# 1981–82 Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball team

The 1981–82 Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball team represented Illinois State University during the 1981–82 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Redbirds, led by fourth year head coach Bob Donewald, played their home games at Horton Field House and competed as a member of the Missouri Valley Conference.
They finished the season 17–12, 9–7 in conference play to finish in fifth place. They were the number four seed for the Missouri Valley Conference tournament as Wichita State University was serving the first of a two-year probation and therefore prohibited from postseason competition. They made it to the championship game before losing to the tenth ranked University of Tulsa.

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular Season |||||||||
| November 28, 1981* | | Mississippi Valley State | W 92–75 | 1–0 | 23 – White | 11 – Lamb | – | Horton Field House (3,905) Normal, IL |
| December 2, 1981* | | Northern Illinois | W 63–60 | 2–0 | 24 – White | 9 – Lamb | – | Horton Field House (5,109) Normal, IL |
| December 7, 1981* 7:30 pm | | at Western Illinois | L 79–84 | 2–1 | 23 – White | 12 – Lamb | – | Western Hall (5,961) Macomb, IL |
| December 11, 1981* | | vs. Arizona State Utah Classic [Semifinal] | L 61–63 | 2–2 | 18 – Cornley | 11 – Lamb, Cornley | – | Special Events Center (11,057) Salt Lake City, UT |
| December 12, 1981* | | vs. Fairfield Utah Classic [Third Place] | W 81–73 | 3–2 | 16 – White | 10 – Lamb | – | Special Events Center (12,509) Salt Lake City, UT |
| December 19, 1981* | | Eastern Illinois | W 94–55 | 4–2 | 25 – Lamb | 11 – Lamb | – | Lantz Arena (1,500) Charleston, IL |
| December 28, 1981* | | at No. 13 DePaul | L 58–74 | 4–3 | 15 – Lamb | 12 – Lamb | – | Rosemont Horizon (15,127) Rosemont, IL |
| January 2, 1982 | | at Southern Illinois | L 68–72 | 4–4 (0–1) | 20 – Lamb | 9 – Lamb | – | SIU Arena (2,750) Carbondale, IL |
| January 4, 1982 | | Drake | W 59–49 | 5–4 (1–1) | 15 – Lamb | 6 – Lamb, Malaine | – | Horton Field House (6,245) Normal, IL |
| January 8, 1982* | | vs. Virginia Military Institute Worcester County National Classic [Semifinal] | W 74–56 | 6–4 | 18 – Lamb | 7 – Malaine, Johnson | – | Hart Recreation Center (3,000) Worcester, MA |
| January 9, 1982* | | at Holy Cross Worcester County National Classic [Final] | L 51–52 | 6–5 | 10 – Cornley | 6 – Lamb | – | Hart Recreation Center (4,000) Worcester, MA |
| January 14, 1982 | | at Indiana State | W 81–63 | 7–5 (2–1) | 22 – Lamb | 8 – Lamb | – | Hulman Center (4,793) Terre Haute, IN |
| January 16, 1982 | | New Mexico State | W 72–58 | 8–5 (3–1) | 25 – Lamb | 7 – Lamb | – | Horton Field House (5,305) Normal, IL |
| January 18, 1982 | | West Texas State | W 65–53 | 9–5 (4–1) | 22 – Lamb | 12 – Lamb | – | Horton Field House (4,970) Normal, IL |
| January 21, 1982 | | at Creighton | W 68–54 | 10–5 (5–1) | 23 – Cornley | 15 – Lamb | 3 – Tyus, McKenny | Omaha Civic Auditorium (5,201) Omaha, NE |
| January 23, 1982 | | at Drake | L 46–49 | 10–6 (5–2) | 16 – Tyus | 11 – Lamb | – | Veterans Memorial Auditorium (8,860) Des Monies, IA |
| January 28, 1982 WEEK | | at Bradley | L 58–72 | 10–7 (5–3) | 16 – Cornley | 11 – Cornley | – | Robertson Memorial Field House (7,300) Peoria, IL |
| January 30, 1982 | | Indiana State | W 81–62 | 11–7 (6–3) | 21 – Cornley | 12 – Lamb | – | Horton Field House (5,705) Normal, IL |
| February 4, 1982 | | Wichita State | L 56–61 | 11–8 (6–4) | 18 – Tyus | 5 – Malaine | 2 – White, Lamb, Malaine, Tyus | Horton Field House (7,039) Normal, IL |
| February 6, 1982 | | Southern Illinois | W 65–53 | 12–8 (7–4) | 17 – Tyus | 10 – Lamb | – | Horton Field House (5,191) Normal, IL |
| February 11, 1982 | | at No. 7 Tulsa | L 67–78 $^{OT}$ | 12–9 (7–5) | 18 – Tyus | 13 – Lamb, Cornley | – | Tulsa Convention Center (9,119) Tulsa, OK |
| February 13, 1982 MVC-TV | | Bradley | L 47–48 | 12–10 (7–6) | 10 – Lamb, Malaine | 7 – Cornley | – | Horton Field House (8,276) Normal, IL |
| February 18, 1982 | | at New Mexico State | L 62–65 | 12–11 (7–7) | 20 – Lamb | 10 – Lamb | – | Pan American Center (10,073) Las Cruces, NM |
| February 20, 1982 | | at West Texas State | W 51–49 | 13–11 (8–7) | 13 – Malaine | 8 – Zwart | – | WTSU Fiedhouse (2,154) Canyon, TX |
| February 23, 1982* | | Northern Iowa | W 62–39 | 14–11 | 23 – White | 10 – Zwart | – | Horton Field House (5,068) Normal, IL |
| February 27, 1982 | | Creighton | W 66–48 | 15–11 (9–7) | 19 – McKenny | 10 – Cornley | 2 – Lamb, Cornley, Zwart | Horton Field House (5,305) Normal, IL |
| Missouri Valley Conference {MVC} tournament |||||||||
| March 2, 1982* | (4) | (5) Drake Quarterfinal | W 56–43 | 16–11 | 18 – Cornley | 12 – Lamb | 3 – Lamb, Malaine, Tyus | Horton Field House (4,377) Normal, IL |
| March 4, 1982* | (4) | at (1) Bradley Semifinal | W 55–50 $^{2OT}$ | 17–11 | 15 – Cornley | 10 – Lamb | 11 – McKenny | Robertson Memorial Field House (7,300) Peoria, IL |
| March 6, 1982* | (4) | at (2) No. 10 Tulsa Final | L 77–90 | 17–12 | 18 – Lamb | 7 – Lamb | 5 – McKenny | Tulsa Convention Center (9,119) Tulsa, OK |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Standard Time. |||||||||