1985–86 Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball team

The 1985–86 Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball team represented Illinois State University during the 1985–86 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Redbirds, led by eighth year head coach Bob Donewald, played their home games at Horton Field House and competed as a member of the Missouri Valley Conference.

1985–86 Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball
Conference	Missouri Valley Conference
Record	15–14 (9–7 MVC)
Head coach	Bob Donewald (8th season)
Assistant coaches	Pat Cunningham Anthony Jones
Home arena	Horton Field House

1985–86 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 14 Bradley	16	–	0		1.000			32	–	3		.914
Tulsa †	10	–	6		.625			23	–	9		.719
Drake	10	–	6		.625			19	–	11		.633
Illinois State	9	–	7		.563			15	–	14		.517
Wichita State	7	–	9		.438			14	–	14		.500
Creighton	7	–	9		.438			12	–	16		.429
Indiana State	7	–	9		.438			11	–	17		.393
West Texas State	4	–	12		.250			11	–	17		.393
Southern Illinois	4	–	12		.250			8	–	20		.286
† 1986 MVC tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll

They finished the season 15–14, 9–7 in conference play to finish in fourth place. They were the number four seed for the Missouri Valley Conference tournament. They made it to the semifinal game before losing to ninth ranked Bradley University.

Roster

1985–86 Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown G 25 William Anderson 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) — Sr Indianapolis, IN C 54 Bill Braksick 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) — Jr Flanagan, IL F 35 Derrick Sanders 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) — Jr Chicago, IL G 23 Jeff Harris 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) — So Indianapolis, IN F 45 Tony Holifield 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) — So Oak Park, MI F 32 Cliff Peterson 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) — So Detroit, MI G 34 Matt Taphorn 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) — So Pekin, IL F 42 Kevin DeCraene  6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) — Fr Granger, IN G 10 Mark Kraatz 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) — Fr Allen Park, MI G 24 Sean Morros 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) — Fr Ridgefield, CT F 53 Jon Pemberton 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) — Fr Bloomingdale, IL G 33 Todd Starks 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) — Fr Fort Wayne, IN	Head coach Bob Donewald (Hanover) Assistant coach(es) Pat Cunningham (Kalamazoo) Anthony Jones (Illinois State) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt

Schedule

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition Season
November 18, 1985* 7:30 pm								Horton Field House  Normal, IL
Regular Season
November 23, 1985* 7:30 pm		Southeast Missouri State	W 79–73	1–0	–	–	–	Horton Field House (6,667) Normal, IL
November 26, 1985* 7:30 pm		Iowa State	L 52–55	1–1	–	–	–	Horton Field House (6,596) Normal, IL
November 30, 1985* 2:30 pm		Chicago State	L 57–67	1–2	–	–	–	Horton Field House (5,276) Normal, IL
December 2, 1985* 7:30 pm		Wisconsin–Green Bay	W 58–39	2–2	–	–	–	Horton Field House (5,896) Normal, IL
December 7, 1985* 8:00 pm, WGN		at DePaul	L 64–71	2–3	–	–	–	Rosemont Horizon (14,337) Rosemont, IL
December 13, 1985*		vs. McNeese State Dallas Morning News Classic [Semifinal]	W 60–52	3–3	–	–	–	Moody Coliseum (3,978) University Park, TX
December 14, 1985* 9:00 pm		at Southern Methodist Dallas Morning News Classic [Final]	L 58–68	3–4	–	–	–	Moody Coliseum (4,368) University Park, TX
December 21, 1985* 2:30 pm		at Southwest Missouri State	L 60–76	3–5	–	–	–	John Q. Hammons Student Center (6,512) Springfield, MO
December 27, 1985*		vs. San Francisco Cowboy Shootout [Semifinal]	W 68–52	4–5	–	–	–	Arena-Auditorium (4,129) Laramie, WY
December 28, 1985* 9:00 pm		at Wyom‌ing Cowboy Shootout [Final]	L 49–71	4–6	–	–	–	Arena-Auditorium (4,341) Laramie, WY
January 4, 1986 2:30 pm		Drake	W 65–61 OT	5–6 (1–0)	–	–	–	Horton Field House (5,253) Normal, IL
January 6, 1986 7:30 pm		at Indiana State	L 54–58	5–7 (1–1)	–	–	–	Hulman Center (4,246) Terre Haute, IN
January 11, 1986 7:30 pm		Wichita State	W 59–58	6–7 (2–1)	16 – Sanders	7 – Braksick	9 – Kraatz	Henry Levitt Arena (9,465) Wichita, KS
January 13, 1986 7:30 pm		at Creighton	W 35–34	7–7 (3–1)	23 – Sanders	13 – Sanders	3 – Anderson, Starks	Omaha Civic Auditorium (4,119) Omaha, NE
January 18, 1986 2:30 pm		West Texas State	W 42–32	8–7 (4–1)	–	–	–	Horton Field House (6,368) Normal, IL
January 20, 1986* 7:30 pm		Illinois–Chicago	W 73–68	9–7	–	–	–	Horton Field House (6,326) Normal, IL
January 23, 1986 7:30 pm, WEEK		at No. 17 Bradley	L 63–67 OT	9–8 (4–2)	–	–	–	Carver Arena (10,450) Peoria, IL
January 25, 1986 12:00 pm, SPN		Indiana State	W 77–73	10–8 (5–2)	–	–	–	Horton Field House (6,623) Normal, IL
January 30, 1986 7:30 pm		Tulsa	L 54–61	10–9 (5–3)	–	–	–	Horton Field House (6,527) Normal, IL
February 1, 1986 7:30 pm		at Drake	L 66–76	10–10 (5–4)	–	–	–	Veterans Memorial Auditorium (8,825) Des Monies, IA
February 6, 1986 7:30 pm		Southern Illinois	W 77–53	11–10 (6–4)	–	–	–	Horton Field House (6,546) Normal, IL
February 10, 1986 9:00 pm, WHOI/ESPN		No. 13 Bradley	L 67–74	11–11 (6–5)	–	–	–	Horton Field House (7,745) Normal, IL
February 13, 1986 7:30 pm		at West Texas State	W 66–61	12–11 (7–5)	–	–	–	WTSU Fiedhouse (2,010) Canyon, TX
February 15, 1986 12:00 pm, SPN		at Tulsa	L 54–69	12–12 (7–6)	–	–	–	Tulsa Convention Center (6,753) Tulsa, OK
February 20, 1986 7:30 pm		Wichita State	L 49–53	12–13 (7–7)	10 – Anderson, Sanders, Holifield	11 – Sanders	4 – Anderson, Kraatz	Horton Field House (7,004) Normal, IL
February 22, 1986 2:30 pm		Creighton	W 63–53	13–13 (8–7)	18 – Sanders	10 – Braksick, Sanders	5 – Harris	Horton Field House (7,721) Normal, IL
February 27, 1986 7:30 pm		at Southern Illinois	W 80–69	14–13 (9–7)	–	–	–	SIU Arena (4,240) Carbondale, IL
Missouri Valley Conference {MVC} tournament
March 3, 1986*	(4)	vs. (5) Wichita State Quarterfinal	W 78–70	15–13	30 – Anderson	6 – Braksick, Sanders	3 – Anderson	Tulsa Convention Center (5,138) Tulsa, OK
March 4, 1986*	(4)	vs. (1) No. 9 Bradley Semifinal	L 64–65	15–14	12 – Sanders, Taphorn	15 – Sanders	6 – Taphorn	Tulsa Convention Center (5,469) Tulsa, OK
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Standard Time.