1979–80 Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball team

1979–80 Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball
Illinois State Holiday Festival champion
NIT, First Round
ConferenceIndependent
Record20–9
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaHorton Field House
1979–80 NCAA Division I men's basketball independents standings
Conf. Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 1 DePaul   26 2   .929
No. 19 Iona*   28 4   .875
Old Dominion   25 5   .833
No. 9 Notre Dame   23 8   .742
Tennessee State   19 7   .731
UNLV   23 9   .719
Saint Peter's   22 9   .710
Cleveland State   18 8   .692
James Madison   18 8   .692
Illinois State   20 9   .690
Marquette   18 9   .667
UNC Wilmington   19 10   .655
Penn State   18 10   .643
Southern Mississippi   17 10   .630
Arkansas–Little Rock   16 10   .615
South Carolina   16 11   .593
Campbell   15 12   .556
East Carolina   15 12   .556
Stetson   15 12   .556
Long Island   14 12   .538
Detroit   14 13   .519
Navy   14 13   .519
Wagner   14 13   .519
Siena   14 14   .500
Dayton   13 14   .481
Fairleigh Dickinson   13 14   .481
North Texas State   13 14   .481
Richmond   13 14   .481
Baltimore   12 15   .444
William & Mary   12 15   .444
Fordham**   12 16   .429
St. Francis (Pa.)   12 16   .429
St. Francis (N.Y.)   11 15   .423
Fairfield   11 16   .407
Army   9 17   .346
Milwaukee   9 17   .346
Towson State   9 17   .346
Air Force   8 17   .320
Valparaiso   8 18   .308
Catholic   8 19   .296
Robert Morris   7 19   .269
Northwestern State   5 20   .200
George Mason   5 21   .192
Portland State   5 21   .192
Georgia Southern   5 22   .185
Manhattan   4 22   .154
Baptist   2 23   .080
* –Iona's 1980 NCAA Tournament games were vacated due to NCAA sanctions; disputed record 29–5.
**Disputed record 11–17.
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1979–80 Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball team represented Illinois State University during the 1979–80 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Redbirds, led by second year head coach Bob Donewald, played their home games at Horton Field House and competed as an independent (not a member of a conference). They finished the season 20–9.

The Redbirds received an invitation to the 1980 National Invitation Tournament. They defeated West Texas State University in the first round and were beaten by the University of Illinois in the second round.