Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball
| Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball | ||||
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| University | University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign | |||
| Conference | Big Ten | |||
| Location | Champaign, IL | |||
| Head coach | John Groce (5th year) | |||
| Arena |
State Farm Center (Capacity: 15,500) |
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| Nickname | Fighting Illini | |||
| Student section | Orange Krush | |||
| Colors | Orange and Blue |
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| Uniforms | ||||
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| Pre-tournament Premo-Porretta champions | ||||
| 1915, 1943 | ||||
| Pre-tournament Helms champions | ||||
| 1915 | ||||
| NCAA Tournament runner-up | ||||
| 2005 | ||||
| NCAA Tournament Final Four | ||||
| 1949, 1951, 1952, 1989, 2005 | ||||
| NCAA Tournament Elite Eight | ||||
| 1942, 1949, 1951, 1952, 1963, 1984, 1989, 2001, 2005 | ||||
| NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen | ||||
| 1951, 1952, 1963, 1981, 1984, 1985, 1989, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005 | ||||
| NCAA Tournament Round of 32 | ||||
| 1981, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1993, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2011, 2013 | ||||
| NCAA Tournament appearances | ||||
| 1942, 1949, 1951, 1952, 1963, 1981, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013 | ||||
| Conference tournament champions | ||||
| 2003, 2005 | ||||
| Conference regular season champions | ||||
| 1915, 1917, 1924, 1935, 1937, 1942, 1943, 1949, 1951, 1952, 1963, 1984, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005 | ||||
| Fighting Illini in the NBA | |
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| NBA Draft Selections | |
| Total selected: | 68 |
| Lottery Picks in Draft: | 3 |
| 1st round: | 15 |
| Notable Achievements | |
| Olympic Gold Medal Winners: | 1 player twice |
| NBA Champions: | 4 |
| Naismith Basketball-Hall-of-Famers: | 4 |
The Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team is an NCAA Division I college basketball team competing in the Big Ten Conference. Home games are played at the assembly hall, located on the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign's campus in Champaign.
The team's head coach is currently John Groce. Through the end of the 2013–14 season, Illinois ranks 11th all-time in winning percentage and 14th all-time in wins among all NCAA Division I men's college basketball programs.
Prior to World War II breaking out, the Fighting Illini men's basketball program had achieved a status which it had never seen prior. Under the direction of head coach and athletic director Douglas R. Mills, the Illini grouped a team of players, all around 6' 3", into a nearly undefeatable lineup later to be known as "The Whiz Kids". As freshman and sophomores, the 1941–42 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team dominated the Big Ten conference basketball season by posting a 13–2 record, overall finishing with 18 wins and only 5 losses. A starting lineup of freshman and sophomores, Arthur "Jack" Smiley, Ken Menke, Andy Phillip, Ellis "Gene" Vance, Victor Wukovits and Art Mathison, developed a winning attitude that would maintain for the next 15 years, a time period where the Illini would finish no less than third in the conference for 13 of them. Despite being ranked No. 1 in the nation, the 1943 Illinois men's basketball squad opted not to play in the NCAA Tournament when three of its five 'Whiz Kids' were called to duty in World War II
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