1997–98 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team

American college basketball season March 2026 August 2023 Basketball 1997–98 Illinois Fighting Illini 1997–98 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team.jpg 300px Big Ten Conference Big Ten 22 23–10 13–3 Lon Kruger Robert McCullum Rob Judson Steve Henson 2nd 2nd 2nd 1st Jerry Hester Brian Johnson Matt Heldman Jerry Hester Kevin Turner Assembly Hall Big Ten Conference co-champion NCAA men's Division I tournament second round The 1997–98 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team represented the University of Illinois. Regular season During the 1997–98 season, head coach Lon Kruger did the unthinkable as he took a team picked to finish seventh in the Big Ten and guided the Illini to a share of its first Big Ten title since 1984. On the way to the league crown, Illinois went 5–0 against Indiana, Iowa and Michigan, marking the first time in school history the Illini had gone undefeated against those teams during the course of a season. Illinois advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament after earning a #5 seed in the West Regional. The Illini defense was the Big Ten's best as Illinois finished the year first in scoring defense, fieldgoal defense and three-point defense in conference games. Additionally, this would be the inaugural season for the Big Ten tournament, thus reducing the number of regular season conference games by 2, from 18 to 16. Illinois received 2nd seed for the tournament. Roster 1997 Illinois Fighting Illini y yes Victor Chukwudebe 00 F 6 7 230 SO Springfield, Illinois Lanphier High School n Arias Davis 4 G 6 2 180 JR Waycross, Georgia Ware County High School n Jelani Boline 10 G 5 10 170 SR Chicago, Illinois Whitney Young High School n Jeff Reichardt 12 G 6 1 185 SO Schaumburg, Illinois Schaumburg High School n Cory Bradford 13 G 6 2 200 FR yes Memphis, Tennessee Raleigh Egypt High School y Matt Heldman 21 G 6 0 165 SR Libertyville, Illinois Libertyville High School n C Jerry Hester 23 F 6 6 210 SR yes Peoria, Illinois Manual High School n C Luke Williams 30 G 6 2 185 FR Brocton, Illinois Shiloh High School n) David Freeman 31 G 6 4 220 SR Champaign, Illinois Champaign Central High School n Jarrod Gee 32 F 6 8 240 SR Chicago, Illinois St. Martin de Porres High School n Kevin Turner 33 G 6 3 170 SR Chicago, Illinois Simeon High School n Brian Johnson 34 F 6 7 215 SR yes Des Plaines, Illinois Maine West High School n C Carvell Ammons 35 F 6 6 205 SO yes Champaign, Illinois Centennial High School n Sergio McClain 40 G/F 6 3 230 FR Peoria, Illinois Manual High School y Awvee Storey 42 G/F 6 6 215 FR Chicago, Illinois Proviso West High School y Rich Beyers 44 F 6 8 230 FR Shelbyville, Illinois Shelbyville High School n Lon Kruger (Kansas State) (2nd year) Rob Judson (University of Illinois) (2nd year) Robert McCullum (Seminole State) (2nd year) Steve Henson (Kansas State) (1st year) https://fightingillini.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/1997-98 Schedule SourceUniversity of Illinois Fighting Illini Statistics Summary for 1997–98 https://web.archive.org/web/20140222013459/http://www.fightingillini.com/sports/m-baskbl/records/year-1997.html 2014-02-22 , FightingIllini.com yes yes |- !colspan=12 style="background:#DF4E38; color:white;"| Non-Conference regular season 11/17/1997 yes 1997 Bradley Braves Bradley Assembly Hall Champaign, Illinois 69–59 13,304 1–0 11/15/1997 yes 1997 Georgia Southern Eagles Georgia Southern Assembly Hall Champaign, Illinois 82–53 10,789 2–0 11/24/1997 yes Illinois-Chicago Assembly Hall Champaign, Illinois 71–70 10,789 3–0 11/27/1997 yes yes 1997 Wichita State Shockers Wichita State Coliseo Rubén Rodríguez Bayamón, PR Puerto Rico Shootout 70–57 1,500 4–0 11/28/1997 yes 19 yes Louisville Coliseo Rubén Rodríguez Bayamón, PR Puerto Rico Shootout 57–58 1,500 4–1 11/29/1997 yes yes St. John's Coliseo Rubén Rodríguez Bayamón, PR Puerto Rico Shootout 66–83 500 4–2 12/2/1997 yes 1997 Texas–Pan American Broncs Texas-Pan American Assembly Hall Champaign, Illinois 88–60 10,456 5–2 12/6/1997 yes yes St. Louis TWA Dome St. Louis, Missouri 51–57 32,429 5–3 12/8/1997 yes 1997 Maine Black Bears Maine Assembly Hall Champaign, Illinois 88–69 10,742 6–3 12/13/1997 yes 17 Clemson United Center Chicago 71–61 9,282 7–3 12/20/1997 yes Texas Assembly Hall Champaign, Illinois 105–80 14,746 8–3 12/23/1997 yes yes 1997 Missouri Tigers Missouri Scottrade Center St. Louis, Missouri Braggin' Rights 69–75 22,371 8–4 12/30/1997 yes 9 yes UCLA Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles 69–74 12,055 8–5 |- !colspan=9 style="background:#DF4E38; color:#FFFFFF;"|Big Ten regular season 1/3/1998 Indiana Assembly Hall Champaign, Illinois Rivalry 74–72 16,450 9–5 1–0 1/8/1998 yes Iowa Carver–Hawkeye Arena Iowa City, Iowa Rivalry 76–64 15,500 10–5 2–0 1/10/1998 yes 1997 Northwestern Wildcats Northwestern Welsh-Ryan Arena Evanston, Illinois Rivalry 59–44 8,117 11–5 3–0 1/13/1998 9 Purdue Assembly Hall Champaign, Illinois 58–68 14,874 11–6 3–1 1/17/1998 yes Michigan State Breslin Student Events Center East Lansing, Michigan 64–68 14,874 11–7 3–2 1/21/1998 Wisconsin Assembly Hall Champaign, Illinois 62–48 11,281 12–7 4–2 1/25/1998 16 Michigan Assembly Hall Champaign, Illinois 64–53 16,450 13–7 5–2 1/28/1998 yes 1997 Ohio State Buckeyes Ohio State St. John Arena Columbus, Ohio 66–62 9,250 14–7 6–2 1/31/1998 yes 1997 Penn State Nittany Lions Penn State Bryce Jordan Center University Park, Pennsylvania 77–71 12,977 15–7 7–2 2/4/1998 Minnesota Assembly Hall Champaign, Illinois 68–56 12,204 16–7 8–2 2/7/1998 yes Wisconsin Kohl Center Madison, Wisconsin 53–47 ot 16,414 17–7 9–2 2/12/1998 13 Michigan State Assembly Hall Champaign, Illinois 84–63 16,450 18–7 10–2 2/14/1998 8 yes Purdue Mackey Arena West Lafayette, Indiana 72–75 14,123 18–8 10–3 2/18/1998 23 Northwestern Assembly Hall Champaign, Illinois Rivalry 69–57 16,450 19–8 11–3 2/22/1998 23 Iowa Assembly Hall Champaign, Illinois Rivalry 79–72 16,450 20–8 12–3 2/24/1998 22 yes Indiana Assembly Hall Bloomington, Indiana Rivalry 82–72 17,103 21–8 13–3 |- !colspan=9 style="text-align: center; background:#DF4E38"|Big Ten tournament 3/6/1998 18 yes yes 2 10 Wisconsin United Center Chicago, Illinois Quarterfinals 66–61 21,711 22–8 3/7/1998 18 yes 9 yes 2 3 Purdue United Center Chicago, Illinois Semifinals 47–68 21,711 22–9 |- !colspan=9 style="text-align: center; background:#DF4E38"|NCAA tournament 3/12/1998 22 yes yes South Alabama ARCO Arena Sacramento, California First Round 5 W 12 W 64–51 14,920 23–9 3/14/1998 22 yes yes Maryland 5 W 4 W Arco Arena Sacramento, California Second Round 61–67 16,402 23–10 |- Central Time Player stats PlayerGames Played2 pt. Field Goals3 pt. Field GoalsFree ThrowsReboundsAssistsBlocksStealsPointsKevin Turnerhttp://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/ill/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/2009-10_Guide05.pdf Season Stats pg. 124 2011-03-18 2011-07-08 https://web.archive.org/web/20110708212650/http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/ill/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/2009-10_Guide05.pdf dead 33137787610591244584Jerry Hesterhttp://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/ill/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/2009-10_Guide05.pdf Season Stats pg. 124 2011-03-18 2011-07-08 https://web.archive.org/web/20110708212650/http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/ill/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/2009-10_Guide05.pdf dead 33146407417549828486Matt Heldmanhttp://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/ill/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/2009-10_Guide05.pdf Season Stats pg. 124 2011-03-18 2011-07-08 https://web.archive.org/web/20110708212650/http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/ill/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/2009-10_Guide05.pdf dead 3330679897131042359Jerry Geehttp://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/ill/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/2009-10_Guide05.pdf Season Stats pg. 124 2011-03-18 2011-07-08 https://web.archive.org/web/20110708212650/http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/ill/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/2009-10_Guide05.pdf dead 33115049175232932279Brian Johnsonhttp://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/ill/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/2009-10_Guide05.pdf Season Stats pg. 124 2011-03-18 2011-07-08 https://web.archive.org/web/20110708212650/http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/ill/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/2009-10_Guide05.pdf dead 3383066147781729232Sergio McClainhttp://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/ill/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/2009-10_Guide05.pdf Season Stats pg. 124 2011-03-18 2011-07-08 https://web.archive.org/web/20110708212650/http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/ill/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/2009-10_Guide05.pdf dead 333842810354940116Arias Davishttp://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/ill/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/2009-10_Guide05.pdf Season Stats pg. 124 2011-03-18 2011-07-08 https://web.archive.org/web/20110708212650/http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/ill/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/2009-10_Guide05.pdf dead 28724322100689Victor Chukwudebehttp://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/ill/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/2009-10_Guide05.pdf Season Stats pg. 124 2011-03-18 2011-07-08 https://web.archive.org/web/20110708212650/http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/ill/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/2009-10_Guide05.pdf dead 33250101101191366Awvee Storey 1724063265554Rich Beyers 214061830114Jelani Boline 280081016308David Freeman 1930150017Jeff Reichardt 102000006Luke Williams 100000000 Awards and honors Jerry Hester Team Co-Most Valuable Player http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/ill/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/05_mbb_guide_06.pdf List of MVPs 2013-01-15 2014-10-30 https://web.archive.org/web/20141030004049/http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/ill/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/05_mbb_guide_06.pdf dead Kevin Turner Team Co-Most Valuable Player Team players drafted into the NBA PlayerNBA ClubRoundPick1998 NBA draft Rankings 1997–98 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings References Illinois Category:Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball seasons Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball Illinois