1998–99 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team
| 1998–99 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Conference | Big Ten Conference |
| 1998–99 record | 14–18 (3–13 Big Ten) |
| Head coach | Lon Kruger |
| Assistant coach | Robert McCullum |
| Assistant coach | Rob Judson |
| Assistant coach | Steve Henson |
| MVP | Cory Bradford |
| Captain | Victor Chukwudebe |
| Home arena | Assembly Hall |
| 1998–99 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | PCT | W | L | PCT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| #2 Michigan State † | 15 | – | 1 | .938 | 33 | – | 5 | .868 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| #19 Indiana | 9 | – | 7 | .563 | 23 | – | 11 | .676 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| #18 Wisconsin | 9 | – | 7 | .563 | 22 | – | 10 | .688 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| #21 Iowa | 9 | – | 7 | .563 | 20 | – | 10 | .667 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Minnesota | 8 | – | 8 | .500 | 17 | – | 11 | .607 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| #11 Purdue | 7 | – | 9 | .438 | 21 | – | 13 | .618 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Northwestern | 6 | – | 10 | .375 | 15 | – | 14 | .517 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Penn State | 5 | – | 11 | .313 | 13 | – | 14 | .481 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Illinois | 3 | – | 13 | .188 | 14 | – | 18 | .438 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| #14 Ohio State** | 0 | – | 1 | .000 | 1 | – | 1 | .500 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Michigan* | 0 | – | 11 | .000 | 0 | – | 19 | .000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| † 1999 Big Ten Tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll *Michigan: 12 reg. season games vacated due to sanctions against the program **Ohio State: 29 reg. season games; 5 NCAA Tourn. games vacated due to sanctions against the program Disputed records: Michigan-(12-19)(5-11); Ohio State-(27-9)(12-4) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The 1998–99 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team represented the University of Illinois.
Regular season
The Illini closed out the 1998-99 season with an amazing run at the Big Ten Tournament title. After entering the tournament as the 11th-seeded team, Illinois reeled off three straight victories over Top 25-ranked teams before losing in the championship game to second-ranked Michigan State. Illini freshman Cory Bradford was the Big Ten's Freshman of the Year and was also selected to the All-Tournament team.
Team
| No. | Player | Hometown | High School | Class | Position |
| 00 | Victor Chukwudebe (captain) | Springfield, Illinois | Lanphier High School | Jr. | Forward |
| 3 | Arias Davis | Waycross, Georgia | Ware County High School | Sr. | Guard |
| 4 | Fess Hawkins | Pine Bluff, Arkansas | Dollarway High School | So. | Center |
| 5 | Nate Mast | Champaign, Illinois | Champaign Central High School | So. | Guard |
| 13 | Cory Bradford | Memphis, Tennessee | Raleigh Egypt High School | Fr. | Guard |
| 21 | Robert Archibald | Ballwin, Missouri | Lafayette High School | Fr. | Forward/Center |
| 22 | Lucas Johnson | Des Plaines, Illinois | Maine West High School | Fr. | Forward |
| 30 | Frank Williams | Peoria, Illinois | Manual High School | Fr. | Guard |
| 32 | Cleotis Brown | Pittsview, Alabama | Russell County High School | Jr. | Guard |
| 33 | Damir Krupalija | Rockford, Illinois | Rockford Boylan High School | Fr. | Forward |
| 35 | Carvell Ammons | Champaign, Illinois | Centennial High School | So. | Forward |
| 40 | Sergio McClain | Peoria, Illinois | Manual High School | So. | Guard/Forward |
| 44 | Rich Beyers | Shelbyville, Illinois | Shelbyville High School | So. | Forward |
- Head Coach Lon Kruger (3rd year at Illinois) [1]
Schedule
Source[2]
| Date | Rank# | Opponent# | Result | Record | Site (Attendance) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regular Season | |||||||||||
| 11/10/1998* | #NR | vs. Wake Forest (Coaches vs. Cancer Classic) |
L 73-75 ot | 0-1 | Madison Square Garden (13,239) | ||||||
| 11/11/1998* | #NR | vs. Georgetown (Coaches vs. Cancer Classic) |
W 65-50 | 1-1 | Madison Square Garden (12,589) | ||||||
| 11/17/1998* | #NR | vs. George Washington | L 58-64 | 1-2 | Assembly Hall (10,683) | ||||||
| 11/20/1998* | #NR | vs. St. Louis | W 70-65 | 2-2 | Assembly Hall (12,586) | ||||||
| 11/23/1998* | #NR | vs. Tennessee-Martin | W 71-35 | 3-2 | Assembly Hall (10,496) | ||||||
| 11/28/1998* | #NR | @ Texas-Pan American | W 71-56 | 4-2 | UTPA Fieldhouse (2,463) | ||||||
| 11/30/1998* | #NR | vs. Valparaiso | W 53-49 | 5-2 | Assembly Hall (10,842) | ||||||
| 12/5/1998* | #NR | vs. Bradley | W 53-48 | 6-2 | United Center (11,084) | ||||||
| 12/12/1998* | #NR | vs. Eastern Illinois | W 70-67 | 7-2 | Assembly Hall (12,273) | ||||||
| 12/19/1998* | #NR | vs. #13 Kansas | L 55-65 | 7-3 | Kemper Arena (13,728) | ||||||
| 12/22/1998* | #NR | vs. #15 Missouri (Braggin' Rights) |
L 62-67 | 7-4 | Scottrade Center (22,471) | ||||||
| 12/29/1998* | #NR | vs. #14 Clemson | W 67-50 | 8-4 | Bi-Lo Center (14,687) | ||||||
| 1/3/1999 | #NR | @ #8 Indiana | L 53-62 | 8-5 (0-1) | Assembly Hall (7,249) | ||||||
| 1/7/1999 | #NR | @ #17 Iowa | L 62-84 | 8-6 (0-2) | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (14,301) | ||||||
| 1/9/1999 | #NR | vs. Northwestern | L 46-59 | 8-7 (0-3) | Assembly Hall (12,255) | ||||||
| 1/13/1999 | #NR | @ #13 Purdue | L 54-63 | 8-8 (0-4) | Mackey Arena (14,123) | ||||||
| 1/16/1999 | #NR | vs. #14 Michigan State | L 49-51 | 8-9 (0-5) | Assembly Hall (15,428) | ||||||
| 1/20/1999 | #NR | @ #15 Wisconsin | L 53-75 | 8-10 (0-6) | Kohl Center (16,112) | ||||||
| 1/23/1999 | #NR | vs. Penn State | L 61-65 | 8-11 (0-7) | Assembly Hall (12,552) | ||||||
| 1/28/1999 | #NR | @ Michigan | W 61-59 | 9-11 (1-7) | Crisler Arena (10,784) | ||||||
| 1/30/1999 | #24 | vs. #15 Ohio State | L 61-64 | 9-12 (1-8) | Assembly Hall (13,756) | ||||||
| 2/3/1999 | #NR | @ #18 Minnesota | L 63-75 | 9-13 (1-9) | Williams Arena (14,792) | ||||||
| 2/6/1999 | #NR | vs. #11 Wisconsin | W 53-51 | 10-13 (2-9) | Assembly Hall (14,062) | ||||||
| 2/11/1999 | #NR | @ #5 Michigan State | L 44-61 | 10-14 (2-10) | Breslin Student Events Center (14,659) | ||||||
| 2/13/1999 | #NR | vs. #21 Purdue | L 56-63 | 10-15 (2-11) | Assembly Hall (15,473) | ||||||
| 2/17/1999 | #NR | @ Northwestern | W 69-63 | 11-15 (3-11) | Welsh-Ryan Arena (7,314) | ||||||
| 2/21/1999 | #NR | vs. #20 Iowa | L 72-78 | 11-16 (3-12) | Assembly Hall (16,450) | ||||||
| 2/24/1999 | #NR | vs. #20 Indiana | L 64-70 ot | 11-17 (3-13) | Assembly Hall (16,450) | ||||||
| Big Ten Tournament | |||||||||||
| 3/4/1999* | #NR | vs. #23 Minnesota (Big Ten Tournament) |
W 67-64 | 12-17 | United Center (18,641) | ||||||
| 3/5/1999* | #NR | vs. #17 Indiana (Big Ten Tournament) |
W 82-66 | 13-17 | United Center (20,297) | ||||||
| 3/6/1999* | #NR | vs. #11 Ohio State (Big Ten Tournament) |
W 79-77 | 14-17 | United Center (20,695) | ||||||
| 3/7/1999* | #NR | vs. #2 Michigan State (Big Ten Tournament Championship) |
L 50-67 | 14-18 | United Center (19,581) | ||||||
| *Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. ( ) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. | |||||||||||
Player stats
| Player | Games Played | Field Goals | Three Pointers | Free Throws | Rebounds | Assists | Blocks | Steals | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cory Bradford[3] | 32 | 174 | 85 | 61 | 84 | 62 | 1 | 25 | 494 |
| Cleotis Brown[4] | 32 | 107 | 20 | 61 | 152 | 44 | 13 | 52 | 295 |
| Sergio McClain[5] | 31 | 98 | 6 | 65 | 106 | 81 | 3 | 71 | 267 |
| Fess Hawkins[6] | 32 | 77 | 0 | 47 | 162 | 19 | 36 | 24 | 201 |
| Victor Chukwudebe[7] | 32 | 78 | 0 | 22 | 158 | 16 | 20 | 22 | 178 |
| Damir Krupalija[8] | 24 | 35 | 6 | 34 | 132 | 25 | 13 | 15 | 110 |
| Lucas Johnson[9] | 31 | 37 | 15 | 46 | 96 | 45 | 4 | 12 | 135 |
| Robert Archibald[10] | 32 | 32 | 0 | 31 | 100 | 26 | 10 | 10 | 95 |
| Arias Davis[11] | 25 | 29 | 18 | 6 | 20 | 10 | 2 | 9 | 82 |
Awards and honors
- Cory Bradford
- Big Ten Freshman of the Year
- Team Most Valuable Player [12]
- Frank Williams
References
- ↑ All-Time Illini Rosters
- ↑ University of Illinois Fighting Illini Statistics Summary for 1998-99, FightingIllini.com
- ↑ Season Stats pg. 125
- ↑ Season Stats pg. 125
- ↑ Season Stats pg. 125
- ↑ Season Stats pg. 125
- ↑ Season Stats pg. 125
- ↑ Season Stats pg. 125
- ↑ Season Stats pg. 125
- ↑ Season Stats pg. 125
- ↑ Season Stats pg. 125
- ↑ List of MVPs