Nov. 21, 1999

Game 2: #17 Illinois (1-0) vs. Bradley (1-0)
Monday, Nov. 22, 1999 - 7 p.m. - WCIA-TV, WEEK-TV
Carver Arena (10,825) - Peoria, Ill.

Illini Head Coach Lon Kruger
In his fourth season at the helm of the Illini program, Lon Kruger is only three games away from the 300-win mark. He posted back-to-back 20 win seasons in his first two years at Illinois and took the Illini to consecutive NCAA Tournaments (1997, 1998). In 1999 with the Big Ten's most inexperienced team, Kruger led the 11th place Illini to the tournament championship game. In his career he has guided four teams to 20-win seasons and taken three to the NCAA Tournament.

Kruger Career Record

Pan American, 1983-86    52-59
Kansas State, 1987-90    81-46
Florida, 1991-96        104-80      
Illinois, 1997-present   60-38
Total                   297-223

The Bradley Game
This will be the first time since Dec. 30, 1936 that the Illini have played Bradley in Peoria, a span of 63 years. Illinois is 11-2 against Bradley all-time and the Illini have come out on top in the last two meetings, beating Bradley 69-59 in Champaign (11-17-97) and 53-48 in Chicago (12-5-98).

At Bradley, Illinois is 2-0 with a 28-17 victory in 1931 and a 43-33 win in 1936.

This game is the third in a three-game series that began in Champaign (11/17/98) and moved to the United Center (12/5/98) and now to Peoria.

Illini Players vs. Bradley
Archibald (1G, 1.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg)
Bradford (1G, 11.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg)
Brown (1G, 16.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg)
Chukwudebe (2G, 3.0 ppg, 5.5 rpg
High Points 4 (11/17/97)
High Rebounds 10 (12/5/98)
Johnson (1G, 6.0 ppg, 2.0 rpg)
Krupalija (1G, 2.0 ppg, 2.0 rpg)
Mast (1G, 0.0 ppg, 0.0 rpg)
McClain (2G, 4.0 ppg, 1.5 rpg)
High Points 4 (11/17/97, 12/5/98)
High Rebounds 2 (11/17/97)

Team Comparisons

Illinois                  Bradley
76.0      PPG             68.0
53.0      Opp. PPG        59.0
.456      FG%             .442
.396      Opp. FG%        .415
.455      3-pt%           .167
.333      Opp. 3-pt%      .286
.636      FT%             .604
36.0      RPG             38.0
31.0      Opp. RPG        32.0
16.0      Assists         7.0
16.0      Turnovers       19.0
20.0      Opp. Turnovers  18.0
6.0       Steals          14.0
5.0       Blocks          4.0

Team Leaders

Johnson, 15.0   PPG   Dye, 22.0
Krupalija, 6.0  RPG   Cage, 11.0
McClain, 7.0    AST   Dye, 4.0
Brown, 2.0      STL   Dye, 6.0

The Opponent
The Braves are 1-0 on the season after defeating South Alabama, 68-59, on Nov. 19. Bradley returns five starters and nine letterwinners and is the favorite to win the Missouri Valley Conference. Head Coach Jim Molinari began his college career as a player at Kansas State where he teamed with Illini Head Coach Lon Kruger. Kruger was a senior on the team when Molinari was a freshman.

Series Record: Illinois leads 11-2
At Bradley: Illinois leads 2-0

Probable Starters

ILLINOIS
F - 21 Robert Archibald (So., 6-11, 228, 3.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg)
F - 40 Sergio McClain (Jr., 6-4, 222, 4.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 7.0 ast)
F - 52 Marcus Griffin (Jr., 6-9, 235, 7.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg)
G - 30 Frank Williams (Fr., 6-3, 197, 8.0 ppg, 2.0 rpg)
G - 13 Cory Bradford (So., 6-3, 200, 13.0 ppg, 2.0 rpg)

Reserves
00 - Victor Chukwudebe (F., Sr., 6-7, 230, 4.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg)
5 - Nate Mast (G, Jr., 5-11, 160, 0.0 ppg, 1.0 rpg)
22 - Lucas Johnson (F, So., 6-8, 217, 15.0 ppg, 2.0 rpg)
24 - Sean Harrington (G, Fr., 6-3, 185, 4.0 ppg, 1.0 rpg)
32 - Cleotis Brown (F, Sr., 6-5, 220, 6.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg)
33 - Damir Krupalija (F, So., 6-9, 216, 6.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg)
34 - Brian Cook (F, Fr., 6-10, 231, 6.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg)

BRADLEY
F - 40 Eddie Cage (Jr., 6-7, 225, 15.0 ppg, 11.0 rpg)
C - 34 Aba Koita (Sr., 6-9, 225, 4.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg)
G - 4 Rob Dye (Sr., 6-1, 190, 22.0 ppg, 4.0 ast, 6.0 stl)
G - 23 Jerome Robinson (Jr., 6-3, 195, 1.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg)
G - 10 Eric Roberson (Sr., 6-4, 185, 15.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg)

The Head Coaches

Illinois Head Coach Lon Kruger
Overall Record: 297-223 (18th year)
At Illinois: 60-38 (4th year)

Bradley Head Coach Jim Molinari
Overall Record: 175-121 (11th year)
At Bradley: 133-104 (9th year)

Going Home
Monday's game at Bradley will mark a homecoming for three Illinois players. For the first time since the 1997 season, Sergio McClain, Marcus Griffin and Frank Williams are reunited on the court. All three players starred at Manual High School and they teamed to win three state high school titles (1995, 96, 97). In 1994, McClain and Griffin were freshmen on the first of four consecutive championship teams.

McClain and Griffin signed with Illinois in the fall of 1996. McClain was a freshman at Illinois in 1997-98 and Griffin attended junior college the last two years. Williams signed with Illinois in the fall of 1997 and was a partial qualifier. He spent the 1998-99 season practicing with the team, but was unable to play.

And That's Bradford with a Three
Last year, Cory Bradford set the Illinois school record for three-pointers made in a season with 85. Even more impressive is that he has made a three-pointer in 33-straight games, every game in his Illini career.

His 85 three-pointers in 1999 rank ninth on the Illinois career list. He hit a season-high seven threes against Wisconsin (Feb. 6, 1999) and made six three-pointers in games against Kansas (Dec. 19, 1998), Ohio State (Jan. 30, 1999), Minnesota (March 4, 1999) and Michigan State (March 7, 1999).

In the 1999 Big Ten Tournament, Bradford made 17 three-pointers in four games, which was more than any other team made in the tourney.

Bradford on Wooden List
Illinois' Cory Bradford is one of 25 players named to the preseason list of candidates for the 2000 Wooden Award All-American team. The 1999 Big Ten Freshman of the Year is one of only four sophomores tabbed on the preseason list, being joined by St. John's Erick Barkley, Florida's Mike Miller and DePaul's Quentin Richardson.

The top 25 candidates were selected based on last year's individual performance and team records. On March 28, 2000, the ten-player Wooden Award All-American Team will be announced. One member of the Wooden Award All-American Team will be the recipient of the Wooden Award Trophy as the nation's most outstanding collegiate basketball player.

Bradford led the Illini last year with 15.4 ppg and he broke the school record for three pointers in a season with 85. He earned a spot on the Big Ten All-Tournament team after averaging 18.8 ppg in four tourney contests. He also made a statement with his three-point shooting accuracy in the tourney games, hitting on 17-of-29 (.586) attempts from behind the arc. Bradford's 494 points in 1999 were the most ever by an Illini freshman and he is the first player in Illinois history to hit a three-pointer in every game.

Eight Days-Three Games
After the first exhibition game on Nov. 4, Illinois waited 11 days before playing again. Now the Illini close out a stretch of three games in eight days. Illinois played last Monday (Nov. 15) against Cimeba All-Stars in the second exhibition game and opened the season Friday (Nov. 19) against Western Illinois. The Illini wrap up the three-game stretch on Monday (Nov. 22) at Bradley. After the Bradley game, Illinois doesn't play until Nov. 30 when the Illini take on Duke at the United Center.

More Threes this Year
Even with sharp-shooter Cory Bradford on the floor last season, the team high for three pointers in a game was only nine against Missouri. In the season opener Illinois hit 10 three pointers, led by Lucas Johnson's four treys. Illinois' 10 threes against Western Illinois are the most since Feb. 18, 1998 when the Illini drained 11 against Northwestern.

Mask doesn't stop Johnson
Playing with a protective facial mask due to a broken nose, sophomore Lucas Johnson had the hot hand in Illinois' opener against Western Illinois. He was 5-for-6 from the floor, 4-for-4 from three-point range and 1-for-1 from the line. He came off the bench and scored a team-high 15 points.

Illini Record Under Lon Kruger

When leading at the half      51-10
When trailing at the half     9-25
When tied at the half         0-3
When scoring over 70 points   39-5
When leading in rebounding    32-16
When trailing in rebounding   26-21
When rebounding is tied       3-0
In November                   13-5
In December                   14-6
In January                    12-14
In February                   13-8
In March                      8-5

Illini Record in 1999-2000

When leading at the half      1-0
When trailing at the half     0-0
When tied at the half         0-0
When scoring over 70 points   1-0
When leading in rebounding    1-0
When trailing in rebounding   0-0
When rebounding is tied       0-0
In November                   1-0

New Faces on the Floor
There are several new faces donning the orange and blue this season. New on the Illini roster are freshmen Brian Cook, Sean Harrington and Frank Williams and junior Marcus Griffin. The Illini also have a new face on the coaching staff this year. Steve Henson, a former player under Lon Kruger at Kansas State, is in his first season as an assistant coach after spending the last 10 years playing professionally in the NBA, CBA and overseas. He replaced long-time Kruger assistant Mike Shepherd, who took a job as an assistant coach with the University of Tulsa women's program under first-year head coach Kathy McConnell-Miller, a former Illini women's assistant coach.

National Polls
(11/15) (Preseason)

     AP                      ESPN/USA Today
1.   Cincinnati          1.   Connecticut
2.   Michigan St.        2.   Michigan St.
3.   Auburn              3.   Cincinnati
4.   Ohio State          4.   Auburn
5.   North Carolina      5.   North Carolina
6.   Temple              6.   Ohio State
7.   Florida             7.   Temple
8.   Connecticut         8.   Florida
9.   Stanford            9.   Arizona
10.  Arizona             10.  Duke
11.  Kansas              11.  Kansas
12.  UCLA                12.  Kentucky   
13.  Syracuse            13.  Stanford
14.  Kentucky            14.  UCLA
15.  St. John's          15.  Utah
16.  Utah                16.  Tennessee
17.  ILLINOIS            17.  Syracuse
18.  Duke                18.  ILLINOIS
19.  Tennessee           19.  St. John's
20.  DePaul              20.  DePaul
21.  Texas               21.  Purdue
22.  Iowa                22.  Texas
23.  Oklahoma St.        23.  Maryland
24.  Purdue              24.  Miami
25.  Gonzaga             25.  Oklahoma St.

First Game for Four Illini
Four Illini played in their first college game on Friday against Western Illinois. Those newcomers combined for 25 points, nine rebounds and four blocks. Frank Williams led the newcomers with eight points, Cook with four rebounds and Griffin with three blocks.

In the Rankings
Illinois was a popular choice for the preseason Top 25 polls this year. Here's a listing of the publications and where the Illini were ranked: Basketball News (19th), Basketball Times (sixth), Blue Ribbon (17th), Dick Vitale (15th), Jim Feist's Preview (22nd), Sport (16th), The Sporting News (10th), Sports Illustrated (21st), Street & Smith's (15th) and Ultimate Sports (16th).

Bench Points
The Illinois bench produced 41 of the 76 points in the win against Western Illinois. Lucas Johnson came off the bench to lead the Illini with 15 points.

Everyone Plays
In both exhibition games and the season opener against Western Illinois all 12 players on the roster saw action. Against Western the range of minutes for the 12 players was between 12 and 23.

More Scoring
Last year Illinois struggled offensively and only scored over 70 points eight times. This year, Illinois appears to be more balanced in the scoring column and the Illini opened the season with 76 points against Western Illinois.

Single Game Tickets
Single game tickets for Illini basketball games went on sale Nov. 3 and the Iowa game on Feb. 12 has less than 800 tickets remaining. The Feb. 22 Indiana game has approximately 1,200 tickets still remaining. The six other Big Ten home games have approximately 2,000 available tickets.

Did you Know ...

• Sergio McClain, Frank Williams, Brian Cook. They all share a common bond, being named Mr. Basketball in the state of Illinois. McClain won the award in 1997, Williams in 1998 and Cook in 1999. Illinois is the first school to have three of the state's Mr. Basketball honorees on the roster at the same time.
• Since 1980 Illinois has signed 11 McDonald's All-Americans and three are currently on the Illini roster. Marcus Griffin made the All-America team in 1997, Williams in 1998 and Cook in 1999. Illinois ranks 10th all-time in number of McDonald's All-American to attend the school.
• Illinois has the 18th best all-time winning percentage (.640) among Division I schools.
• Illinois has an all-time record of 1358-762. The 1357 wins rank 19th on the Division I list.
• Illini Head Coach Lon Kruger was an Academic All-American in 1974.,
• Illini Assistant Coach Rob Judson was an Academic All-American in 1979.
• Eight Illini players have been first-round draft selections, including Nick Anderson and Kendall Gill from the 1989 Final Four team.
• That Lon Kruger sang Take Me Out to the Ball Game in the seventh inning stretch at a Chicago Cubs game this summer.
• Illinois ranks third in the Big Ten behind Indiana and Michigan in total NCAA appearances.
• Illinois is third in wins and winning percentage in Big Ten games behind Indiana and Purdue.
• The Orange Krush student group is more than just a Fighting Illini cheering section. The students raised over $50,000 last year which went to the University of Illinois general scholarship fund, the Fighting Illini Scholarship Fund and a variety of charities.
• Former Illini jerry Hester, Jarrod Gee and Kevin Turner, all starters on the 1998 Big Ten Championship team, are playing professionally in Poland. Hester and Gee are on the same team.

Illini Return Eight, but are Still Young
Although the Fighting Illini return eight players from the 1998-99 squad this year's version of the Illini are still young in age and experience. Of the 12 players on the current roster, only two are seniors and three are juniors (one of which is Marcus Griffin, who is new to the squad). The remaining seven players are either freshmen or sophomores.

Illini Ranked
Illinois started the season ranked 16th in the Associated Press preseason poll, the Illini's first appearance in the preseason poll since 1994-95 when the Illini were ranked 25th. It is the highest AP preseason ranking for the Illini since the 1989-90 season when Illinois opened the season ranked eighth.

The ranking of 16th is the highest ranking for Illinois since the 1996-97 season when Illinois moved up to 15th in the poll (March 4) after thrashing Michigan 70-51 the previous week. Illinois beat Ohio State, 90-83, then lost at Purdue, 77-69, and dropped to 19th in the AP final poll (March. 11).

Chasing the Career Records

3-Point Field Goals Made

1.   237   Richard Keene, 1993-96
2.   189   Kiwane Garris, 1994-97
3.   179   Kevin Turner, 1995-98
4.   161   Matt Heldman, 1995-98
5.   149   Tom Michael, 1991-94
6.   143   Jerry Hester, 1994-98
7.   105   Andy Kaufmann, 1989-93
8.   90    T.J. Wheeler, 1991-94
9.   88    Cory Bradford, 1999-
10.  82    Kendall Gill, 1987-90

3-Point Field Goals Attempted

1.   617   Richard Keene, 1993-96
2.   520   Kiwane Garris, 1994-97
3.   496   Kevin Turner, 1995-98
4.   398   Matt Heldman, 1995-98
5.   398   Jerry Hester, 1994-98
6.   332   Tom Michael, 1991-94
7.   276   Andy Kaufmann, 1989-93
8.   250   T.J. Wheeler, 1991-94
9.   219   Kendall Gill, 1987-90
10.  212   Cory Bradford, 1999-

** Bradford set the single-season record for three-pointers made with 85 in 1998-99. His 205 attempts in 1998-99 rank second in the single-season record book to Kevin Turner's 212 in 1997-98.

Steals

1.   324   Bruce Douglas, 1983-86
2.   218   Kendall Gill, 1987-90
3.   178   Derek Harper, 1981-83
4.   161   Kenny Battle, 1988-89
     161   Mark Smith, 1978-81
6.   135   Stephen Bardo, 1987-90
7.   133   Doug Altenberger, 1983-87
8.   127   Rennie Clemmons, 1991-93
9.   125   Richard Keene, 1993-96
10.  115   Glynn Blackwell, 1985-88

** Junior Sergio McClain needs three steals to break into the top 10 list. He currently has 112 career steals including 71 in 1998-99, which ranks seventh in Illini single-season records.

Illini Picked Third
Illinois has been picked to finish third in the Big Ten by a Big Ten coaches' vote and a Big Ten media poll. The Illini are also picked to take third in the Big Ten by several preseason publications.

Only five times in Big Ten history has a team that finished last in the league advanced to finish in the top three the following year. In 1916 Purdue was last in the Big Ten and the Boilermakers finished third in 1917. In 1955 Ohio State was last and then improved to third place in 1956. Michigan State was last in 1965 and then finished second in 1966. Minnesota placed last in the league in 1977 after being forced to forfeit all games from that season and then the Gophers were third in 1978. And last year Ohio State was second in the Big Ten after finishing 11th in 1998.

Illini Schedule
Six teams on the 1999-2000 Illinois schedule opened the season ranked in the ESPN/USA Today Top 25 and five were in the Associated Press Top 25. Illinois' non-conference foes produced a record of 221-144 (.605) last year and eight of the teams produced winning records. Six of the non-conference opponents had 20 wins last year.

The Illini schedule features two Final Four teams from a year ago and a total of 12 which played in the NCAA Tournament (Duke, Indiana, Iowa, George Washington, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan State, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio State, Purdue and Wisconsin). Four Illini opponents participated in the NIT (Bradley, Kansas State, Northwestern and Seton Hall).

• Illinois will play five games against in-state teams: Western Illinois, Bradley, Loyola-Chicago, and twice against Northwestern during the course of the 1999-2000 season.
• In December Lon Kruger might feel like he is in the Big Eight (now Big 12) again. Illinois faces three-straight Big 12 teams in December: Kansas State, Kansas, Missouri.

By the Numbers
1 - Illinois was the only team in the preseason Associated Press poll that had a losing record last season.
2 - Victor Chukwudebe is three games shy of 100 career games at Illinois.
3 - Number of Illini players originating from foreign countries. Robert Archibald was born in Scotland, Victor Chukwudebe is a native of Nigeria, and Damir Krupalija moved to the United States from Bosnia.
3 - Number of double-doubles Victor Chukwudebe has in his career, all last season.
3 - Number of wins Head Coach Lon Kruger needs to reach 300.
4 - There are four different states represented on the Illinois roster (Illinois, Missouri, Tennessee and Alabama).
10 - The number of players on the roster from the state of Illinois (Victor Chukwudebe, Brian Cook, Joe Cross, Marcus Griffin, Sean Harrington, Lucas Johnson, Damir Krupalija, Nate Mast, Sergio McClain, Frank Williams).
10 - Number of treys against Western Illinois, the most by the Illini since Feb. 18, 1998 against Northwestern when Illinois had 11 threes.
13 - Illinois has racked up 13 Big Ten Championships with the last one coming in 1998.
18 - Illinois has produced a 20-win season 18 times.
31 - School record for wins, set by the 1989 team.
33 - Consecutive games in which Cory Bradford has hit a three-pointer.

A Winning Streak?
Dating back to March 4 when Illinois marched to the championship game of the Big Ten Tournament, the Illini have won 13 of its last 14 games. How you might ask? The games in May in Australia and the exhibition games this fall do not count toward the team record, but the last 14 times Illinois players have stepped on the court wearing the orange and blue, Illinois has been victorious 13 times. The Illini were 3-1 in the Big Ten Tournament, 7-0 in Australia, 2-0 in fall exhibition games, and opened the 1999-2000 season 1-0.

The Last Time
AN ILLINOIS PLAYER HAD

30+ points       Kevin Turner (35) vs. Indiana, 1/3/98
25-29 points     Cory Bradford (26) vs. Wisconsin, 2/6/99
15-19 rebounds   Damir Krupalija (16) vs. Indiana, 1/3/99
20 rebounds      Nick Weatherspoon (22) vs. DePauw, 12/2/72
10-14 assists    Kiwane Garris (13) vs. Virginia Tech, 12/1/96
15+ assists      Tony Wysinger (16) vs. Pittsburgh, 12/6/86
7 steals         Kendall Gill (7) vs. Iowa, 3/4/90
5 blocks         Deon Thomas (7) vs. Northwestern, 2/26/92

AN ILLINOIS TEAM HAD

100 points        105 vs. Texas, 12/20/97
under 50 points   44 vs. Michigan State, 2/11/99
under 40 points   35 vs. Ohio State, 1/12/46
over 50 rebounds  51 vs. Indiana, 3/5/99

AN OPPONENT PLAYER HAD

30+ points       Michael Redd (32) Ohio State, 3/6/99
25-29 points     Quincy Lewis (28) Minnesota, 2/3/99
15-19 rebounds   Evan Eschmeyer (17) Northwestern, 1/9/99
20 rebounds      Joe Franklin (23) Wisconsin, 12/19/66
10-14 assists    Kareem Gilbert (13) Tennessee St., 12/7/96
15+ assists      never, Quinn Buckner (14) Indiana, 2/18/74
7 steals         Pat Baldwin (7) Northwestern, 3/2/91
5 blocks         Eric Chenowith (7) Kansas, 12/19/98

AN OPPONENT TEAM HAD

100 points        108 by Missouri, 12/22/93
under 50 points   48 by Bradley, 12/5/98
under 40 points   35 by UT-Martin, 11/23/98
over 50 rebounds  50 by Delaware State, 11/25/96

Bumps and Bruises
Lon Kruger is looking forward to the day that he has a complete group of healthy Illini. Although there are no serious injuries to speak of, the Illini have opened the fall far from being 100 percent health-wise.

• Sergio McClain and Damir Krupalija (knee scoped) and Cleotis Brown (pin in foot for stress fracture) all had surgery during the summer.
• Victor Chukwudebe is bothered by a sore back that periodically has kept the senior out of practice. Sophomore Robert Archibald has also missed some practice time with a sore back.
• Lucas Johnson took an elbow to the nose on Nov. 5 and had surgery on Nov. 10. He missed the exhibition game against Cimeba All-Stars, but will ease his way back into practice this week. He is expected to play in Friday's opener against Western Illinois.
• Frank Williams jammed and sprained his finger in practice the week of Nov. 8.

More on the Polls
Illinois is one of only 10 Division I schools that have both the men's and women's teams ranked in the Top 25 by the Associated Press.

School           Men   Women
Connecticut      8th   1st
North Carolina   5th   12th
Auburn           3rd   12th
UCLA             12th   4th
Tennessee        19th   5th
Illinois         17th   13th
Kansas           11th   19th
Arizona          10th   25th
Duke             18th   22nd
Purdue           24th   21st

UI vs. Ranked Opponents
Under Lon Kruger, the Illini have won 14 games against ranked opponents. Following is a complete list of the Illini vs. ranked opponents under Lon Kruger.

12/21/96  #24 UCLA          79-63 W
1/9/97    #16 Michigan      74-88 L
1/14/97   #7 Minnesota      96-90 W
2/2/97    #17 Indiana       78-74 W
2/9/97    #25 Iowa          66-51 W
2/22/97   #2 Minnesota      66-67 L
3/2/97    #24 Michigan      70-51 W
11/28/97  #19 Louisville    57-58 L
12/13/97  #17 Clemson       71-61 W
12/30/97  #9 UCLA           69-74 L
1/8/98    #11 Iowa          76-64 W
1/13/98   #9 Purdue         58-68 L
1/25/98   #16 Michigan      64-53 W
2/12/98   #13 Mich. St.     84-63 W
2/14/98   #8 Purdue         73-75 L
3/7/98    #9 Purdue         47-68 L
3/12/98   #20 Maryland      61-67 L
12/19/98  #13 Kansas        65-65 L
12/29/98  #14 Clemson       67-50 W
1/3/99    #10 Indiana       53-62 L
1/7/99    #19 Iowa          62-84 L
1/13/99   #13 Purdue        54-63 L
1/16/99   #14 Mich. St.     49-51 L
1/20/99   #15 Wisconsin     53-75 L
1/30/99   #15 Ohio St.      61-64 L
2/3/99    #18 Minnesota     63-75 L
2/6/99    #11 Wisconsin     53-51 W
2/11/99   #5 Mich. St.      44-61 L
2/13/99   #21 Purdue        56-63 L
2/21/99   #20 Iowa          72-78 L
2/24/99   #20 Indiana       64-70/OT L
3/4/99    #23 Minnesota     67-64 W
3/5/99    #17 Indiana       82-66 W
3/6/99    #11 Ohio St.      79-77 W
3/7/99    #2 Mich. St.      50-67 L

Illini on Television
The Bradley game will be televised locally in Champaign by WCIA and in Peoria by WEEK. The game is also available as part of the ESPN Full Court package. Check with your local cable company or Direct TV for how to access the Full Court games.

Illinois will play before a national television audience on Nov. 30 against Duke at the United Center. That game is televised by ESPN. The games in the BB&T Classic will be televised by Fox Sports Chicago and WICD in Champaign.

There is no television for the Texas-Pan American game on Dec. 8. The Dec. 11 Kansas State game will be carried on the ESPN-Plus package.

Fighting Illini Night at Niketown in Chicago
November 29 will be Fighting Illini night at Niketown in Chicago. Illini fans are welcome to stop by the Michigan Avenue store for a reception beginning at 5:30 p.m. Illini Head Basketball Coach Lon Kruger will be on hand at 6:15 p.m. for a Q&A session with the fans that will be moderated by WGN's Dan Roan.

Nike will have its new product line of Illinois basketball apparel and those in attendance will have a chance to win apparel prizes as well as tickets to upcoming Illini games.