1996–97 Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball team

The 1996–97 Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball team represented Illinois State University during the 1996–97 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Redbirds, led by fourth year head coach Kevin Stallings, played their home games at Redbird Arena and were a member of the Missouri Valley Conference.

1996–97 Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball
MVC regular season champion
MVC tournament champion
NCAA tournament, first round
ConferenceMissouri Valley Conference
Record24–6 (14–4 MVC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaRedbird Arena
Seasons
1996–97 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Illinois State 14 4   .778 24 6   .800
Bradley 12 6   .667 17 13   .567
Southwest Missouri State 12 6   .667 24 9   .727
Northern Iowa 11 7   .611 16 12   .571
Evansville 11 7   .611 17 14   .548
Creighton 10 8   .556 15 15   .500
Wichita State 8 10   .444 14 13   .519
Southern Illinois 6 12   .333 13 17   .433
Indiana State 6 12   .333 12 16   .429
Drake 0 18   .000 2 26   .071
1997 MVC tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll[1]

The Redbirds finished the season 24–6, 14–4 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 Indiana State University, semifinal game versus the University of Northern Iowa, and final game versus Southwest Missouri State University to earn the championship title.

The Redbirds received the conference automatic bid to the 1997 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. They were assigned to the Midwest Regional as the number eleven seed where they lost to Iowa State University in the first round.

Roster

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1996–97 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 Jr Rockaway, NJ
G 11 Steve Hansell 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Jr Birmingham, England
F 44 Dan Muller 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Jr Lafayette, IN
G 13 Skipp Schaefbauer 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Jr Elk River, MN
G 15 Jamar Smiley 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)
Jr West Hempstead, NY
F 23 Kenneth Pierson 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
RS So Conroe, TX
C 32 LeRoy Watkins 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
RS So Chicago, IL
G 24 Kyle Cartmill 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
So Quincy, IL
F 42 Rico Hill 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
So Calumet Park, IL
F 14 Ben Holmstrom 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
So Rockford, IL
C 33 Ronald vanVelzen 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
So Noordwijk, Netherlands
F 25 Ryan Crowley 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Fr Naperville, IL
F 30 Joe Hein 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Fr Northbrook, IL
F 50 Khalil Ourguis 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Fr Namur, Belgium
G 22 Nic Stotler 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Fr Brighton, 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 24, 1996*
at Pittsburgh W 69–50  1–0
 16  Schaefbauer   8  Hill   8  Smiley  Fitzgerald Field House (6,482)
Pittsburgh, PA
November 30, 1996*
Eastern Kentucky W 87–64  2–0
 19  Schaefbauer   10  Hill   10  Smiley  Redbird Arena (8,740)
Normal, IL
December 4, 1996*
vs. DePaul W 75–50  3–0
 23  Hill   6  Schaefbauer   9  Smiley  Kiel Center (13,625)
St. Louis, MO
December 7, 1996*
Ohio W 81–69  4–0
 17  Hill   7  Muller,
Hill
 
 9  Smiley  Redbird Arena (8,153)
Normal, IL
December 14, 1996*
at Duquesne L 64–91  4–1
 14  Watkins   7  Muller,
Watkins,
Hill
 
 4  Smiley  A. J. Palumbo Center (3,654)
Pittsburgh, PA
December 18, 1996*
at Northwestern W 67–47  5–1
 16  Muller   7  Hill   6  Schaefbauer  Welsh–Ryan Arena (3,423)
Evanston, IL
December 21, 1996*
at Wisconsin–Green Bay W 71–61  6–1
 25  Hill   7  Smiley   6  Smiley  Brown County Veterans Memorial Arena (4,188)
Ashwaubenon, WI
December 23, 1996*
Illinois–Chicago W 78–58  7–1
 21  Schaefbauer   14  Hill   9  Smiley  Redbird Arena (9,005)
Normal, IL
December 29, 1996
7:05 pm
at Creighton W 54–45  8–1
(1–0)
 17  Schaefbauer   15  Hill   7  Smiley  Omaha Civic Auditorium (4,959)
Omaha, NE
January 4, 1997
1:30 pm, ESPN2
Evansville W 80–67  9–1
(2–0)
 21  Hill   10  Hill   5  Smiley  Redbird Arena (8,088)
Normal, IL
January 9, 1997
Northern Iowa L 71–77 OT 9–2
(2–1)
 21  Hill   7  Hill   9  Smiley  Redbird Arena (6,291)
Normal, IL
January 12, 1997
at Southern Illinois W 76–70  10–2
(3–1)
 15  Muller   6  Watkins   6  Schaefbauer  SIU Arena (4,212)
Carbondale, IL
January 16, 1997
Indiana State W 101–58  11–2
(4–1)
 23  Hill   7  Cartmill   14  Smiley  Redbird Arena (7,834)
Normal, IL
January 19, 1997
at Evansville W 67–53  12–2
(5–1)
 19  Watkins   12  Watkins   7  Smiley  Roberts Municipal Stadium (8,412)
Evansville, IN
January 22, 1997
at Northern Iowa L 88–93 2OT 12–3
(5–2)
 25  Hill   6  Muller   8  Smiley  UNI Dome (2,592)
Cedar Falls, IA
January 25, 1997
7:05 pm
Wichita State W 79–71  13–3
(6–2)
 14  Muller   9  Hill   4  Hansell  Redbird Arena (9,821)
Normal, IL
January 27, 1997
Southwest Missouri State W 95–84  14–3
(7–2)
 37  Hill   13  Hill   10  Smiley  Redbird Arena (7,065)
Normal, IL
February 1, 1997
 MVC-TV
Bradley W 69–67  15–3
(8–2)
 21  Hill   9  Hill   10  Smiley  Redbird Arena (10,348)
Normal, IL
February 3, 1997
at Drake W 73–65  16–3
(9–2)
 27  Schaefbauer   13  Hill   4  Hansell,
Hill
 
The Knapp Center (3,180)
Des Moines, IA
February 8, 1997
7:35 pm
at Wichita State W 62–53  17–3
(10–2)
 17  Watkins   9  Hill   5  Smiley  Henry Levitt Arena (10,545)
Wichita, KS
February 10, 1997
at Southwest Missouri State L 66–79  17–4
(10–3)
 18  Schaefbauer   10  Hill   5  Schaefbauer,
Smiley
 
John Q. Hammons Student Center (7,764)
Springfield, MO
February 13, 1997
Southern Illinois W 82–77  18–4
(11–3)
 32  Hill   11  Hill   9  Smiley  Redbird Arena (8,187)
Normal, IL
February 15, 1997
Drake W 82–51  19–4
(12–3)
 19  Muller   7  vanVelzen   9  Smiley  Redbird Arena (9,755)
Normal, IL
February 18, 1997
at Indiana State W 78-68  20–4
(13–3)
 24  Hill   8  Hill   7  Smiley  Hulman Center (4,217)
Terre Haute, IN
February 22, 1997
 MVC-TV
at Bradley L 64–69  20–5
(13–4)
 18  Hill   8  Watkins   5  Smiley  Carver Arena (11,207)
Peoria, IL
February 24, 1997
7:05 pm
Creighton W 74–69  21–5
(14–4)
 23  Hill   8  Hill   10  Smiley  Redbird Arena (8,374)
Normal, IL
Missouri Valley Conference {MVC} tournament
March 1, 1997
(1) (9) Indiana State
Quarterfinal
W 72–58  22–5
 21  Hill   9  Muller   10  Smiley  Kiel Center (9,594)
St. Louis, MO
March 2, 1997
(1) (4) Northern Iowa
Semifinal
W 69–65  23–5
 29  Hill   7  Hill   5  Smiley  Kiel Center (13,329)
St. Louis, MO
March 3, 1997
8:30 pm, ESPN
(1) (3) Southwest Missouri State
Final
W 75–72  24–5
 31  Hill   8  Muller   4  Hansell,
Schaefbauer,
Smiley
 
Kiel Center (9,751)
St. Louis, MO
National Collegiate Athletic Association {NCAA} tournament
March 13, 1997
2:00 pm, CBS
(11) vs. (6) No. 18 Iowa State
Midwest Region
[First Round]
L 57–69  24–6
 14  Hill   14  Hill   12  Smiley  The Palace of Auburn Hills (21,020)
Auburn Hills, MI
*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 1996-97 Missouri Valley Conference Season Summary
  2. ^ "1996-97 Illinois State Redbirds Roster and Stats". Sports Reference. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  3. ^ "1996-97 Illinois State Redbirds Schedule and Results". Sports Reference. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  4. ^ "1996-97 Men's Basketball Schedule". Illinois State Redbirds. Retrieved December 16, 2020.