1938–39 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team

American college basketball season March 2026 August 2023 Basketball 1938–39 Illinois Fighting Illini 1938-39_Illinois_Fighting_Illini_men's_basketball_team.jpg 300px Big Ten Conference Big Ten 14–5 8–4 Douglas Mills Howie Braun Wally Roettger 3rd 2nd 4th Tom Nisbet Huff Hall 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 nine of their ten 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 five 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.Fighting Illini Basketball: A Hardwood History By News-Gazette, Sports Publishing LLC 1-58261-356-7 Roster 1938 Illinois Fighting Illini y Colin Handlon 3 G JR Connersville, Indiana n Henry Sachs 4 G FR Chicago, Illinois n Robert O'Neill 6 C SO Pitman, New Jersey n Lewis Dehner 8 C SR Lincoln, Illinois y Edsel Hart 9 F SO Kensington, Kansas n James Phillips 10 G SO Oak Park, Illinois n Darold Staley 11 G SO Decatur, Illinois n Robert Richmond 12 G SO Johnston City, Illinois n George Wardley 15 G SR Gary, Indiana n Joe Frank 17 F JR Urbana, Illinois n Tom Nisbet 18 G SR Chicago, Illinois n C William Hapac 19 F JR Cicero, Illinois y Harold Shapiro 20 G SO Chicago, Illinois n John Drish 21 F SO Evanston, Illinois y Ivan Johnson 26 F SO Thebes, Illinois n Howard Cronk 27 F SO Anderson, Indiana n Norman Cusick 28 F SO Chicago Heights, Illinois n Douglas Mills (University of Illinois) (3rd year) Wally Roettger (University of Illinois) (4th year) Howie Braun (University of Illinois) (2nd year) https://fightingillini.com/sports/2015/7/18/mbb_alltimerosters_1925_1949.aspx?#1939 Schedule yes |- !colspan=12 style="background:#DF4E38; color:white;"| Non-Conference regular season 12/10/1938 yes 1938 Washington University Bears Washington (St. Louis) Huff Hall Champaign, IL 49–31 5,000 1–0 |- align="center" bgcolor="" 12/17/1938 yes 1938 North Dakota Fighting Hawks North Dakota Huff Hall Champaign, IL 61–33 4,000 2–0 12/21/1938 yes Connecticut State Huff Hall Champaign, IL 49–33 4,763 3–0 12/27/1938 yes yes 1938 Manhattan Jaspers Manhattan Madison Square Garden New York, NY 60–41 17,000 4–0 12/29/1938 yes yes Villanova Municipal Auditorium Philadelphia, PA 28–22 9,000 5–0 1/3/1939 yes 1938 Cornell Big Red Cornell Huff Hall Champaign, IL 35–34 8,500 6–0 |- !colspan=9 style="background:#DF4E38; color:#FFFFFF;"|Big Ten regular season 1/7/1939 Michigan Huff Hall Champaign, IL 30–20 6,553 7–0 1–0 1/9/1939 Indiana Huff Hall Champaign, IL Rivalry 28–29 6,706 7–1 1–1 1/14/1939 yes 1938 Chicago Maroons University of Chicago Henry Crown Field House Chicago, IL 43–33 3,500 8–1 2–1 1/16/1939 Ohio State Huff Hall Champaign, IL 45–31 6,846 9–1 3–1 1/21/1939 yes Wisconsin Wisconsin Field House Madison, WI 37–34 11,200 10–1 4–1 1/23/1939 yes 1938 Minnesota Golden Gophers Minnesota Williams Arena Minneapolis, MN 33–35 16,500 10–2 4–2 2/3/1939 yes yes 1938 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Notre Dame Notre Dame Fieldhouse Notre Dame, IN 24–38 5,500 10–3 2/6/1939 1938 Iowa Hawkeyes Iowa Huff Hall Champaign, IL Rivalry 34–26 6,000 11–3 5–2 2/11/1939 yes 1938 Purdue Boilermakers Purdue Lambert Fieldhouse West Lafayette, IN 30–34 5,000 11–4 5–3 2/13/1939 yes Michigan Yost Field House Ann Arbor, MI 35–28 4,000 12–4 6–3 2/20/1939 Purdue Huff Hall Champaign, IL 35–28 6,900 13–4 7–3 2/25/1939 yes 1938 Northwestern Wildcats Northwestern Patten Gymnasium Evanston, IL Rivalry 34–36 5,000 13–5 7–4 2/27/1939 University of Chicago Huff Hall Champaign, IL 49–26 6,500 14–5 8–4 Central Time Sourcehttps://fightingillini.com/sports/mens-basketball/schedule/1938-39/ 1938–39 Men's Basketball Schedule Awards and honors Louis Dehner Madison Square Garden 1st team All-American Converse 3rd team All-American References Illinois Category:Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball seasons Category:1938 in sports in Illinois Category:1939 in sports in Illinois