1914–15 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team

American college basketball season March 2026 August 2023 Basketball 1914–15 Illinois Fighting Illini File:1914-15_Fighting_Illini_men's_basketball_team.jpg 300px Big Ten Conference Big Ten 16–0 12–0 Ralph Jones 3rd Sven Duner Kenney Gym Helms Foundation National ChampionsWestern Conference Champions The 1914–15 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team represented the University of Illinois. Regular season Coached by Ralph Jones, the 1914–15 Fighting Illini men's basketball team became the first undefeated Big Ten champion in the history of the school as well as the fourth Big Ten National Champion.A Century of Orange and Blue: Celebrating 100 Years of Fighting Illini Basketball By Loren Tate, Jared Gelfond pg.20 1-58261-793-7 That 1915 season was the third in the eight-year tenure of head coach Ralph Jones and it produced the only unbeaten season in Illini history and the first Big Ten title for the Illinois basketball program. The Illinois team was retroactively named national champions by the Helms Athletic Foundation and was listed as the top team of the season by the Premo-Porretta Power Poll.ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game ESPN ESPN Books New York, NY 2009 533 978-0-345-51392-2 Jones’ 1915 team scored twice as many points as its opponents and won the conference title by three games over Chicago. The arrival of the Woods brothers in 1914 had a lot to do with the success of this era. Guard Ray Woods was named first-team All-America all three years he competed (1915–17), and twin brother Ralf, a forward, led the team in scoring in both 1916 and 1917. His consistency at the free throw line led to the establishment of the Ralf Woods Award, which is still given annually to the Fighting Illini player with the best free-throw percentage. The starting lineup included Frank Bane at center, Clyde Alwood and Edward Allan Williford at the forward positions, captain Sven Duner at guard and brothers Ralf Woods and Ray Woods. Ray Woods was named an All-American during this season.Fighting Illini Basketball: A Hardwood History By News-Gazette, Sports Publishing LLC 1-58261-356-7 Roster thumb|"1914-15 Fighting Illini championship team photo" 1914 Illinois Fighting Illini y Sven Duner G SR Downers Grove, Illinois n C Helmuth Kircher F SR Kalamazoo, Michigan n Edward Williford C SR Binghamton, New York y Allan Williford Ray Woods G SO Oak Park, Illinois y Ralf Woods G SO Oak Park, Illinois n Frank M. Bane C SR Pontiac, Illinois n Dudley Crane G JR Columbus, Ohio n Clyde Alwood F SO Clinton, Illinois y Robert William Hoffman G SR Detroit, Michigan n Daniel Franklin Comstock C SR Evanston, Illinois n Walter Boynton Erwin F SR Chicago, Illinois n John E. Davis F/G FR Chicago, Illinois n Milton Owen Jensen F SR Kansas City, Missouri n Raymond Adam McDermott F SO Batavia, Illinois n Ralph Jones (Indianapolis YMCA Training School) (3rd year) https://fightingillini.com/sports/2015/7/18/mbb_alltimerosters_1906_1924.aspx#1915 Schedule SourceUniversity of Illinois Fighting Illini Statistics Summary for 1914-15 https://web.archive.org/web/20131217224012/http://www.fightingillini.com/sports/m-baskbl/records/year-1914.html 2013-12-17 , FightingIllini.com |- !colspan=12 style="background:#DF4E38; color:white;"| Non-Conference regular season |- align="center" bgcolor="" 12/8/1914 yes Arkansas A.C. Kenney Gym Urbana, IL 52–6 1-0 12/12/1914 yes Illinois Wesleyan Kenney Gym Urbana, IL 50–9 2-0 12/18/1914 yes 1914 Millikin Big Blue Millikin Kenney Gym Urbana, IL 19–16 3-0 1/2/1915 yes yes Peoria YMCA Peoria YMCA Peoria, IL 27–14 4-0 |- !colspan=9 style="background:#DF4E38; color:#FFFFFF;"|Big Ten regular season 1/11/1915 Indiana Kenney Gym Urbana, IL Rivalry 34–13 5-0 1-0 1/16/1915 1914 Purdue Boilermakers Purdue Kenney Gym Urbana, IL 27–8 6-0 2-0 1/23/1915 1914 Ohio State Buckeyes Ohio State Kenney Gym Urbana, IL 24–17 7-0 3-0 1/26/1915 yes Indiana Old Assembly Hall Bloomington, IN Rivalry 20–4 8-0 4-0 2/8/1915 Wisconsin Kenney Gym Urbana, IL 39–19 9-0 5-0 2/13/1915 yes Wisconsin University of Wisconsin Armory and Gymnasium Madison, WI 19–17 10-0 6-0 2/15/1915 yes 1914 Minnesota Golden Gophers Minnesota University of Minnesota Armory Minneapolis, MN 20–10 11-0 7-0 2/23/1915 1914 Chicago Maroons University of Chicago Kenney Gym Urbana, IL 20–12 12-0 8-0 2/27/1915 yes Purdue Memorial Gymnasium West Lafayette, IN 22–15 13-0 9-0 3/1/1915 yes Ohio State The Armory Columbus, OH 26–19 14-0 10-0 3/6/1915 yes University of Chicago Bartlett Gymnasium Chicago, IL 19–18 15-0 11-0 3/8/1915 Minnesota Kenney Gym Urbana, IL 26-11 16-0 12-0 Central Time Player stats Player Games played Field goals Free throws PointsEdward Willifordhttp://www.fightingillini.com/sports/m-baskbl/records/year-1914.html FIGHTINGILLINI.COM - Men's Basketball 2013-12-17 https://web.archive.org/web/20131217224012/http://www.fightingillini.com/sports/m-baskbl/records/year-1914.html 2013-12-17 dead 123156118Frank Banehttp://www.fightingillini.com/sports/m-baskbl/records/year-1914.html FIGHTINGILLINI.COM - Men's Basketball 2013-12-17 https://web.archive.org/web/20131217224012/http://www.fightingillini.com/sports/m-baskbl/records/year-1914.html 2013-12-17 dead 16501101Ralf Woodshttp://www.fightingillini.com/sports/m-baskbl/records/year-1914.html FIGHTINGILLINI.COM - Men's Basketball 2013-12-17 https://web.archive.org/web/20131217224012/http://www.fightingillini.com/sports/m-baskbl/records/year-1914.html 2013-12-17 dead 15351787Ray Woodshttp://www.fightingillini.com/sports/m-baskbl/records/year-1914.html FIGHTINGILLINI.COM - Men's Basketball 2013-12-17 https://web.archive.org/web/20131217224012/http://www.fightingillini.com/sports/m-baskbl/records/year-1914.html 2013-12-17 dead 1629058Clyde Alwoodhttp://www.fightingillini.com/sports/m-baskbl/records/year-1914.html FIGHTINGILLINI.COM - Men's Basketball 2013-12-17 https://web.archive.org/web/20131217224012/http://www.fightingillini.com/sports/m-baskbl/records/year-1914.html 2013-12-17 dead 1119038Sven Dunerhttp://www.fightingillini.com/sports/m-baskbl/records/year-1914.html FIGHTINGILLINI.COM - Men's Basketball 2013-12-17 https://web.archive.org/web/20131217224012/http://www.fightingillini.com/sports/m-baskbl/records/year-1914.html 2013-12-17 dead 168016Dudley Cranehttp://www.fightingillini.com/sports/m-baskbl/records/year-1914.html FIGHTINGILLINI.COM - Men's Basketball 2013-12-17 https://web.archive.org/web/20131217224012/http://www.fightingillini.com/sports/m-baskbl/records/year-1914.html 2013-12-17 dead 56012 Awards and honors Ray Woods was elected to the "Illini Men's Basketball All-Century Team" in 2004. Woods was also selected as an All-American for the 1914–15 season. References Illinois Fighting Illini Category:Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball seasons Category:NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament championship seasons Category:1914 in sports in Illinois Category:1915 in sports in Illinois