# 1978–79 Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball team

The 1978–79 Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball team represented Illinois State University during the 1978–79 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Redbirds, led by first year head coach Bob Donewald, played their home games at Horton Field House and competed as an independent (not a member of a conference). They finished the season 20–10.

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition Season |||||||||
| November 17, 1978* 7:30 pm | National Team of Poland Exhibition | W 96–69 | | 27 – Galvin | 14 – Galvin | – | Horton Field House (5,500) Normal, IL |
| Regular Season |||||||||
| December 4, 1978* 6:30 pm | at Indiana State | L 76–78 | 0–1 | 32 – R.Jones | 14 – Galvin | – | Hulman Center (10,189) Terre Haute, IN |
| December 6, 1978* 7:30 pm | Southern Illinois | W 89–86 | 1–1 | 21 – Mayes | 10 – Galvin, Yarbrough | – | Horton Field House (7,400) Normal, IL |
| December 9, 1978* 2:00 pm | Saint Louis | W 73–63 | 2–1 | 27 – Mayes | 10 – Yarbrough | – | Horton Field House (6,000) Normal, IL |
| December 11, 1978* 6:30 pm | at Central Michigan | L 63–66 | 2–2 | 23 – R.Jones | 7 – Yarbrough | – | Daniel P. Rose Center (3,523) Mount Pleasant, MI |
| December 14, 1978* 7:30 pm | California State Polytechnic–Pomona | W 92–64 | 3–2 | 20 – R.Jones | 9 – Yarbrough | – | Horton Field House (3,000) Normal, IL |
| December 18, 1978* 7:30 pm | at Western Kentucky | W 75–74 $^{OT}$ | 4–2 | 25 – Mayes | 13 – Galvin | – | E. A. Diddle Arena (6,200) Bowling Green, KY |
| December 22, 1978* | Northern Illinois Illinois State Holiday Festival [Semifinal] | W 71–60 | 5–2 | 28 – Yarbrough | 20 – Yarbrough | – | Horton Field House (3,500) Normal, IL |
| December 23, 1978* | Mississippi Illinois State Holiday Festival [Final] | W 76–72 | 6–2 | 29 – R.Jones | 7 – Galvin, Yarbrough | – | Horton Field House (2,800) Normal, IL |
| December 29, 1978* 7:00 pm | at No. 19 Syracuse | L 72–82 | 6–3 | 24 – Galvin | 4 – Mayes | – | Manley Field House (9,221) Syracuse, NY |
| January 3, 1979* 7:30 pm | Bradley | W 74–61 | 7–3 | 26 – Mayes | 7 – R.Jones | – | Horton Field House (5,200) Normal, IL |
| January 6, 1979* 7:30 pm | at McNeese State | W 78–73 $^{OT}$ | 8–3 | 27 – R.Jones | 8 – Galvin, Yarbrough | – | Sudduth Coliseum (3,781) Lake Charles, LA |
| January 8, 1979* 7:30 pm | North Texas State | W 98–80 | 9–3 | 23 – Mayes | 14 – Yarbrough | – | Horton Field House (3,000) Normal, IL |
| January 10, 1979* 7:30 pm | Nebraska–Omaha | W 74–57 | 10–3 | 21 – R.Jones | 17 – Yarbrough | – | Horton Field House (2,500) Normal, IL |
| January 13, 1979* 7:00 pm | at Detroit | L 81–92 | 10–4 | 33 – Galvin | 10 – Yarbrough | – | Calihan Hall (4,366) Detroit, MI |
| January 15, 1979* 7:30 pm | Missouri–St. Louis | W 105–60 | 11–4 | 21 – Yarbrough | 7 – Yarbrough, A.Jones | – | Horton Field House (3.000) Normal, IL |
| January 17, 1979* 7:00 pm | at Evansville | W 73–68 | 12–4 | 27 – R.Jones | 13 – Galvin | – | Roberts Municipal Stadium (6,703) Evansville, IN |
| January 20, 1979* 7:30 pm | Howard | W 88–62 | 13–4 | 22 – Galvin | 11 – Galvin | – | Horton Field House (5,200) Normal, IL |
| January 24, 1979* 7:30 pm | at Valparaiso | W 88–67 | 14–4 | 30 – R.Jones | 13 – Galvin | – | Hilltop Gym (2,500) Valparaiso, IN |
| January 27, 1979* 2:00 pm | DePaul | L 69–87 | 14–5 | 21 – R.Jones | 7 – Galvin | – | Horton Field House (8,000) Normal, IL |
| January 31, 1979* 7:30 pm | at Northern Illinois | L 65–76 | 14–6 | 19 – Mayes | 10 – Galvin | – | Chick Evans Field House (4,850) DeKalb, IL |
| February 7, 1979* 12:00 am | at Chaminade | W 82–67 | 15–6 | 27 – R.Jones | 15 – Galvin | – | McCabe Gymnasium (1,100) Honolulu, HI |
| February 10, 1979* 12:10 am | at Hawai'i | L 77–82 | 15–7 | 24 – Mayes | 9 – Galvin | – | Neal S. Blaisdell Arena (3,104) Honolulu, HI |
| February 11, 1979* 12:10 am | at Hawai'i | W 71–62 | 16–7 | 20 – Mayes, Yarbrough | 12 – Yarbrough | – | Neal S. Blaisdell Arena (3,339) Honolulu, HI |
| February 13, 1979* 7:30 pm | at Wisconsin–Milwaukee | W 82–65 | 17–7 | 22 – Mayes | 11 – Galvin | – | Horton Field House (2,200) Normal, IL |
| February 15, 1979* 7:30 pm | at South Alabama | W 77–70 | 18–7 | 20 – R.Jones | 10 – Galvin | – | Jaguar Gym (3,320) Mobile, AL |
| February 17, 1979* 7:30 pm | at Northeast Louisiana | L 72–80 | 18–8 | 25 – Mayes | 14 – Yarbrough | – | Ewing Coliseum (7,100) Monroe, LA |
| February 22, 1979* 7:30 pm | at North Texas State | L 87–90 | 18–9 | 32 – R.Jones | 11 – R.Jones | – | NTSU Coliseum (1,400) Denton, TX |
| February 24, 1979* 7:30 pm | at Oral Roberts | L 78–89 | 18–10 | 22 – Galvin | 12 – Yarbrough | – | Mabee Center (7,568) Tulsa, OK |
| February 26, 1979* 7:30 pm | Northern Michigan | W 100–83 | 19–10 | 29 – Mayes | 5 – Mayes, Smith | – | Horton Field House (1,800) Normal, IL |
| March 2, 1979* 7:30 pm | Southern Illinois–Edwardsville | W 94–65 | 20–10 | 25 – Mayes, Yarbrough | 14 – Galvin | – | Horton Field House (3,300) Normal, IL |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Standard Time. |||||||||