# 1995–96 Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball team

The 1995–96 Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball team represented Illinois State University during the 1995–96 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Redbirds, led by third year head coach Kevin Stallings, played their home games at Redbird Arena and were a member of the Missouri Valley Conference.
The Redbirds finished the season 22–12, 13–5 in conference play to finish in second place. They were the number two seed for the Missouri Valley Conference tournament. They won their quarterfinal game versus the University of Northern Iowa and lost their semifinal game versus the University of Tulsa.
The Redbirds received an invitation to the 1996 National Invitation Tournament. They beat Mount St. Mary's University in the first round, the University of Wisconsin in the second round, and were defeated by Tulane University in the quarterfinal round.

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular Season |||||||||
| November 24, 1995* | | vs. James Madison San Juan Shootout [Quarterfinal] | L 85–86 | 0–1 | – | – | – | Eugene Guerra Sports Complex (250) San Juan, PR |
| November 25, 1995* | | vs. La Salle San Juan Shootout [Consolation Semifinal] | W 72–65 | 1–1 | – | – | – | Eugene Guerra Sports Complex (250) San Juan, PR |
| November 26, 1995* | | at American (Puerto Rico) San Juan Shootout [Fifth Place] | W 79–77 | 2–1 | – | – | – | Eugene Guerra Sports Complex (500) San Juan, PR |
| December 2, 1995* | | Duquesne | L 65–77 | 2–2 | – | – | – | Redbird Arena (6,588) Normal, IL |
| December 6, 1995* | | at Ohio | W 66–65 | 3–2 | – | – | – | Convocation Center (4,608) Athens, OH |
| December 9, 1995* | | Fairleigh Dickinson | W 79–58 | 4–2 | – | – | – | Redbird Arena (7,294) Normal, IL |
| December 18, 1995* | | Santa Clara | L 78–80 | 4–3 | – | – | – | Redbird Arena (7,883) Normal, IL |
| December 21, 1995* | | at North Carolina–Wilmington | W 69–57 | 5–3 | – | – | – | Raiford Graham Trask Coliseum (2,878) Wilmington, NC |
| December 23, 1995* 12:00 pm | | at Virginia Commonwealth | L 72–74 | 5–4 | – | – | – | Richmond Coliseum (3,031) Richmond, VA |
| December 30, 1995* | | East Carolina | W 64–52 | 6–4 | – | – | – | Redbird Arena (7,086) Normal, IL |
| January 3, 1996 | | Indiana State | W 74–64 | 7–4 (1–0) | – | – | – | Redbird Arena (6,842) Normal, IL |
| January 7, 1996 | | at Southern Illinois | L 75–97 | 7–5 (1–1) | 20 – Trotter | 7 – Muller | 4 – Smiley | SIU Arena (3,422) Carbondale, IL |
| January 11, 1996 | | Southwest Missouri State | W 86–79 | 8–5 (2–1) | – | – | – | Redbird Arena (7,422) Normal, IL |
| January 14, 1996 8:05 pm | | at Tulsa | W 74–71 | 9–5 (3–1) | – | – | – | Tulsa Convention Center (7,466) Tulsa, OK |
| January 16, 1996 7:30 pm | | at Wichita State | W 61–59 | 10–5 (4–1) | 19 – Trotter | 6 – Hill | 5 – Smiley | Henry Levitt Arena (5,161) Wichita, KS |
| January 20, 1996 WMBD | | Bradley | W 77–72 | 11–5 (5–1) | – | – | – | Redbird Arena (10,310) Normal, IL |
| January 22, 1996 | | at Southwest Missouri State | W 76–69 | 12–5 (6–1) | – | – | – | John Q. Hammons Student Center (7,037) Springfield, MO |
| January 25, 1996 | | Drake | L 68–72 | 12–6 (6–2) | – | – | – | Redbird Arena (6,862) Normal, IL |
| January 27, 1996 8:05 pm | | Wichita State | W 74–57 | 13–6 (7–2) | 18 – Muller | 5 – Gibbons, Watkins | 7 – Smiley | Redbird Arena (9,305) Normal, IL |
| January 30, 1996 | | at Evansville | W 73–69 | 14–6 (8–2) | – | – | – | Roberts Municipal Stadium (9,469) Evansville, IN |
| February 2, 1996* 10:59 pm, ESPN | | at No. 5 Cincinnati | L 57–91 | 14–7 | – | – | – | Myrl H. Shoemaker Center (13,176) Cincinnati, OH |
| February 5, 1996 | | at Creighton | W 74–72 | 15–7 (9–2) | 13 – Trotter | 8 – Hill | 3 – Smiley | Omaha Civic Auditorium (4,136) Omaha, NE |
| February 8, 1996 | | Northern Iowa | W 97–80 | 16–7 (10–2) | – | – | – | Redbird Arena (9,174) Normal, IL |
| February 11, 1996 | | Southern Illinois | L 71–74 | 16–8 (10–3) | 18 – Trotter | 7 – Trotter, Watkins | 4 – Smiley | Redbird Arena (8,100) Normal, IL |
| February 14, 1996 | | at Drake | W 74–52 | 17–8 (11–3) | – | – | – | The Knapp Center (3,014) Des Moines, IA |
| February 18, 1996 | | Evansville | W 70–69 | 18–8 (12–3) | – | – | – | Redbird Arena (7,912) Normal, IL |
| February 21, 1996 7:05 pm | | Tulsa | W 69–64 | 19–8 (13–3) | – | – | – | Redbird Arena (7,807) Normal, IL |
| February 24, 1996 1:00 pm, ESPN | | at Bradley | L 64–65 | 19–9 (13–4) | – | – | – | Carver Arena (10,926) Peoria, IL |
| February 26, 1996 | | at Indiana State | L 60-64 | 19–10 (13–5) | – | – | – | Hulman Center (7,207) Terre Haute, IN |
| Diet Pepsi Missouri Valley Conference {MVC} tournament |||||||||
| March 2, 1996 6:00 pm | (2) | vs. (7) Northern Iowa Quarterfinal | W 64–58 | 20–10 | 18 – Trotter | 7 – Smiley, Hill | 8 – Smiley | Kiel Center (8,976) St. Louis, MO |
| March 3, 1996 4:30 pm, ESPN2 | (2) | vs. (3) Tulsa Semifinal | L 52–69 | 20–11 | 18 – Muller | 9 – Hill | 4 – Smiley | Kiel Center (12,681) St. Louis, MO |
| National Invitation {NIT} tournament |||||||||
| March 13, 1996 | | Mount St. Mary's First Round | W 73–49 | 21–11 | 18 – Trotter | 13 – Muller | 8 – Smiley | Redbird Arena (5,869) Normal, IL |
| March 18, 1996 | | at Wisconsin Second Round | W 77–62 | 22–11 | 19 – Trotter | 11 – Hill | 7 – Smiley | Wisconsin Field House (11,111) Madison, WI |
| March 20, 1996 8:00 pm, ESPN | | at Tulane Quarterfinal | L 72–83 | 22–12 | 14 – Trotter, Hill | 7 – Muller | 6 – Smiley | Avron B. Fogelman Arena (3,600) New Orleans, LA |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Standard Time. |||||||||