The Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball team represents Illinois State University, located in Normal, Illinois, in NCAA Division I basketball competition. They are currently led by head coach Ryan Pedon and play their home games at CEFCU Arena as a member of the Missouri Valley Conference. They have the distinction of earning the most National Invitation Tournament berths (14) without making the semifinals, and also have the longest current NCAA tournament drought (27 seasons) among Missouri Valley Conference members. The Redbirds have appeared in the NCAA tournament six times, most recently in 1998.
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The Redbirds have appeared in six NCAA Tournaments. Their combined record is 3âÂÂ6.
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Illinois State made the NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament five times and had a combined record of 6âÂÂ7.
The Redbirds have appeared in 14 National Invitation Tournaments (NIT). Their combined record is 11âÂÂ14.
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The Redbirds have appeared in the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) twice. Their combined record is 5âÂÂ1. They turned down a bid in the 2015âÂÂ16 season and again in the 2017âÂÂ18 season. They were the 2025 champion.
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Illinois State has retired only one number in program history, that of first-team All-American and Olympian Doug Collins.
The I-74 Rivalry is the rivalry between Illinois State and Bradley.
On April 7, 2015, while flying home from the NCAA Tournament Final game in Indianapolis, a plane carrying Illinois State assistant coach Torrey Ward and six others crashed just outside Bloomington, Illinois, leaving no survivors.