1975–76 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team
The 1975–76 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team represented the University of Illinois.
Regular season
During the 1975-76 season, Illinois finished seventh in the Big Ten going went 14-13 overall. Lou Henson took over the team as head coach. Henson moved to the University of Illinois to replace Gene Bartow, after Bartow left Illinois to replace John Wooden at UCLA. Henson would lead the Fighting Illini to the 1989 Final Four. In 21 years at Illinois, Henson garnered 423 wins and 224 losses (.654 winning percentage), and with a record of 214 wins and 164 losses (.567) in Big Ten Conference games. The 214 wins in Big Ten games were the third highest total ever at the time of his retirement.
This marked the first time since 1919 that a Big Ten basketball team would finish the season undefeated. This also marked the second time a Big Ten team would finish with 30 or more wins.
Team
No. |
Player |
Hometown |
High School |
Class |
Position |
10 |
Nate Williams |
Chicago, Illinois |
Crane High School |
Sr. |
Guard |
12 |
Ken Ferdinand |
Urbana, Illinois |
Urbana High School |
Fr. |
Forward |
20 |
Dennis Graff |
Gibson City, Illinois |
Gibson City High School |
Sr. |
Guard |
23 |
Larry Lubin |
Glencoe, Illinois |
New Trier High School |
Fr. |
Guard |
24 |
Tom Gerhardt |
Chicago, Illinois |
De La Salle High School |
So. |
Forward |
33 |
Otho Tucker |
Paris, Illinois |
Paris High School |
Sr. |
Guard |
34 |
Rick Leighty |
Lawrenceville, Illinois |
Lawrenceville High School |
So. |
Forward |
40 |
Rich Adams |
Cincinnati, Ohio |
Colerain High School |
So. |
Forward |
42 |
Tim Bushell |
Lincoln, Illinois |
Lincoln Community High School |
Jr. |
Forward |
44 |
Audie Matthews |
Chicago Heights, Illinois |
Bloom High School |
So. |
Forward |
53 |
Bill Rucks |
Waukegan, Illinois |
Waukegan High School |
Sr. |
Forward |
54 |
Mike Washington |
Chicago Heights, Illinois |
Morgan Park High School |
Sr. |
Forward |
Schedule
Source[2]
Date |
Opponent |
Result |
Record |
Site (Attendance) |
11/28/1975* |
@ Nebraska |
W 60-58 |
1 - 0 |
Nebraska Coliseum (6,235) |
12/1/1975* |
vs. Kent State |
W 73-54 |
2 - 0 |
Assembly Hall (5,007) |
12/4/1975* |
vs. Missouri-Rolla |
W 67-65 |
3 - 0 |
Assembly Hall (5,050) |
12/6/1975* |
vs. New Mexico |
W 67-66 OT |
4 - 0 |
Assembly Hall (5,684) |
12/8/1976* |
vs. North Dakota State |
W 90-73 |
5 - 0 |
Assembly Hall (3,016) |
12/11/1975* |
@ Furman |
L 73-75 |
5 - 1 |
Greenville, South Carolina (2,579) |
12/13/1975* |
@ Southern California |
L 58-62 |
5 - 2 |
Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena (4,458) |
12/20/1975* |
vs. Arizona |
W 66-60 |
6 - 2 |
Assembly Hall (6,115) |
12/22/1975* |
vs. Rice |
W 106-64 |
7 - 2 |
Assembly Hall (6,192) |
1/3/1976 |
@ Iowa |
L 60-84 |
7 - 3 ( 0 - 1 ) |
Iowa Field House (13,171) |
1/8/1976 |
@ #17 Minnesota |
L 68-77 |
7 - 4 ( 0 - 2 ) |
Williams Arena (10,062) |
1/10/1976 |
vs. Northwestern |
W 74-69 |
8 - 4 ( 1 - 2 ) |
Assembly Hall (5,547) |
1/12/1976 |
vs. Wisconsin |
W 71-61 |
9 - 4 ( 2 - 2 ) |
Assembly Hall (6,968) |
1/17/1976 |
vs. #1 Indiana |
L 55-83 |
9 - 5 ( 2 - 3 ) |
Assembly Hall (16,128) |
1/19/1976 |
@ Ohio State |
L 63-64 |
9 - 6 ( 2 - 4 ) |
St. John Arena (5,715) |
1/24/1976 |
vs. Michigan State |
L 63-74 |
9 - 7 ( 2 - 5 ) |
Assembly Hall (6,975) |
1/26/1976 |
vs. #17 Michigan |
W 76-75 |
10 - 7 ( 3 - 5 ) |
Assembly Hall (5,863) |
1/31/1976 |
vs. Purdue |
W 71-63 |
11 - 7 ( 4 - 5 ) |
Assembly Hall (8,467) |
2/2/1976 |
vs. Minnesota |
L 62-72 |
11 - 8 ( 4 - 6 ) |
Assembly Hall (7,317) |
2/7/1976 |
@ Northwestern |
W 61-55 |
12 - 8 ( 5 - 6 ) |
Welsh-Ryan Arena (4,228) |
2/9/1976 |
@ Wisconsin |
W 70-59 |
13 - 8 ( 6 - 6 ) |
Wisconsin Field House (3,883) |
2/14/1976 |
@ #1 Indiana |
L 48-58 |
13 - 9 ( 6 - 7 ) |
Assembly Hall (17,759) |
2/16/1976 |
vs. Ohio State |
W 91-73 |
14 - 9 ( 7 - 7 ) |
Assembly Hall (8,087) |
2/21/1976 |
@ Michigan State |
L 59-69 |
14 - 10 ( 7 - 8 ) |
Jenison Fieldhouse (4,227) |
2/23/1976 |
@ #15 Michigan |
L 75-90 |
14 - 11 ( 7 - 9 ) |
Crisler Center (8,121) |
2/28/1976 |
@ Purdue |
L 62-81 |
14 - 12 ( 7 - 10 ) |
Mackey Arena (13,729) |
3/6/1976 |
vs. Iowa |
L 70-82 |
14 - 13 ( 7 - 11 ) |
Assembly Hall (10,028) |
*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 |
Points |
Rich Adams[3] | 27 | 181 | 67 | 158 | 41 | 429 |
Audi Matthews[4] | 27 | 129 | 46 | 144 | 50 | 304 |
Mike Washington[5] | 27 | 105 | 40 | 142 | 78 | 250 |
Nate Williams[6] | 18 | 102 | 39 | 63 | 44 | 243 |
Otho Tucker[7] | 26 | 83 | 68 | 135 | 84 | 234 |
Ken Ferdinand[8] | 26 | 72 | 17 | 83 | 11 | 161 |
Rick Leighty[9] | 27 | 50 | 10 | 70 | 53 | 110 |
Awards and honors
- Nate Williams
- Team Most Valuable Player [10]
Team players drafted into the NBA
[11]
References
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| Culture & lore | |
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| Helms and NCAA national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics |
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