1978–79 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team

1978–79 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball
Kentucky Invitational Tournament, Champion
Glacier Bowl Classic, Champion
Conference Big Ten Conference
Ranking
Coaches No. Not ranked
AP No. Not ranked
1978–79 record 19–11 (7–11 Big Ten)
Head coach Lou Henson
Assistant coach Tony Yates
Assistant coach Mark Bial
Assistant coach Les Wothke
MVP Mark Smith
Captain Larry Lubin
Home arena Assembly Hall
1978–79 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
No. 3 Michigan State13–5 .722  26–6  .813
No. 15 Purdue13–5 .722  27–8  .771
No. 20 Iowa13–5 .722  20–8  .714
Ohio State12–6 .667  19–12  .613
Indiana10–8 .556  22–12  .647
Michigan8–10 .444  15–12  .556
Illinois7–11 .389  19–11  .633
Wisconsin6–12 .333  12–15  .444
Minnesota6–12 .333  11–16  .407
Northwestern2–16 .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
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearPrevious schoolHometown
G 10 Reno Gray  6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)170 lb (77 kg) RS JrHales Franciscan High School Chicago, Illinois
G 12 Kevin Westervelt 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)165 lb (75 kg) JrRichwoods High School Peoria, Illinois
C 13 James Griffin 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)200 lb (91 kg) FrDunbar High School Grandview, Texas
G 15 Cletis Hubbard 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)180 lb (82 kg) SrDunbar High School Ft. Worth, Texas
G 20 Matt Meyer 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)165 lb (75 kg) SrForeman High School Mantino, Illinois
G 21 Steve Lanter 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)190 lb (86 kg) RS JrMascoutah Community High School Belleville, Illinois
G 22 Perry Range 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)180 lb (82 kg) FrSouth Beloit High School South Beloit, Illinois
G 23 Larry Lubin (C) 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)175 lb (79 kg) SrNew Trier High School Glencoe, Illinois
G 30 Rob Judson 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)175 lb (79 kg) JrZion-Benton High School Zion, Illinois
F 31 Neil Bresnahan 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)200 lb (91 kg) JrFenwick High School Oak Park, Illinois
F 32 Levi Cobb 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)200 lb (91 kg) JrMorgan Park High School Chicago, Illinois
F 33 Eddie Johnson 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)210 lb (95 kg) SoWestinghouse High School Chicago, Illinois
F 42 Mark Smith 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)195 lb (88 kg) SoRichwoods High School Peoria, Illinois
F 43 Bryan Leonard 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)210 lb (95 kg) FrBelleville High School-East Belleville, Illinois
C 44 Derek Holcomb 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)230 lb (104 kg) SoRichwoods High School Peoria, Illinois
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

All-Time Illini Roster

Source[1] [2]

Schedule

Source[3]

Date
time, TV		 Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Non-Conference regular season
11/24/1978*
no, no		 No. NR Texas-Arlington W 109-74  1-0
 Assembly Hall (9,097)
Champaign, IL
11/28/1978*
no, no		 No. NR Denver W 81-57  2-0
 Assembly Hall (10,092)
Champaign, IL
12/2/1978*
no, no		 No. NR Tulane W 65-60  3-0
 Devlin Fieldhouse (3,542)
New Orleans, LA
12/5/1978*
no, no		 No. NR Missouri
Show-Me Classic		 W 69-57  4-0
 Hearnes Center (6,002)
Columbia, MO
12/8/1978*
no, no		 No. NR South Carolina W 64-57  5-0
 Assembly Hall (12,156)
Champaign, IL
12/9/1978*
no, no		 No. NR Centenary W 86-60  6-0
 Assembly Hall (10,082)
Champaign, IL
12/16/1978*
no, no		 No. 18 Kent State W 82-44  7-0
 Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center (1,020)
Kent, OH
12/22/1978*
no, no		 No. 15 Syracuse (#8)
Kentucky Invitational Tournament		 W 64-61  8-0
 Rupp Arena (21,000)
Lexington, KY
12/23/1978*
no, no		 No. 15 Texas A&M (#7)
Kentucky Invitational Tournament		 W 71-57  9-0
 Rupp Arena (23,272)
Lexington, KY
12/28/1978*
no, no		 No. 6 Western Michigan
Glacier Bowl Classic		 W 84-79  10-0
 Buckner Fieldhouse (-)
Anchorage, AK
12/29/1978*
no, no		 No. 6 Ozarks
Glacier Bowl Classic		 W 88-82  11-0
 Buckner Fieldhouse (-)
Anchorage, AK
12/30/1978*
no, no		 No. 6 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 Indiana
Rivalry		 W 65-61  13-0 (1-0)
 Assembly Hall (16,104)
Bloomington, IN
1/6/1979
no, no		 No. 4 Northwestern W 75-56  14-0 (2-0)
 McGaw Memorial Hall (7,122)
Evanston, IL
1/11/1979
no, no		 No. 4 Michigan State (#1) 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 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 Iowa 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 Michigan L 65-74  17-5 (5-5)
 Crisler Center (13,609)
Ann Arbor, MI
2/8/1979
no, no		 No. 20 Purdue L 65-71  17-6 (5-6)
 Mackey Arena (14,123)
West Lafayette, IN
2/10/1979
no, no		 No. 20 Minnesota W 59-57  18-6 (6-6)
 Williams Arena (16,615)
Minneapolis, MN
2/15/1979
no, no		 No. NR Wisconsin W 81-64  19-6 (7-6)
 Assembly Hall (12,880)
Champaign, IL
2/17/1979
no, no		 No. NR Iowa (#14) L 53-67  19-7 (7-7)
 Assembly Hall (9,441)
Champaign, IL
2/22/1979
no, no		 No. NR Ohio State (#14) L 55-73  19-8 (7-8)
 St. John Arena (13,489)
Columbus, OH
2/24/1979
no, no		 No. NR Michigan State (#7) L 62-76  19-9 (7-9)
 Jenison Fieldhouse (10,004)
East Lansing, MI
3/1/1979
no, no		 No. NR Northwestern L 64-71  19-10 (7-10)
 Assembly Hall (12,390)
Champaign, IL
3/3/1979
no, no		 No. NR 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[4]30897160841731212353404
Eddie Johnson[5]307861682617052418362
Rob Judson[6]30918123356861333281
Neil Bresnahan[7]308401054023675732250
James Griffin[8]30426105199872912229
Derek Holcomb[9]298189034190498617214
Levi Cobb[10]30504682412229419160
Steve Lanter274733516385211572
Perry Range[11]24180211425120856
Bryan Leonard16456111114223
Larry Lubin228860491612
Kevin Westervelt8152530009
Cletis Hubbard8222224016
Matt Meyer690010000
Dave Schulter250011000

Awards and honors

Team players drafted into the NBA

Player NBA Club Round Pick

[13]

Rankings

References

  1. ↑ Men's Basketball Roster
  2. ↑ All-Time Illini Rosters Archived 2010-04-22 at the Wayback Machine.
  3. ↑ University of Illinois Fighting Illini Statistics Summary for 1978-79 Archived 2013-02-27 at the Wayback Machine., FightingIllini.com
  4. ↑ pg. 119 Season Stats
  5. ↑ pg. 119 Season Stats
  6. ↑ pg. 119 Season Stats
  7. ↑ pg. 119 Season Stats
  8. ↑ pg. 119 Season Stats
  9. ↑ pg. 119 Season Stats
  10. ↑ pg. 119 Season Stats
  11. ↑ pg. 119 Season Stats
  12. ↑ List of MVPs
  13. ↑ 1979 NBA Draft Archived 2011-05-20 at the Wayback Machine.
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