1978–79 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team

American college basketball season March 2026 August 2023 Basketball 1978–79 Illinois Fighting Illini 175px Big Ten Conference Big Ten 19–11 7–11 Lou Henson Tony Yates Mark Bial Les Wothke 4th 5th 2nd 4th Larry Lubin Mark Smith Assembly Hall Kentucky Invitational Tournament, Champion Glacier Bowl Classic Champion The 1978–79 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team represented the University of Illinois. Regular season In 1978–79 season, Illinois finished seventh in the Big Ten, but went 19–11 overall, including ascension to No. 2 in the national polls after starting the year 15–0. During this season, Illinois upset top-ranked Michigan State and Magic Johnson, 57–55, in one of the school's most memorable games. It was during this season that Illinois also led the nation in field-goal percentage defense (.404). Roster 1978 Illinois Fighting Illini y yes Reno Gray 10 G 6 2 170 JR y yes Chicago, Illinois Hales Franciscan High School n Kevin Westervelt 12 G 6 1 165 JR Peoria, Illinois Richwoods High School n James Griffin 13 C 6 10 200 FR Grandview, Texas Dunbar High School n Cletis Hubbard 15 G 6 0 180 SR Ft. Worth, Texas Dunbar High School n Matt Meyer 20 G 6 0 165 SR Mantino, Illinois Foreman High School n Steve Lanter 21 G 6 4 190 JR y Belleville, Illinois Mascoutah Community High School n Perry Range 22 G 6 4 180 FR South Beloit, Illinois South Beloit High School n Larry Lubin 23 G 6 0 175 SR Glencoe, Illinois New Trier High School n C Rob Judson 30 G 6 2 175 JR Zion, Illinois Zion-Benton High School y Neil Bresnahan 31 F 6 6 200 JR Oak Park, Illinois Fenwick High School n Levi Cobb 32 F 6 6 200 JR Chicago, Illinois Morgan Park High School n Eddie Johnson 33 F 6 8 210 SO Chicago, Illinois Westinghouse High School y Eddie A. Johnson (basketball, born 1959) Mark Smith 42 F 6 7 195 SO Peoria, Illinois Richwoods High School n Bryan Leonard 43 F 6 10 210 FR Belleville, Illinois Belleville High School-East n Derek Holcomb 44 C 6 11 230 SO Peoria, Illinois Richwoods High School n Lou Henson (New Mexico State University) (4th year) Tony Yates (University of Cincinnati) (5th year) Les Wothke (Greenville University) (4th year) Mark Bial (University of Illinois) (2nd year) https://fightingillini.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/1978-79 Schedule SourceUniversity of Illinois Fighting Illini Statistics Summary for 1978–79 https://web.archive.org/web/20130227000747/http://www.fightingillini.com/sports/m-baskbl/records/year-1978.html 2013-02-27 , FightingIllini.com yes yes |- !colspan=12 style="background:#DF4E38; color:white;"| Non-Conference regular season 11/24/1978 yes 1978 Texas–Arlington Mavericks Texas-Arlington Assembly Hall Champaign, IL 109–74 9,097 1–0 11/28/1978 yes 1978 Denver Pioneers Denver Assembly Hall Champaign, IL 81–57 10,092 2–0 12/2/1978 yes yes 1978 Tulane Green Wave Tulane Devlin Fieldhouse New Orleans, LA 65–60 3,542 3–0 12/5/1978 yes yes 1978 Missouri Tigers Missouri Hearnes Center Columbia, MO Show-Me Classic 69–57 6,002 4–0 12/8/1978 yes 1978 South Carolina Gamecocks South Carolina Assembly Hall Champaign, IL 64–57 12,156 5–0 12/9/1978 yes 1978 Centenary Gentlemen Centenary Assembly Hall Champaign, IL 86–60 10,082 6–0 12/16/1978 18 yes yes 1978 Kent State Golden Flashes Kent State Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center Kent, OH 82–44 1,020 7–0 12/22/1978 15 yes yes Syracuse 8 Rupp Arena Lexington, KY Kentucky Invitational Tournament 64–61 21,000 8–0 12/23/1978 15 yes yes 1978 Texas A&M Aggies Texas A&M 7 Rupp Arena Lexington, KY Kentucky Invitational Tournament 71–57 23,272 9–0 12/28/1978 6 yes yes 1978 Western Michigan Broncos Western Michigan Buckner Fieldhouse Anchorage, AK Glacier Bowl Classic 84–79 – 10–0 12/29/1978 6 yes yes 1978 University of the Ozarks Ozarks Buckner Fieldhouse Anchorage, AK Glacier Bowl Classic 88–82 – 11–0 12/30/1978 6 yes yes 1978 Alaska Anchorage Seawolves Alaska-Anchorage Buckner Fieldhouse Anchorage, AK Glacier Bowl Classic 92–80 – 12–0 |- !colspan=9 style="background:#DF4E38; color:#FFFFFF;"|Big Ten regular season 1/4/1979 4 Indiana Assembly Hall yes Bloomington, IN Rivalry 65–61 16,104 13–0 1–0 1/6/1979 4 1978 Northwestern Wildcats Northwestern McGaw Memorial Hall yes Evanston, IL Rivalry 75–56 7,122 14–0 2–0 1/11/1979 4 Michigan State 1 Assembly Hall Champaign, IL 57–55 16,209 15–0 3–0 1/13/1979 4 1978 Ohio State Buckeyes Ohio State Assembly Hall Champaign, IL 66–69 OT 12,088 15–1 3–1 1/18/1979 4 Wisconsin Wisconsin Field House yes Madison, WI 81–74 12,204 16–1 4–1 1/20/1979 4 Purdue Assembly Hall Champaign, IL 57–69 16,458 16–2 4–2 1/25/1979 8 Iowa Iowa Field House yes Iowa City, IA Rivalry 52–58 13,355 16–3 4–3 1/27/1979 8 Michigan Assembly Hall Champaign, IL 54–56 16,473 16–4 4–4 2/1/1979 14 1978 Minnesota Golden Gophers Minnesota Assembly Hall Champaign, IL 67–57 14,383 17–4 5–4 2/3/1979 14 Michigan Crisler Center yes Ann Arbor, MI 65–74 13,609 17–5 5–5 2/8/1979 20 Purdue Mackey Arena yes West Lafayette, IN 65–71 14,123 17–6 5–6 2/10/1979 20 Minnesota Williams Arena yes Minneapolis, MN 59–57 16,615 18–6 6–6 2/15/1979 Wisconsin Assembly Hall Champaign, IL 81–64 12,880 19–6 7–6 2/17/1979 Iowa 14 Assembly Hall Champaign, IL Rivalry 53–67 9,441 19–7 7–7 2/22/1979 Ohio State 14 St. John Arena yes Columbus, OH 55–73 13,489 19–8 7–8 2/24/1979 Michigan State 7 Jenison Fieldhouse East Lansing, MI yes 62–76 10,004 19–9 7–9 3/1/1979 Northwestern Assembly Hall Champaign, IL Rivalry 64–71 12,390 19–10 7–10 3/3/1979 Indiana Assembly Hall Champaign, IL Rivalry 60–72 16,503 19–11 7–11 |- Central Time Player stats Player Games Played Minutes played Field goals Free throws Rebounds Assists Blocks Steals PointsMark Smithhttp://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/ill/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/2009-10_Guide05.pdf pg. 119 Season Stats 2011-03-25 2011-07-08 https://web.archive.org/web/20110708212650/http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/ill/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/2009-10_Guide05.pdf dead 30897160841731212353404Eddie Johnsonhttp://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/ill/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/2009-10_Guide05.pdf pg. 119 Season Stats 2011-03-25 2011-07-08 https://web.archive.org/web/20110708212650/http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/ill/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/2009-10_Guide05.pdf dead 307861682617052418362Rob Judsonhttp://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/ill/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/2009-10_Guide05.pdf pg. 119 Season Stats 2011-03-25 2011-07-08 https://web.archive.org/web/20110708212650/http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/ill/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/2009-10_Guide05.pdf dead 30918123356861333281Neil Bresnahanhttp://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/ill/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/2009-10_Guide05.pdf pg. 119 Season Stats 2011-03-25 2011-07-08 https://web.archive.org/web/20110708212650/http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/ill/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/2009-10_Guide05.pdf dead 308401054023675732250James Griffinhttp://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/ill/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/2009-10_Guide05.pdf pg. 119 Season Stats 2011-03-25 2011-07-08 https://web.archive.org/web/20110708212650/http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/ill/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/2009-10_Guide05.pdf dead 30426105199872912229Derek Holcombhttp://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/ill/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/2009-10_Guide05.pdf pg. 119 Season Stats 2011-03-25 2011-07-08 https://web.archive.org/web/20110708212650/http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/ill/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/2009-10_Guide05.pdf dead 298189034190498617214Levi Cobbhttp://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/ill/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/2009-10_Guide05.pdf pg. 119 Season Stats 2011-03-25 2011-07-08 https://web.archive.org/web/20110708212650/http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/ill/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/2009-10_Guide05.pdf dead 30504682412229419160Steve Lanter 274733516385211572Perry Rangehttp://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/ill/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/2009-10_Guide05.pdf pg. 119 Season Stats 2011-03-25 2011-07-08 https://web.archive.org/web/20110708212650/http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/ill/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/2009-10_Guide05.pdf dead 24180211425120856Bryan Leonard 16456111114223Larry Lubin 228860491612Kevin Westervelt 8152530009Cletis Hubbard 8222224016Matt Meyer 690010000Dave Schulter 250011000 Awards and honors Eddie Johnson Fighting Illini All-Century team (2005) Mark Smith Team Most Valuable Player http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/ill/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/05_mbb_guide_06.pdf List of MVPs 2013-01-15 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 Team players drafted into the NBA Player NBA club Round Pick1979 NBA Draft Rankings 1978–79 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings References Illinois Fighting Illini Category:Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball seasons Category:1978 in sports in Illinois Category:1979 in sports in Illinois