1978–79 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball | |
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Kentucky Invitational Tournament, Champion | |
Glacier Bowl Classic, Champion | |
Conference | Big Ten Conference |
Record | 19–11 (7–11 Big Ten) |
Head coach |
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Assistant coaches |
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MVP | Mark Smith |
Captain | Larry Lubin |
Home arena | Assembly Hall |
Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Team | W | L | PCT | W | L | PCT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 3 Michigan State | 13 | – | 5 | .722 | 26 | – | 6 | .813 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 15 Purdue | 13 | – | 5 | .722 | 27 | – | 8 | .771 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 20 Iowa | 13 | – | 5 | .722 | 20 | – | 8 | .714 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Ohio State | 12 | – | 6 | .667 | 19 | – | 12 | .613 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Indiana | 10 | – | 8 | .556 | 22 | – | 12 | .647 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Michigan | 8 | – | 10 | .444 | 15 | – | 12 | .556 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Illinois | 7 | – | 11 | .389 | 19 | – | 11 | .633 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Wisconsin | 6 | – | 12 | .333 | 12 | – | 15 | .444 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Minnesota | 6 | – | 12 | .333 | 11 | – | 16 | .407 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Northwestern | 2 | – | 16 | .111 | 6 | – | 21 | .222 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rankings from AP Poll |
The 1978–79 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team represented the University of Illinois.
Regular season
In 1978-79 season, Illinois finished seventh in the Big Ten, but went 19-11 overall, including ascension to No. 2 in the national polls after starting the year 15-0. During this season, Illinois upset top-ranked Michigan State and Magic Johnson, 57-55, in one of the school’s most memorable games. It was during this season that Illinois also led the nation in field-goal percentage defense (.404).
Roster
1978–79 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Schedule
Source[1]
Date time, TV |
Rank# | Opponent# | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state | ||||||
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Non-Conference regular season | |||||||||||
11/24/1978* no, no |
Texas-Arlington | W 109-74 | 1-0 |
Assembly Hall (9,097) Champaign, IL | |||||||
11/28/1978* no, no |
Denver | W 81-57 | 2-0 |
Assembly Hall (10,092) Champaign, IL | |||||||
12/2/1978* no, no |
at Tulane | W 65-60 | 3-0 |
Devlin Fieldhouse (3,542) New Orleans, LA | |||||||
12/5/1978* no, no |
at Missouri Show-Me Classic |
W 69-57 | 4-0 |
Hearnes Center (6,002) Columbia, MO | |||||||
12/8/1978* no, no |
South Carolina | W 64-57 | 5-0 |
Assembly Hall (12,156) Champaign, IL | |||||||
12/9/1978* no, no |
Centenary | W 86-60 | 6-0 |
Assembly Hall (10,082) Champaign, IL | |||||||
12/16/1978* no, no |
No. 18 | at Kent State | W 82-44 | 7-0 |
Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center (1,020) Kent, OH | ||||||
12/22/1978* no, no |
No. 15 | vs. No. 8 Syracuse Kentucky Invitational Tournament |
W 64-61 | 8-0 |
Rupp Arena (21,000) Lexington, KY | ||||||
12/23/1978* no, no |
No. 15 | vs. No. 7 Texas A&M Kentucky Invitational Tournament |
W 71-57 | 9-0 |
Rupp Arena (23,272) Lexington, KY | ||||||
12/28/1978* no, no |
No. 6 | vs. Western Michigan Glacier Bowl Classic |
W 84-79 | 10-0 |
Buckner Fieldhouse (-) Anchorage, AK | ||||||
12/29/1978* no, no |
No. 6 | vs. Ozarks Glacier Bowl Classic |
W 88-82 | 11-0 |
Buckner Fieldhouse (-) Anchorage, AK | ||||||
12/30/1978* no, no |
No. 6 | at Alaska-Anchorage Glacier Bowl Classic |
W 92-80 | 12-0 |
Buckner Fieldhouse (-) Anchorage, AK | ||||||
Big Ten regular season | |||||||||||
1/4/1979 no, no |
No. 4 | at Indiana Rivalry |
W 65-61 | 13-0 (1-0) |
Assembly Hall (16,104) Bloomington, IN | ||||||
1/6/1979 no, no |
No. 4 | at Northwestern Rivalry |
W 75-56 | 14-0 (2-0) |
McGaw Memorial Hall (7,122) Evanston, IL | ||||||
1/11/1979 no, no |
No. 4 | No. 1 Michigan State | W 57-55 | 15-0 (3-0) |
Assembly Hall (16,209) Champaign, IL | ||||||
1/13/1979 no, no |
No. 4 | Ohio State | L 66-69 OT | 15-1 (3-1) |
Assembly Hall (12,088) Champaign, IL | ||||||
1/18/1979 no, no |
No. 4 | at Wisconsin | W 81-74 | 16-1 (4-1) |
Wisconsin Field House (12,204) Madison, WI | ||||||
1/20/1979 no, no |
No. 4 | Purdue | L 57-69 | 16-2 (4-2) |
Assembly Hall (16,458) Champaign, IL | ||||||
1/25/1979 no, no |
No. 8 | at Iowa Rivalry |
L 52-58 | 16-3 (4-3) |
Iowa Field House (13,355) Iowa City, IA | ||||||
1/27/1979 no, no |
No. 8 | Michigan | L 54-56 | 16-4 (4-4) |
Assembly Hall (16,473) Champaign, IL | ||||||
2/1/1979 no, no |
No. 14 | Minnesota | W 67-57 | 17-4 (5-4) |
Assembly Hall (14,383) Champaign, IL | ||||||
2/3/1979 no, no |
No. 14 | at Michigan | L 65-74 | 17-5 (5-5) |
Crisler Center (13,609) Ann Arbor, MI | ||||||
2/8/1979 no, no |
No. 20 | at Purdue | L 65-71 | 17-6 (5-6) |
Mackey Arena (14,123) West Lafayette, IN | ||||||
2/10/1979 no, no |
No. 20 | at Minnesota | W 59-57 | 18-6 (6-6) |
Williams Arena (16,615) Minneapolis, MN | ||||||
2/15/1979 no, no |
Wisconsin | W 81-64 | 19-6 (7-6) |
Assembly Hall (12,880) Champaign, IL | |||||||
2/17/1979 no, no |
No. 14 Iowa Rivalry |
L 53-67 | 19-7 (7-7) |
Assembly Hall (9,441) Champaign, IL | |||||||
2/22/1979 no, no |
at No. 14 Ohio State | L 55-73 | 19-8 (7-8) |
St. John Arena (13,489) Columbus, OH | |||||||
2/24/1979 no, no |
at No. 7 Michigan State | L 62-76 | 19-9 (7-9) |
Jenison Fieldhouse (10,004) East Lansing, MI | |||||||
3/1/1979 no, no |
Northwestern Rivalry |
L 64-71 | 19-10 (7-10) |
Assembly Hall (12,390) Champaign, IL | |||||||
3/3/1979 no, no |
Indiana Rivalry |
L 60-72 | 19-11 (7-11) |
Assembly Hall (16,503) Champaign, IL | |||||||
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central Time. |
Player stats
Player | Games Played | Minutes Played | Field Goals | Free Throws | Rebounds | Assists | Blocks | Steals | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mark Smith[2] | 30 | 897 | 160 | 84 | 173 | 121 | 23 | 53 | 404 |
Eddie Johnson[3] | 30 | 786 | 168 | 26 | 170 | 52 | 4 | 18 | 362 |
Rob Judson[4] | 30 | 918 | 123 | 35 | 68 | 61 | 3 | 33 | 281 |
Neil Bresnahan[5] | 30 | 840 | 105 | 40 | 236 | 75 | 7 | 32 | 250 |
James Griffin[6] | 30 | 426 | 105 | 19 | 98 | 7 | 29 | 12 | 229 |
Derek Holcomb[7] | 29 | 818 | 90 | 34 | 190 | 49 | 86 | 17 | 214 |
Levi Cobb[8] | 30 | 504 | 68 | 24 | 122 | 29 | 4 | 19 | 160 |
Steve Lanter | 27 | 473 | 35 | 16 | 38 | 52 | 1 | 15 | 72 |
Perry Range[9] | 24 | 180 | 21 | 14 | 25 | 12 | 0 | 8 | 56 |
Bryan Leonard | 16 | 45 | 6 | 11 | 11 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 23 |
Larry Lubin | 22 | 88 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 1 | 6 | 12 |
Kevin Westervelt | 8 | 15 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
Cletis Hubbard | 8 | 22 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
Matt Meyer | 6 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Dave Schulter | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Awards and honors
- Eddie Johnson
- Mark Smith
- Team Most Valuable Player [10]
Team players drafted into the NBA
Player | NBA Club | Round | Pick |
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Rankings
References
- ^ University of Illinois Fighting Illini Statistics Summary for 1978-79 Archived 2013-02-27 at the Wayback Machine, FightingIllini.com
- ^ "pg. 119 Season Stats" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 8, 2011. Retrieved March 25, 2011.
- ^ "pg. 119 Season Stats" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 8, 2011. Retrieved March 25, 2011.
- ^ "pg. 119 Season Stats" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 8, 2011. Retrieved March 25, 2011.
- ^ "pg. 119 Season Stats" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 8, 2011. Retrieved March 25, 2011.
- ^ "pg. 119 Season Stats" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 8, 2011. Retrieved March 25, 2011.
- ^ "pg. 119 Season Stats" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 8, 2011. Retrieved March 25, 2011.
- ^ "pg. 119 Season Stats" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 8, 2011. Retrieved March 25, 2011.
- ^ "pg. 119 Season Stats" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 8, 2011. Retrieved March 25, 2011.
- ^ "List of MVPs" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on October 30, 2014. Retrieved January 15, 2013.
- ^ 1979 NBA Draft Archived 2011-05-20 at the Wayback Machine