1977–78 Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball team

The 1977–78 Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball team represented Illinois State University during the 1977–78 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Redbirds, led by third year head coach Gene Smithson, played their home games at Horton Field House and competed as an independent (not a member of a conference). They finished the season 24–4.

1977–78 Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball
NIT, First Round
Conference	Independent
1977–78 record	24–4
Head coach	Gene Smithson (3rd season)
Assistant coaches	Ron Ferguson Bill Flanagan Jeff Jones Roger Powell
Home arena	Horton Field House

1977–78 NCAA Division I men's basketball independents standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 3 DePaul		–			–			27	–	3		.900
No. 18 Detroit		–			–			25	–	4		.862
Illinois State		–			–			24	–	4		.857
No. 8 Marquette		–			–			24	–	4		.857
Pan American		–			–			22	–	4		.846
VCU		–			–			24	–	5		.828
Fairfield		–			–			22	–	5		.815
North Texas State		–			–			22	–	6		.786
Syracuse		–			–			22	–	6		.786
Rhode Island		–			–			24	–	7		.774
Providence		–			–			24	–	8		.750
Utah State		–			–			21	–	7		.750
Georgetown		–			–			23	–	8		.742
No. 6 Notre Dame		–			–			23	–	8		.742
Holy Cross		–			–			20	–	7		.741
Northeast Louisiana		–			–			20	–	7		.741
UNC Wilmington		–			–			19	–	7		.731
St. Bonaventure		–			–			21	–	8		.724
UNLV		–			–			20	–	8		.714
Virginia Tech		–			–			19	–	8		.704
James Madison		–			–			18	–	8		.692
Maine		–			–			17	–	8		.680
Army		–			–			19	–	9		.679
Dayton		–			–			19	–	10		.655
St. Francis (NY)		–			–			16	–	9		.640
Iona		–			–			17	–	10		.630
William & Mary		–			–			16	–	10		.615
Air Force		–			–			15	–	10		.600
Loyola (IL)		–			–			16	–	11		.593
Mercer		–			–			16	–	11		.593
Oklahoma City		–			–			16	–	11		.593
Boston College		–			–			15	–	11		.577
Butler		–			–			15	–	11		.577
Saint Francis (PA)		–			–			15	–	11		.577
South Carolina		–			–			16	–	12		.571
Siena		–			–			13	–	10		.565
Navy		–			–			14	–	11		.560
Milwaukee		–			–			15	–	12		.556
Niagara		–			–			14	–	12		.538
Northeastern		–			–			14	–	12		.538
Southern Mississippi		–			–			13	–	12		.520
Portland State		–			–			14	–	13		.519
Stetson		–			–			14	–	13		.519
Oral Roberts		–			–			13	–	14		.481
Xavier		–			–			13	–	14		.481
Cleveland State		–			–			12	–	13		.480
Tennessee State		–			–			11	–	12		.478
Catholic		–			–			12	–	14		.462
Georgia Southern		–			–			12	–	15		.444
Northwestern State		–			–			12	–	15		.444
Connecticut		–			–			11	–	15		.423
Old Dominion		–			–			11	–	15		.423
Vermont		–			–			11	–	15		.423
Boston University		–			–			10	–	15		.400
Hardin–Simmons		–			–			10	–	16		.385
Campbell		–			–			9	–	15		.375
Centenary (LA)		–			–			10	–	17		.370
Denver		–			–			10	–	17		.370
Colgate		–			–			9	–	17		.346
East Carolina		–			–			9	–	17		.346
Long Island		–			–			8	–	18		.308
Saint Peter's		–			–			8	–	18		.308
Charleston Southern		–			–			8	–	19		.296
Samford		–			–			8	–	19		.296
Canisius		–			–			7	–	19		.269
Houston Baptist		–			–			7	–	19		.269
New Hampshire		–			–			7	–	19		.269
Wagner		–			–			7	–	19		.269
Evansville		–			–			1	–	3		.250
Fairleigh Dickinson		–			–			6	–	18		.250
Valparaiso		–			–			6	–	19		.240
Robert Morris		–			–			4	–	19		.174
Richmond		–			–			4	–	22		.154
Hawaii		–			–			1	–	26		.037
Rankings from AP Poll

The Redbirds received an invitation to the 1978 National Invitation Tournament. They were beaten by Indiana State University in the first round.

Roster

1977–78 Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown F 10 Billy Lewis 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Sr Chicago, IL G 31 Rick Ferina 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Jr Niles, IL G 21 Derrick Mayes 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Jr Elgin, IL C 32 Joe Galvin 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 218 lb (99 kg) So Bloomington, IL G 13 Ron Jones 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 175 lb (79 kg) So Venice, IL F 35 Larry Lowe 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 190 lb (86 kg) So Glenwood, IL F 42 Robert McCoy 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) So Chicago Heights, IL F 45 Del Yarbrough 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) So North Chicago, IL C 52 Roy Herold 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Fr Helsinki, Finland F 55 Anthony Jones (W) 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 186 lb (84 kg) Fr Chicago, IL G 23 Dave Nussbaumer (W) 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 172 lb (78 kg) Fr McLean, VA G 44 Randy Smithson 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Fr Normal, IL F 24 McKay Smith 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Fr Springfield, IL	Head coach Gene Smithson (North Central) Assistant coach(es) Ron Ferguson (Illinois) Bill Flanagan (Monmouth (IL)) Jeff Jones (Illinois State) Roger Powell (Illinois State) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt

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Schedule

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Regular Season
November 26, 1977* 7:30 PM		at Saint Louis	W 90–83	1–0	22 – Lewis	9 – Lewis, Galvin	–	Kiel Auditorium  St. Louis, MO
November 29, 1977* 7:30 PM		Valparaiso	W 98–81	2–0	19 – Lewis	9 – Galvin	–	Horton Field House  Normal, IL
December 2, 1977* 8:00 PM		vs. Colgate Charlotte Invitational [Semifinal]	W 94–62	3–0	21 – Galvin	12 – Galvin	–	Charlotte Coliseum (I)  Charlotte, NC
December 3, 1977* 8:00 PM		vs. Delaware Charlotte Invitational [Final]	W 89–70	4–0	21 – Lewis	13 – Lewis	–	Charlotte Coliseum (I)  Charlotte, NC
December 5, 1977* 7:30 PM		California State-Northridge	W 72–59	5–0	24 – Lewis	11 – Galvin	–	Horton Field House  Normal, IL
December 7, 1977* 7:35 PM		at Southern Illinois	W 51–48	6–0	16 – Lewis	8 – Lewis	–	SIU Arena (6,320) Carbondale, IL
December 10, 1977* 7:30 PM		Akron	W 86–70	7–0	33 – Lewis	11 – Lewis	–	Horton Field House  Normal, IL
December 17, 1977* 3:00 PM		New Orleans	W 93–86 ^OT	8–0	30 – Lewis	12 – Lewis	–	Horton Field House  Normal, IL
December 19, 1977* 7:30 PM		Central Michigan	W 90–78	9–0	20 – Lewis	12 – Galvin	–	Horton Field House  Normal, IL
December 26, 1977* 7:30 PM		Kent State	W 79–71	10–0	21 – Galvin	15 – Galvin	–	Horton Field House  Normal, IL
December 30, 1977* 7:30 PM		Long Island	W 93–68	11–0	27 – Lewis	13 – Lewis	–	Horton Field House  Normal, IL
January 2, 1978* 7:30 PM		at Bradley	W 84–83	12–0	24 – Mayes	8 – Lewis, Yarbrough	–	Robertson Memorial Field House  Peoria, IL
January 5, 1978* 10:05 PM		at California-Santa Barbara	L 69–84	12–1	22 – Jones	6 – Lewis, Yarbrough	–	Robertson Gymnasium  Santa Barbara, CA
January 7, 1978* 9:30 PM		at California State-Fullerton	W 88–85	13–1	21 – Jones	7 – Jones	–	Titan Gym  Fullerton, CA
January 11, 1978* 7:30 PM		Northern Illinois	W 79–67	14–1	19 – Jones	16 – Yarbrough	–	Horton Field House  Normal, IL
January 13, 1978* 10:15 PM		at No. 11 Nevada-Las Vegas	L 92–94	14–2	34 – Jones	10 – Jones	–	Las Vegas Convention Center  Winchester, NV
January 15, 1978* 7:30 PM		Quincy	W 86–76	15–2	27 – Lewis	14 – Lewis	–	Horton Field House  Normal, IL
January 18, 1978* 7:30 PM		Evansville	canceled as result of Air Indiana Flight 216 crash on December 13, 1977					Horton Field House  Normal, IL
January 21, 1978* 2:00 PM		No. 4 Indiana State	W 81–76	16–2	25 – Lewis	12 – Lewis	–	Horton Field House  Normal, IL
January 25, 1978* 7:30 PM	No. 20	Northern Michigan	W 75–58	17–2	34 – Lewis	8 – Lewis	–	Horton Field House  Normal, IL
January 28, 1978* 7:30 PM	No. 20	Southern Illinois-Edwardsville	W 80–73	18–2	19 – Lewis	12 – Lewis	–	Horton Field House  Normal, IL
February 6, 1978* 7:30 PM	No. 19	Oral Roberts	W 84–71	19–2	19 – Galvin	10 – Galvin, Yarbrough	–	Horton Field House  Normal, IL
February 8, 1978* 7:30 PM	No. 15	at Western Illinois	W 97–79	20–2	29 – Lewis	11 – Lewis, Jones	–	Western Hall  Macomb, IL
February 15, 1978* 7:30 PM	No. 15	at Northern Illinois	W 79–67	21–2	18 – Lewis	13 – Lewis	–	Chick Evans Field House  DeKalb, IL
February 18, 1978* 2:00 PM	No. 15	Athletes In Action Exhibition	L 97–100 ^OT		–	–	–	Horton Field House  Normal, IL
February 20, 1978* 7:30 PM	No. 15	McNeese State	W 87–68	22–2	23 – Lewis	9 – Lewis	–	Horton Field House  Normal, IL
February 25, 1978* 8:00 PM	No. 15	at Centenary	W 90–77	23–2	27 – Lewis	13 – Galvin	–	Gold Dome  Shreveport, LA
February 28, 1978* 7:30 PM	No. 13	at Northern Iowa	W 82–76	24–2	25 – Lewis, Jones	9 – Jones	–	UNI Dome  Cedar Falls, IA
March 4, 1978* 8:00 PM	No. 13	at No. 4 DePaul	L 84–96	24–3	22 – Yarbrough	11 – Yarbrough	–	Alumni Hall  Chicago, IL
National Invitation {NIT} Tournament
March 10, 1978* 6:30 PM	No. 17	at Indiana State First Round	L 71–73	24–4	18 – Lewis	6 – Lewis, Galvin	9 – Mayes	Hulman Civic University Center (10,150) Terre Haute, IN
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Standard Time.

[2] [3]

References

1. "Redbird basketball 77-78". The Daily Vidette. Retrieved December 15, 2020.
2. "1977-78 Illinois State Redbirds Schedule and Results". Sports Reference. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
3. "1977-78 Men's Basketball Schedule". Illinois State Redbirds. Retrieved December 17, 2020.