Overall: 18-14, .563 W-L% (119th of 273)
Conference: 11-7, 5th in Big Ten (Schedule and Results)
Coach: Gene Keady (18-14)
PS/G: 66.4 (151st of 273) ▪ PA/G: 63.6 (70th of 273)
SRS: 9.38 (43rd of 273) ▪ SOS: 6.54 (22nd of 273)
| G | Date | Type | Opponent | Conf | Tm | Opp | OT | W | L | Streak | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sat, Nov 28, 1981 | REG | Tennessee | SEC | W | 82 | 68 | 1 | 0 | W 1 | ||
| 2 | Mon, Nov 30, 1981 | REG | Jackson State | SWAC | W | 81 | 47 | 2 | 0 | W 2 | ||
| 3 | Sat, Dec 5, 1981 | REG | @ | DePaul | Ind | L | 67 | 73 | 2 | 1 | L 1 | |
| 4 | Mon, Dec 7, 1981 | REG | Butler | MW City | W | 75 | 46 | 3 | 1 | W 1 | ||
| 5 | Wed, Dec 9, 1981 | REG | Louisville | Metro | L | 71 | 73 | 3 | 2 | L 1 | ||
| 6 | Sat, Dec 12, 1981 | REG | @ | Oklahoma | Big 8 | L | 77 | 80 | 3 | 3 | L 2 | |
| 7 | Sat, Dec 19, 1981 | REG | @ | Syracuse | Big East | L | 74 | 78 | 3 | 4 | L 3 | |
| 8 | Mon, Dec 28, 1981 | REG | N | Houston | SWC | L | 58 | 59 | 3 | 5 | L 4 | |
| 9 | Tue, Dec 29, 1981 | REG | N | Wake Forest | ACC | L | 68 | 76 | 3 | 6 | L 5 | |
| 10 | Thu, Jan 7, 1982 | REG | @ | Iowa | Big Ten | L | 40 | 62 | 3 | 7 | L 6 | |
| 11 | Sat, Jan 9, 1982 | REG | @ | Michigan | Big Ten | W | 88 | 69 | 4 | 7 | W 1 | |
| 12 | Thu, Jan 14, 1982 | REG | Michigan State | Big Ten | W | 53 | 47 | 5 | 7 | W 2 | ||
| 13 | Sat, Jan 16, 1982 | REG | Northwestern | Big Ten | W | 56 | 51 | 6 | 7 | W 3 | ||
| 14 | Thu, Jan 21, 1982 | REG | @ | Ohio State | Big Ten | W | 66 | 60 | 7 | 7 | W 4 | |
| 15 | Sat, Jan 23, 1982 | REG | @ | Indiana | Big Ten | L | 55 | 77 | 7 | 8 | L 1 | |
| 16 | Thu, Jan 28, 1982 | REG | Illinois | Big Ten | L | 48 | 63 | 7 | 9 | L 2 | ||
| 17 | Sat, Jan 30, 1982 | REG | Wisconsin | Big Ten | W | 81 | 67 | 8 | 9 | W 1 | ||
| 18 | Thu, Feb 4, 1982 | REG | @ | Minnesota | Big Ten | L | 50 | 73 | 8 | 10 | L 1 | |
| 19 | Sat, Feb 6, 1982 | REG | @ | Wisconsin | Big Ten | W | 55 | 46 | 9 | 10 | W 1 | |
| 20 | Thu, Feb 11, 1982 | REG | Ohio State | Big Ten | L | 68 | 74 | 9 | 11 | L 1 | ||
| 21 | Sat, Feb 13, 1982 | REG | Minnesota | Big Ten | L | 52 | 53 | 9 | 12 | L 2 | ||
| 22 | Thu, Feb 18, 1982 | REG | @ | Illinois | Big Ten | W | 52 | 44 | 10 | 12 | W 1 | |
| 23 | Sat, Feb 20, 1982 | REG | Indiana | Big Ten | W | 76 | 65 | 11 | 12 | W 2 | ||
| 24 | Thu, Feb 25, 1982 | REG | @ | Northwestern | Big Ten | L | 50 | 67 | 11 | 13 | L 1 | |
| 25 | Sat, Feb 27, 1982 | REG | @ | Michigan State | Big Ten | W | 51 | 49 | 12 | 13 | W 1 | |
| 26 | Thu, Mar 4, 1982 | REG | Michigan | Big Ten | W | 90 | 77 | 13 | 13 | W 2 | ||
| 27 | Sat, Mar 6, 1982 | REG | Iowa | Big Ten | W | 66 | 65 | 14 | 13 | W 3 | ||
| G | Date | Type | Opponent | Conf | Tm | Opp | OT | W | L | Streak | ||
| 28 | Wed, Mar 10, 1982 | NIT | Western Kentucky | OVC | W | 72 | 65 | 15 | 13 | W 4 | ||
| 29 | Mon, Mar 15, 1982 | NIT | Rutgers | EAA | W | 98 | 65 | 16 | 13 | W 5 | ||
| 30 | Fri, Mar 19, 1982 | NIT | Texas A&M | SWC | W | 86 | 68 | 17 | 13 | W 6 | ||
| 31 | Mon, Mar 22, 1982 | NIT | N | Georgia | SEC | W | 61 | 60 | 18 | 13 | W 7 | |
| 32 | Wed, Mar 24, 1982 | NIT | N | Bradley | MVC | L | 58 | 67 | 18 | 14 | L 1 |