Illinois Game Notes vs. Wisconsin
February 11, 2005 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 11, 2005
Illinois Men's Basketball Game Notes vs. Wisconsin in PDF Format
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FIGHTING ILLINI BASKETBALL
Game #25: #1 Illinois (24-0, 10-0) vs. #20/21Wisconsin (16-5, 7-3)
Feb. 12, 2005 •Noon CT •CBS
Champaign, Ill. •Assembly Hall (16,618)
Probable Starters
#1 ILLINOIS (24-0, 10-0)
F - 43 Roger Powell, Jr. (Sr., 6-6, 235, 12.4 ppg, 5.1 rpg)
F - 40 James Augustine (Jr., 6-10, 230, 10.5 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 1.5 bpg)
G - 4 Luther Head (Sr., 6-3, 185, 16.5 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 3.8 apg)
G - 5 Deron Williams (Jr., 6-3, 210, 12.4 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 6.9 apg)
G - 11 Dee Brown (Jr., 6-0, 185, 13.0 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 4.7 apg)
Off The Bench ...
G - 15 Calvin Brock (Fr., 6-4, 185, plans to redshirt)
G - 33 Rich McBride (So., 6-3, 215, 3.4 ppg, 1.5 rpg)
F - 34 Fred Nkemdi (Sr., 6-5, 235, 0.6 ppg, 0.3 rpg)
F - 41 Warren Carter (So., 6-9, 210, 2.9 ppg, 1.6 rpg)
C - 45 Nick Smith (Sr.-r, 7-2, 250, 3.7 ppg, 2.5 rpg)
C/F - 50 Jack Ingram (Sr.-r, 6-10, 245, 3.9 ppg, 3.0 rpg)
F - 55 Shaun Pruitt (Fr., 6-8, 245, 1.5 ppg, 0.9 rpg)
Injured
F - 42 Brian Randle (So., 6-7, 210, 1.8 ppg, 1.7 rpg in 2003-04)
Illinois Head Coach: Bruce Weber
Overall Record: 153-61/.715 (7th year)
At Illinois: 50-7/.877 (2nd year)
Big Ten: 23-3/.885
Vs. Wisconsin: 2-2
Assistant Coaches: Wayne McClain (4th year), Jay Price (2nd year), Tracy Webster (1st year)
Assistant to the head coach: Gary Nottingham (2nd year)
Trainer: Al Martindale (22nd year at Illinois)
Wisconsin Head Coach: Bo Ryan
Overall Record: 467-136/.774 (21st year)
At Wisconsin: 84-33/.718 (4th year)
Vs. Illinois all-time: 4-4
Assistant Coaches: Rob Jeter, Gary Close, Greg Gard
On the Air
Television
CBS - National: Dick Enberg, play-by-play; Clark Kellogg, expert analyst.
Radio
Illini Sports Network - 47 stations: Brian Barnhart, play-by-play; Loren Tate, expert analyst & pregame/halftime/postgame interviews.
Westwood One - National: Tony Roberts, play-by-play; Bill Frieder, expert analyst.
Series Notes: Wisconsin
Illinois owns a 103-68 lead in the all-time series over Wisconsin and enjoys a 65-17 advantage in games played in Champaign. The Illini have won six in a row over the Badgers at the Assembly Hall, with Wisconsin's last win in Champaign coming in 1997. In the most recent meeting between the two teams, the Illini posted a 75-65 win in Madison on Jan. 25 to end the Badgers' 38-game home winning streak, which at the time led the nation.
Undefeated Illini
Illinois is the only remaining NCAA Div. I team in the country to boast a perfect record, and with 24 victories has the most wins in the nation.
Illini Own Pair of Nation's Longest Winning Streaks
Illinois sits atop the NCAA Div. I charts with two winning streaks. The Illini's 24-game winning streak is the longest winning streak in the nation, and Illinois' 12-game road winning streak is the longest road winning streak in the nation. Illinois won its last six road games last year and has won its first six road games this season.
Hot Start
Illinois' current 24-0 record has set a school record for the best start to a season in the 100-year history of Fighting Illini basketball, and also ranks as the longest single-season winning streak in school history. The 24 straight wins also stands as the second-longest winning streak in school history. Only the 25-game winning streak that included parts of three seasons from Feb. 21, 1914, through Feb. 9, 1916, bests the Illini's current string of victories.
Illinois' 24-0 mark ranks as the fourth best start ever by a Big Ten team, and is the best start by a Big Ten team in 29 years, since Indiana went a perfect 32-0 during the 1975-76 season. The following is a list of the all-time best starts by Big Ten teams.
Rank School Start Year 1. Indiana 32-0 * 1975-76 2. Indiana 31-0 1974-75 3. Ohio State 27-0 1960-61 4. Illinois 24-0 2004-05 5. Ohio State 22-0 1961-62 6. Iowa 18-0 1986-87 T7. Ohio State 17-0 1990-91 T7. Illinois 17-0 1988-89 * Indiana went undefeated during the 1975-76 season.
Big Ten Streakin'
Illinois has won a school-record 20 straight Big Ten games - its final 10 conference games last season and the first 10 this season. Illinois' 20-game Big Ten winning streak is three better than the 17-straight Big Ten wins from Feb. 21, 1914 through Feb. 9, 1916. The following are the Illini's all-time best Big Ten winning streaks:
•20 - Feb. 3, 2004 - CURRENT •17 - Feb. 21, 1914 through Feb. 9, 1916 •15 - Jan. 20, 1951 through Feb. 2, 1952 •14 - March 7, 1942 through Jan. 3, 1944 •13 - Feb. 26, 1955 through Feb. 20, 1956 •13 - Feb. 23, 1924 through Feb. 21, 1925Illinois has also set a school record with its current streak of 11 straight Big Ten road victories - its final six conference away games last season and its first four six games this season. This broke the previous school-record streak of eight straight Big Ten road wins, which happened twice. The Illini won eight straight conference road games from Feb. 21, 1914 through Feb. 9, 1916 and again from Feb. 5, 1951 through Feb. 2, 1952.
Hot Big Ten Start
At 10-0 in conference play, Illinois has tied its third best Big Ten start in school history and is off to its best conference start in 49 years, since also winning its first 10 Big Ten games in 1956. This is the fourth time in school history that Illinois has won at least its first 10 games to open conference play. The following are the Illini's all-time best Big Ten starts:
Rank Start Year T1. 12-0 * 1942-43 T1. 12-0 * 1914-15 T3. 10-0 2004-05 T3. 10-0 1955-56 T5. 7-0 1941-42 T5. 7-0 1924-25 T7. 6-0 1962-63 T7. 6-0 1951-52 T9. 5-0 1969-70 T9. 5-0 1919-20 *Illinois went unbeaten in Big Ten play during the 1942-43 and 1914-15 seasons.
Big Ten Road Warriors
It took a total of just 13 conference road games in just his second season for Bruce Weber's Illini to win at every Big Ten arena. Illinois won at Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Ohio State, Penn State and Purdue last season and completed the conference run with wins at Northwestern, Wisconsin, Michigan State and Michigan this season.
Weber is just one of three current coaches in the Big Ten to win at every opposing arena - joining Purdue's Gene Keady and Michigan State's Tom Izzo. Weber has accomplished the feat the fastest. Below is a breakdown of how long it took the three to win at every arena.
Coach School Season Games
1. Bruce Weber ILL 2nd 13
2. Gene Keady PUR 4th 36
3. Tom Izzo MSU 4th 33
Illini Sweep Big Ten "Single" Games For Second Straight Year
For the second straight year, the Illini are the only Big Ten team to defeat all four conference opponents it played just once. This marks the fourth time in eight seasons (since inception of the Big Ten Tournament) that the Illini have swept the four "single" games. The previous times came in 1998 and 2001 when the Illini won shares of the Big Ten title and last year when the Illini won the outright Big Ten championship.
Illini Remain No. 1
For just the third year in school history - and for the 10th straight week - Illinois is the No. 1-ranked team in the nation. This marks the first time in school history that the Illini have been ranked first for more than one week in the same season. Illinois' first tenure at No. 1 came the final week of January, 1952. Illinois' 10 straight weeks at No. 1 is the longest streak by any team since Connecticut owned the top spot for 10 straight weeks during the 1998-99 season.
Prior to this year, the last time Illinois was ranked No. 1 was the week of Jan. 23-29, 1989. The UI was also ranked No. 1 in the Associated Press poll for a week during the final week 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.
Weber Becomes Fastest UI Coach to Reach 50 Wins
With Illinois' win at Michigan on Tuesday, Bruce Weber became the fastest coach in UI history to reach 50 wins. Now with a record of 50-7 at Illinois, it took Weber a total of just 57 games in just his second season to reach the 50-win marker. Weber broke the previous school record by Ralph Jones, who recorded his 50th victory in his 64th game overall. Below are the four Illini coaches to reach 50 wins the fastest.
Coach Games Season
1. Bruce Weber 57 2nd
2. Ralph Jones 64 5th
3. Bill Self 65 2nd
4. Harry Combes 67 3rd
Illini Nation's Third-Winningest Team over Past Five Seasons
Illinois ranks as the third-winningest team in the nation over the past five seasons, in terms of total wins, and ranks fourth in winning percentage. Illinois has reeled off 128 victories since the beginning of the 2000-01 season, which trails only Duke and Kansas. Below is a list of the six winninest teams (by total wins) over the past five years (list provided by Stats, Inc.):
School Wins Record Pct.
1. Duke 141 141-23 .860
2. Kansas 132 132-29 .820
3. ILLINOIS 128 128-31 .805
4. Gonzaga 125 125-27 .822
T5. Kentucky 123 123-31 .799
T5. Pittsburgh 123 123-34 .783
Illini Tally Sixth Straight 20-Win Season
With the victory at Wisconsin on Jan. 25, Illinois has recorded its sixth-straight 20-win season, which is also its eighth in the last nine years and 24th all-time. The current streak of six-straight 20-win seasons is second best in school history behind nine-consecutive 20-wins seasons from 1983-91.
Illinois has also reached the 20-win plateau the fastest in school history in terms of both calendar date and number of total games, by winning its 20th game on Jan. 25 in just its 20th game of the season.
Prior to this year, the quickest that Illinois had recorded its 20th win in a season by calendar date was during the 1988-89 season, when the UI won its 20th game on Feb. 11, 1989. In terms of total games, the fastest that Illinois had recorded its 20th win had been in 23 games. This happened four times; during the 1948-49, 1951-52, 1983-84, and 1988-89 seasons.
Home Cookin'
The Illini have an 18-game winning streak at the Assembly Hall, which is currently (as of Feb. 9) seventh in the nation among active homecourt winning streaks ...Illinois is 63-2 (.969) at the Assembly Hall over the last four-plus years, with the only losses coming to Michigan State on Feb. 3, 2002 and to Purdue on Jan. 10, 2004 ... The Boilermakers broke a 23-game Illini winning streak at the Hall that at the time ranked fourth in the nation ... Illinois is 75-3 (.962) at the Assembly Hall over the past five-plus seasons, the best home mark in the nation over that period ...The Illini have also won 38 in a row at the Assembly Hall against non-conference opponents ... Illinois has won 40 of its last 42 (.952) Big Ten games at the Assembly Hall ... Below is a look at Illinois' home record the past five-plus seasons:
Year Overall Big Ten 2004-05 12-0 5-0 2003-04 12-1 7-1 2002-03 14-0 7-0 2001-02 13-1 7-1 2000-01 12-0 8-0 1999-2000 12-1 7-1 Total 75-3 (.962) 41-3 (.932)
*For complete set of Illinois men's basketball game notes, click on .pdf link at the top of this page.
