1997–98 Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball team

The 1997–98 Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball team represented Illinois State University during the 1997–98 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Redbirds, led by fifth year head coach Kevin Stallings, played their home games at Redbird Arena and were a member of the Missouri Valley Conference.

1997–98 Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball
MVC regular season champion
MVC tournament champion
NCAA tournament, second round
ConferenceMissouri Valley Conference
Record25–6 (16–2 MVC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaRedbird Arena
Seasons
1997–98 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Illinois State 16 2   .889 25 6   .806
Creighton 12 6   .667 18 10   .643
Southwest Missouri State 11 7   .611 16 16   .500
Wichita State 11 7   .611 16 15   .516
Indiana State 10 8   .556 16 11   .593
Evansville 9 9   .500 15 15   .500
Bradley 9 9   .500 15 14   .517
Southern Illinois 8 10   .444 14 18   .438
Northern Iowa 4 14   .222 10 17   .370
Drake 0 18   .000 3 24   .111
1998 MVC tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll[1]

The Redbirds finished the season 25–6, 16–2 in conference play to finish in first place. They were the number one seed for the Missouri Valley Conference tournament. They won their quarterfinal game versus Southern Illinois University, semifinal game versus the Wichita State University, and final game versus Southwest Missouri State University to earn the championship title.

The Redbirds received the conference automatic bid into the 1998 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. They were assigned to the Midwest Regional as the number eleven seed where they defeated the University of Tennessee in the first round and were beaten by the University of Arizona in the second round.

Roster

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1997–98 Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown
C 35 Rob Gibbons 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
RS Sr Rockaway, NJ
G 11 Steve Hansell 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Sr Birmingham, England
F 44 Dan Muller 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Sr Lafayette, IN
G 13 Skipp Schaefbauer 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Sr Elk River, MN
G 15 Jamar Smiley 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)
Sr West Hempstead, NY
F 23 Kenneth Pierson 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
RS Jr Conroe, TX
C 32 LeRoy Watkins 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
RS Jr Chicago, IL
G 24 Kyle Cartmill 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Jr Quincy, IL
F 42 Rico Hill 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Jr Calumet Park, IL
F 14 Ben Holmstrom 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
Jr Rockford, IL
F 50 L. Dee Murdock (I) 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Jr Columbus, KS
C 41 Sean Riley (I) 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)
Jr Houston, TX
C 33 Ronald vanVelzen 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
Jr Noordwijk, Netherlands
G 25 Ryan Crowley 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
So Naperville, IL
F 30 Joe Hein 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
So Northbrook, IL
G 22 Nic Stotler 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
So Brighton, IL
G 12 Tarise Bryson (I) 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Fr Decatur, IL
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

[2]

Schedule

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
Regular Season
November 16, 1997*
Oakland W 101–66  1–0
 21  Muller   7  Hill,
vanVelzen
 
 11  Hansell  Redbird Arena (8,711)
Normal, IL
November 18, 1997*
No. 24 at Wisconsin L 66–80  1–1
 21  Hill   6  Hill   7  Schaefbauer  Wisconsin Field House (11,500)
Madison, WI
November 22, 1997*
No. 24 Pittsburgh W 87–65  2–1
 22  Hill   14  Hill   14  Smiley  Redbird Arena (9,644)
Normal, IL
November 28, 1997*
vs. Northeast Louisiana
United Airlines Tip-Off
[Semifinal]
W 73–60  3–1
 21  Hill   8  Hill   6  Smiley  Special Events Arena (10,254)
Honolulu, HI
November 30, 1997*
11:00 pm
at Hawai'i
United Airlines Tip-Off
[Final]
L 63–84  3–2
 16  Hill   8  Muller   4  Muller,
Cartmill
 
Special Events Arena (9,417)
Honolulu, HI
December 6, 1997
Drake W 76–57  4–2
(1–0)
 23  Muller   6  Schaefbauer,
Pierson
 
 6  Schaefbauer,
Smiley
 
Redbird Arena (7,660)
Normal, IL
December 13, 1997
7:05 pm
at Creighton W 71–62  5–2
(2–0)
 17  Hill   13  Hill   5  Hansell,
Schaefbauer
 
Omaha Civic Auditorium (4,099)
Omaha, NE
December 16, 1997*
at Illinois–Chicago L 67–75  5–3
 24  Hill   9  Hill   5  Smiley  UIC Pavilion (5,640)
Chicago, IL
December 20, 1997*
at Wisconsin–Green Bay W 72–70  6–3
 23  Muller   5  Muller   5  Smiley  Brown County Veterans Memorial Arena (3,580)
Ashwaubenon, WI
December 30, 1997
Indiana State W 76–59  7–3
(3–0)
 14  Hill   7  Muller,
Watkins
 
 6  Smiley  Redbird Arena (7,522)
Normal, IL
January 4, 1998*
11:00 am, ESPN
Pacific W 64–63  8–3
 19  Muller   6  Hill   5  Muller  Redbird Arena (6,422)
Normal, IL
January 7, 1998
at Drake W 74–59  9–3
(4–0)
 27  Hill   13  Hill   5  Smiley  The Knapp Center (3,654)
Des Moines, IA
January 10, 1998
Southern Illinois W 105–70  10–3
(5–0)
 20  Hill   10  Hill   10  Smiley  Redbird Arena (9,379)
Normal, IL
January 15, 1998
7:35 pm
at Wichita State W 56–53  11–3
(6–0)
 17  Hill   9  Watkins   8  Smiley  Henry Levitt Arena (5,028)
Wichita, KS
January 18, 1998
at Southwest Missouri State L 81–89  11–4
(6–1)
 31  Hill   10  Muller,
Hill
 
 10  Smiley  John Q. Hammons Student Center (7,632)
Springfield, MO
January 21, 1998
 WEEK
at Bradley W 57–54  12–4
(7–1)
 15  Cartmill   6  Hill   8  Smiley  Carver Arena (10,978)
Peoria, IL
January 24, 1998
7:05 pm
Wichita State W 77–59  13–4
(8–1)
 20  Hill   10  Gibbons   8  Smiley  Redbird Arena (9,497)
Normal, IL
January 28, 1998
at Southern Illinois W 79–67  14–4
(9–1)
 20  Hill   9  Smiley   7  Smiley  SIU Arena (3,520)
Carbondale, IL
January 31, 1998
Northern Iowa W 88–77  15–4
(10–1)
 31  Hill   15  Hill   9  Smiley  Redbird Arena (9,641)
Normal, IL
February 4, 1998
 WMBD
Bradley W 76–70  16–4
(11–1)
 17  Hill   5  Muller   6  Smiley  Redbird Arena (10,259)
Normal, IL
February 7, 1998
at Indiana State W 75-66  17–4
(12–1)
 23  Hill   14  Hill   11  Smiley  Hulman Center (10,206)
Terre Haute, IN
February 10, 1998
Evansville W 74–67  18–4
(13–1)
 19  Hill   8  Smiley,
Hill
 
 8  Smiley  Redbird Arena (8,238)
Normal, IL
February 15, 1998
11:00 am, ESPN
Southwest Missouri State L 87–97  18–5
(13–2)
 17  Gibbons   12  Hill   6  Smiley  Redbird Arena (7,316)
Normal, IL
February 18, 1998
at Evansville W 80–76 OT 19–5
(14–2)
 26  Hill   7  Muller   4  Hansell,
Muller,
Cartmill
 
Roberts Municipal Stadium (8,160)
Evansville, IN
February 21, 1998
7:05 pm
Creighton W 80–67  20–5
(15–2)
 21  Hill   9  Hill   7  Smiley  Redbird Arena (10,044)
Normal, IL
February 23, 1998
at Northern Iowa W 85–65  21–5
(16–2)
 22  Watkins   8  Watkins   10  Smiley  UNI Dome (2,232)
Cedar Falls, IA
Missouri Valley Conference {MVC} tournament
February 28, 1998
(1) (8) Southern Illinois
Quarterfinal
W 83–73  22–5
 20  Hill   7  Muller   11  Smiley  Kiel Center (9,679)
St. Louis, MO
March 1, 1998
(1) (4) Wichita State
Semifinal
W 75–54  23–5
 19  Hill   7  Hill   6  Smiley  Kiel Center (11,017)
St. Louis, MO
March 2, 1998
8:30 pm, ESPN
(1) (3) Southwest Missouri State
Final
W 84–74  24–5
 18  Watkins   7  Hansell   8  Hansell  Kiel Center (9,228)
St. Louis, MO
National Collegiate Athletic Association {NCAA} tournament
March 12, 1998
6:45 pm, CBS
(9) vs. (8) Tennessee
West Region
[First Round]
W 82–81 OT 25–5
 22  Hill   10  Muller   6  Hansell,
Cartmill
 
ARCO Arena (15,284)
Sacramento, CA
March 14, 1998
6:00 pm, CBS
(9) vs. (1) No. 4 Arizona
West Region
[Second Round]
L 49–82  25–6
 17  Muller   7  Hill   4  Cartmill,
Hill
 
ARCO Arena (16,402)
Sacramento, CA
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central Standard Time.

[3] [4]

References

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  1. ^ sports-reference.com 1997-98 Missouri Valley Conference Season Summary
  2. ^ "1997-98 Illinois State Redbirds Roster and Stats". Sports Reference. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  3. ^ "1997-98 Illinois State Redbirds Schedule and Results". Sports Reference. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  4. ^ "1997-98 Men's Basketball Schedule". Illinois State Redbirds. Retrieved December 16, 2020.