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1977–78 Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball
1977–78 Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball
NIT, First Round
Conference	Independent
Record	24–4
Head coach	Gene Smithson (3rd season);
Assistant coaches	Ron Ferguson; Bill Flanagan; Jeff Jones; Roger Powell;
Home arena	Horton Field House
	Seasons ← 1976–77 1978–79 →

1977–78 NCAA Division I men's basketball independents standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
No. 3 DePaul		–		–	27	–	3	.900
No. 18 Detroit		–		–	25	–	4	.862
Illinois State		–		–	24	–	4	.857
No. 8 Marquette		–		–	24	–	4	.857
Pan American		–		–	22	–	4	.846
VCU		–		–	24	–	5	.828
Fairfield		–		–	22	–	5	.815
North Texas State		–		–	22	–	6	.786
Syracuse		–		–	22	–	6	.786
Rhode Island		–		–	24	–	7	.774
Providence		–		–	24	–	8	.750
St. John's		–		–	21	–	7	.750
Utah State		–		–	21	–	7	.750
Georgetown		–		–	23	–	8	.742
No. 6 Notre Dame		–		–	23	–	8	.742
Holy Cross		–		–	20	–	7	.741
Northeast Louisiana		–		–	20	–	7	.741
UNC Wilmington		–		–	19	–	7	.731
St. Bonaventure		–		–	21	–	8	.724
UNLV		–		–	20	–	8	.714
Virginia Tech		–		–	19	–	8	.704
James Madison		–		–	18	–	8	.692
Maine		–		–	17	–	8	.680
Army		–		–	19	–	9	.679
Dayton		–		–	19	–	10	.655
St. Francis (NY)		–		–	16	–	9	.640
Iona		–		–	17	–	10	.630
William & Mary		–		–	16	–	10	.615
Air Force		–		–	15	–	10	.600
Loyola (IL)		–		–	16	–	11	.593
Mercer		–		–	16	–	11	.593
Oklahoma City		–		–	16	–	11	.593
Seton Hall		–		–	16	–	11	.593
Boston College		–		–	15	–	11	.577
Butler		–		–	15	–	11	.577
Saint Francis (PA)		–		–	15	–	11	.577
South Carolina		–		–	16	–	12	.571
Siena		–		–	13	–	10	.565
Navy		–		–	14	–	11	.560
Milwaukee		–		–	15	–	12	.556
Niagara		–		–	14	–	12	.538
Northeastern		–		–	14	–	12	.538
Southern Mississippi		–		–	13	–	12	.520
Portland State		–		–	14	–	13	.519
Stetson		–		–	14	–	13	.519
Oral Roberts		–		–	13	–	14	.481
Xavier		–		–	13	–	14	.481
Cleveland State		–		–	12	–	13	.480
Tennessee State		–		–	11	–	12	.478
Catholic		–		–	12	–	14	.462
Manhattan		–		–	12	–	14	.462
Georgia Southern		–		–	12	–	15	.444
Northwestern State		–		–	12	–	15	.444
Connecticut		–		–	11	–	15	.423
Old Dominion		–		–	11	–	15	.423
Vermont		–		–	11	–	15	.423
Boston University		–		–	10	–	15	.400
Hardin–Simmons		–		–	10	–	16	.385
Campbell		–		–	9	–	15	.375
Centenary (LA)		–		–	10	–	17	.370
Denver		–		–	10	–	17	.370
Colgate		–		–	9	–	17	.346
East Carolina		–		–	9	–	17	.346
Fordham		–		–	8	–	18	.308
Long Island		–		–	8	–	18	.308
Saint Peter's		–		–	8	–	18	.308
Baptist		–		–	8	–	19	.296
Samford		–		–	8	–	19	.296
Canisius		–		–	7	–	19	.269
Houston Baptist		–		–	7	–	19	.269
New Hampshire		–		–	7	–	19	.269
Wagner		–		–	7	–	19	.269
Evansville		–		–	1	–	3	.250
Fairleigh Dickinson		–		–	6	–	18	.250
Valparaiso		–		–	6	–	19	.240
Robert Morris		–		–	4	–	19	.174
Richmond		–		–	4	–	22	.154
Hawaii		–		–	1	–	26	.037

Rankings from AP Poll

The 1977–78 Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball team represented Illinois State University during the 1977–78 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Redbirds, led by third year head coach Gene Smithson, played their home games at Horton Field House and competed as an independent (not a member of a conference). They finished the season 24–4.

The Redbirds received an invitation to the 1978 National Invitation Tournament. They were beaten by Indiana State University in the first round.

Roster

1977–78 Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown
F	10	Billy Lewis	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Sr	Chicago, IL
G	31	Rick Ferina	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Jr	Niles, IL
G	21	Derrick Mayes	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Jr	Elgin, IL
C	32	Joe Galvin	7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)	218 lb (99 kg)	So	Bloomington, IL
G	13	Ron Jones	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	So	Venice, IL
F	35	Larry Lowe	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	So	Glenwood, IL
F	42	Robert McCoy	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	So	Chicago Heights, IL
F	45	Del Yarbrough	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	So	North Chicago, IL
C	52	Roy Herold	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	Fr	Helsinki, Finland
F	55	Anthony Jones (W)	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	186 lb (84 kg)	Fr	Chicago, IL
G	23	Dave Nussbaumer (W)	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	172 lb (78 kg)	Fr	McLean, VA
G	44	Randy Smithson	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Fr	Normal, IL
F	24	McKay Smith	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	165 lb (75 kg)	Fr	Springfield, IL

Head coach

Gene Smithson (North Central (IL))

Assistant coach(es)

Ron Ferguson (Illinois)
Bill Flanagan (Monmouth (IL))
Jeff Jones (Illinois State)
Roger Powell (Illinois State)

Legend

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

Injured
Current redshirt

^[1]

Schedule

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Regular Season
November 26, 1977* 7:30 pm		at Saint Louis	W 90–83	1–0	22 – Lewis	9 – Lewis, Galvin	–	Kiel Auditorium (5,117) St. Louis, MO
November 29, 1977* 7:30 pm		Valparaiso	W 98–81	2–0	19 – Lewis	9 – Galvin	–	Horton Field House (5,700) Normal, IL
December 2, 1977* 8:00 pm		vs. Colgate Charlotte Invitational [Semifinal]	W 94–62	3–0	21 – Galvin	12 – Galvin	–	Charlotte Coliseum (I) (2,107) Charlotte, NC
December 3, 1977* 8:00 pm		vs. Delaware Charlotte Invitational [Final]	W 89–70	4–0	21 – Lewis	13 – Lewis	–	Charlotte Coliseum (I) (400) Charlotte, NC
December 5, 1977* 7:30 pm		California State–Northridge	W 72–59	5–0	24 – Lewis	11 – Galvin	–	Horton Field House (3,800) Normal, IL
December 7, 1977* 7:35 pm		at Southern Illinois	W 51–48	6–0	16 – Lewis	8 – Lewis	–	SIU Arena (6,320) Carbondale, IL
December 10, 1977* 7:30 pm		Akron	W 86–70	7–0	33 – Lewis	11 – Lewis	–	Horton Field House (6,000) Normal, IL
December 17, 1977* 3:00 pm		New Orleans	W 93–86 ^OT	8–0	30 – Lewis	12 – Lewis	–	Horton Field House (5,400) Normal, IL
December 19, 1977* 7:30 pm		Central Michigan	W 90–78	9–0	20 – Lewis	12 – Galvin	–	Horton Field House (5,000) Normal, IL
December 26, 1977* 7:30 pm		Kent State	W 79–71	10–0	21 – Galvin	15 – Galvin	–	Horton Field House (5,000) Normal, IL
December 30, 1977* 7:30 pm		Long Island	W 93–68	11–0	27 – Lewis	13 – Lewis	–	Horton Field House (5,500) Normal, IL
January 2, 1978* 7:30 pm		at Bradley	W 84–83	12–0	24 – Mayes	8 – Lewis, Yarbrough	–	Robertson Memorial Field House (7,300) Peoria, IL
January 5, 1978* 10:05 pm		at California–Santa Barbara	L 69–84	12–1	22 – Jones	6 – Lewis, Yarbrough	–	Robertson Gymnasium (2,100) Santa Barbara, CA
January 7, 1978* 9:30 pm		at California State–Fullerton	W 88–85	13–1	21 – Jones	7 – Jones	–	Titan Gym (3,390) Fullerton, CA
January 11, 1978* 7:30 pm		Northern Illinois	W 79–67	14–1	19 – Jones	16 – Yarbrough	–	Horton Field House (8,000) Normal, IL
January 13, 1978* 10:15 pm		at No. 11 Nevada–Las Vegas	L 92–94	14–2	34 – Jones	10 – Jones	–	Las Vegas Convention Center (6,352) Winchester, NV
January 15, 1978* 7:30 pm		Quincy	W 86–76	15–2	27 – Lewis	14 – Lewis	–	Horton Field House (3,000) Normal, IL
January 18, 1978* 7:30 pm		Evansville	canceled as result of Air Indiana Flight 216 crash on December 13, 1977					Horton Field House Normal, IL
January 21, 1978* 2:00 pm		No. 4 Indiana State	W 81–76	16–2	25 – Lewis	12 – Lewis	–	Horton Field House (8,000) Normal, IL
January 25, 1978* 7:30 pm	No. 20	Northern Michigan	W 75–58	17–2	34 – Lewis	8 – Lewis	–	Horton Field House (4,000) Normal, IL
January 28, 1978* 7:30 pm	No. 20	Southern Illinois–Edwardsville	W 80–73	18–2	19 – Lewis	12 – Lewis	–	Horton Field House (6,800) Normal, IL
February 6, 1978* 7:30 pm	No. 19	Oral Roberts	W 84–71	19–2	19 – Galvin	10 – Galvin, Yarbrough	–	Horton Field House (7,500) Normal, IL
February 8, 1978* 7:30 pm	No. 15	at Western Illinois	W 97–79	20–2	29 – Lewis	11 – Lewis, Jones	–	Western Hall (4,095) Macomb, IL
February 15, 1978* 7:30 pm	No. 15	at Northern Illinois	W 79–67	21–2	18 – Lewis	13 – Lewis	–	Chick Evans Field House (5,820) DeKalb, IL
February 18, 1978* 2:00 pm	No. 15	Athletes In Action Exhibition	L 97–100 ^OT		–	–	–	Horton Field House Normal, IL
February 20, 1978* 7:30 pm	No. 15	McNeese State	W 87–68	22–2	23 – Lewis	9 – Lewis	–	Horton Field House (6,000) Normal, IL
February 25, 1978* 8:00 pm	No. 15	at Centenary	W 90–77	23–2	27 – Lewis	13 – Galvin	–	Gold Dome (2,018) Shreveport, LA
February 28, 1978* 7:30 pm	No. 13	at Northern Iowa	W 82–76	24–2	25 – Lewis, Jones	9 – Jones	–	UNI Dome (4,700) Cedar Falls, IA
March 4, 1978* 8:00 pm	No. 13	at No. 4 DePaul	L 84–96	24–3	22 – Yarbrough	11 – Yarbrough	–	Alumni Hall (5,717) Chicago, IL
National Invitation {NIT} Tournament
March 10, 1978* 6:30 pm	No. 17	at Indiana State First Round	L 71–73	24–4	18 – Lewis	6 – Lewis, Galvin	9 – Mayes	Hulman Civic University Center (10,150) Terre Haute, IN
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Standard Time.