1976–77 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team

American college basketball season March 2026 August 2023 Basketball 1976–77 Illinois Fighting Illini 1976–77_Illinois_Fighting_Illini_men's_basketball_team.jpg 300px Big Ten Conference Big Ten 16–14 8–10 Lou Henson Tony Yates Bill Molinari Les Wothke 2nd 3rd 1st 2nd Audie Matthews Audie Matthews Assembly Hall The 1976–77 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team represented the University of Illinois. Regular season The 1976–77 team would include Lou Henson's first group of recruited athletes. Levi Cobb, Neil Bresnahan, and Steve Lanter contributed to a quick start on the season and a 7–1 record. The team's only loss was by 1 point at the hands of Missouri in the Show Me Classic played in Columbia, MO. Before the Big Ten season commenced the Illini had staked themselves to an 8–4 record, yet the fans support still did not yet believe in Henson's squad. A mere 6,938 fans attended a mid-December Saturday afternoon game versus Arizona State. Even with fewer fans coming out, the team set a series of offensive records in the Big Ten opener against Ohio State. The records included converting on 19 of their first 21 shots and shooting 69.4 percent for the game. During the course of the season the Illini would lose twice to the Golden Gophers, however, before the NCAA Tournament it was determined that Minnesota had committed violations that resulted in sanctions against them, including the forfeiture of all of their games. This gave the Illini two additional wins and a final record of 16–14, with an 8–10 conference mark. The team's starting lineup included Rick Leighty, Ken Ferdinand and Levi Cobb as forwards, Audie Matthews and Steve Lanter at the guard positions, and Rich Adams playing center. Roster 1976 Illinois Fighting Illini y yes Rick Kirby 10 G 6 1 175 FR Urbana, Illinois Urbana High School n Ken Ferdinand 12 F 6 6 200 SO Urbana, Illinois Urbana High School n Jeff Berry 20 G 6 2 175 FR Chicago, Illinois Morgan Park High School n Steve Lanter 21 G 6 4 175 FR y Belleville, Illinois Mascoutah Community High School n Larry Lubin 23 G 6 0 175 SO Glencoe, Illinois New Trier High School n Tom Gerhardt 24 F 6 6 210 JR Chicago, Illinois De La Salle High School n Rob Judson 30 G 6 2 170 FR Zion, Illinois Zion-Benton High School y Neil Bresnahan 31 F 6 6 195 FR Oak Park, Illinois Fenwick High School n Levi Cobb 32 F 6 6 205 FR Chicago, Illinois Morgan Park High School n Rick Leighty 34 G/F 6 4 180 JR Lawrenceville, Illinois Lawrenceville High School n Rich Adams 40 F 6 8 200 JR Cincinnati, Ohio Colerain High School y Tim Bushell 42 G/F 6 6 195 SR Lincoln, Illinois Lincoln Community High School n Audie Matthews 44 G/F 6 5 185 JR Chicago Heights, Illinois Bloom High School n C Jeff Carter 50 G 6 4 175 FR Chicago, Illinois St. Ignatius High School n Matt Meyer 52 G 6 0 165 SO Manito, Illinois Forman High School n Lou Henson (New Mexico State University) (2nd year) Tony Yates (University of Cincinnati) (3rd year) Les Wothke (Greenville University) (2nd year) Bill Molinari (Illinois Wesleyan University) (1st year) https://fightingillini.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/1976-77 Schedule SourceUniversity of Illinois Fighting Illini Statistics Summary for 1976–77 https://web.archive.org/web/20131216232040/http://www.fightingillini.com/sports/m-baskbl/records/year-1976.html 2013-12-16 , FightingIllini.com yes |- !colspan=12 style="background:#DF4E38; color:white;"| Non-Conference regular season 11/26/1976 yes yes 1976 Saint Louis Billikens St. Louis Kiel Auditorium St. Louis, MO 68–65 9,148 1–0 12/3/1976 yes yes Missouri Hearnes Center Columbia, MO Show Me Classic 75–76 5,227 1–1 12/4/1976 yes St. Louis Hearnes Center Columbia, MO Show-Me Classic 54–46 5,227 2–1 12/8/1976 yes 1976 San Jose State Spartans San Jose State Assembly Hall Champaign, IL 84–70 6,113 3–1 12/11/1976 yes 1976 Nebraska Cornhuskers Nebraska Assembly Hall Champaign, IL 67–63 7,055 4–1 12/13/1976 yes 1976 Cleveland State Vikings Cleveland State Assembly Hall Champaign, IL Illini Classic 72–70 5,389 5–1 12/17/1976 yes 1976 Cal Poly Mustangs Cal Poly Assembly Hall Champaign, IL Illini Classic 67–65 5,489 6–1 12/18/1976 yes 1976 Arizona State Sun Devils Arizona State Assembly Hall Champaign, IL 80–74 6,938 7–1 12/27/1976 yes Houston Neal S. Blaisdell Center Honolulu, HI Rainbow Classic 66–69 – 7–2 12/29/1976 yes 1976 William & Mary Tribe William & Mary Neal S. Blaisdell Center Honolulu, HI Rainbow Classic 73–64 – 8–2 12/30/1976 yes 1976 St. John's Red Storm St. John's Neal S. Blaisdell Center Honolulu, HI Rainbow Classic 52–56 1,849 8–3 1/1/1977 yes yes 1976 Long Beach State 49ers Long Beach State Gold Mine Long Beach, CA 81–71 4,030 8–4 |- !colspan=9 style="background:#DF4E38; color:#FFFFFF;"|Big Ten regular season 1/6/1977 yes 1976 Ohio State Buckeyes Ohio State St. John's Arena Columbus, OH 89–72 6,907 9–4 1–0 1/8/1977 yes Indiana Assembly Hall Bloomington, IN Rivalry 60–80 16,497 9–5 1–1 1/13/1977 9 1976 Minnesota Golden Gophers Minnesota Assembly Hall Champaign, IL 69–83 7,689 10–5 2–1 1/15/1977 Iowa Assembly Hall Champaign, IL Rivalry 81–84 ot 7,246 10–6 2–2 1/20/1977 yes Michigan State Jenison Fieldhouse East Lansing, MI 58–67 3,417 10–7 2–3 1/22/1977 5 yes Michigan Crisler Arena Ann Arbor, MI 61–66 13,609 10–8 2–4 1/24/1977 1976 Northwestern Wildcats Northwestern Assembly Hall Champaign, IL Rivalry 71–68 5,810 11–8 3–4 1/29/1977 18 yes Purdue Mackey Arena West Lafayette, IN 63–66 12,800 11–9 3–5 2/3/1977 Wisconsin Assembly Hall Champaign, IL 82–72 6,144 12–9 4–5 2/5/1977 18 Purdue Assembly Hall Champaign, IL 71–70 9,700 13–9 5–5 2/10/1977 yes Northwestern McGaw Memorial Hall Evanston, IL Rivalry 65–63 3,966 14–9 6–5 2/12/1977 yes Wisconsin Wisconsin Field House Madison, WI 50–62 7,589 13–8 6–6 2/17/1977 Indiana Assembly Hall Champaign, IL Rivalry 73–69 11,172 14–8 7–6 2/19/1977 Ohio State Assembly Hall Champaign, IL 60–64 8,849 14–9 7–7 2/24/1977 yes Iowa Iowa Field House Iowa City, IA Rivalry 64–76 9,875 14–10 7–8 2/26/1977 13 yes Minnesota Williams Arena Minneapolis, MN 70–72 15,163 15–10 8–8 3/3/1977 3 Michigan Assembly Hall Champaign, IL 72–87 10,524 15–11 8–9 3/5/1977 Michigan State Assembly Hall Champaign, IL 61–62 8,021 15–12 8–10 |- Central Time Player stats Player Games played Minutes played Field goals Free throws Rebounds Assists PointsAudie Matthewshttp://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/ill/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/2009-10_Guide05.pdf pg. 119 Season Stats 2011-04-04 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 3010232027515175479Rich Adams 308461714517162387Levi Cobb309421265419257306Ken Ferdinand285211094310827261Neil Bresnahan 28684804613831206Steve Lanter30966763949103191Rick Leighty 2640845117237101Rob Judson 14162201451954Larry Lubin 25185143232731Tom Gerhardt 2318464341416Rick Kirby 17102642716Jeff Berry 3200000Tim Bushell 1100000Jeff Carter 2200000Matt Meyer 2200000 Awards and honors Audie Matthews 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 Pick1977 NBA Draft Rankings 1976–77 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings References Illinois Fighting Illini Category:Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball seasons Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team