1980–81 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team

American college basketball season March 2026 August 2023 Basketball 1980–81 Illinois Fighting Illini 1980–81_Illinois_Fighting_Illini_men's_basketball_team.jpg 300px Big Ten Conference Big Ten 18 19 21–8 12–6 Lou Henson Tony Yates Dick Nagy Bob Hull 6th 7th 2nd 1st Derek Holcomb Eddie Johnson Mark Smith Eddie Johnson Assembly Hall Illini Classic, Champion NCAA Men's Division I Tournament Regional semifinals The 1980–81 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team represented the University of Illinois. Regular season In 1981, Illinois made strides in its return to the national spotlight with a 21–8 record, a third-place Big Ten finish and an invitation to the NCAA Tournament. The team received a first-round bye in the NCAA tournament and beat Wyoming, 67–65, in Los Angeles to advance to the regionals in Salt Lake City, where Illinois lost to Kansas State, 57–52. During this season, the Fighting Illini led the Big Ten in scoring for the second consecutive season and were again led by Eddie Johnson and Mark Smith. Guards Craig Tucker and Derek Harper arrived to add backcourt punch, and Harper began his Illini career being named First-Team Freshman All-America by ESPN and ABC. This season marked a change in location and name for the annual game with Missouri. The name was altered from the "Show-Me Classic" to the "Braggin' Rights" and took on a permanent location, St. Louis, with the St. Louis Arena as its original home. Prior to 1980, the location of the game alternated from Assembly Hall and the Hearnes Center. Since 1994, the game is played at the Scottrade Center. Roster 1980 Illinois Fighting Illini y yes Craig Tucker 10 G 6 1 175 JR Flint, Michigan Flint Northern High School n Derek Harper 12 G 6 4 185 FR West Palm Beach, Florida North Shore High School y James Griffin 13 C 6 10 205 JR Grandview, Texas Dunbar High School n Sherrod Arnold 14 G 5 11 150 SO Chicago, Illinois Wendell Phillips High School n Mitch Arnold 15 G/F 6 5 190 FR Effingham, Illinois Effingham High School n Kevin Bontemps 20 G 6 2 180 SO Morton, Illinois Morton High School n Quinn Richardson 21 G 5 11 175 SO Robbins, Illinois Eisenhower High School n Perry Range 22 G 6 4 180 JR South Beloit, Illinois South Beloit High School n Eddie Johnson 33 F 6 8 215 SR Chicago, Illinois Westinghouse High School y Eddie A. Johnson (basketball, born 1959) C Mark Smith 42 F 6 8 215 SR Peoria, Illinois Richwoods High School n C Bryan Leonard 43 F 6 10 210 SO y Belleville, Illinois Belleville High School-East n Derek Holcomb 44 C 6 11 230 SR Peoria, Illinois Richwoods High School n C Lou Henson (New Mexico State University) (6th year) Tony Yates (University of Cincinnati) (7th year) Dick Nagy (Hardin-Simmons University) (2nd year) Bob Hull (1st year) https://fightingillini.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/1980-81 Schedule SourceUniversity of Illinois Fighting Illini Statistics Summary for 1980–81 https://web.archive.org/web/20130227000547/http://www.fightingillini.com/sports/m-baskbl/records/year-1980.html 2013-02-27 , FightingIllini.com yes YES |- !colspan=12 style="background:#DF4E38; color:white;"| Non-Conference regular season 11/29/1980 yes 1980 Loyola Marymount Lions Loyola Marymount Assembly Hall Champaign, IL 98–65 11,168 1–0 12/6/1980 yes 1980 TCU Horned Frogs TCU Assembly Hall Champaign, IL 84–62 14,370 2–0 12/10/1980 yes Missouri 14 yes St. Louis Arena St. Louis, MO Braggin' Rights 84–62 14,370 3–0 12/13/1980 yes Marquette U.S. Cellular Arena Milwaukee, WI 69–68 11,052 4–0 12/19/1980 17 yes BYU 18 yes Stokely Athletic Center Knoxville, TN Volunteer Classic 75–88 12,700 4–1 12/20/1980 17 yes 1980 Iona Gaels Iona yes Stokely Athletic Center Knoxville, TN Volunteer Classic 106–84 12,700 5–1 12/26/1980 18 yes Ohio Assembly Hall Champaign, IL Illini Classic 84–54 14,230 6–1 12/27/1980 18 yes 1980 Oklahoma Sooners Oklahoma Assembly Hall Champaign, IL Illini Classic 93–63 15,411 7–1 1/3/1981 16 yes 1980 SIU Edwardsville Cougars SIU Edwardsville Assembly Hall Champaign, IL 108–68 11,443 8–1 |- !colspan=9 style="background:#DF4E38; color:#FFFFFF;"|Big Ten regular season 1/8/1981 12 1980 Northwestern Wildcats Northwestern McGaw Memorial Hall yes Evanston, IL Rivalry 88–64 7,741 9–1 1–0 1/10/1981 12 Indiana Assembly Hall yes Bloomington, IN Rivalry 61–78 17,083 9–2 1–1 1/15/1981 18 Purdue Assembly Hall Champaign, IL 87–65 16,506 10–2 2–1 1/17/1981 18 Minnesota 20 Assembly Hall Champaign, IL 80–76 16,630 11–2 3–1 1/22/1981 15 Michigan 16 Crisler Center yes Ann Arbor, MI 76–80 11,055 11–3 3–2 1/24/1981 15 Wisconsin Assembly Hall Champaign, IL 45–54 16,495 11–4 3–3 1/29/1981 Michigan State Jenison Fieldhouse East Lansing, MI yes 71–70 7,443 12–4 4–3 1/31/1981 Iowa 13 Assembly Hall Champaign, IL Rivalry 79–66 16,555 13–4 5–3 2/5/1981 18 1980 Ohio State Buckeyes Ohio State Assembly Hall Champaign, IL 82–63 16,586 14–4 6–3 2/7/1981 18 Iowa 15 Iowa Field House Iowa City, IA yes Rivalry 66–72 13,365 14–5 6–4 2/12/1981 17 Wisconsin Wisconsin Field House Madison, WI yes 84–65 7,334 15–5 7–4 2/14/1981 17 Ohio State St. John Arena Columbus, OH yes 63–57 13,591 16–5 8–4 2/19/1981 15 Michigan 18 Assembly Hall Champaign, IL 67–64 16,492 17–5 9–4 2/21/1981 15 Michigan State Assembly Hall Champaign, IL 82–62 16,559 18–5 10–4 2/26/1981 14 Minnesota Williams Arena Minneapolis, MN yes 59–76 16,290 18–6 10–5 2/28/1981 14 Purdue Mackey Arena West Lafayette, IN yes 81–70 14,123 19–6 11–5 3/5/1981 16 Indiana 14 Assembly Hall Champaign, IL Rivalry 66–69 16,663 19–7 11–6 3/7/1981 16 Northwestern Assembly Hall Champaign, IL Rivalry 98–76 16,622 20–7 12–6 |- !colspan=9 style="text-align: center; background:#DF4E38"|NCAA Tournament 3/14/1981 19 yes Wyoming 17 5 W Pauley Pavilion 4 W Los Angeles, CA Second Round 67–65Illinois 67, Wyoming 65 https://www.nytimes.com/1981/03/15/sports/kansas-state-wins-by-50-48.html The New York Times March 15, 1981 February 25, 2023 12,340 21–7 yes 3/19/1981 19 yes Kansas State Jon M. Huntsman Center 8 W 4 W Salt Lake City, UT Regional semifinals 52–57 15,450 21–7 yes |- Central Time Player stats Player Games played Minutes played Field goals Free throws Rebounds Assists Blocks Steals PointsEddie Johnsonhttp://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/ill/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/2009-10_Guide05.pdf Season Stats pg. 120 2011-03-15 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 2910092196226770630500Mark Smithhttp://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/ill/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/2009-10_Guide05.pdf Season Stats pg. 120 2011-03-15 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 29914150102172981836402Craig Tuckerhttp://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/ill/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/2009-10_Guide05.pdf Season Stats pg. 120 2011-03-15 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 29615117763958319310Perry Rangehttp://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/ill/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/2009-10_Guide05.pdf Season Stats pg. 120 2011-03-15 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 298151016511570033267Derek Harperhttp://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/ill/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/2009-10_Guide05.pdf Season Stats pg. 120 2011-03-15 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 299341043375156839241James Griffinhttp://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/ill/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/2009-10_Guide05.pdf Season Stats pg. 120 2011-03-15 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 29519117763958318227Derek Holcombhttp://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/ill/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/2009-10_Guide05.pdf Season Stats pg. 120 2011-03-15 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 296357031148404214171Bryan Leonard2520026744128359Kevin Bontempts197812127171236Quinn Richardson226297970525Sherrod Arnold744461050114Mitch Arnold3271052002 Awards and honors Eddie Johnson Fighting Illini All-Century team (2005) 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 Derek Harper Fighting Illini All-Century team (2005) Team players drafted into the NBA Player NBA club Round Pick Eddie JohnsonKansas City Kings2 29 Derek HolcombPortland Trail Blazers3 50 Mark Smith Milwaukee Bucks3 671981 NBA Draft Rankings 1980–81 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings References Illinois Illinois Category:Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball seasons Illinois Illinois