The 2021–22 Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball team represented Illinois State University during the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Redbirds played their home games at Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena in Normal, Illinois as members of the Missouri Valley Conference. The team finished the season 13–20, 5–13 in MVC play to finish in eighth place. They defeated Indiana State in the opening round of the MVC tournament before losing to Northern Iowa in the quarterfinals.
Twenty-six games into his tenth season as head coach, Dan Muller was notified by the school he would not be retained; however, the school stated he would be allowed to finish out the remainder of the season. A day later, Muller announced that he would step aside immediately with associate head coach Brian Jones then being named interim coach for the remainder of the season. On March 7, 2022, the school named Ohio State assistant coach Ryan Pedon as the team's new head coach.
Previous season In a season limited due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Redbirds finished the 2020–21 season 7–18, 4–14 in MVC play to finish in 10th place. In the MVC tournament, they lost to Northern Iowa in the first round.
Offseason Departures Name # Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Comment DJ Horne 0 G 6'1" 175 Sophomore Raleigh, NC Arizona State Dedric Boyd 1 G 6'4" 195 RS Junior Brownsville, TN Tennessee State Dusan Mahorcic 21 F 6'10" 240 Junior Belgrade, Serbia Utah
2021 recruiting class
Incoming transfers Name Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Prior school Mark Freeman G 5'11" 165 Junior Memphis, TN Tennessee State Kendall Lewis F 6'7" 190 Junior Snellville, GA Appalachian State Ryan Schmitt F 6'11" 225 Junior Van Meter, IA Des Moines Area CC Liam McChesney F 6'10" 200 RS Sophomore Prince Rupert, BC Utah State
Roster
Schedule and results
!colspan=9 style=|Exhibition
!colspan=9 style=|Regular season
!colspan=9 style=|MVC Tournament
Source
References