1961–62 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team

American college basketball season March 2026 August 2023 Basketball 1961-62 Illinois Fighting Illini 1961–62_Illinois_Fighting_Illini_men's_basketball_team.jpg 300px Big Ten Conference Big Ten 15-8 7-7 Harry Combes Howie Braun Jim Wright 15th 25th 4th Jerry Colangelo Dave Downey Huff Hall The 1961–62 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team represented the University of Illinois. Regular season The 1961-62 Fighting Illini basketball team bounced back from a miserable season the year prior. Head coach Harry Combes non-conference season was nearly perfect with an 8-1 record. The only blemish for the University of Illinois was a home loss to Cornell. The most unusual thing about this season was that the Illini played three neutral court games in Chicago. This would also be the final full season that the Fighting Illini would play their home games at Huff Hall. The 1961-62 team utilized several returning lettermen including the leading scorer and team "MVP" Dave Downey. It also saw the return of team captain Jerry Colangelo, juniors Bill Burwell, Bill Small, Bob Starnes as well as senior Doug Mills. The Illini also added sophomore John Love to their lineup. The Illini finished the season with a conference record of 7 wins and 7 losses, finishing in a 4th place tie in the Big Ten. They would finish with an overall record of 15 wins and 8 losses. The starting lineup included Bill Burwell at the center position, Bill Small and Jerry Colangelo at guard and Dave Downey and Bob Starnes at the forward slots.Fighting Illini Basketball: A Hardwood History By News-Gazette, Sports Publishing LLC 1-58261-356-7 Roster 1961 Illinois Fighting Illini y yes John Love 14 F 6 3 190 SO Ottawa, Illinois Ottawa Township High School n Jerry Renner 20 F 6 1 180 SR Aurora, Illinois East High School n Sam Leeper 21 G 6 0 165 SR Tolono, Illinois Unity High School n Jay Lovelace 22 G 6 2 165 JR Carbondale, Illinois Carbondale Community High School n Jerry Colangelo 23 G 6 2 175 SR Chicago Heights, Illinois Bloom High School y C Bill Burwell 25 C 6 8 243 JR Brooklyn, New York Boys High School n Jeff Ferguson 30 G 6 3 180 SO Benton, Illinois Benton Consolidated High School n Doug Mills 31 G 6 0 165 SR Galesburg, Illinois Galesburg High School n Bill Edwards 32 G 6 3 190 SO Windsor, Illinois Windsor High School n Clyde Kramer 35 F 6 4 185 SO Erie, Illinois Erie High School n Dave Downey 40 F 6 4 195 JR Canton, Illinois Canton High School y Jerry Curless 41 G 6 0 165 SR Table Grove, Illinois VIT High School n Bob Starnes 44 F 6 4 180 JR Chicago, Illinois Gage Park High School n Bill Small 53 G 6 2 185 JR Aurora, Illinois West Aurora High School n Phil LaRussa 54 C 6 6 210 SO Walnut, Illinois Walnut High School n Harry Combes (University of Illinois) (15th year) Howie Braun (University of Illinois) (25th year) Jim Wright (University of Illinois) (4th year) https://fightingillini.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/1961-62 Schedule SourceUniversity of Illinois Fighting Illini Statistics Summary for 1961-62, FightingIllini.com yes yesSchedule |- !colspan=12 style="background:#DF4E38; color:white;"| Non-Conference regular season |- align="center" bgcolor="" 12/1/1961 yes 1961 Butler Bulldogs Butler Huff Hall Champaign, IL 82-72 4,960 1-0 12/9/1961 yes yes Oklahoma McCasland Field House Norman, OK 72–60 3,000 2-0 12/12/1961 yes Creighton Huff Hall Champaign, IL 70-61 6,017 3-0 12/16/1961 1:30 pm yes Iowa State Huff Hall Champaign, IL 82-73 6,437 4-0 12/18/1961 yes 1961 Xavier Musketeers Xavier Huff Hall Champaign, IL 81-69 6,717 5-0 12/23/1961 yes 1961 Cornell Big Red Cornell Huff Hall Champaign, IL 60-72 5,258 5-1 12/28/1961 yes yes 1961 Manhattan Jaspers Manhattan Chicago Stadium Chicago, IL 61-56 3,000 6-1 12/30/1961 yes yes 1961 Colgate Raiders Colgate Chicago Stadium Chicago, IL 88-50 6,000 7-1 |- !colspan=9 style="background:#DF4E38; color:#FFFFFF;"|Big Ten regular season 1/6/1962 Michigan Huff Hall Champaign, IL 91-71 6,509 8-1 1-0 1/8/1962 yes 1961 Purdue Boilermakers Purdue Lambert Fieldhouse West Lafayette, IN 89-96 6,500 8-2 1-1 1/13/1962 yes 1961 Michigan State Spartans Michigan State Jenison Fieldhouse East Lansing, MI 66-65 7,068 9-2 2-1 1/27/1962 yes yes 1961 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Notre Dame Chicago Stadium Chicago, IL 85-77 12,224 10-2 1/29/1962 Wisconsin Huff Hall Champaign, IL 81-85 6,740 10-3 2-2 2/3/1962 Indiana Huff Hall Champaign, IL Rivalry 96-85 6,557 11-3 3-2 2/5/1962 1961 Minnesota Golden Gophers Minnesota Huff Hall Champaign, IL 89-80 5,927 12-3 4-2 2/10/1962 yes Iowa Iowa Field House Iowa City, IA Rivalry 91-81 12,300 13-3 5-2 2/12/1962 1961 Northwestern Wildcats Northwestern Huff Hall Champaign, IL Rivalry 88-70 6,673 14-3 6-2 2/17/1962 Purdue Huff Hall Champaign, IL 88-100 6,912 14-4 6-3 2/19/1962 yes Wisconsin Wisconsin Field House Madison, WI 101-103 7,399 14-5 6-4 2/24/1962 yes Ohio State 1 St. John Arena Columbus, OH 79-102 13,497 14-6 6-5 3/3/1962 Iowa Huff Hall Champaign, IL Rivalry 78-88 6,669 14-7 6-6 3/5/1962 yes Indiana New Fieldhouse Bloomington, IN Rivalry 92-104 5,000 14-8 6-7 3/10/1962 yes Northwestern McGaw Memorial Hall Evanston, IL Rivalry 73–68 5,000 15-8 7-7 |- Central Time Player stats Player Games played Field goals Free throws Rebounds PointsDave Downey 2217497269445Bill Burwell 23151124266426Bill Small231337090336Jerry Colangelo 231117395295Bob Starnes238158147220Doug Mills 152591859John Love2218158651Jay Lovelace13461014Jerry Curless 1062814Bill Edwards 1451911Jerry Renner542610Sam Leeper50232Jeff Ferguson30020 http://www.fightingillini.com/sports/m-baskbl/records/year-1961.html Season Stats 2014-03-10 https://web.archive.org/web/20140310201731/http://www.fightingillini.com/sports/m-baskbl/records/year-1961.html 2014-03-10 dead Awards and honors Dave Downey 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 2013-02-08 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 Burwell Converse Honorable Mention All-American Team players drafted into the NBA Player NBA club Round PickNo Player Selected1962 NBA Draft Rankings 1961–62 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings References Illinois Fighting Illini Category:Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball seasons Category:1961 in sports in Illinois Category:1962 in sports in Illinois