1975–76 Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball team

1975–76 Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball
1975–76 Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball
Conference	Independent
Record	20–7
Head coach	Gene Smithson (1st season);
Assistant coaches	Warren Crews; Ron Ferguson; Bill Flanagan;
Home arena	Horton Field House
	Seasons ← 1974–75 1976–77 →

The 1975–76 Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball team represented Illinois State University during the 1975–76 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Redbirds, led by first-year head coach Gene Smithson, played their home games at Horton Field House in Normal, Illinois and competed as an independent (not a member of a conference). They finished the season with a 20–7 record.

1975–76 NCAA Division I men's basketball independents standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
No. 4 Rutgers		–		–	31	–	2	.939
No. 3 UNLV		–		–	29	–	2	.935
No. 2 Marquette		–		–	27	–	2	.931
North Texas State		–		–	22	–	4	.846
No. 19 Centenary		–		–	22	–	5	.815
UNC Charlotte		–		–	24	–	6	.800
Pan American		–		–	20	–	5	.800
No. 7 Notre Dame		–		–	23	–	6	.793
St. John's		–		–	23	–	6	.793
Florida State		–		–	21	–	6	.778
Oral Roberts		–		–	20	–	6	.769
Georgetown		–		–	21	–	7	.750
Virginia Tech		–		–	21	–	7	.750
George Washington		–		–	20	–	7	.741
Illinois State		–		–	20	–	7	.741
Creighton		–		–	19	–	7	.731
Northeast Louisiana		–		–	18	–	7	.720
Detroit		–		–	19	–	8	.704
South Florida		–		–	19	–	8	.704
New Orleans		–		–	18	–	8	.692
No. 17 DePaul		–		–	20	–	9	.690
Syracuse		–		–	20	–	9	.690
Holy Cross		–		–	22	–	10	.688
Seton Hall		–		–	18	–	9	.667
South Alabama		–		–	18	–	9	.667
South Carolina		–		–	18	–	9	.667
Providence		–		–	21	–	11	.656
Stetson		–		–	17	–	9	.654
UC Santa Barbara		–		–	17	–	9	.654
Air Force		–		–	16	–	9	.640
VCU		–		–	16	–	9	.640
St. Peter's		–		–	19	–	11	.633
Portland State		–		–	17	–	10	.630
St. Bonaventure		–		–	17	–	10	.630
Mercer		–		–	15	–	10	.600
Villanova		–		–	16	–	11	.593
Niagara		–		–	17	–	12	.586
Long Island		–		–	15	–	12	.556
Colgate		–		–	13	–	11	.542
Xavier		–		–	14	–	12	.538
West Virginia		–		–	15	–	13	.536
Georgia State		–		–	12	–	11	.522
Indiana State		–		–	13	–	12	.520
Dayton		–		–	14	–	13	.519
Hardin–Simmons		–		–	14	–	13	.519
Jacksonville		–		–	13	–	13	.500
Manhattan		–		–	14	–	14	.500
St. Francis (PA)		–		–	14	–	14	.500
St. Francis (NY)		–		–	13	–	13	.500
Marshall		–		–	13	–	14	.481
Duquesne		–		–	12	–	13	.480
Northeastern		–		–	12	–	13	.480
Fairfield		–		–	12	–	14	.462
Utah State		–		–	12	–	14	.462
Butler		–		–	12	–	15	.444
Denver		–		–	12	–	15	.444
Pittsburgh		–		–	12	–	15	.444
Army		–		–	11	–	14	.440
Iona		–		–	11	–	15	.423
Milwaukee		–		–	11	–	15	.423
Southern Miss		–		–	11	–	15	.423
Navy		–		–	10	–	14	.417
Fairleigh Dickinson		–		–	9	–	13	.409
Georgia Southern		–		–	11	–	16	.407
Hawaii		–		–	11	–	16	.407
Penn State		–		–	10	–	15	.400
Buffalo		–		–	10	–	16	.385
Loyola (IL)		–		–	10	–	16	.385
Canisius		–		–	10	–	17	.370
Boston College		–		–	9	–	17	.346
Oklahoma City		–		–	9	–	18	.333
Portland		–		–	9	–	18	.333
Fordham		–		–	7	–	19	.269
Cleveland State		–		–	6	–	19	.240
Houston Baptist		–		–	5	–	21	.192
Baptist		–		–	3	–	23	.115
Samford		–		–	3	–	23	.115

Rankings from AP Poll

Roster

1975–76 Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown
G	23	Mike Bonczyk	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Sr	South Holland, IL
F	42	Randy Henry	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Sr	Detroit, MI
F	35	Rich Jones	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Sr	York, AL
F	43	Roger Powell	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	193 lb (88 kg)	Sr	Joliet, IL
G	13	George Tometich	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Sr	Moline, IL
F	24	John Crossen	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Jr	St. Clair Shores, MI
F	34	Jeff Widdel	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	Jr	Rock Island, IL
C	45	Jeff Wilkins	7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)	240 lb (109 kg)	Jr	Chicago, IL
F	25	Billy Lewis	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	So	Chicago, IL
G	31	Rick Ferina	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Fr	Niles, IL
F	21	Derrick Mayes	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Fr	Elgin, IL

Head coach

Gene Smithson (North Central (IL))

Assistant coach(es)

Warren Crews (Southeast Missouri State)
Ron Ferguson (Illinois)
Bill Flanagan (Monmouth (IL))

Legend

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

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster
Last update: January 29, 2021

Schedule

Date time, TV	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Regular season
November 28, 1975* 7:30 pm	Lewis	W 129–72	1–0	–	–	–	Horton Field House Normal, IL
December 3, 1975* 7:00 pm	at Long Island	W 100–78	2-0	–	–	–	Arnold & Marie Schwartz Athletic Center Brooklyn, NY
December 10, 1975* 7:00 pm	at Butler	W 81–75	3-0	–	–	–	Hinkle Fieldhouse Indianapolis, IN
December 13, 1975* 7:30 pm	Alabama–Huntsville	W 84–66	4–0	–	–	–	Horton Field House Normal, IL
December 19, 1975*	vs. Eastern Illinois Bradley Invitiational [Semifinal]	W 80–77	5–0	–	–	–	Robertson Memorial Field House Peoria, IL
December 20, 1975*	at Bradley Bradley Invitiational [Final]	W 88–83	6–0	–	–	–	Robertson Memorial Field House Peoria, IL
December 23, 1975* 7:30 pm	No. 19 Centenary	L 72–76	6–1	–	–	–	Horton Field House Normal, IL
December 27, 1975* 7:30 pm	Idaho State	W 87–77	7–1	–	–	–	Horton Field House Normal, IL
December 30, 1975* 7:35 pm	at Drake	L 73–84	7-2	–	–	–	Veterans Memorial Auditorium Des Moines, IA
January 3, 1976* 10:05 pm	at Washington State	L 71–76	7-3	–	–	–	Performing Arts Coliseum Pullman, WA
January 5, 1976* 10:00 pm	at Idaho	L 60–61 ^OT	7-4	–	–	–	War Memorial Gymnasium Moscow, ID
January 8, 1976* 7:30 pm	Western Illinois	W 92–79	8–4	–	–	–	Horton Field House Normal, IL
January 10, 1976* 7:30 pm	Oral Roberts	W 75–70	9–4	–	–	–	Horton Field House Normal, IL
January 13, 1976* 7:30 pm	Northern Iowa	W 102–66	10–4	–	–	–	Horton Field House Normal, IL
January 21, 1976* 6:30 pm	at Indiana State	W 72–63	11–4	–	–	–	Hulman Civic University Center Terre Haute, IN
January 24, 1976* 7:00 pm	at No. 14 Wake Forest	W 81–79	12–4	–	20 – Wilkins	–	Winston–Salem Memorial Coliseum Winston–Salem, NC
January 26, 1976* 7:30 pm	Marshall	W 83–64	13–4	–	–	–	Horton Field House Normal, IL
January 31, 1976* 7:30 pm	at Oral Roberts	L 75–89	13–5	–	–	–	Mabee Center Tulsa, OK
February 2, 1976* 7:30 pm	Florida State	W 82–80 ^OT	14–5	–	–	–	Horton Field House Normal, IL
February 7, 1976* 7:30 pm	Southern Illinois–Edwardsville	W 68–59	15–5	–	–	–	Horton Field House Normal, IL
February 12, 1976* 6:30 pm	at Florida State	L 81–109	15–6	–	–	–	Bobby Tully Gymnasium Tallahassee, FL
February 14, 1976* 7:30 pm	at Louisiana Tech	W 76–72	16–6	–	–	–	Memorial Gymnasium Ruston, LA
February 16, 1976* 7:30 pm	Central Michigan	W 95–80	17–6	–	–	–	Horton Field House Normal, IL
February 20, 1976* 7:30 pm	Wisconsin–Milwaukee	W 106–82	18–6	–	–	–	Horton Field House Normal, IL
February 23, 1976* 8:30 pm	at Saint Louis	L 71–85	18–7	–	–	–	Kiel Auditorium St. Louis, MO
February 28, 1976* 7:30 pm	McNeese State	W 106–80	19–7	–	–	–	Horton Field House Normal, IL
March 1, 1976* 7:30 pm	Akron	W 88–69	20–7	–	–	–	Horton Field House Normal, IL
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Standard Time.

Source^[1]^[2]

References

^ "1975–76 Illinois State Redbirds Schedule and Results". Sports Reference. Retrieved January 29, 2021.
^ "2019-20 MBB Media Guide" (PDF). Illinois State University Athletics. Retrieved January 29, 2021.

[1] "1975–76 Illinois State Redbirds Schedule and Results". Sports Reference. Retrieved January 29, 2021.

[2] "2019-20 MBB Media Guide" (PDF). Illinois State University Athletics. Retrieved January 29, 2021.

[1]

[2]