2017–18 Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball team

2017–18 Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball
2017–18 Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball
Conference	Missouri Valley Conference
Record	18–15 (10–8 MVC)
Head coach	Dan Muller (6th season);
Assistant coaches	Brian Reese; Brian Collins; Brendan Mullins;
Home arena	Redbird Arena
	Seasons ← 2016–17 2018–19 →

2017–18 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Loyola Chicago †	15	–	3	.833	32	–	6	.842
Southern Illinois	11	–	7	.611	20	–	13	.606
Illinois State	10	–	8	.556	18	–	15	.545
Drake	10	–	8	.556	17	–	17	.500
Bradley	9	–	9	.500	20	–	13	.606
Indiana State	8	–	10	.444	13	–	18	.419
Missouri State	7	–	11	.389	18	–	15	.545
Evansville	7	–	11	.389	17	–	15	.531
Northern Iowa	7	–	11	.389	16	–	16	.500
Valparaiso	6	–	12	.333	15	–	17	.469

† 2018 MVC tournament winner

The 2017–18 Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball team represented Illinois State University during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Redbirds, led by sixth-year head coach Dan Muller, played their home games at Redbird Arena in Normal, Illinois as members of the Missouri Valley Conference. They finished the season 18–15, 10–8 in MVC play to finish in a tie for third place. They defeated Missouri State and Southern Illinois to advance to the championship game of the MVC Tournament where they lost to Loyola–Chicago.

Previous season

The Redbrids finished the 2016–17 season 28–7, 17–1 to finish in a tie for first place in MVC play.^[1] They defeated Evansville and Southern Illinois in the MVC Tournament before losing to Wichita State in the championship game.^[2] As a No. 1 seed in their conference tournament who failed to win their conference tournament title, Illinois State received an automatic bid to the National Invitation Tournament as a No. 1 seed where they defeated UC Irvine^[3] in the first round before losing in the second round to UCF.^[4]

Offseason

Departures

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Notes
Paris Lee	1	G	6'0"	185	Senior	Maywood, IL	Graduated/Undrafted in 2017 NBA draft
MiKyle McIntosh	11	F	6'7"	234	RS Junior	Pickering, ON	Graduate transferred to Oregon
Tony Willis	12	G	6'4"	185	Senior	Indianapolis, IN	Graduated
Andre Washington	15	F	6'8"	195	Freshman	Fort Worth, TX	Transferred to Hill College
Deontae Hawkins	23	F	6'8"	220	RS Junior	Dayton, OH	Graduate transferred to Boston College
Javaka Thompson	31	G	6'4"	191	RS Senior	Chicago, IL	Walk-on; graduated

Incoming transfers

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Previous team
Zachary Copeland	2	G	6'4"	175	Junior	Oakland, CA	Junior college transferred from City College of San Francisco
Matt Chastain	22	G/F	6'6"	190	Sophomore	Leroy, IL	Transferred from Loyola–Chicago. Under NCAA transfer rules, Chastain will have to sit out for the 2017–18 season. Will have three years of remaining eligibility. Will join the team as a walk-on.
William Tinsley	23	G	6'6"	195	Junior	Colfax, IL	Junior college transferred from Lake Land College
Jerron Martin	24	G	6'0"	175	RS Senior	Prince George's County, MD	Transferred from Texas Southern. Will be eligible to play immediately since Ashton graduated from Texas Southern.

2017 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Elijah Clarance SG	Malmö, Sweden	St. Maria Goretti High School	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	190 lb (86 kg)
Elijah Clarance SG	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 65
Taylor Bruninga PF	Glasford, IL	Illini Bluffs High School	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	NR
Taylor Bruninga PF	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: N/A
Overall recruiting rankings:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2017 Team Ranking". Rivals.com.

Preseason

In the conference's preseason poll, the Redbirds were picked to finish in fourth place in the MVC.^[5] Junior forward Phil Fayne was named to the preseason All-MVC second team.^[5]

Roster

2017–18 Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Previous school	Hometown
G	0	Isaac Gassman	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	RS Fr	Ottawa Township HS	Utica, IL
G	1	Elijah Clarance	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Fr	St. Maria Goretti HS	Malmö, Sweden
G	2	Zach Copeland	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Jr	Berkeley HS City College of San Francisco	Oakland, CA
G	3	Keyshawn Evans	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Jr	Sagemont School	Plantation, FL
C	4	Daouda Ndiaye	7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	Jr	Windermere Prep	Dakar, Senegal
G	5	Matt Hein	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	RS So	Windermere Prep	Windermere, FL
F	10	Phil Fayne	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Jr	Franklin HS Western Nebraska Community College	Elk Grove, CA
G/F	22	Matt Chastain (I, W)	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	RS Fr	LeRoy High School Loyola–Chicago	LeRoy, IL
G	23	William Tinsley	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Jr	Ridgeview HS Lake Land College	Colfax, IL
G	24	Jerron Martin	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	RS Sr	Princeton Day Texas Southern	Prince George's County, MD
G	25	Madison Williams	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	So	Academy of Richmond County	Augusta, GA
F	32	Taylor Bruninga	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Fr	Illini Bluffs HS	Mapleton, IL
F/C	34	Christian Romine	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	RS So	Mahomet-Seymour High School UTEP	Mahomet, IL
F	52	Malik Yarbrough	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	230 lb (104 kg)	RS Jr	Zion-Benton Township HS Saint Louis	Zion, IL

Head coach

Dan Muller (Illinois State)

Assistant coach(es)

Legend

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

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
Nov 5, 2017* 2:00 pm, ESPN3		Lewis	W 79–52		25 – Yarbrough	8 – Tied	4 – Evans	Redbird Arena (4,066) Bloomington, IL
Non-conference regular season
Nov 11, 2017* 12:00 pm		at Florida Gulf Coast	L 87–98	0–1	28 – Evans	8 – Yarbrough	10 – Yarbrough	Alico Arena (4,335) Fort Myers, FL
Nov 16, 2017* 10:30 am, ESPN2		vs. South Carolina Puerto Rico Tip-Off quarterfinals	W 69–65	1–1	18 – Yarbrough	10 – Fayne	6 – Yarbrough	HTC Center (700) Conway, SC
Nov 17, 2017* 12:00 pm, ESPN2		vs. Boise State Puerto Rico Tip-Off semifinals	L 64–82	1–2	21 – Evans	6 – Fayne	4 – Evans	HTC Center (875) Conway, SC
Nov 19, 2017* 4:00 pm, ESPNU		vs. Tulsa Puerto Rico Tip-Off third place game	W 84–68	2–2	29 – Evans	8 – Yarbrough	5 – Tied	HTC Center (2,119) Conway, SC
Nov 22, 2017* 8:00 pm, ESPN3		Quincy	W 86–57	3–2	19 – Fayne	10 – Tinsley	6 – Evans	Redbird Arena (3,733) Bloomington, IL
Nov 25, 2017* 8:00 pm, ESPN3		Charleston Southern	L 62–64 ^OT	3–3	26 – Evans	13 – Fayne	2 – Tied	Redbird Arena (3,831) Bloomington, IL
Nov 29, 2017* 8:00 pm, Stadium		at Nevada MW–MVC Challenge	L 68–98	3–4	15 – Fayne	7 – Tinsley	4 – Evans	Lawlor Events Center (8,293) Reno, NV
Dec 2, 2017* 3:00 pm, NBCSC+		Tulsa	W 65–58	4–4	22 – Yarbrough	8 – Fayne	5 – Evans	Redbird Arena (5,803) Bloomington, IL
Dec 6, 2017* 8:00 pm, BYUtv		at BYU	L 68–80	4–5	20 – Bruninga	9 – Yarbrough	6 – Evans	Marriott Center (12,250) Provo, UT
Dec 9, 2017* 3:00 pm, NBCSC+		Murray State	L 72–78	4–6	30 – Yarbrough	7 – Yarbrough	3 – Tied	Redbird Arena (5,150) Bloomington, IL
Dec 16, 2017* 2:30 pm, SECN		at Ole Miss	W 101–97 ^OT	5–6	25 – Tied	10 – Tied	8 – Yarbrough	The Pavilion at Ole Miss (6,309) Oxford, MS
Dec 19, 2017* 7:00 pm, NBCSC		UIC	W 71–70	6–6	20 – Yarbrough	10 – Tinsley	5 – Yarbrough	Redbird Arena (4,062) Bloomington, IL
Missouri Valley Conference regular season
Dec 23, 2017 7:00 pm, FSMW/NBCSC		at Evansville	W 72–66	7–6 (1–0)	28 – Yarbrough	7 – Fayne	3 – Tied	Ford Center (4,039) Evansville, IN
Dec 31, 2017 3:00 pm, ESPN3		Indiana State	W 84–81 ^OT	8–6 (2–0)	29 – Yarbrough	11 – Fayne	4 – Yarbrough	Redbird Arena (5,824) Bloomington, IL
Jan 3, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3		at Drake	L 62–87	8–7 (2–1)	13 – Evans	7 – Nidaye	7 – Yarbrough	Knapp Center (3,113) Des Moines, IA
Jan 7, 2018 1:00 pm, CBSSN		Missouri State	W 72–68	9–7 (3–1)	23 – Tied	6 – Fayne	4 – Tied	Redbird Arena (4,344) Bloomington, IL
Jan 10, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3		Loyola–Chicago	L 61–68	9–8 (3–2)	14 – Fayne	4 – Tied	8 – Yarbrough	Redbird Arena (4,466) Bloomington, IL
Jan 13, 2018 5:00 pm, CBSSN		at Southern Illinois	L 70–74	9–9 (3–3)	24 – Fayne	10 – Fayne	5 – Yarbrough	SIU Arena (3,227) Carbondale, IL
Jan 17, 2018 6:00 pm, FSMW/NBCSC		Bradley I-74 Rivalry	W 70–57	10–9 (4–3)	20 – Yarbrough	12 – Ndiaye	3 – 3 tied	Redbird Arena (6,321) Bloomington, IL
Jan 20, 2018 1:00 pm, ESPN3		at Indiana State	L 54–84	10–10 (4–4)	13 – Fayne	9 – Fayne	2 – Evans	Hulman Center (5,148) Terre Haute, IN
Jan 24, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3		at Northern Iowa	L 72–83	10–11 (4–5)	25 – Evans	13 – Yarbrough	5 – Yarbrough	McLeod Center (3,762) Cedar Falls, IA
Jan 27, 2018 9:00 pm, ESPN2		Valparaiso	W 76–65	11–11 (5–5)	24 – Fayne	9 – Fayne	7 – Yarbrough	Redbird Arena (5,024) Bloomington, IL
Jan 30, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3		at Missouri State	W 76–60	12–11 (6–5)	15 – Tied	10 – Ndiaye	6 – Yarbrough	JQH Arena (4,545) Springfield, MO
Feb 3, 2018 3:00 pm, ESPN3		Evansville	W 75–71	13–11 (7–5)	13 – Tied	10 – Fayne	5 – Yarbrough	Redbird Arena (6,923) Bloomington, IL
Feb 8, 2018 8:00 pm, CBSSN		Southern Illinois	W 76–68 ^OT	14–11 (8–5)	15 – Clarance	9 – Yarbrough	5 – Yarbrough	Redbird Arena (4,948) Bloomington, IL
Feb 11, 2018 3:00 pm, ESPNU		at Valparaiso	L 58–74	14–12 (8–6)	13 – Tinsley	10 – Yarbrough	5 – Yarbrough	Athletics–Recreation Center (3,330) Valparaiso, IN
Feb 14, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3		at Bradley I-74 Rivalry	L 58–70	14–13 (8–7)	25 – Yarbrough	8 – Ndiaye	2 – 5 tied	Carver Arena (7,731) Peoria, IL
Feb 17, 2018 5:00 pm, ESPN2		Northern Iowa	W 79–75	15–13 (9–7)	25 – Yarbrough	6 – Yarbrough	9 – Yarbrough	Redbird Arena (6,535) Bloomington, IL
Feb 21, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3		Drake	W 89–81 ^OT	16–13 (10–7)	23 – Evans	11 – Fayne	6 – Evans	Redbird Arena (5,028) Bloomington, IL
Feb 24, 2018 1:00 pm, ESPN2		at Loyola–Chicago	L 61–68	16–14 (10–8)	21 – Tinsley	7 – Yarbrough	6 – Yarbrough	Joseph J. Gentile Arena (4,963) Chicago, IL
Missouri Valley Tournament
Mar 2, 2018 8:30 pm, ESPN3	(3)	vs. (6) Indiana State Quarterfinals	W 77–70	17–14	24 – Yarbrough	10 – Fayne	5 – Yarbrough	Scottrade Center (7,077) St. Louis, MO
Mar 3, 2018 5:05 pm, CBSSN	(3)	vs. (2) Southern Illinois Semifinals	W 76–68 ^OT	18–14	26 – Fayne	9 – Fayne	7 – Evans	Scottrade Center (8,415) St. Louis, MO
Mar 4, 2018 1:05 pm, CBS	(3)	vs. (1) Loyola–Chicago Championship games	L 49–65	18–15	12 – Fayne	12 – Fayne	5 – Yarbrough	Scottrade Center (8,056) St. Louis, MO
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time.

References

^ TN, Streamline Technologies – Nashville. "Illinois State, Wichita State Share MVC Crown". Missouri Valley Conference. Archived from the original on 2017-06-06. Retrieved 2017-07-05.
^ Latsch, Nate. "Illinois State falls to Wichita State in MVC final; NCAA tournament fate unclear". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 2017-07-05.
^ "UC Irvine vs. Illinois State – Game Recap – March 15, 2017 – ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2017-07-05.
^ Romero, Iliana Limón. "UCF uses late free throws to top Illinois State, advance in NIT". OrlandoSentinel.com. Retrieved 2017-07-05.
^ ^a ^b "Missouri State Picked to Win MVC Men's Basketball". Retrieved 2017-10-24.

[1] TN, Streamline Technologies – Nashville. "Illinois State, Wichita State Share MVC Crown". Missouri Valley Conference. Archived from the original on 2017-06-06. Retrieved 2017-07-05.

[2] Latsch, Nate. "Illinois State falls to Wichita State in MVC final; NCAA tournament fate unclear". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 2017-07-05.

[3] "UC Irvine vs. Illinois State – Game Recap – March 15, 2017 – ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2017-07-05.

[4] Romero, Iliana Limón. "UCF uses late free throws to top Illinois State, advance in NIT". OrlandoSentinel.com. Retrieved 2017-07-05.

[:0-5] "Missouri State Picked to Win MVC Men's Basketball". Retrieved 2017-10-24.

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[4]

[5]

v t e Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball
Venues	John W. Cook Hall (1898–1925) McCormick Gymnasium (1925–1963) Horton Field House (1963–1988) CEFCU Arena (1989–present)
Rivalries	Bradley
Culture & lore	Reggie Redbird "Go, You Redbirds"
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1898–99 1899–1900 1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25