1979–80 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team
Appearance
{{{year}}} [[{{{team}}} men's basketball]] | |
---|---|
Ranking | |
Coaches | No. Not ranked |
AP | No. Not ranked |
Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Team | W | L | PCT | W | L | PCT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 7 Indiana | 13 | – | 5 | .722 | 21 | – | 8 | .724 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 10 Ohio State | 12 | – | 6 | .667 | 21 | – | 8 | .724 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 20 Purdue | 11 | – | 7 | .611 | 23 | – | 10 | .697 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Iowa | 10 | – | 8 | .556 | 23 | – | 10 | .697 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Minnesota | 10 | – | 8 | .556 | 21 | – | 11 | .656 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Illinois | 8 | – | 10 | .444 | 22 | – | 13 | .629 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Michigan | 8 | – | 10 | .444 | 17 | – | 13 | .567 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Wisconsin | 7 | – | 11 | .389 | 15 | – | 14 | .517 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Michigan State | 6 | – | 12 | .333 | 12 | – | 15 | .444 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Northwestern | 5 | – | 13 | .278 | 10 | – | 17 | .370 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rankings from AP Poll |
The 1979–80 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team represented the University of Illinois.
Regular season
For the 1979-80 season, head coach Lou Henson returned everyone from a team that finished with 19 wins. The team gave the head coach his first of 11, 20-win seasons at Illinois. That year, Illinois made its first postseason appearance since 1963, finishing third in the NIT. During the course of the season, the Illini would defeat eventual NCAA Tournament Champion, Louisville
Team
No. | Player | Hometown | High School | Class | Position |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
10 | Reno Gray | Chicago, Illinois | Hales Franciscan High School | Sr. | Guard |
12 | Kevin Westervelt | Peoria, Illinois | Richwoods High School | Sr. | Guard |
13 | James Griffin | Grandview, Texas | Dunbar High School | So. | Center |
20 | Kevin Bontemps | Morton, Illinois | Morton High School | Fr. | Guard |
21 | Quinn Richardson | Robbins, Illinois | Eisenhower High School | Fr. | Guard |
22 | Perry Range | South Beloit, Illinois | South Beloit High School | So. | Guard |
30 | Rob Judson | Zion, Illinois | Zion-Benton High School | Sr. | Guard |
31 | Neil Bresnahan (co-captain) | Oak Park, Illinois | Fenwick High School | Sr. | Forward |
32 | Levi Cobb (co-captain) | Chicago, Illinois | Morgan Park High School | Sr. | Forward |
33 | Eddie Johnson | Chicago, Illinois | Westinghouse High School | Jr. | Forward |
42 | Mark Smith | Peoria, Illinois | Richwoods High School | Jr. | Forward |
43 | Bryan Leonard | Belleville, Illinois | Belleville High School-East | So. | Forward |
44 | Derek Holcomb | Peoria, Illinois | Richwoods High School | Jr. | Center |
- Head Coach Lou Henson (5th year at Illinois)[2]
Schedule
Source[3]
Date time, TV |
Opponent | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Regular Season | |||||||||||
11/30/1979* no, no |
BYU (#15) | W 86-76 | 1-0 |
Marriott Center (23,042) Provo, UT | |||||||
12/4/1979* no, no |
Missouri Show-Me Classic |
L 66-67 OT | 1-1 |
Assembly Hall (14,004) Champaign, IL | |||||||
12/6/1979* no, no |
Kent State | W 74-65 | 2-1 |
Assembly Hall (13,090) Champaign, IL | |||||||
12/8/1979* no, no |
Long Beach State | W 77-60 | 3-1 |
Assembly Hall (14,075) Champaign, IL | |||||||
12/10/1979* no, no |
TCU | W 79-64 | 4-1 |
Daniel–Meyer Coliseum (4,110) Fort Worth, TX | |||||||
12/11/1979* no, no |
Missouri-St. Louis | W 91-65 | 5-1 |
Assembly Hall (13,021) Champaign, IL | |||||||
12/14/1979* no, no |
Kentucky State Illini Classic |
W 94-65 | 6-1 |
Assembly Hall (14,363) Champaign, IL | |||||||
12/15/1979* no, no |
Illinois State Illini Classic |
W 47-40 | 7-1 |
Assembly Hall (16,257) Champaign, IL | |||||||
12/22/1979* no, no |
Marquette | L 78-80 | 7-2 |
Assembly Hall (12,618) Champaign, IL | |||||||
12/28/1979* no, no |
Army Rainbow Classic |
W 75-48 | 8-2 |
Neal S. Blaisdell Center (-) Honolulu, HI | |||||||
12/29/1979* no, no |
Louisville (#12) Rainbow Classic |
W 77-64 | 9-2 |
Neal S. Blaisdell Center (-) Honolulu, HI | |||||||
12/30/1979* no, no |
Hawaii Rainbow Classic |
W 94-82 | 10-2 |
Neal S. Blaisdell Center (-) Honolulu, HI | |||||||
1/3/1980 no, no |
Iowa (#10) | L 71-72 | 10-3 (0-1) |
Assembly Hall (10,839) Champaign, IL | |||||||
1/5/1980 no, no |
Northwestern | W 81-71 | 11-3 (1-1) |
Assembly Hall (9,174) Champaign, IL | |||||||
1/10/1980 no, no |
Purdue (#10) | L 66-74 | 11-4 (1-2) |
Mackey Arena (12,982) West Lafayette, IN | |||||||
1/12/1980 no, no |
Minnesota | L 75-79 | 11-5 (1-3) |
Williams Arena (15,381) Minneapolis, MN | |||||||
1/17/1980 no, no |
Michigan | W 80-69 | 12-5 (2-3) |
Assembly Hall (14,746) Champaign, IL | |||||||
1/19/1980 no, no |
Wisconsin | W 69-64 | 13-5 (3-3) |
Wisconsin Field House (10,386) Madison, WI | |||||||
1/24/1980 no, no |
Ohio State (#4) | L 76-79 | 13-6 (3-4) |
Assembly Hall (16,383) Champaign, IL | |||||||
1/26/1980 no, no |
Michigan State | W 74-65 | 14-6 (4-4) |
Assembly Hall (16,490) Champaign, IL | |||||||
1/31/1980 no, no |
Indiana (#18) | L 54-60 | 14-7 (4-5) |
Assembly Hall (16,723) Bloomington, IN | |||||||
2/2/1980 no, no |
Michigan State | L 59-68 | 14-8 (4-6) |
Jenison Fieldhouse (10,004) East Lansing, MI | |||||||
2/7/1980 no, no |
Wisconsin | W 67-50 | 15-8 (5-6) |
Assembly Hall (13,873) Champaign, IL | |||||||
2/9/1980 no, no |
Indiana (#20) | W 89-68 | 16-8 (6-6) |
Assembly Hall (16,614) Champaign, IL | |||||||
2/14/1980 no, no |
Michigan | L 76-78 | 16-9 (6-7) |
Crisler Center (9,738) Ann Arbor, MI | |||||||
2/16/1980 no, no |
Ohio State (#9) | L 57-71 | 16-10 (6-8) |
St. John Arena (13,591) Columbus, OH | |||||||
2/21/1980 no, no |
Minnesota | W 60-58 OT | 17-10 (7-8) |
Assembly Hall (14,592) Champaign, IL | |||||||
2/23/1980 no, no |
Purdue (#15) | L 69-72 | 17-11 (7-9) |
Assembly Hall (16,647) Champaign, IL | |||||||
2/28/1980 no, no |
Northwestern | W 90-66 | 18-11 (8-9) |
Welsh-Ryan Arena (5,426) Evanston, IL | |||||||
3/1/1980 no, no |
Iowa | L 71-75 | 18-12 (8-10) |
Iowa Field House (13,365) Iowa City, IA | |||||||
National Invitational Tournament | |||||||||||
3/5/1980* no, no |
Loyola Chicago National Invitational Tournament |
W 105-87 | 19-12 |
Assembly Hall (13,326) Champaign, IL | |||||||
3/10/1980* no, no |
Illinois State National Invitation Tournament |
W 75-65 | 20-12 |
Assembly Hall (16,193) Champaign, IL | |||||||
3/13/1980* no, no |
Murray State National Invitational Tournament |
W 65-63 | 21-12 |
Assembly Hall (15,070) Champaign, IL | |||||||
3/17/1980* no, no |
Minnesota National Invitational Tournament |
L 63-65 | 21-13 |
Madison Square Garden (11,223) New York, NY | |||||||
3/19/1980* no, no |
UNLV National Invitational Tournament |
W 84-74 | 22-13 |
Madison Square Garden (-) New York, NY | |||||||
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central Time. |
Player stats
Player | Games Played | Field Goals | Free Throws | Rebounds | Assists | Blocks | Steals | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Eddie Johnson[4] | 35 | 266 | 78 | 310 | 71 | 7 | 13 | 610 |
Mark Smith[5] | 35 | 187 | 161 | 214 | 95 | 11 | 35 | 535 |
Reno Gray[6] | 35 | 131 | 57 | 47 | 109 | 2 | 39 | 319 |
James Griffin[7] | 35 | 119 | 36 | 154 | 25 | 39 | 18 | 274 |
Perry Range[8] | 35 | 90 | 63 | 85 | 64 | 2 | 36 | 243 |
Derek Holcomb[9] | 31 | 72 | 36 | 164 | 44 | 46 | 15 | 180 |
Neil Bresnahan[10] | 35 | 67 | 27 | 121 | 64 | 11 | 14 | 161 |
Rob Judson[11] | 31 | 59 | 32 | 44 | 47 | 0 | 15 | 150 |
National Invitation Tournament
- First Round
- Illinois 105, Loyola 87
- Second Round
- Illinois 75, Illinois State 65
- Quarterfinal
- Illinois 65, Murray State 63
- Semifinal
- Minnesota 65, Illinois 63
- Third Place Game
- Illinois 84, UNLV 74
Awards and honors
- Eddie Johnson
- Fighting Illini All-Century team (2005)
- Team Most Valuable Player[13]
Team players drafted into the NBA
Round | Pick | Player | NBA Club |
---|---|---|---|
6 | 117 | Neil Bresnahan | Golden State Warriors |
Rankings
References
- ^ Rainbow Classic History
- ^ All-Time Illini Rosters
- ^ University of Illinois Fighting Illini Statistics Summary for 1979-80, FightingIllini.com
- ^ Season Stats pg. 119
- ^ Season Stats pg. 119
- ^ Season Stats pg. 119
- ^ Season Stats pg. 119
- ^ Season Stats pg. 119
- ^ Season Stats pg. 119
- ^ Season Stats pg. 119
- ^ Season Stats pg. 119
- ^ History of the National Invitation Tournament Archived 2009-11-07 at WebCite
- ^ List of MVPs
- ^ 1980 NBA Draft