Nov. 20, 2001
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Last Time Out : Eastern Illinois
Illinois used a 22-2 run in the first half to race to a 48-23 halftime lead and never looked back in a 93-53 win over Eastern Illinois Monday at Champaign. Frank Williams led all scorers with 20 points and was joined in double figures by freshman Luther Head with 14 points and Damir Krupalia with 12 points. The Illini shot 56 percent from the field and dominated the boards by a 45-31 count. The Illini bench scored 54 points and grabbed 22 rebounds in the rout over the Panthers. Nine different Illini handed out 22 assists.
For Openers
Las Vegas Invitational:
Illinois opened play in the Las Vegas Invitational Nov. 19 with a 93-53 win over Eastern Illinois. The Illini opened pool play by taking on Panthers in Champaign before traveling west to play Penn and Georgia Tech at Valley High School in Las Vegas. The final game on Nov. 25 will matchup with either Iowa State, St. Louis, Southwest Missouri State or Hartford depending on the standings in both pools.
First Round Scores (at home sites)
Pennsylvania 79 @ Georgia Tech 74
Southern Illinois 69 @ St. Louis 66
Hartford 54 @ Iowa State 83
The Schedule:
Thursday, Nov. 22
Gm 1: Georgia Tech vs. Eastern Illinois, Noon
Gm 2: Iowa State v. Southern Illinois, 2:30 p.m.
Gm 3: St. Louis vs. Hartford, 5 p.m.
Gm 4: Illinois vs. Penn, 7:30 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 23
Gm 5: Southern Illinois vs. Hartford, Noon
Gm 6: Iowa State vs. St. Louis, 2:30 p.m.
Gm 7: Eastern Illinois vs. Penn, 5 p.m.
Gm 8: Illinois vs. Georgia Tech, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 24
Gm 9: 7th-Place Game, Noon
Gm 10: 5th-Place Game, 2:30 p.m.
Gm 11: 3rd-Place Game, 5 p.m.
Gm 12: Championship Game, 7:30 p.m.
The following experimental rules will be used in the tournament:
- The free-throw and three-second lane will be widened to the NBA free-throw and three-second lane.
- No free throws shall be awarded to the offended team for a foul committed by a member of a team in control of the ball. Instead, the offended team will be awarded possession of the ball at a designated spot and play shall be resumed.
- Jump balls will be held at center circle for all situations in which the alternating-possession arrow was used. Any two players may jump, except for a held ball and when the ball is simultaneously caused to go out of bounds. In those cases, the two players ruled to have caused the dead ball shall jump.
Against the Field:
Illinois has faced each team in the Las Vegas Invitational field except for Hartford.
The Illini vs ...
Penn: 5-0 (last in 2000)
Georgia Tech: 5-1 (last in 1989)
Iowa State: 11-0 (last in 1985)
Southern Illinois: 1-0 (in 1982)
St. Louis: 10-5 (last in 1998)
Hartford: 0-0
Home Court Streakin':
Illinois will enter the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi game on Dec. 1 with a 20-game winning streak at the Assembly Hall, the longest home-winning streak by the Illini since winning 28 straight from Feb. 11, 1988 to Jan. 15, 1990. Last year, Illinois completed its first unbeaten home season since the 1988-89 season (17-0). The current 20-game winning streak ranks ninth nationally entering the season.
Illinois' 14-game winning streak in conference games at the Assembly Hall ranks 10th in the nation entering the 2001-02 season.
Tournament Tested:
Eastern Illinois was the Fighting Illini's second straight opponent that appeared in last year's NCAA Tournament. Penn played Illinois in the 2000 NCAA Tournament, and Georgia Tech appeared in last year's NCAA Tournament.
Sharing the Spotlight:
Illinois is one of just three schools to have both its men's basketball and football teams ranked among the Top 10 in the nation. The Illini football team was ranked No. 10 in both major polls this week, while the basketball squad is currently No. 2. Maryland (No. 8 FB, No. 6 MBK) and Florida (No. 3 FB, No. 7 MBK) join Illinois among the elite in both sports.
Dee-Fence ... Dee-Fence:
After two games against squads that played in the NCAA Tournament last year, the Illini have held opponents to 34 percent field goal shooting, including 27 percent from three-point range. The Illini are helping force 21 turnovers per game, while turning it over just 12 times per game. Illinois has averaged 9.0 steals, and have shown unselfish play with an average of 17.5 assists per game.
Starting High:
Preseason pollsters have placed the Fighting Illini as high as they've ever been entering a season. The USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll started Illinois at No. 2 in the preseason poll, and the Associated Press had the Illini at No. 3. The two previous high marks for preseason rankings came in 1962 and 1984 when the AP had Illinois No. 2 in the preseason. The Sporting News ranked Illinois No. 1 in the preseason while Sports Illustrated had the Illini No. 2.
Williams Preseason Honors:
Guard Frank Williams was named to the Associated Press Preseason All-America First-Team Nov. 6. Williams was joined on the team by Duke's Jason Williams, Missouri's Kareem Rush, Stanford's Casey Jacobsen and Kentucky's Tayshawn Prince. The last Illinois player to earn First-Team All-America honors from AP in the postseason was Andy Phillip in 1943.
Illini Newcomers:
Four Illini players saw their first action in an Illinois uniform against Gonzaga. First-year freshmen are guard Luther Head (Chicago, Ill./Manley High School) and forward Roger Powell (Joliet, Ill./High). Both earned first-team all-state honors as seniors. Forward Blandon Ferguson transferred from the College of Southern Idaho following a strong junior college career. Nick Smith will make his debut after redshirting as a true freshman last year. And, at the beginning of the spring 2002 semester, junior Nick Huge regains his eligibility after transferring from Appalachian State last year. Huge is not on scholarship and does not count toward the limit of 13 scholarship players.
Select Company:
Bill Self became the first coach in 22 years, just the sixth all-time in the Big Ten, and second Illini coach to win a Big Ten championship in his first season as coach at a conference school. Minnesota's Bill Musselman is the only coach to win an outright title in his first season in 1972. Other league rookies earning hardware are Iowa's Sam Barry in 1923, Michigan's George Veekner in 1929, Illinois' Doug Mills in 1937 and Purdue's Lee Rose in 1979.
More Select Company:
When Illinois defeated Iowa on Feb. 24, 2001, Bill Self became just the fourth coach in the Big Ten since 1951 (when Michigan State joined the league) to defeat every other conference team in his first season. The other three coaches are Indiana's Bob Knight in 1972, Iowa's Tom Davis in 1987 and Penn State's Jerry Dunn in 1996.
Illini Milestone:
Illinois became the 18th Div. I program to reach 1,400 all-time victories with the Feb. 17, 2001 win at Indiana.
20th 20-win Season:
Last season, Illinois posted its 20th 20-win season in Illini basketball history. It also marked the second-earliest 20th win in school history (by calendar date). The earliest was Feb. 11, 1989 when the Illini defeated Northwestern. That team went on to win a school-record 31 games.
Wins, Wins and More Wins:
Illinois' 27 victories during the 2000-01 season are the second-most wins in a season in school history. The school record for victories in a season is 31 in 1989.
Comeback Kids:
Illinois overcame a 13-point second-half deficit to defeat Wisconsin 68-67 Feb. 13 in Champaign. Earlier in the season, the Illini set a school record by coming from 21 points down to defeat Seton Hall.
Defending Home Court:
In Illinois' 12 homes games at the Assembly Hall during the 2000-01 season, opponents shot a combined 34.6 percent (240-693 FG) from the field and 29.4 percent (74-252 3FG) from three-point range.
High-Scoring:
Illinois averaged 77.9 points per game, the highest Illini scoring average since 1994 when Illinois averaged 84.0 points per game. In Big Ten games, the Illini ranked second in the league in scoring with an average of 75.3 points.
Very Offensive:
In Big Ten play last season, the Illini led the league in three-point field goal shooting (.390), ranked second in scoring margin (+11.7), second in scoring (75.3 ppg) and third in field-goal shooting (.465). Illinois also ranked second in the league in assists (14.88) and third in offensive rebounds (12.63) and three-point field goals made (7.00 avg.).
Self Defense:
For the 2000-01 season, opponents shot just 38.6 percent from the field. That is the lowest opponent shooting percentage since the 1955-56 season when Illini opponents shot 35.2 percent from the field. Illinois finished third in the nation in field-goal percentage defense, behind only Kansas and Holy Cross.
In league play, the Illini were second in the Big Ten in field-goal percentage defense (.387) while ranking second in blocked shots (5.19), second in steals (7.44) and fourth in scoring defense (63.6).
Board Work:
Illinois' average of 40.0 rebounds per game in 2001 was the team's highest average since 1979 when the Illini averaged 41.3 rebounds per game. Illinois' rebounding margin (6.7) ranked 13th in the nation.
