1937–38 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team

American college basketball season March 2026 August 2023 Basketball 1937–38 Illinois Fighting Illini 1937–38_Illinois_Fighting_Illini_men's_basketball_team.jpg 300px Big Ten Conference Big Ten 9–9 4–8 Douglas Mills Howie Braun Wally Roettger 2nd 1st 3rd Lou Boudreau Huff Hall The 1937–38 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team represented the University of Illinois. Regular season The 1937–38 season for second year head coach Doug Mills took a major step backward after finishing in a first place tie a year earlier. Mills' Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team dropped to a tie for eighth place in the Big Ten during his sophomore season. This team featured future major league baseball hall of fame shortstop and manager, Lou Boudreau. Even though they returned 6 letterman, the Illini finished the season with a conference record of 4 wins and 8 losses (the worst of Mills' career at Illinois). The team finished the season with an overall record of 9 wins 9 losses. Along with team captain Boudreau, the Illini also featured a starting lineup of Lewis Dehner at the center position, Joe Frank and William Hapac at forward and George Wardley, Tom Nisbit and Colin Handlon at guard.Fighting Illini Basketball: A Hardwood History By News-Gazette, Sports Publishing LLC 1-58261-356-7 Roster 1937 Illinois Fighting Illini y Colin Handlon 3 G SO Connersville, Indiana n Harry Lasater Jr. 6 F SO Fairfield, Illinois n Lewis Dehner 8 C JR Lincoln, Illinois y Carlos Davies 10 G SO Streator, Illinois n Charles Phillips 11 F SO Ridgway, Illinois n George Wardley 15 G JR Gary, Indiana n Joe Frank 17 F SO Urbana, Illinois n Tom Nisbet 18 G JR Chicago, Illinois n William Hapac 19 F SO Cicero, Illinois y Lou Boudreau 21 F JR Harvey, Illinois y C William Bennis 22 F SR Freeport, Illinois n Jack Hodges 28 G JR Rock Island, Illinois n Orval Spurlin 27 G SO Kinmundy, Illinois n Thomas Bouzeos 33 F SO Chicago, Illinois n Carter Cooley 55 F Jr Chicago, Illinois n Douglas Mills (University of Illinois) (2nd year) Wally Roettger (University of Illinois) (3rd year) Howie Braun (University of Illinois) (1st year) https://fightingillini.com/sports/2015/7/18/mbb_alltimerosters_1925_1949.aspx?#1938 Schedule yes |- !colspan=12 style="background:#DF4E38; color:white;"| Non-Conference regular season 12/7/1937 yes 1937 Carroll University Carroll Huff Hall Champaign, IL 48–25 6,500 1–0 |- align="center" bgcolor="" 12/11/1937 yes yes 1937 Augustana College (Illinois) Augustana Old Main Gymnasium Rock Island, IL 43–27 5,000 2–0 12/15/1937 yes 1937 Washington University Bears Washington (St. Louis) Huff Hall Champaign, IL 40–36 6,800 3–0 12/18/1937 yes yes 1937 St. John's Red Storm St. John's Madison Square Garden New York, NY 60–45 17,000 4–0 12/20/1937 yes yes Temple Municipal Auditorium Philadelphia, PA 38–51 4,000 4–1 12/28/1937 yes 1937 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Notre Dame Huff Hall Champaign, IL 33–32 8,500 5–1 |- !colspan=9 style="background:#DF4E38; color:#FFFFFF;"|Big Ten regular season 1/4/1938 yes Indiana IU Fieldhouse Bloomington, IN Rivalry 46–51 6,000 5–2 0–1 1/8/1938 yes Michigan Yost Field House Ann Arbor, MI 37–45 – 5–3 0–2 1/10/1938 1937 Purdue Boilermakers Purdue Huff Hall Champaign, IL 51–43 7,100 6–3 1–2 1/15/1938 1937 Chicago Maroons University of Chicago Huff Hall Champaign, IL 50–34 7,100 7–3 2–2 1/17/1938 1937 Minnesota Golden Gophers Minnesota Huff Hall Champaign, IL 29–41 7,100 7–4 2–3 1/22/1938 yes 1937 Ohio State Buckeyes Ohio State Ohio Expo Center Coliseum Columbus, OH 26–46 7,500 7–5 2–4 2/7/1938 yes Purdue Lambert Fieldhouse West Lafayette, IN 13–23 5,000 7–6 2–5 2/12/1938 yes Minnesota Williams Arena Minneapolis, MN 23–28 6,800 7–7 2–6 2/19/1938 Ohio State Huff Hall Champaign, IL 42–34 7,000 8–7 3–6 2/21/1938 yes University of Chicago Henry Crown Field House Chicago, IL 39–43 5,000 8–8 3–7 2/28/1938 Michigan Huff Hall Champaign, IL 36–32 7,000 9–8 4–7 3/4/1938 Indiana Huff Hall Champaign, IL Rivalry 35–45 7,000 9–9 4–8 Central Time SourceUniversity of Illinois Fighting Illini Statistics Summary for 1937–38 pg.79, FightingIllini.com Awards and honors Lou Boudreau Madison Square Garden 1st team All-American Louis Dehner Converse 3rd team All-American References Illinois Fighting Illini Category:Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball seasons Category:1937 in sports in Illinois Category:1938 in sports in Illinois