Illinois State Basketball: 2018-19 season preview for the Redbirds

ST. LOUIS, MO - MARCH 4: Milik Yarbrough #52 of the Illinois State Redbirds looks to get pst Lucas Williamson #1 of the Loyola Ramblers during the Missouri Valley Conference Basketball Tournament Championship at the Scottrade Center on March 4, 2018 in St. Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images) /

4 of 5

ST. LOUIS, MO – MARCH 4: Milik Yarbrough /

2018-19 non-conference schedule for the Redbirds

Nov. 6 (H) – Florida Gulf Coast

Nov. 10 (A) – Belmont

Nov. 13 (H) – Chicago State

Nov. 19 (N) Cayman Islands Classic – Georgia, Akron or Clemson, St. Bonaventure, Georgia State, Boise State or Creighton

Nov. 24 (H) – Lindenwood

Nov. 28 (H) – BYU

Dec. 1 (H) – San Diego State

Dec. 5 (A) – University of Illinois at Chicago

Dec. 8 (H) – Ole Miss

Dec. 16 (H) – Cleveland State

Dec. 21 (A) – Central Florida

When Illinois State missed out on the NCAA Tournament two seasons ago, the program went public in an effort to boost their non-conference schedule. After having to play most of their games on the road a year ago, those same opponents will now be coming to the campus of the Redbirds.

What makes this schedule so good is that none of these teams are vastly superior to Illinois State. All of them are winnable games, including against power conference teams such as UCF, Ole Miss and Georgia. There’s also a couple of opportunities in the Cayman Islands Classic against both Clemson and Creighton if the dominoes fall correctly.

The goal for the Redbirds will be to get at least four top-100 wins in the non-conference while avoiding any sub-200 losses. The Missouri Valley just isn’t strong enough from top to bottom to warrant multiple bids, so navigating this tough – yet doable schedule will be important for Illinois State to have any shot at an at-large bid.