1936–37 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team

American college basketball season March 2026 August 2023 Basketball 1936–37 Illinois Fighting Illini 1936-37_Illinois_Fighting_Illini_men's_basketball_team.jpg 300px Big Ten Conference Big Ten 14–4 10-2 Douglas Mills Wally Roettger 1st 2nd Robert Riegel Huff Hall Big Ten Conference champions The 1936–37 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team represented the University of Illinois. Regular season New head coach Doug Mills took over the Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team for the 1936–37 season replacing Craig Ruby. Mills was a player for the Illini from 1927 to 1930 and served as the assistant coach for the 1935–36 season. Mills' service toward the University of Illinois would continue until 1947 as head coach and until 1966 as athletic director. Along with future head coach Harry Combes, the Illini returned 7 lettermen from a team that had finished in a third place tie in the Big Ten the year before. Even though they lost 2 home games during conference play, the Illini finished the season in a tie for the conference championship with a record of 10 wins and 2 losses. The team finished the season with an overall record of 14 wins 4 losses. Along with Combes, the Illini also featured future major league baseball hall of fame shortstop and manager, Lou Boudreau. The starting lineup included captain Robert Riegel at the center position, Boudreau and Combes at forward and Wilbur Henry, James Vopicka and Tom Nisbet at guard.Fighting Illini Basketball: A Hardwood History By News-Gazette, Sports Publishing LLC 1-58261-356-7 Following that season, the men's gymnasium got a new name, George Huff Gymnasium, after former Illinois athletic director George Huff, who died on October 1, 1936. During the championship season, Boudreau led the team in scoring with 8.7 points per game. Roster thumb|"1936–37 Fighting Illini men's basketball team" 1936 Illinois Fighting Illini y Loren Grabb 3 F SO Decatur, Illinois n Robert Riegel 4 C SR Tolono, Illinois n C Carter Cooley 5 F SO Chicago, Illinois n Wilbur Henry 6 G SR North Hollywood, California n James Vopicka 7 G SR Berwyn, Illinois n Harry Lasater Jr. 8 F FR Fairfield, Illinois n Harold Swanson 10 F SR Chicago Heights, Illinois n Byron Blout 11 F SR Salinas, California n George Wardley 15 G SO Gary, Indiana n Charles Farrington 16 F JR Urbana, Illinois n Harry Combes 17 G SR Champaign, Illinois y Tom Nisbet 18 G SO Chicago, Illinois n Frank Schack 20 F SO Decatur, Illinois n Lou Boudreau 21 F SO Harvey, Illinois y Edward Yeaton 28 G JR Elkhorn, Wisconsin n Albert Billings 29 F SO Elgin, Illinois n Robert Castelo 30 G SO Champaign, Illinois n Douglas Mills (University of Illinois) (1st year) * Wally Roettger (University of Illinois) (2nd year) https://fightingillini.com/sports/2015/7/18/mbb_alltimerosters_1925_1949.aspx?#1937 Schedule yes |- !colspan=12 style="background:#DF4E38; color:white;"| Non-Conference regular season 12/8/1936 yes 1936 Carroll University Carroll Huff Hall Champaign, IL 51–34 6,500 1–0 |- align="center" bgcolor="" 12/12/1936 yes 1936 DePauw Tigers Depauw Huff Hall Champaign, IL 44–24 6,000 2–0 12/19/1936 yes 1936 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Notre Dame Huff Hall Champaign, IL 44–29 7,000 3–0 12/23/1936 yes yes 1936 DePaul Blue Demons DePaul DePaul Auditorium Chicago, IL 25–31 6,000 3–1 12/30/1936 yes yes 1936 Bradley Braves Bradley Hewitt Gymnasium Peoria, IL 43–33 3,800 4–1 |- !colspan=9 style="background:#DF4E38; color:#FFFFFF;"|Big Ten regular season 1/4/1937 1936 Northwestern Wildcats Northwestern Huff Hall Champaign, IL Rivalry 38–47 7,328 4–2 0–1 1/9/1937 yes Wisconsin Wisconsin Field House Madison, WI 31–28 6,700 5–2 1–1 1/11/1937 Indiana Huff Hall Champaign, IL Rivalry 40–31 7,000 6–2 2–1 1/16/1937 1936 Iowa Hawkeyes Iowa Huff Hall Champaign, IL Rivalry 42–28 6,810 7–2 3–1 1/18/1937 yes 1936 Purdue Boilermakers Purdue Jefferson High School West Lafayette, IN 38–37 5,600 8–2 4–1 1/23/1937 1936 Chicago Maroons University of Chicago Huff Hall Champaign, IL 28–23 6,000 9–2 5–1 2/6/1937 yes yes Notre Dame Notre Dame Fieldhouse Notre Dame, IN 33–41 – 9–3 2/13/1937 yes University of Chicago Henry Crown Field House Chicago, IL 34–26 3,000 10–3 6–1 2/15/1937 Purdue Huff Hall Champaign, IL 34–61 7,600 10–4 6–2 2/20/1937 yes Indiana IU Fieldhouse Bloomington, IN Rivalry 42–25 5,000 11–4 7–2 2/22/1937 Wisconsin Huff Hall Champaign, IL 48–31 9,000 12–4 8–2 2/27/1937 yes Iowa Iowa Field House Iowa City, IA Rivalry 40–29 9,000 13–4 9–2 3/6/1937 yes Northwestern Patten Gymnasium Evanston, IL Rivalry 32–26 6,000 14–4 10–2 Central Time SourceUniversity of Illinois Fighting Illini Statistics Summary for 1936–37 pg.79, FightingIllini.com Awards and honors Harry Combes Omaha World Newspaper 2nd team All-American References Illinois Fighting Illini Category:Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball seasons Category:1936 in sports in Illinois Category:1937 in sports in Illinois