1980–81 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team

1980–81 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball
Illini Classic, Champion
Conference Big Ten Conference
Ranking
Coaches #18
AP #19
1980–81 record 21–8 (12–6 Big Ten)
Head coach Lou Henson
Assistant coach Tony Yates
Assistant coach Dick Nagy
Assistant coach Bob Hull
Assistant coach Levi Cobb
MVP Eddie Johnson
Captain Derek Holcomb
Eddie Johnson
Mark Smith
Home arena Assembly Hall
1980–81 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   PCT     W   L   PCT
#9 Indiana 14 – 4   .778     26 – 9   .743
#13 Iowa 13 – 5   .722     21 – 7   .750
#19 Illinois 12 – 6   .667     21 – 8   .724
Purdue 10 – 8   .556     21 – 11   .656
Minnesota 9 – 9   .500     19 – 11   .633
Ohio State 9 – 9   .500     14 – 13   .519
Michigan 8 – 10   .444     19 – 11   .633
Michigan State 7 – 11   .389     13 – 14   .481
Wisconsin 5 – 13   .278     11 – 16   .407
Northwestern 3 – 15   .167     9 – 18   .333
Rankings from AP Poll)

The 1980–81 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team represented the University of Illinois.

Regular season

In 1981, Illinois made strides in its return to the national spotlight with a 21-8 record, a third-place Big Ten finish and an invitation to the NCAA Tournament. The team received a first-round bye in the NCAA Tournament and beat Wyoming, 67-65, in Los Angeles to advance to the regionals in Salt Lake City, where Illinois lost to Kansas State, 57-52. During this season, the Fighting Illini led the Big Ten in scoring for the second consecutive season and were again led by Eddie Johnson and Mark Smith. Guards Craig Tucker and Derek Harper arrived to add backcourt punch, and Harper began his Illini career being named First-Team Freshman All-America by ESPN and ABC.

Team

No. Player Hometown High School Class Position
10 Craig Tucker Flint, Michigan Flint Northern High School Jr. Guard
12 Derek Harper West Palm Beach, Florida North Shore High School Fr. Guard
13 James Griffin Grandview, Texas Dunbar High School Jr. Center
14 Sherrod Arnold Chicago, Illinois Wendell Phillips High School So. Guard
15 Mitch Arnold Effingham, Illinois Effingham High School Fr. Guard/Forward
20 Kevin Bontemps Morton, Illinois Morton High School So. Guard
21 Quinn Richardson Robbins, Illinois Eisenhower High School So. Guard
22 Perry Range South Beloit, Illinois South Beloit High School Jr. Guard
33 Eddie Johnson (captain) Chicago, Illinois Westinghouse High School Sr. Forward
42 Mark Smith (co-captain) Peoria, Illinois Richwoods High School Sr. Forward
43 Bryan Leonard Belleville, Illinois Belleville High School-East So. Forward
44 Derek Holcomb (co-captain) Peoria, Illinois Richwoods High School Sr. Center

Schedule

Source[2]

Date Opponent Result Record Site (Attendance)
Regular Season
11/29/1980* Loyola Marymount W 98-65  1-0 Assembly Hall (11,168)
12/6/1980* TCU W 84-62  2-0 Assembly Hall (14,370)
12/10/1980* Missouri (#14)
(Braggin' Rights)		 W 84-62  3-0 St. Louis Arena (14,370)
12/13/1980* Marquette W 69-68  4-0 U.S. Cellular Arena (11,052)
12/19/1980* BYU (#18)
(Volunteer Classic)		 L 75-88  4-1 Stokely Athletic Center (12,700)
12/20/1980* Iona
(Volunteer Classic)		 W 106-84  5-1 Stokely Athletic Center (12,700)
12/26/1980* Ohio
(Illini Classic)		 W 84-54  6-1 Assembly Hall (14,230)
12/27/1980* Oklahoma
(Illini Classic)		 W 93-63  7-1 Assembly Hall (15,411)
1/3/1981* SIU Edwardsville W 108-68  8-1 Assembly Hall (11,443)
1/8/1981 Northwestern W 88-64  9-1 (1-0) Welsh-Ryan Arena (7,741)
1/10/1981 Indiana L 61-78  9-2 (1-1) Assembly Hall (17,083)
1/15/1981 Purdue W 87-65  10-2 (2-1) Assembly Hall (16,506)
1/17/1981 Minnesota (#20) W 80-76  11-2 (3-1) Assembly Hall (16,630)
1/22/1981 Michigan (#16) L 76-80  11-3 (3-2) Crisler Center (11,055)
1/24/1981 Wisconsin L 45-54  11-4 (3-3) Assembly Hall (16,495)
1/29/1981 Michigan State W 71-70  12-4 (4-3) Jenison Fieldhouse (7,443)
1/31/1981 Iowa (#13) W 79-66  13-4 (5-3) Assembly Hall (16,555)
2/5/1981 Ohio State W 82-63  14-4 (6-3) Assembly Hall (16,586)
2/7/1981 Iowa (#15) L 66-72  14-5 (6-4) Iowa Field House (13,365)
2/12/1981 Wisconsin W 84-65  15-5 (7-4) Wisconsin Field House (7,334)
2/14/1981 Ohio State W 63-57  16-5 (8-4) St. John Arena (13,591)
2/19/1981 Michigan (#18) W 67-64  17-5 (9-4) Assembly Hall (16,492)
2/21/1981 Michigan State W 82-62  18-5 (10-4) Assembly Hall (16,559)
2/26/1981 Minnesota L 59-76  18-6 (10-5) Williams Arena (16,290)
2/28/1981 Purdue W 81-70  19-6 (11-5) Mackey Arena (14,123)
3/5/1981 Indiana (#14) L 66-69  19-7 (11-6) Assembly Hall (16,663)
3/7/1981 Northwestern W 98-76  20-7 (12-6) Assembly Hall (16,622)
NCAA Tournament
3/14/1981* Wyoming (#17)
(NCAA Division I Tournament)		 W 67-65  21-7 Pauley Pavilion (12,340)
3/19/1981* Kansas State
(NCAA Division I Tournament)		 L 67-65  21-7 Jon M. Huntsman Center (15,450)
*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[3]292196226770630500
Mark Smith[4]29150102172981836402
Craig Tucker[5]29117763958319310
Perry Range[6]291016511570033267
Derek Harper[7] 291043375156839241
James Griffin[8] 29117763958318227
Derek Holcomb[9] 297031148404214171

NCAA basketball tournament

[10]

Awards and honors

Team players drafted into the NBA

Round Pick Player NBA club
2 29 Eddie JohnsonKansas City Kings
3 50 Derek HolcombPortland Trail Blazers
3 67 Mark Smith Milwaukee Bucks

[12]

References

  1. ↑ All-Time Illini Rosters
  2. ↑ University of Illinois Fighting Illini Statistics Summary for 1980-81, FightingIllini.com
  3. ↑ Season Stats pg. 120
  4. ↑ Season Stats pg. 120
  5. ↑ Season Stats pg. 120
  6. ↑ Season Stats pg. 120
  7. ↑ Season Stats pg. 120
  8. ↑ Season Stats pg. 120
  9. ↑ Season Stats pg. 120
  10. ↑ http://www.databasesports.com/ncaab/tourney.htm?yr=1981
  11. ↑ List of MVPs
  12. ↑ 1981 NBA Draft