The college basketball offseason is here, and we decided to have some fun over the next few months, ranking ALL 364 teams in D1. Number 143 is Illinois State basketball.
Before you say we’re crazy – or that all of this is up for debate, let’s go over the very intricate process of how we came to this conclusion. We took a very statistical approach – with the help of Chat GPT – taking into consideration everything from March Madness wins and finishes, to AP Poll appearances, to conference players of the year. And then, a good friend of ours, Scott Blanchard, took our approach to the MAX.
Click here to visit the FIRST article, which explains how the formula works!
Here’s the breakdown of Illinois State basketball!
NCAA Tournament Success
- Championships: 0
- Finals appearances: 0
- Final Fours: 0
- Elite Eights: 0
- Sweet 16s: 0
- NCAA wins: 3
- Bids: 6
Consistency Over Time
- Wins per season: 15.4
- Bids per season: 0.09
- AP Polls: 11
Player Quality & Talent
- All-Americans: 1
- NBA players drafted & played: 3
- Conference Players of the Year: 3
Conference & Other Success
- Conference regular season titles: 6
- Conference tournament titles: 4
- NIT titles: 0
- Other tournament titles: 1
Overall scoop on Illinois State basketball
Next up, we head to the Missouri Valley Conference, where the Illinois State Redbirds have the No. 143 spot.
Currently, head coach Ryan Pedon has the program in a bright spot, with two straight 20-win seasons. The program also had a great run in the 2010s, with head coach Dan Muller going for a 167-150 record in 10 seasons.
But the Redbirds found their most success in the 1980s and 1990s, as they made the NCAA Tournament in 1983, 1984, 1985, 1990, 1997, and 1998.
In the ’80s, Bob Donewald was on the sidelines, going 207-122 in 11 seasons. His teams in the ’80s were often some of the best defensive squads in the country. In the 1984 tournament, they knocked off 9-seed Alabama, 49-48. The next season, 8-seed USC fell victim, 58-55. They game top seed Oklahoma a good run, falling just short of a Sweet 16.
The ’90s Redbirds were led by Bob Bender and Kevin Stallings. Stalling also brought them to the second round of the big dance in 1998, taking down 8-seed Tennessee to get there. So while Illinois State doesn’t have a Sweet 16, they’ve made the round of 32 in half of the NCAA Tournaments they’ve been to.
Illinois State also had a trio of great seasons under head coach Gene Smithson from 1975-78. They had 20+ wins all three seasons, but never went to the NCAA Tournament, playing as an Independent.
However, just a few years before that is when the biggest Redbirds legend suited up. Doug Collins, the number one overall pick in 1973 was a Consensus All-American in his senior season. While he was maybe more known for his coaching career, Collins was once a hooper, averaging 17.9 points per game in his eight-year NBA career. He was a three-time All-Star. However, injuries forced him to retire early.
Illinois State is a program with tradition, being a top-end mid-major from the early 1970s until the late 1990s. In the 2000s, competition has been tougher, but they’ve still been a very solid program. And lately, there is reason to believe they can once again enter the scene of great programs outside of Power 5 hoops.