1954–55 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team

American college basketball season March 2026 August 2023 Basketball 1954–55 Illinois Fighting Illini 1954–55_Illinois_Fighting_Illini_men's_basketball_team.jpg 300px Big Ten Conference Big Ten 16 18 17–5 10-4 Harry Combes Howie Braun 8th 18th Morris Sterneck Paul Judson Huff Hall The 1954–55 Illinois Fighting Illini men’s basketball team represented the University of Illinois. Regular season Head coach Harry Combes, in his eighth year at Illinois, directed a youthful team with only three returning seniors, none of which were regular players. Combes' team, once again, was primarily made of sophomores and juniors recruited from the state of Illinois. The 1954-55 team had some talented juniors including the return of twin brothers, Paul and Phil Judson from Hebron, Illinois, Bruce Brothers and Bill Ridley. It also added sophomores George Bon Salle, Bill Altenberger, Hiles Stout, and future Illini head coach, Harv Schmidt. Exactly like the previous season, the Illini finished with a conference record of 10 wins and 4 losses, finishing in a 2nd place tie in the Big Ten. The Illini lost 5 total games with three of the five losses coming at the hands of ranked opponents. The starting lineup included George Bon Salle at the center position, Bill Ridley and Bill Altenberger at guard and Bruce Brothers and Paul Judson at the forward slots.Fighting Illini Basketball: A Hardwood History By News-Gazette, Sports Publishing LLC 1-58261-356-7 Roster 1954 Illinois Fighting Illini y yes Morris Sterneck 7 G 6 1 175 SR Salem, Illinois Salem High School n C Elmer Plew 9 G 6 0 170 SR Paris, Illinois Paris High School n Hiles Stout 10 F 6 4 205 SO Peoria, Illinois Central High School n Bill Ridley 11 G 5 9 160 JR Taylorville, Illinois Taylorville High School y James Burks 16 F 6 8 210 SO Horse Cave, Kentucky Caverna High School n Bill Altenberger 20 G 6 1 175 SO East St. Louis, Illinois Senior High School y George Bon Salle 22 C 6 7 215 SO Chicago, Illinois Loyola Academy y Jim Dutcher 27 F 6 3 185 SR Downers Grove, Illinois Downers Grove High School Jim Dutcher (basketball) Phil Judson 30 G 6 2 165 JR Hebron, Illinois Alden-Hebron High School n Bruce Brothers 32 F 6 5 200 JR Quincy, Illinois Quincy Senior High School n Harvard Schmidt 33 G 6 6 190 SO Kankakee, Illinois Kankakee High School y Harv Schmidt Paul Judson 34 G 6 3 170 JR Hebron, Illinois Alden-Hebron High School y Harry Combes (University of Illinois) (8th year) Howie Braun (University of Illinois) (18th year) https://fightingillini.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/1954-55 Schedule SourceUniversity of Illinois Fighting Illini Statistics Summary for 1954-55, FightingIllini.com yes yesSchedule |- !colspan=12 style="background:#DF4E38; color:white;"| Non-Conference regular season 12/2/1954 yes 1954 Butler Bulldogs Butler Huff Hall Champaign, IL 88–34 4,566 1-0 12/4/1954 yes 1954 Missouri Tigers Missouri Huff Hall Champaign, IL Rivalry 77–69 4,766 2-0 12/11/1954 14 yes yes 1954 Oklahoma State Cowboys Oklahoma A&M 11 Gallagher Hall Stillwater, OK 59–53 8,200 3-0 12/15/1954 3 yes 1954 Miami RedHawks Miami (OH) Huff Hall Champaign, IL 97–72 4,898 4-0 12/18/1954 3 yes 1954 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Notre Dame 20 Huff Hall Champaign, IL 66–57 6,804 5-0 12/21/1954 3 yes yes 1954 Rice Owls Rice Tudor Fieldhouse Houston, TX 86–53 3,300 6-0 12/22/1954 3 yes yes 1954 Loyola Wolfpack Loyola (New Orleans) The Den New Orleans, LA 66–72 - 6-1 |- !colspan=9 style="background:#DF4E38; color:#FFFFFF;"|Big Ten regular season 1/1/1955 6 Wisconsin Huff Hall Champaign, IL 64–79 6,912 6-2 0-1 1/8/1955 12 Indiana Huff Hall Champaign, IL Rivalry 64–67 6,912 7-2 1-1 1/10/1955 12 yes 1954 Purdue Boilermakers Purdue Lambert Fieldhouse West Lafayette, IN 83–73 9,700 8-2 2-1 1/15/1955 7 yes 1954 Ohio State Buckeyes Ohio State Ohio Expo Center Coliseum Columbus, OH 86–78 6,154 9-2 3-1 1/17/1955 7 yes Iowa 19 Iowa Field House Iowa City, IA Rivalry 80–92 15,000 9-3 3-2 1/29/1955 10 yes yes 1954 Loyola Ramblers Loyola (Chicago) Chicago Stadium Chicago, IL 95–69 12,181 10-3 2/5/1955 10 1954 Northwestern Wildcats Northwestern Huff Hall Champaign, IL Rivalry 104–89 5,844 11-3 4-2 2/7/1955 10 yes Michigan Yost Field House Ann Arbor, MI 81–80 6,913 12-3 5-2 2/12/1955 10 yes 1954 Minnesota Golden Gophers Minnesota 12 Williams Arena Minneapolis, MN 71–78 OT 11,879 12-4 5-3 2/14/1955 10 1954 Michigan State Spartans Michigan State Huff Hall Champaign, IL 90–72 6,912 13-4 6-3 2/19/1955 14 yes Wisconsin Wisconsin Field House Madison, WI 99–71 12,100 14-4 7-3 2/21/1955 14 Iowa 15 Huff Hall Champaign, IL Rivalry 70–89 6,912 14-5 7-4 2/26/1955 13 Ohio State Huff Hall Champaign, IL 85–77 5,829 15-5 8-4 2/28/1955 13 Michigan Huff Hall Champaign, IL 81–75 4,366 16-5 9-4 3/5/1955 17 yes Northwestern McGaw Memorial Hall Evanston, IL Rivalry 81–69 9,765 17-5 10-4 |- Central Time Player stats Player Games played Field goals Free throws PointsPaul Judson2213985363Bill Ridley 2212388334George BonSalle 209867263Bruce Brothers229355241Bill Altenberger 229125207Hiles Stout 164044124Harv Schmidt 213628100Phil Judson22352292Jim Dutcher 13202060Morris Sterneck 12419Elmer Plew 12339James Burks 7226Dick Rapp 2000William Bosnak 2000 http://www.fightingillini.com/sports/m-baskbl/records/year-1954.html Season Stats 2014-03-19 https://web.archive.org/web/20140319192705/http://www.fightingillini.com/sports/m-baskbl/records/year-1954.html 2014-03-19 dead Awards and honors Paul Judson International News Service Honorable Mention All-American Converse Honorable Mention All-American Team Most Valuable Player http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/ill/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/05_mbb_guide_06.pdf List of MVPs 2013-01-18 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 Bill Ridley Associated Press Honorable Mention All-American Converse Honorable Mention All-American George Bon Salle Converse Honorable Mention All-American Team players drafted into the NBA Player NBA club Round PickNo Player Drafted1955 NBA Draft Rankings 1954–55 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings References Illinois Fighting Illini Category:Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball seasons Category:1954 in sports in Illinois Category:1955 in sports in Illinois