|
Men's Basketball
Illinois NCAA Tournament 1st/2nd Round Notes
March 15, 2005
Illinois-NCAA Tournament 1st/2nd Round Postseason Guide in PDF Format
#1 ILLINOIS (32-1, 15-1, Big Ten Champions) Probable Starters Off The Bench Injured Illinois Head Coach Bruce Weber Assistant Coaches: Wayne McClain (4th Year), Jay Price (2nd Year), Tracy Webster (1st year) Television Radio The Illini in The NCAA Tournament Points 31, Deron Williams vs. Cincinnati, 3/21/04 Rebounds 16, Nick Anderson vs. Syracuse, 3/26/89 16, Brian Cook vs. Notre Dame, 3/22/03 Field Goal Pct. .875 (7-8), Lowell Hamilton vs. McNeese State, 3/16/89 .875 (7-8), Deon Thomas vs. Georgetown, 3/18/94 3-Pt FGs 6, Cory Bradford vs. Arizona, 3/23/01 6, Deron Williams vs. Cincinnati, 3/21/04 3-Pt. FG Pct. .833 (5-6), Frank Williams vs. San Diego St., 3/15/02 Free Throw Pct. 1.000 (8-8), Mark Smith vs. Wyoming, 3/14/81 1.000 (8-8), Kenny Battle vs. McNeese State, 3/16/89 1.000 (7-7), Ken Norman vs. Northeastern, 3/15/85 1.000 (7-7), Efrem Winters vs. Georgia, 3/17/85 Free Throws 16, Kiwane Garris vs. Southern Cal, 3/14/97 Free Throw Att. 17, Kiwane Garris vs. Southern Cal, 3/14/97 Assists 12, Kiwane Garris vs. Southern Cal, 3/14/97 Steals 6, Bruce Douglas vs. Georgia, 3/17/85 Blocked Shots 3, Lowell Hamilton vs. Austin Peay, 3/12/87 • Illinois has received a No. 1 seed for the third time in school history. Illinois was a No. 1 seed in the Midwest Region in 1989 and went on to advance to the Final Four in Seattle. Illinois last earned a No. 1 seed in 2001 in the Midwest Region, when it advanced to the Elite Eight in San Antonio. The Illini are 7-2 (.778) all-time as a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. • Illinois is making its 25th appearance in the NCAA Tournament, which is the second highest number of Tournament appearances among Big Ten schools trailing only Indiana's 32. This is the sixth-consecutive year Illinois has been in the Tournament, all with Top-5 seeds. • Illinois has compiled a 32-25 (.561) record all-time in NCAA Tournament appearances. Since 1975, when the field was increased to 32 teams, Illinois has advanced to the Sweet 16 seven times (1981, 1984, 1985, 1989, 2001, 2002 and 2004), the Elite Eight three times (1984, 1989 and 2001) and the Final Four once (1989). • Illinois has made four appearances in the NCAA Final Four, finishing third in 1949, 1951 and 1952. The Fighting Illini were beaten by Michigan in the national semifinals of the 1989 Final Four. • Bruce Weber is making his fourth-straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament, which includes his last two years at Southern Illinois and his first two seasons at Illinois. His all-time NCAA Tournament record as a head coach is 4-3 (.571) after leading the Salukis to the 2002 Sweet 16 and the Illini to the Sweet 16 last year. • Illinois is 3-1 all-time in Indianapolis during NCAA Tournament play. The Illini defeated McNeese State in the first round and Ball State in the second round in 1989. Illinois last appeared at the RCA Dome in 2003, defeating Western Kentucky in the first round before falling to Notre Dame in the second round. Should they advance, the Illini are 4-0 all-time in Chicago during NCAA Tournament play. • Illinois' all-time series record vs. the Chicago Region: 2-1 vs. No. 2 Oklahoma State 5-6 vs. No. 3 Arizona 0-0 vs. No. 4 Boston College 1-2 vs. No. 5 Alabama 2-0 vs. No. 6 LSU 2-0 vs. No. 7 Southern Illinois 2-2 vs. No. 8 Texas 0-0 vs. No. 9 Nevada 1-0 vs. No. 10 St. Mary's 0-1 vs. No. 11 Alabama-Birmingham 2-0 vs. No. 12 Wisconsin-Milwaukee 6-0 vs. No. 13 Pennsylvania 2-0 vs. No. 14 Utah State 0-0 vs. No. 15 Southeastern Louisiana 0-0 vs. No. 16 Fairleigh Dickinson • All-Time Scores vs. Possible 1st and 2nd round opponents: #16 Fairleigh Dickinson (First Meeting) #8 Texas (2-2) 12-26-92 72-89 L Austin, Texas 1-2-94 83-78 W Champaign, Ill. 12-20-97 105-80 W Champaign, Ill. 12-23-00 64-72 L Austin, Texas #9 Nevada (0-0) • Illinois has posted a 13-0 record against the nine NCAA Tournament teams it faced this season. Here is a breakdown against this year's tournament field: 11/19/04 Delaware State W 87-67 11/24/04 Oakland W 85-54 11/27/04 vs. Gonzaga W 89-72 12/1/04 Wake Forest W 91-73 12/31/04 vs. Cincinnati W 67-45 1/20/05 Iowa W 73-68 (OT) 1/25/05 at Wisconsin W 75-65 1/29/05 Minnesota W 89-66 2/1/05 at Michigan State W 81-68 2/12/05 Wisconsin W 70-59 2/19/05 at Iowa W 75-65 3/12/05 vs. Minnesota W 64-56 3/13/05 vs. Wisconsin W 54-43 • Current members of the Fighting Illini squad have played a total of 50 games in the NCAA Tournament with Luther Head leading the way with eight games. Roger Powell and Nick Smith have played in seven games, while James Augustine, Dee Brown, Jack Ingram and Deron Williams have played in five games. In addition to his three NCAA games with the Illini, Ingram made two appearances at Tulsa as a sophomore in 2002 before transferring to Illinois. Rounding out the Illini roster, Rich McBride has played in three games, Warren Carter and Brian Randle in two, and Fred Nkemdi in one. • Illinois competed in postseason play 11 consecutive years from 1980-90, including eight consecutive years (1983-90) in the NCAA Tournament. • Illinois' all-time leading scorer in NCAA Tournament play is Frank Williams, who tallied 148 points in nine games (16.4 avg.). • Illinois' all-time leading rebounder in NCAA Tournament play is Brian Cook, who grabbed 74 rebounds in 11 games (6.7 avg.). • Ken Norman shot .632 (36-57) from the field and .833 (15-18) from the free-throw line in NCAA Tournament competition, the best figures among any Illini who played more than three tournament games. • Bruce Douglas handed out 55 assists in nine NCAA Tournament games, more than any other Illini player. He dealt out 11 assists in games vs. Kentucky (1984) and Georgia (1985). • Brian Cook and Sean Harrington both appeared in 11 NCAA Tournament games, more than any other Fighting Illini player. • Fifteen different Fighting Illini players have recorded double-doubles in NCAA Tournament action on 17 different occasions. The last Illini player to double-double was Brian Cook who had 19 points and 16 rebounds March 22, 2003 against Notre Dame, following a 17-point and 10-rebound performance against Western Kentucky March 20, 2003. Kiwane Garris had 27 points and 12 assists against USC on March 14, 1997 to post the only double-double that didn't include points and rebounds. Many would say that Nick Anderson's 24-point, 16-rebound performance against Syracuse in 1989 was the finest effort ever by an Illini player in tournament action, since he propelled Illinois into the 1989 Final Four. Anderson was named the Midwest Regional MOP that year. He also had a double-double vs. McNeese State (3/16/89), making him and Cook the only Illini players to twice accomplish that feat. • The only Fighting Illini players to be named to the Final Four All-Tournament Team were John "Red" Kerr and James Bredar in 1952. They joined Kansas' Clyde Lovellette and Dean Kelley, and St. John's Bob Zawoluk and Ron MacGilvray on that all-star squad. Dike Eddleman (1949) was named to the 1939-40s All-Decade Team. Weber wins Henry Iba Award Weber has guided the Illini to a school-record 32 wins this season and both the regular season Big Ten championship as well as the tournament title. The Illini have been ranked No. 1 for 15 straight weeks and enter the NCAA Tournament as a No. 1 seed. Weber will be presented the Iba Award at a breakfast during the NCAA Final Four weekend on April 1 at the Missouri Athletic Club in St. Louis. Recapping the Big Ten Tournament Augustine Big Ten Tournament MOP; Head named to All-Tournament Team Luther Head earned All-Tournament Team honors after leading the Illini with 40 points (13.3 avg). He also averaged 5.7 rebounds and had 11 assists on the weekend. Head had 14 points vs. Northwestern, a team-high 14 vs. Minnesota and 12 vs. Wisconsin. Illini Secure Winningest Season in School History
Rank Season Wins Record
1. 2004-05 32 32-1 (.970)
2. 1988-89 31 31-5 (.861)
3. 2000-01 27 27-8 (.771)
T4. 2003-04 26 26-7 (.788)
T4. 2001-02 26 26-9 (.743)
T4. 1984-85 26 26-9 (.743)
T4. 1983-84 26 26-5 (.838)
8. 2002-03 25 25-7 (.781)
Brown Named USBWA First-Team All-American; Head named to Second Team Brown, the Big Ten Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, is averaging 13.4 points with 25 games in double figures. He leads the Big Ten in 3-point field goal shooting at 45.5 percent, while ranking second in the conference with 85 three-pointers. Brown leads the Illini with 60 steals and is averaging 4.6 assists to rank third in the Big Ten. Brown is joined on the first team by Utah's Andrew Bogut, Wake Forest's Chris Paul, Duke's J.J. Redick and Kansas' Wayne Simien. Head, a first-team All-Big Ten selection, leads the Illini in scoring with an average of 15.8 points. He has scored in double figures in 30 of 33 games, with nine games of 20 or more points. Head leads the Big Ten with 93 three-pointers and has recorded 56 steals. He also leads the Illini in free throw shooting (79.8 percent) while ranking third in both assists (3.8 apg) and rebounds (4.1 rpg). Joining head on the second team are Arizona State's Ike Diogu, North Carolina's Sean May, Arizona's Salim Stoudamaire and Syracuse's Hakim Warrick. Illini Guards All Named Second-Team All-Americans by NABC Illini Ranked No. 1 in Final Associated Press Poll The Illini were unanimously voted No. 1 in the poll released on March 14, which is the final AP poll of the season. This is the first time in school history that the Illini have been ranked No. 1 in the final AP poll. Previously, Illinois' best final ranking was No. 2 in 1952. The Illini are also the first Big Ten team to be ranked No. 1 in the final AP poll since Indiana in 1993. This has been the first season in school history that the Illini have been ranked first for more than one week. Prior to this season, the last time Illinois was ranked No. 1 was the week of Jan. 23-29, 1989. The UI first appeared No. 1 in the Associated Press poll for a week during the final week of the regular season in January, 1952. In each of the previous two seasons when the Illini achieved a No. 1 ranking, they went on to advance to the NCAA Final Four. Brown Sweeps Big Ten Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year Honors Brown has pulled off a rare feat by sweeping both awards this year. He is just the third Big Ten player since the conference began honoring a defensive player of the year in 1984 to be named both Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year in the same season, joining Michigan's Gary Grant (1988) and Minnesota's Bobby Jackson (1997). Illinois' Three Guards Named First-Team All-Big Ten This is the second straight first-team All-Big Ten selection for Williams. He becomes the first Illini player since Frank Williams in 2001 and 2002 to make the first team in consecutive seasons. Weber Named Big Ten Coach of the Year Illinois' Three Guards Named Finalists for Wooden Award Head Named Rupp Award Finalist Weber Named Finalist for Naismith Coach of the Year Award Weber Named Finalist for Jim Phelan Coach of the Year Illini Trio Named Finalists for Oscar Robertson Player of the Year The NCAA record for wins in a season is 37, which has been accomplished by three teams: Duke in 1986 (37-3) and 1999 (37-2) and UNLV in 1987 (37-2). Following is the breakdown of the number of teams to reach victory-totals of of 32 through 37 wins in a season:
Win Total No. of Teams Most Recent Team, Year
37 3 Duke, 1999
36 1 Kentucky, 1948
35 10 Duke, 2001
34 10 Connecticut, 1999
33 5 Connecticut, 2004
32 28 Illinois, 2005
Illinois has tied the second most wins in a season in Big Ten history, equaling the 32 victories registered by Indiana in 1975-76 when the Hoosiers won the NCAA title with a perfect 32-0 record, and the 32 wins by Michigan State in 1999-2000 when the Spartans won the national championship with a record of 32-7. The Illini are just one off the Big Ten record for wins in a season. In 1998-99, Michigan State won 33 games en route to a 33-5 record and Final Four appearance.
Illini Final Undefeated Squad of Season Illini Nation's Second Winningest Team over Past Five Seasons
Rank School Wins Record Pct.
1. Duke 148 148-26 .851
T2. ILLINOIS 136 136-32 .810
T2. Kansas 136 136-34 .800
4. Gonzaga 132 132-27 .830
5. Kentucky 130 130-33 .793
Weber Makes History as Illini Clinch Second Straight Outright Big Ten Championship This is first time in 53 years and the third time in school history that the Illini have won back-to-back outright league championships, along with 1942 & 1943 and 1951 & 1952. Illinois becomes the first Big Ten team to win back-to-back outright titles since Purdue won three straight outright titles from 1994 through 1996. Bruce Weber has also entered the record books, becoming the first coach in the 100-year history of Big Ten basketball to win consecutive outright championships in each of his first two seasons. *For complete Illinois Men's Basketball NCAA Tournament 1st/2nd Round Postseason Guide, click on .pdf link at the top of this page.
|
