# 1989–90 Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball team

The 1989–90 Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball team represented Illinois State University during the 1989–90 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Redbirds, led by first year head coach Bob Bender, played their first full season of home games at Redbird Arena and were members of the Missouri Valley Conference.
The Redbirds finished the season 18–13, 9–5 in conference play to finish in a three-way tie for second place. They were the number two seed for the Missouri Valley Conference tournament by virtue of holding tie-breakers over Creighton University and Tulsa University. They defeated Drake University in the quarterfinal round, Creighton University in the semifinal round, and Southern Illinois University in the final round to win the championship (their second in the conference).
The Redbirds won the conference autobid to the 1990 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. They were assigned to the West Regional as the number fourteen seed and lost to the University of Michigan 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 13, 1989* 7:30 pm | | Helsinki, Finland | | | | | | Redbird Arena Normal, IL |
| November 17, 1989* 7:30 pm | | Marathon Oil | | | | | | Redbird Arena Normal, IL |
| Regular Season |||||||||
| November 25, 1989* 7:00 pm | | Wisconsin–Green Bay | L 66–69 $^{OT}$ | 0–1 | – | – | – | Redbird Arena (9,696) Normal, IL |
| November 27, 1989* 7:30 pm | | Butler | W 67–59 $^{OT}$ | 1–1 | – | – | – | Redbird Arena (7,676) Normal, IL |
| December 2, 1989* 6:30 pm | | at Fairleigh Dickinson | W 86–74 | 2–1 | – | – | – | Rothman Center (1,802) Teaneck, NJ |
| December 4, 1989* 8:35 pm | | at Colorado | L 79–85 | 2–2 | – | – | – | CU Events/Conference Center (2,043) Boulder, CO |
| December 7, 1989* 7:30 pm | | Purdue | L 69–83 | 2–3 | – | – | – | Redbird Arena (9,251) Normal, IL |
| December 9, 1989* 7:00 pm | | Illinois–Chicago | W 69–65 | 3–3 | – | – | – | Redbird Arena (8,611) Normal, IL |
| December 19, 1989* 6:30 pm | | at Kent State | L 69–73 | 3–4 | – | – | – | Memorial Gym (1,500) Kent, OH |
| December 28, 1989* | | vs. North Carolina–Charlotte Far West Classic [Quarterfinal] | W 76–69 | 4–4 | – | – | – | Memorial Coliseum (5,289) Portland, OR |
| December 29, 1989* | | vs. Oregon Far West Classic [Semifinal] | L 79–81 | 4–5 | – | – | – | Memorial Coliseum (11,015) Portland, OR |
| December 30, 1989* | | vs. Louisiana Tech Far West Classic [Third Place] | L 69–90 | 4–6 | – | – | – | Memorial Coliseum (11,015) Portland, OR |
| January 6, 1990 7:00 pm | | Southern Illinois | W 85–75 | 5–6 (1–0) | – | – | – | Redbird Arena (8,518) Normal, IL |
| January 11, 1990 7:05 pm | | at Drake | W 85–81 | 6–6 (2–0) | – | – | – | Veterans Memorial Auditorium (3,804) Des Moines, IA |
| January 13, 1990 1:30 pm, SportsChannel | | at Indiana State | L 45–58 | 6–7 (2–1) | – | – | – | Hulman Center (5,480) Terre Haute, IN |
| January 17, 1990* 7:30 pm | | at Western Illinois | L 63–64 | 6–8 | – | – | – | Western Hall (3,731) Macomb, IL |
| January 20, 1990 7:30 pm | | at Creighton | L 75–82 | 6–9 (2–2) | 19 – Jackson | 8 – Blair, Roberts | 4 – Thomas | Omaha Civic Auditorium (6,954) Omaha, NE |
| January 22, 1990 7:30 pm | | Drake | W 63–62 | 7–9 (3–2) | – | – | – | Redbird Arena (8,952) Normal, IL |
| January 25, 1990 8:05 pm, WEEK/SportsChannel | | at Bradley | W 74–72 | 8–9 (4–2) | – | – | – | Carver Arena (9,517) Peoria, IL |
| January 27, 1990 7:00 pm | | Wichita State | W 71–66 $^{OT}$ | 9–9 (5–2) | 20 – Jackson | 8 – Blair | 4 – Blair, Jackson, Thomas | Redbird Arena (10,125) Normal, IL |
| February 3, 1990 11:00 am, SportsChannel | | at Tulsa | L 60–84 | 9–10 (5–3) | – | – | – | Tulsa Convention Center (5,022) Tulsa, OK |
| February 6, 1990* 7:30 pm | | Saint Louis | W 65–61 | 10–10 | – | – | – | Redbird Arena (9,608) Normal, IL |
| February 10, 1990 7:00 pm | | Indiana State | W 67–47 | 11–10 (6–3) | – | – | – | Redbird Arena (10,125) Normal, IL |
| February 12, 1990 7:30 pm | | Tulsa | W 79–75 | 12–10 (7–3) | – | – | – | Redbird Arena (8,566) Normal, IL |
| February 14, 1990* 7:30 pm | | at Loyola–Chicago | W 82–66 | 13–10 | – | – | – | Alumni Gym (539) Chicago, IL |
| February 17, 1990 11:00 am, SportsChannel | | Bradley | W 81–68 | 14–10 (8–3) | – | – | – | Redbird Arena (10,125) Normal, IL |
| February 22, 1990 7:30 pm | | at Wichita State | L 52–66 | 14–11 (8–4) | 19 – Coleman | 9 – Blair | 4 – Thomas | Henry Levitt Arena (9,688) Wichita, KS |
| February 24, 1990 7:35 pm | | at Southern Illinois | L 79–85 | 14–12 (8–5) | 20 – Thomas | 6 – Blair | 6 – Thomas | SIU Arena (10,014) Carbondale, IL |
| February 26, 1990 7:30 pm | | Creighton | W 83–77 | 15–12 (9–5) | 32 – Jackson | 7 – Blair, Coleman | 6 – Blair, Thomas | Redbird Arena (10,125) Normal, IL |
| Pepsi Missouri Valley Conference {MVC} tournament |||||||||
| March 3, 1990 6:00 pm, SportsChannel | (2) | (7) Drake Quarterfinal | W 77–62 | 16–12 | 16 – Fowler | 8 – Blair | 6 – Blair | Redbird Arena (8,620) Normal, IL |
| March 4, 1990 3:00 pm, SportsChannel | (2) | (3) Creighton Semifinal | W 69–64 | 17–12 | 17 – Jackson | 7 – Pemberton | 9 – Blair | Redbird Arena (8,653) Normal, IL |
| March 6, 1990 8:30 pm, ESPN | (2) | (1) Southern Illinois Final | W 81–78 | 18–12 | 23 – Coleman | 6 – Pemberton | 5 – Thomas | Redbird Arena (10,625) Normal, IL |
| National Collegiate Athletic Association {NCAA} tournament |||||||||
| March 16, 1990 8:00 pm, NCAA Productions | (14) | vs. (3) No. 13 Michigan West Region [First Round] | L 70–76 | 18–13 | 22 – Jackson | 12 – Blair | 9 – Blair | Long Beach Arena (12,200) Long Beach, CA |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Standard Time. |||||||||