# 1982–83 Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball team

The 1982–83 Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball team represented Illinois State University during the 1982–83 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Redbirds, led by fifth year head coach Bob Donewald, played their home games at Horton Field House and were members of the Missouri Valley Conference.
The Redbirds finished the season 24–7, 13–5 in conference play to finish in second place. They were the number one seed for the Missouri Valley Conference tournament as Wichita State University, who finished first in the conference season, were serving the second of a two-year probation and therefore prohibited from postseason competition. They won the championship game over the University of Tulsa.
The Redbirds won the conference autobid to the 1983 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. They were assigned to the Mideast Regional as the number six seed and lost to Ohio 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 16, 1982* 7:30 pm | | Chinese Taipei | | | | | | Horton Field House Normal, IL |
| Regular Season |||||||||
| November 27, 1982* 7:30 pm | | Chicago State | W 62–54 | 1–0 | 13 – Duncan | 11 – Cornley | – | Horton Field House (4,154) Normal, IL |
| November 30, 1982* 7:30 pm | | at Northern Illinois | W 54–45 | 2–0 | 18 – Lamb | 14 – Lamb | – | Chick Evans Field House (6,036) DeKalb, IL |
| December 2, 1982* 7:30 pm | | Western Illinois | W 55–53 | 3–0 | 14 – Cornley | 7 – Lamb | – | Horton Field House (5,298) Normal, IL |
| December 7, 1982* 7:30 pm | | DePaul | W 72–62 | 4–0 | 23 – Lamb | 11 – Lamb | – | Horton Field House (8,068) Normal, IL |
| December 11, 1982* 2:30 pm | | Oral Roberts | W 54–40 | 5–0 | 14 – Cornley | 7 – Lamb | – | Horton Field House (5,952) Normal, IL |
| December 17, 1982* | | vs. Bowling Green State Illini Classic [Semifinal] | W 61–57 $^{OT}$ | 6–0 | 23 – Lamb | 11 – Lamb | – | Assembly Hall (10,119) Champaign, IL |
| December 18, 1982* 9:00 pm | | at Illinois Illini Classic [Final] | L 60–67 | 6–1 | 15 – Cornley | 7 – Lamb, Cornley | 7 – McKenny | Assembly Hall (14,328) Champaign, IL |
| December 22, 1982* 7:30 pm | | Eastern Illinois | W 82–67 | 7–1 | 20 – Lamb | 13 – Lamb | – | Horton Field House (6,235) Normal, IL |
| December 30, 1982* 7:30 pm | | at Northern Iowa | W 66–60 | 8–1 | 18 – Tyus | 7 – Lamb | – | UNI Dome (3,026) Cedar Falls, IA |
| January 6, 1983 8:30 pm | | at New Mexico State | W 72–62 | 9–1 (1–0) | 18 – McKenny | 11 – Malaine | – | Pan American Center (8,621) Las Cruces, NM |
| January 8, 1983 7:30 pm | | at West Texas State | W 89–73 | 10–1 (2–0) | 17 – Tyus | 9 – Cornley | – | WTSU Fieldhouse (3,021) Canyon, TX |
| January 13, 1983 7:30 pm | | Bradley | W 77–69 | 11–1 (3–0) | 23 – Lamb | 9 – Lamb | – | Horton Field House (8,274) Normal, IL |
| January 15, 1983 2:30 pm | | Indiana State | W 96–82 | 12–1 (4–0) | 22 – Tyus | 9 – Lamb | – | Horton Field House (6,149) Normal, IL |
| January 22, 1983 7:30 pm | | Wichita State | W 54–53 | 13–1 (5–0) | 15 – Tyus, Cornley | 10 – Lamb | 3 – McKenny | Horton Field House (8,274) Normal, IL |
| January 24, 1983 7:30 pm | No. 17 | Tulsa | W 61–55 | 14–1 (6–0) | 13 – Cornley | 10 – Cornley | – | Horton Field House (6,459) Normal, IL |
| January 27, 1983 7:30 pm | No. 17 | at Southern Illinois | W 69–63 | 15–1 (7–0) | 19 – Lamb | 8 – Lamb | – | SIU Arena (4,450) Carbondale, IL |
| January 31, 1983 8:00 pm, WEEK | No. 16 | at Bradley | W 56–55 | 16–1 (8–0) | 15 – Cornley | 7 – Cornley | – | Carver Arena (10,401) Peoria, IL |
| February 3, 1983 7:30 pm | No. 16 | Drake | W 65–59 | 17–1 (9–0) | 15 – Tyus | 10 – Lamb | – | Horton Field House (6,420) Normal, IL |
| February 5, 1983 2:30 pm | No. 16 | New Mexico State | L 50–66 | 17–2 (9–1) | 25 – Cornley | 12 – Cornley | – | Horton Field House (7,889) Normal, IL |
| February 10, 1983 7:30 pm | No. 17 | at Creighton | L 41–53 | 17–3 (9–2) | 10 – Cornley | 5 – Lamb, Tyus | 3 – Zwart | Omaha Civic Auditorium (7,696) Omaha, NE |
| February 12, 1983 7:30 pm | No. 17 | at Drake | L 57–71 | 17–4 (9–3) | 16 – Lamb | 10 – Lamb | – | Veterans Memorial Auditorium (7,790) Des Moines, IA |
| February 19, 1983 6:30 pm | | at Indiana State | W 79–64 | 18–4 (10–3) | 21 – Lamb | 9 – Lamb | – | Hulman Center (4,880) Terre Haute, IN |
| February 21, 1983 7:30 pm | | West Texas State | W 74–59 | 19–4 (11–3) | 20 – Cornley | 13 – Lamb | – | Horton Field House (6,474) Normal, IL |
| February 24, 1983 7:30 pm | | Southern Illinois | W 63–54 | 20–4 (12–3) | 15 – Duncan | 10 – Cornley | – | Horton Field House (7,017) Normal, IL |
| February 26, 1983 8:00 pm | | at No. 12 Wichita State | L 62–72 | 20–5 (12–4) | 16 – Lamb | 5 – Lamb, Cornley | 3 – Duncan, McKenny | Henry Levitt Arena (10,666) Wichita, KS |
| February 28, 1983 7:30 pm | | at Tulsa | L 59–61 $^{OT}$ | 20–6 (12–5) | 16 – Lamb | 8 – Lamb | – | Tulsa Convention Center (9,047) Tulsa, OK |
| March 5, 1983 2:30 pm | | Creighton | W 94–63 | 21–6 (13–5) | 21 – Lamb | 7 – Lamb, Malaine | 5 – Duncan | Horton Field House (7,535) Normal, IL |
| Missouri Valley Conference {MVC} tournament |||||||||
| March 10, 1983* | (1) | (8) Southern Illinois Quarterfinal | W 64–54 | 22–6 | 18 – McKenny | 8 – Lamb | 4 – McKenny | Horton Field House (5,254) Normal, IL |
| March 11, 1983* | (1) | (4) Bradley Semifinal | W 79–61 | 23–6 | 22 – Lamb | 10 – Lamb | 3 – Malaine, Cornley | Horton Field House (8,174) Normal, IL |
| March 12, 1983* 1:00 pm, CBS | (1) | (2) Tulsa Final | W 84–64 | 24–6 | 22 – Johnson | 11 – Lamb | 5 – McKenny | Horton Field House (6,485) Normal, IL |
| National Collegiate Athletic Association {NCAA} tournament |||||||||
| March 17, 1983* 8:30 pm, NCAA Productions | (6) | vs. (11) Ohio Mideast Region [First Round] | L 49–51 | 24–7 | 19 – Lamb | 10 – Lamb | 4 – McKenny | USF Sun Dome (8,023) Tampa, FL |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Standard Time. |||||||||