The Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball team represents Illinois State University, located in Normal, Illinois, in NCAA Division I basketball competition. They are currently led by head coach Ryan Pedon and play their home games at CEFCU Arena as a member of the Missouri Valley Conference. They had the distinction of earning the most National Invitation Tournament berths (14) without making the semifinals, and also have the longest current NCAA tournament drought (27 seasons) among Missouri Valley Conference members. The Redbirds have appeared in the NCAA tournament six times, most recently in 1998.
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Season-by-season records
NCAA Division I
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Postseason
NCAA Division I
The Redbirds have appeared in six NCAA Tournaments. Their combined record is 3–6.
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NCAA Division II
Illinois State made the NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament five times and had a combined record of 6–7.
NIT results
The Redbirds have appeared in fifteen National Invitation Tournaments (NIT). Their combined record is 14–15.
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CBI results
The Redbirds have appeared in the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) twice. Their combined record is 5–1. They turned down a bid in the 2015–16 season and again in the 2017–18 season. They were the 2025 champion.
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Players
Retired numbers
Illinois State has retired only one number in program history, that of first-team All-American and Olympian Doug Collins.
Redbirds in international leagues
Jackie Carmichael (born 1990)
Daishon Knight (born 1991)
Nic Moore (born 1992)
Zach Lofton (born 1992)
DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell (born 1993)
Deontae Hawkins (born 1993)
Nick Banyard (born 1994)
Kaza Kajami-Keane (born 1994)
Reggie Lynch (born 1994), for Bnei Herzliya of the Israeli Basketball Premier League
Paris Lee (born 1995)
Elijah Clarance (born 1998)
Rivalries
The I-74 Rivalry is the rivalry between Illinois State and Bradley.
Plane crash
On April 7, 2015, while flying home from the NCAA Tournament Final game in Indianapolis, a plane carrying Illinois State assistant coach Torrey Ward and six others crashed just outside Bloomington, Illinois, leaving no survivors.