1995–96 Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball team

The 1995–96 Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball team represented Illinois State University during the 1995–96 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Redbirds, led by third year head coach Kevin Stallings, played their home games at Redbird Arena and were a member of the Missouri Valley Conference.

1995–96 Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball
NIT, Quarterfinal
ConferenceMissouri Valley Conference
Record22–12 (13–5 MVC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaRedbird Arena
Seasons
1995–96 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Bradley 15 3   .833 22 8   .733
Illinois State 13 5   .722 22 12   .647
Tulsa 12 6   .667 22 8   .733
Southwest Missouri State 11 7   .611 16 12   .571
Creighton 9 9   .500 14 15   .483
Evansville 9 9   .500 13 14   .481
Northern Iowa 8 10   .444 14 13   .519
Drake 8 10   .444 12 15   .444
Indiana State 6 12   .333 10 16   .385
Wichita State 4 14   .222 8 21   .276
Southern Illinois 4 14   .222 11 18   .379
1996 MVC tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll[1]

The Redbirds finished the season 22–12, 13–5 in conference play to finish in second place. They were the number two seed for the Missouri Valley Conference tournament. They won their quarterfinal game versus the University of Northern Iowa and lost their semifinal game versus the University of Tulsa.

The Redbirds received an invitation to the 1996 National Invitation Tournament. They beat Mount St. Mary's University in the first round, the University of Wisconsin in the second round, and were defeated by Tulane University in the quarterfinal round.

Roster

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1995–96 Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown
G 25 Antonio Cooper 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Sr Phoenix, IL
G 3 Maurice Trotter 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Sr Lawrence, KS
F 13 Kenny Wright 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Sr Indianapolis, IN
F John Brown 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Jr
C 35 Rob Gibbons 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
RS So Rockaway, NJ
G 33 Steve Hansell 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
So Birmingham, England
F 44 Dan Muller 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
So Lafayette, IN
G 15 Jamar Smiley 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)
So West Hempstead, NY
F 23 Kenneth Pierson 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
RS Fr Conroe, TX
C 32 LeRoy Watkins 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
RS Fr Chicago, IL
G 24 Kyle Cartmill 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Fr Quincy, IL
G 11 Rick Garrett 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Fr Centralia, IL
F 42 Rico Hill 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Fr Calumet City, 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, 1995*
vs. James Madison
San Juan Shootout
[Quarterfinal]
L 85–86  0–1
                  Eugene Guerra Sports Complex (250)
San Juan, PR
November 25, 1995*
vs. La Salle
San Juan Shootout
[Consolation Semifinal]
W 72–65  1–1
                  Eugene Guerra Sports Complex (250)
San Juan, PR
November 26, 1995*
at American (Puerto Rico)
San Juan Shootout
[Fifth Place]
W 79–77  2–1
                  Eugene Guerra Sports Complex (500)
San Juan, PR
December 2, 1995*
Duquesne L 65–77  2–2
                  Redbird Arena (6,588)
Normal, IL
December 6, 1995*
at Ohio W 66–65  3–2
                  Convocation Center (4,608)
Athens, OH
December 9, 1995*
Fairleigh Dickinson W 79–58  4–2
                  Redbird Arena (7,294)
Normal, IL
December 18, 1995*
Santa Clara L 78–80  4–3
                  Redbird Arena (7,883)
Normal, IL
December 21, 1995*
at North Carolina–Wilmington W 69–57  5–3
                  Raiford Graham Trask Coliseum (2,878)
Wilmington, NC
December 23, 1995*
12:00 pm
at Virginia Commonwealth L 72–74  5–4
                  Richmond Coliseum (3,031)
Richmond, VA
December 30, 1995*
East Carolina W 64–52  6–4
                  Redbird Arena (7,086)
Normal, IL
January 3, 1996
Indiana State W 74–64  7–4
(1–0)
                  Redbird Arena (6,842)
Normal, IL
January 7, 1996
at Southern Illinois L 75–97  7–5
(1–1)
 20  Trotter   7  Muller   4  Smiley  SIU Arena (3,422)
Carbondale, IL
January 11, 1996
Southwest Missouri State W 86–79  8–5
(2–1)
                  Redbird Arena (7,422)
Normal, IL
January 14, 1996
8:05 pm
at Tulsa W 74–71  9–5
(3–1)
                  Tulsa Convention Center (7,466)
Tulsa, OK
January 16, 1996
7:30 pm
at Wichita State W 61–59  10–5
(4–1)
 19  Trotter   6  Hill   5  Smiley  Henry Levitt Arena (5,161)
Wichita, KS
January 20, 1996
 WMBD
Bradley W 77–72  11–5
(5–1)
                  Redbird Arena (10,310)
Normal, IL
January 22, 1996
at Southwest Missouri State W 76–69  12–5
(6–1)
                  John Q. Hammons Student Center (7,037)
Springfield, MO
January 25, 1996
Drake L 68–72  12–6
(6–2)
                  Redbird Arena (6,862)
Normal, IL
January 27, 1996
8:05 pm
Wichita State W 74–57  13–6
(7–2)
 18  Muller   5  Gibbons,
Watkins
 
 7  Smiley  Redbird Arena (9,305)
Normal, IL
January 30, 1996
at Evansville W 73–69  14–6
(8–2)
                  Roberts Municipal Stadium (9,469)
Evansville, IN
February 2, 1996*
10:59 pm, ESPN
at No. 5 Cincinnati L 57–91  14–7
                  Myrl H. Shoemaker Center (13,176)
Cincinnati, OH
February 5, 1996
at Creighton W 74–72  15–7
(9–2)
 13  Trotter   8  Hill   3  Smiley  Omaha Civic Auditorium (4,136)
Omaha, NE
February 8, 1996
Northern Iowa W 97–80  16–7
(10–2)
                  Redbird Arena (9,174)
Normal, IL
February 11, 1996
Southern Illinois L 71–74  16–8
(10–3)
 18  Trotter   7  Trotter,
Watkins
 
 4  Smiley  Redbird Arena (8,100)
Normal, IL
February 14, 1996
at Drake W 74–52  17–8
(11–3)
                  The Knapp Center (3,014)
Des Moines, IA
February 18, 1996
Evansville W 70–69  18–8
(12–3)
                  Redbird Arena (7,912)
Normal, IL
February 21, 1996
7:05 pm
Tulsa W 69–64  19–8
(13–3)
                  Redbird Arena (7,807)
Normal, IL
February 24, 1996
1:00 pm, ESPN
at Bradley L 64–65  19–9
(13–4)
                  Carver Arena (10,926)
Peoria, IL
February 26, 1996
at Indiana State L 60-64  19–10
(13–5)
                  Hulman Center (7,207)
Terre Haute, IN
Diet Pepsi
Missouri Valley Conference {MVC} tournament
March 2, 1996
6:00 pm
(2) vs. (7) Northern Iowa
Quarterfinal
W 64–58  20–10
 18  Trotter   7  Smiley,
Hill
 
 8  Smiley  Kiel Center (8,976)
St. Louis, MO
March 3, 1996
4:30 pm, ESPN2
(2) vs. (3) Tulsa
Semifinal
L 52–69  20–11
 18  Muller   9  Hill   4  Smiley  Kiel Center (12,681)
St. Louis, MO
National Invitation {NIT} tournament
March 13, 1996
Mount St. Mary's
First Round
W 73–49  21–11
 18  Trotter   13  Muller   8  Smiley  Redbird Arena (5,869)
Normal, IL
March 18, 1996
at Wisconsin
Second Round
W 77–62  22–11
 19  Trotter   11  Hill   7  Smiley  Wisconsin Field House (11,111)
Madison, WI
March 20, 1996
8:00 pm, ESPN
at Tulane
Quarterfinal
L 72–83  22–12
 14  Trotter,
Hill
 
 7  Muller   6  Smiley  Avron B. Fogelman Arena (3,600)
New Orleans, LA
*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 1995-96 Missouri Valley Conference Season Summary
  2. ^ "1995-96 Illinois State Redbirds Roster and Stats". Sports Reference. Retrieved December 30, 2020.
  3. ^ "1995-96 Illinois State Redbirds Schedule and Results". Sports Reference. Retrieved December 30, 2020.
  4. ^ "1995-96 Men's Basketball Schedule". Illinois State Redbirds. Retrieved December 31, 2020.