1938–39 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team

1938–39 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball
Conference Big Ten Conference
1938–39 record 14–5 (8-4 Big Ten)
Head coach Douglas Mills
Assistant coach Howie Braun
Assistant coach Wally Roettger
Captain Tom Nisbet
Home arena Huff Hall
1938–39 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   PCT     W   L   PCT
Ohio State 10 2   .833     16 7   .696
Indiana 9 3   .750     17 3   .850
Illinois 8 4   .667     14 5   .737
Minnesota 7 5   .583     14 6   .700
Purdue 6 6   .500     12 7   .632
Northwestern 5 7   .417     7 13   .350
Michigan 4 8   .333     11 9   .550
Wisconsin 4 8   .333     10 10   .500
Chicago 4 8   .333     9 11   .450
Iowa 3 9   .250     8 11   .421
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1938–39 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team represented the University of Illinois.

Regular season

The 1938-39 season was year number three for head coach Doug Mills. Overall the team regrouped from a miserable eighth place finish in the Big Ten a year earlier by winning 9 of their 10 home games only losing to conference rival Indiana. Unfortunately for the Fighting Illini they finished with a 5-5 record on the road to finish in third place overall in conference action. Mills' Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team featured only 5 returning letterman. Along with team captain Tom Nisbit, the Illini also featured a starting lineup of Lewis Dehner at the center position, John Drish, Joe Frank and William Hapac at forward and George Wardley, and Colin Handlon at guard.[1]

Team

No. Player Position Class Hometown
3 Colin Handlon Guard Junior Connersville, Indiana
4 Henry Sachs Guard Freshman Chicago, Illinois
6 Robert O'Neill Center Sophomore Pitman, New Jersey
8 Lewis Dehner Center Senior Lincoln, Illinois
9 Edsel Hart Forward Sophomore
10 James Phillips Guard Sophomore Oak Park, Illinois
11 Darold Staley Guard Sophomore
12 Robert Richmond Guard Sophomore
15 George Wardley Guard Senior Gary, Indiana
17 Joe Frank Forward Junior Urbana, Illinois
18 Tom Nisbet (captain) Guard Senior Chicago, Illinois
19 William Hapac Forward Junior Cicero, Illinois
20 Harold Shapiro Guard Sophomore Chicago, Illinois
21 John Drish Forward Sophomore Evanston, Illinois
26 Ivan Johnson Forward Sophomore
27 Howard Cronk Forward Sophomore Anderson, Indiana
28 Norman Cusick Forward Sophomore

[2]

Schedule

DateOpponent Score Result LocationAttendance
December 10, 1938Washington (St. Louis)49–31WinChampaign, IL5,000
December 17, 1938North Dakota61–33WinChampaign, IL4,000
December 21, 1938Connecticut State49–33WinChampaign, IL4,763
December 27, 1938Manhattan60–41WinNew York, NY17,000
December 29, 1938Villanova28–22WinPhiladelphia, PA9,000
January 3, 1939Cornell35-34WinChampaign, IL8,500
January 7, 1939Michigan30–20WinChampaign, IL6,553
January 9, 1939Indiana28–29LossChampaign, IL6,706
January 14, 1939University of Chicago43–33WinChicago, IL3,500
January 16, 1939Ohio State45–31WinChampaign, IL6,846
January 21, 1939Wisconsin37-34WinMadison, WI11,200
January 23, 1939Minnesota33–35LossMinneapolis, MN16,500
February 3, 1939Notre Dame24–38LossNotre Dame, IN5,500
February 6, 1939Iowa34–26WinChampaign, IL6,000
February 11, 1939Purdue30–34LossWest Lafayette, IN5,000
February 13, 1939Michigan35–28WinAnn Arbor, MI4,000
February 20, 1939Purdue35–28WinChampaign, IL6,900
February 25, 1939Northwestern34–36LossEvanston, IL5,000
February 27, 1939University of Chicago49–26WinChampaign, IL6,500

Bold Italic connotes conference game

Awards and honors

References

  1. Fighting Illini Basketball: A Hardwood History By News-Gazette, Sports Publishing LLC ISBN 1-58261-356-7
  2. All-Time Illini Rosters
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