illinois | W 85–54 | 10–5 (2–2) | 17 – Tied | 10 – Davis | 5 – Poindexter | CEFCU Arena (3,427) Normal, IL |
| January 8, 2025 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Evansville | L 51–69 | 10–6 (2–3) | 14 – Poindexter | 7 – Davis | 2 – Tied | Ford Center (4,036) Evansville, IN |
| January 11, 2025 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Northern Iowa | L 84–85 | 10–7 (2–4) | 27 – Walker | 9 – Walker | 4 – Kingziger | CEFCU Arena (4,712) Normal, IL |
| January 15, 2025 8:00 pm, MVC TV Network/ESPN+ | | at Drake | L 62–66 | 10–8 (2–5) | 20 – Walker | 4 – Walker | 2 – Tied | The Knapp Center (3,117) Des Moines, IA |
| January 18, 2025 4:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Missouri State | W 74–68 | 11–8 (3–5) | 19 – Kinziger | 11 – Wolf | 5 – Banks | CEFCU Arena (4,588) Normal, IL |
| January 21, 2025 7:00 pm, Marquee/ESPN+ | | Indiana State | W 85–81 | 12–8 (4–5) | 21 – Banks | 12 – Davis | 6 – Kinziger | CEFCU Arena (3,617) Normal, IL |
| January 25, 2025 1:00 pm, CBSSN | | at Bradley I–74 Rivalry | L 57–61 | 12–9 (4–6) | 16 – Kinziger | 7 – Walker | 5 – Kinziger | Carver Arena (9,646) Peoria, IL |
| January 29, 2025 8:00 pm, MVC TV Network/ESPN+ | | Belmont | W 81–78 | 13–9 (5–6) | 22 – Tied | 6 – Walker | 6 – Banks | CEFCU Arena (3,477) Normal, IL |
| February 1, 2025 4:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Valparaiso | W 86–78 | 14–9 (6–6) | 24 – Walker | 5 – Tied | 7 – Walker | CEFCU Arena (5,706) Normal, IL |
| February 5, 2025 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at UIC | W 81–79 | 15–9 (7–6) | 31 – Walker | 9 – Walker | 4 – Tied | Credit Union 1 Arena (1,554) Chicago, IL |
| February 8, 2025 5:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Northern Iowa | L 65–68 | 15–10 (7–7) | 16 – Kinziger | 9 – Kinziger | 4 – Banks | McLeod Center (4,809) Cedar Falls, IA |
| February 12, 2025 8:00 pm, MVC TV Network/ESPN+ | | Drake | L 77–84 | 15–11 (7–8) | 25 – Walker | 7 – Walker | 3 – Poindexter | CEFCU Arena (4,122) Normal, IL |
| February 15, 2025 12:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Indiana State | L 76–85 | 15–12 (7–9) | 22 – Walker | 11 – Walker | 4 – Walker | Hulman Center (5,198) Terre Haute, IN |
| February 19, 2025 7:00 pm, CBSSN | | Bradley I–74 Rivalry | W 82–71 | 16–12 (8–9) | 25 – Daugherty | 9 – Kinziger | 4 – Poindexter | CEFCU Arena (5,719) Normal, IL |
| February 22, 2025 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Missouri State | W 70–68 | 17–12 (9–9) | 16 – Banks | 7 – Davis | 8 – Banks | Great Southern Bank Arena (1,853) Springfield, MO |
| February 25, 2025 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Southern Illinois | L 79–88 | 17–13 (9–10) | 18 – Banks | 7 – Walker | 7 – Walker | Banterra Center (4,141) Carbondale, IL |
| March 2, 2025 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Evansville | W 62–53 | 18–13 (10–10) | 13 – Banks | 9 – Pence | 3 – Davis | CEFCU Arena (5,072) Normal, IL |
| Conference Tournament |||||||||
| March 6, 2025 2:30 pm, MVC TV Network/ESPN+ | (5) | vs. (12) Missouri State Arch Madness [Opening Round] | W 70–54 | 19–13 | 13 – Kinziger | 9 – Walker | 8 – Banks | Enterprise Center (4,402) St. Louis, MO |
| March 7, 2025 2:30 pm, MVC TV Network/ESPN+ | (5) | vs. (4) Belmont Arch Madness [Quarterfinal] | L 63–76 | 19–14 | 19 – Banks | 6 – Tied | 7 – Banks | Enterprise Center (6,005) St. Louis, MO |
| College Basketball Invitational, Presented By Purple |||||||||
| March 23, 2025 5:30 pm, FloCollege | | vs. Presbyterian [First Round] | | | | | | Ocean Center Daytona Beach, FL |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time Zone. |||||||||
Source