1997–98 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team

1997–98 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball
Conference Big Ten Conference
Ranking
Coaches No. 23
AP No. 22
1997–98 record 23–10 (13–3 Big Ten)
Head coach Lon Kruger
Assistant coach Robert McCullum
Assistant coach Rob Judson
Assistant coach Steve Henson
MVP Jerry Hester
MVP Kevin Turner
Captain Jerry Hester
Brian Johnson
Matt Heldman
Home arena Assembly Hall
1997–98 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
No. 16 Michigan State13–3 .813  22–8  .733
No. 22 Illinois13–3 .813  23–10  .697
No. 11 Purdue12–4 .750  28–8  .778
Iowa9–7 .563  20–11  .645
Indiana9–7 .563  20–12  .625
Penn State8–8 .500  19–13  .594
Northwestern3–13 .188  10–17  .370
Wisconsin3–13 .188  12–19  .387
Ohio State1–15 .063  8–22  .267
No. 12 Michigan* †0–5 .000  0–8  .000
Minnesota**0–10 .000  0–15  .000
† 1998 Big Ten Tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll
*Michigan: 24 reg. season games including Big Ten Tourn. Champ.; 2 NCAA Tourn. games vacated due to sanctions against the program
**Minnesota: 15 games including 5 NIT games and championship vacated due to sanctions against the program
Disputed records: Michigan 25–9, 11–5; Minnesota 20–15, 6–10
"1997-98 Fighting Illini men's basketball team"

The 1997–98 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team represented the University of Illinois.

Regular season

During the 1997-98 season, head coach Lon Kruger did the unthinkable as he took a team picked to finish seventh in the Big Ten and guided the Illini to a share of its first Big Ten title since 1984. On the way to the league crown, Illinois went 5-0 against Indiana, Iowa and Michigan, marking the first time in school history the Illini had gone undefeated against those teams during the course of a season. Illinois advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament after earning a No. 5 seed in the West Regional. The Illini defense was the Big Ten's best as Illinois finished the year first in scoring defense, fieldgoal defense and three-point defense in conference games. Additionally, this would be the inaugural season for the Big Ten Tournament, thus reducing the number of regular season conference games by 2, from 18 to 16. Illinois received 2nd seed for the tournament.

Roster

1997–98 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearPrevious schoolHometown
F 00 Victor Chukwudebe 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)230 lb (104 kg) SoLanphier High School Springfield, Illinois
G 4 Arias Davis 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)180 lb (82 kg) JrWare County High School Waycross, Georgia
G 10 Jelani Boline 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)170 lb (77 kg) SrWhitney Young High School Chicago, Illinois
G 12 Jeff Reichardt 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)185 lb (84 kg) SoSchaumburg High School Schaumburg, Illinois
G 13 Cory Bradford  6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)200 lb (91 kg) RS FrRaleigh Egypt High School Memphis, Tennessee
G 21 Matt Heldman (C) 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)165 lb (75 kg) SrLibertyville High School Libertyville, Illinois
F 23 Jerry Hester (C) 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)210 lb (95 kg) RS SrManual High School Peoria, Illinois
G 30 Luke Williams 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)185 lb (84 kg) FrShiloh High School Brocton, Illinois
G 31 David Freeman 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)220 lb (100 kg) SrChampaign Central High School Champaign, Illinois
F 32 Jarrod Gee 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)240 lb (109 kg) SrSt. Martin de Porres High School Chicago, Illinois
G 33 Kevin Turner 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)170 lb (77 kg) SrSimeon High School Chicago, Illinois
F 34 Brian Johnson (C) 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)215 lb (98 kg) RS SrMaine West High School Des Plaines, Illinois
F 35 Carvell Ammons  6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)205 lb (93 kg) RS SoCentennial High School Champaign, Illinois
G/F 40 Sergio McClain 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)230 lb (104 kg) FrManual High School Peoria, Illinois
G/F 42 Awvee Storey 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)215 lb (98 kg) FrProviso West High School Chicago, Illinois
F 44 Rich Beyers 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)230 lb (104 kg) FrShelbyville High School Shelbyville, Illinois
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

All-Time Illini Rosters Roster

Source[1]

Schedule

Source[2]

Date
time, TV		 Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Non-Conference regular season
11/17/1997*
no, no		 No. NR vs. Bradley W 69-59  1-0
 Assembly Hall (13,304)
Champaign, Illinois
11/15/1997*
no, no		 No. NR vs. Georgia Southern W 82-53  2-0
 Assembly Hall (10,789)
Champaign, Illinois
11/24/1997*
no, no		 No. NR vs. Illinois-Chicago W 71-70  3-0
 Assembly Hall (10,789)
Champaign, Illinois
11/27/1997*
no, no		 No. NR vs. Wichita State
Puerto Rico Shootout		 W 70-57  4-0
 Coliseo Rubén Rodríguez (1,500)
Bayamón, PR
11/28/1997*
no, no		 No. NR vs. #19 Louisville
Puerto Rico Shootout		 L 57-58  4-1
 Coliseo Rubén Rodríguez (1,500)
Bayamón, PR
11/29/1997*
no, no		 No. NR vs. St. John's
Puerto Rico Shootout		 L 66-83  4-2
 Coliseo Rubén Rodríguez (500)
Bayamón, PR
12/2/1997*
no, no		 No. NR vs. Texas-Pan American W 88-60  5-2
 Assembly Hall (10,456)
Champaign, Illinois
12/6/1997*
no, no		 No. NR @ St. Louis L 51-57  5-3
 TWA Dome (32,429)
St. Louis, Missouri
12/8/1997*
no, no		 No. NR vs. Maine W 88-69  6-3
 Assembly Hall (10,742)
Champaign, Illinois
12/13/1997*
no, no		 No. NR vs. #17 Clemson W 71-61  7-3
 United Center (9,282)
Chicago
12/20/1997*
no, no		 No. NR vs. Texas W 105-80  8-3
 Assembly Hall (14,746)
Champaign, Illinois
12/23/1997*
no, no		 No. NR vs. Missouri
Braggin' Rights		 L 69-75  8-4
 Scottrade Center (22,371)
St. Louis, Missouri
12/30/1997*
no, no		 No. NR @ #9 UCLA L 69-74  8-5
 Pauley Pavilion (12,055)
Los Angeles
Big Ten regular season
1/3/1998
no, no		 No. NR vs. Indiana
Rivalry		 W 74-72  9-5 (1-0)
 Assembly Hall (16,450)
Champaign, Illinois
1/8/1998
no, no		 No. NR @ Iowa W 76-64  10-5 (2-0)
 Carver–Hawkeye Arena (15,500)
Iowa City, Iowa
1/10/1998
no, no		 No. NR @ Northwestern W 59-44  11-5 (3-0)
 Welsh-Ryan Arena (8,117)
Evanston, Illinois
1/13/1998
no, no		 No. NR vs. #9 Purdue L 58-68  11-6 (3-1)
 Assembly Hall (14,874)
Champaign, Illinois
1/17/1998
no, no		 No. NR @ Michigan State L 64-68  11-7 (3-2)
 Breslin Student Events Center (14,874)
East Lansing, Michigan
1/21/1998
no, no		 No. NR vs. Wisconsin W 62-48  12-7 (4-2)
 Assembly Hall (11,281)
Champaign, Illinois
1/25/1998
no, no		 No. NR vs. #16 Michigan W 64-53  13-7 (5-2)
 Assembly Hall (16,450)
Champaign, Illinois
1/28/1998
no, no		 No. 24 @ Ohio State W 66-62  14-7 (6-2)
 St. John Arena (9,250)
Columbus, Ohio
1/31/1998
no, no		 No. NR @ Penn State W 77-71  15-7 (7-2)
 Bryce Jordan Center (12,977)
University Park, Pennsylvania
2/4/1998
no, no		 No. NR vs. Minnesota W 68-56  16-7 (8-2)
 Assembly Hall (12,204)
Champaign, Illinois
2/7/1998
no, no		 No. NR @ Wisconsin W 53-47 ot 17-7 (9-2)
 Kohl Center (16,414)
Madison, Wisconsin
2/12/1998
no, no		 No. NR vs. #13 Michigan State W 84-63  18-7 (10-2)
 Assembly Hall (16,450)
Champaign, Illinois
2/14/1998
no, no		 No. NR @ #8 Purdue L 72-75  18-8 (10-3)
 Mackey Arena (14,123)
West Lafayette, Indiana
2/18/1998
no, no		 No. 23 vs. Northwestern W 69-57  19-8 (11-3)
 Assembly Hall (16,450)
Champaign, Illinois
2/22/1998
no, no		 No. 23 vs. Iowa W 79-72  20-8 (12-3)
 Assembly Hall (16,450)
Champaign, Illinois
2/24/1998
no, no		 No. 22 @ Indiana
Rivalry		 W 82-72  21-8 (13-3)
 Assembly Hall (17,103)
Bloomington, Indiana
Big Ten Tournament
3/6/1998*
no, no		 No. 22 vs. Wisconsin
Quarterfinals		 W 66-61  22-8
 United Center (21,711)
Chicago, Illinois
3/7/1998*
no, no		 No. 22 vs. #9 Purdue
Semifinals		 L 47-68  22-9
 United Center (21,711)
Chicago, Illinois
NCAA Tournament[3]
3/12/1998*
no, no		 No. 22 vs. South Alabama
First Round		 W 64-51  23-9
 ARCO Arena (14,920)
Sacramento, California
3/14/1998*
no, no		 No. 22 vs. Maryland
Second Round		 L 61-67  23-10
 Arco Arena (16,402)
Sacramento, California
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central Time.

Player stats

Player Games Played 2 pt. Field Goals 3 pt. Field Goals Free Throws Rebounds Assists Blocks Steals Points
Kevin Turner[4]33137787610591244584
Jerry Hester[5]33146407417549828486
Matt Heldman[6]3330679897131042359
Jerry Gee[7]33115049175232932279
Brian Johnson[8]3383066147781729232
Sergio McClain[9]333842810354940116
Arias Davis[10]28724322100689
Victor Chukwudebe[11]33250101101191366
Awvee Storey1724063265554
Rich Beyers214061830114
Jelani Boline280081016308
David Freeman1930150017
Jeff Reichardt102000006
Luke Williams100000000

Awards and honors

  • Jerry Hester
    • Team Co-Most Valuable Player [12]
  • Kevin Turner
    • Team Co-Most Valuable Player

Team players drafted into the NBA

Player NBA Club Round Pick

[13]

Rankings

References

  1. ↑ FightingIllini.com
  2. ↑ University of Illinois Fighting Illini Statistics Summary for 1997-98 Archived 2014-02-22 at the Wayback Machine., FightingIllini.com
  3. ↑ 1998 NCAA Tournament
  4. ↑ Season Stats pg. 124
  5. ↑ Season Stats pg. 124
  6. ↑ Season Stats pg. 124
  7. ↑ Season Stats pg. 124
  8. ↑ Season Stats pg. 124
  9. ↑ Season Stats pg. 124
  10. ↑ Season Stats pg. 124
  11. ↑ Season Stats pg. 124
  12. ↑ List of MVPs
  13. ↑ 1998 NBA Draft Archived 2013-01-05 at the Wayback Machine.


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