1988–89 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team

American college basketball season March 2026 August 2023 Basketball 1988–89 Illinois Fighting Illini 1988-89_Illinois_Fighting_Illini_men's_basketball_team.jpg 300px Big Ten Conference Big Ten 3 3 31–5 14–4 Lou Henson Dick Nagy Jimmy Collins Mark Coomes 14th 10th 6th 4th Kenny Battle Lowell Hamilton Nick Anderson Assembly Hall Illini Classic, Champion <br/ > Rainbow Classic, Championhttp://uhathletics.hawaii.edu/MBasket/rchistory.html Rainbow Classic History 2013-03-18 https://web.archive.org/web/20050318140825/http://uhathletics.hawaii.edu/MBasket/rchistory.html 2005-03-18 dead NCAA men's Division I tournament Final Four The 1988–89 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team represented the University of Illinois. Regular season The 1988–89 team may have been the most talented team ever assembled at the University of Illinois. The team was so athletic that they could "run and alley-oop" baskets using even the non-starting players, and a record number of 100+ game scores reflected this fact. The players known as the “Flying Illini,” included all the important pieces from the 1987-88 squad (Kenny Battle, Kendall Gill, Steve Bardo, Lowell Hamilton, Nick Anderson and Larry Smith) as well as junior college All-American P.J. Bowman and former high school All-American Marcus Liberty. The Fighting Illini won their first 16 games and were ranked No. 2 in the nation going into a nationally televised game against Georgia Tech, whom Illinois had already beaten, 80–75, at the Rainbow Classic in December. The Yellow Jackets led, 47–31, but Illinois managed to surge back to force overtime, eventually needing two extra periods to win the game. Along with the No. 1 ranking the next day came some bad news. Illinois’ catalyst, Gill, had broken a bone in his foot and would miss the next 12 games. Hurt by the loss of Gill, Illinois lost three of the next four games and its No. 1 ranking. The Illini rallied to finish second in the Big Ten with a 14–4 record and with Gill back in the lineup, the Illini were awarded a No. 1 seed in the Midwest Region of the NCAA tournament. After rolling to victories over McNeese State and Ball State at the Hoosier Dome, a powerpacked regional in Minneapolis with Missouri, Louisville and Syracuse, stood in the way of Illinois’ trip to the Final Four. Louisville fell victim to Illinois, losing 83–69, which set up a regional final matchup with Syracuse. The Fighting Illini held off Syracuse to advance to the Final Four in Seattle where Illinois faced Michigan, a team it had beaten twice already in conference play, in the national semifinals. Michigan was inspired by the firing of their coach prior to the tournament, and won a game that contained 33 lead changes. Cotton Anthony Michigan Survives Dogfight With Illini The Washington Post April 2, 1989 https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/sports/longterm/memories/final4/articles/semi89a.htm October 15, 2013 Despite Battle's 29-point, 11-rebound effort, Illinois fell to eventual national-champion Michigan, 83–81. Roster 1988 Illinois Fighting Illini y yes P.J. Bowman 10 G 5 10 170 JR Champaign, Illinois Centennial High School n Kendall Gill 13 G 6 4 180 JR Matteson, Illinois Rich Central High School y Travis Smith 15 G 5 11 175 SO Ridgway, Illinois Gallatin High School n Eddie Manzke 22 G 6 2 170 SR Orland Park, Illinois Marist High School n Larry Smith 23 G 6 4 190 JR Alton, Illinois Alton High School y Larry Smith (basketball, born 1968) Ervin Small 24 F 6 7 215 JR Chicago, Illinois Simeon High School n Nick Anderson basketball 25 G/F 6 6 215 JR Chicago, Illinois Simeon High School y Marcus Liberty 30 G 6 8 190 SO Chicago, Illinois King High School y Brian O'Connell 32 G/F 6 4 195 JR Schaumburg, Illinois Schaumburg High School n Kenny Battle 33 F 6 5 210 SR y Aurora, Illinois West Aurora High School y C Andy Kaufmann 34 F 6 6 210 FR Jacksonville, Illinois Jacksonville High School y Stephen Bardo 35 G/F 6 6 200 JR Carbondale, Illinois Carbondale Community High School y Mike MacDonald 50 F 6 6 210 SR Streamwood, Illinois Streamwood High School n Lowell Hamilton 45 F/C 6 7 210 SR Chicago, Illinois Providence St. Mel High School y C Lou Henson (New Mexico State University) (14th year) Jimmy Collins (New Mexico State) (6th year) Dick Nagy (Hardin-Simmons University) (10th year) Mark Coomes (New Mexico State) (4th year) https://fightingillini.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/1988-89 Schedule SourceUniversity of Illinois Fighting Illini Statistics Summary for 1988-89 https://web.archive.org/web/20140203054133/http://www.fightingillini.com/sports/m-baskbl/records/year-1988.html February 3, 2014 , FightingIllini.com yes yes |- !colspan=12 style="background:#DF4E38; color:white;"| Non-Conference regular season 11/26/1988 7 p.m. WCIA 9 yes 1988 UIC Flames Illinois-Chicago Assembly Hall Champaign, IL 85-59 13,800 1-0 11/29/1988 7 p.m. WCIA 7 yes 1988 Metro State Roadrunners Metro State Assembly Hall Champaign, IL 86-55 13,911 2-0 12/3/1988 7 p.m. WCIA 7 yes 1988 Ole Miss Rebels Ole Miss Assembly Hall Champaign, IL 91-79 14,386 3-0 12/6/1988 8:30 p.m. ESPN 7 yes Florida 19 Assembly Hall Champaign, IL 97-67 15,020 4-0 12/9/1988 7 p.m. WCIA 7 yes 1988 Duquesne Dukes Duquesne Assembly Hall Champaign, IL Illini Classic 112-81 14,532 5-0 12/10/1988 8 p.m. WCIA 7 yes Arkansas-Little Rock Assembly Hall Champaign, IL Illini Classic 107-88 14,887 6-0 12/17/1988 7 p.m. WCIA 6 yes 1988 Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles Tennessee Tech Assembly Hall Champaign, IL 105-77 12,794 7-0 12/19/1988 8 p.m. WCIA 6 yes yes Missouri 10 St. Louis Arena St. Louis, MO Braggin' Rights 87-84 18,561 8-0 12/22/1988 7:30 p.m. WCIA 5 yes yes Louisiana State Pete Maravich Assembly Center Baton Rouge, LA 127-100 14,192 9-0 12/28/1988 10 p.m. none 4 yes yes 1988 Tulsa Golden Hurricane Tulsa Neal S. Blaisdell Center Honolulu, HI Rainbow Classic 85-58 3,173 10-0 12/29/1988 6 p.m. none 4 yes yes Georgia Tech 17 Neal S. Blaisdell Center Honolulu, HI Rainbow Classic 80-75 5,775 11-0 12/31/1988 12:15 a.m. none 4 yes yes 1988 Hawaii Rainbow Warriors Hawaii Neal S. Blaisdell Center Honolulu, HI Rainbow Classic 96-87 6,379 12-0 |- !colspan=9 style="background:#DF4E38; color:#FFFFFF;"|Big Ten regular season 1/7/1989 7 p.m. WCIA 3 Michigan State Assembly Hall Champaign, IL 71-54 16,497 13-0 1-0 1/12/1989 7 p.m. WCIA 2 Wisconsin Assembly Hall Champaign, IL 103-80 14,433 14-0 2-0 1/14/1989 12 p.m. WCIA 2 Michigan 6 Assembly Hall Champaign, IL 96-84 14,499 15-0 3-0 1/19/1989 9 p.m. ESPN 2 yes 1988 Northwestern Wildcats Northwestern McGaw Hall Evanston, IL Rivalry 75-70 8,117 16-0 4-0 1/22/1989 12 p.m. ABC 2 yes Georgia Tech Assembly Hall Champaign, IL 103-92 2OT 16,561 17-0 1/26/1989 7 p.m. WCIA 1 yes Minnesota Williams Arena Minneapolis, MN 62-69 13,766 17-1 4-1 1/28/1989 7 p.m. WCIA 1 Indiana 16 Assembly Hall Champaign, IL Rivalry 75-65 16,563 18-1 5-1 2/2/1989 7 p.m. WCIA 2 yes 1988 Purdue Boilermakers Purdue Mackey Arena West Lafayette, IN 72-76 14,123 18-2 5-2 2/5/1989 3 p.m. ABC 2 yes Iowa 9 Carver–Hawkeye Arena Iowa City, IA Rivalry 82-86 15,500 18-3 5-3 2/9/1989 7 p.m. WCIA 7 1988 Ohio State Buckeyes Ohio State 16 Assembly Hall Champaign, IL 62-60 16,439 19-3 6-3 2/11/1989 7 p.m. WCIA 7 Northwestern Assembly Hall Champaign, IL Rivalry 86-69 16,471 20-3 7-3 2/16/1989 7 p.m. WCIA 5 yes Michigan State Jenison Fieldhouse East Lansing, MI 75-56 10,004 21-3 8-3 2/18/1989 7 p.m. WCIA 5 yes Wisconsin Wisconsin Field House Madison, WI 52-72 11,886 21-4 8-4 2/20/1989 8:30 p.m. ESPN 5 Purdue Assembly Hall Champaign, IL 102-75 16,415 22-4 9-4 2/26/1989 3 p.m. ABC 10 yes Ohio State St. John Arena Columbus, OH 94-71 13,276 23-4 10-4 3/2/1989 7 p.m. WCIA 8 Minnesota Assembly Hall Champaign, IL 63-58 16,455 24-4 11-4 3/5/1989 3 p.m. ABC 8 yes Indiana 3 Assembly Hall Bloomington, IN Rivalry 70-67 17,311 25-4 12-4 3/8/1989 9 p.m. ESPN 4 Iowa 15 Assembly Hall Champaign, IL Rivalry 118-94 16,552 26-4 13-4 3/11/1989 3 p.m. ABC 4 yes Michigan 8 Crisler Arena Ann Arbor, MI 89-73 13,609 27-4 14-4 |- !colspan=9 style="text-align: center; background:#DF4E38"|NCAA tournament 3/16/1989 6 p.m. CBS 3 yes yes 1 MW 16 MW McNeese State Hoosier Dome Indianapolis, IN First Round 77-71 37,242 28-4 3/18/1989 1:20 p.m. CBS 3 yes yes 1 MW 9 MW Ball State 18 Hoosier Dome Indianapolis, IN Second Round 72-60 37,444 29-4 3/24/1989 7 p.m. CBS 3 yes yes 1 MW 4 MW Louisville 12 Metrodome Minneapolis, MN Regional semifinals 83-69 33,560 30-4 3/26/1989 1 p.m. CBS 3 yes yes 1 MW 2 MW Syracuse 7 Metrodome Minneapolis, MN Regional Finals 89-86 33,469 31-4 4/1/1989 7 p.m. CBS 3 yes yes 1 MW 3 S Michigan 10 Kingdome Seattle, WA National semifinals 81-83 39,187 31-5 |- Central Time Player stats PlayerGames PlayedMinutes Played2 pt. Field Goals3 pt. Field GoalsFree ThrowsReboundsAssistsBlocksStealsPointsNick AndersonSeason Stats3611252382499285723257647Kenny BattleSeason Stats3611052099151174641389596Lowell Hamiltonhttp://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/ill/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/2009-10_Guide05.pdf pg. 122 Season Stats 2012-01-18 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 36943219050204243121488Kendall GillSeason Stats2468110538467091651370Marcus LibertySeason Stats 36748114657141421038303Stephen BardoSeason Stats361000652976144148834293Larry Smith 366956334073157528175P.J. Bowman 29284622928261787Ervin Small 363922602776501077Andy Kaufmann 12136115142081551Mike MacDonald 23607011010115Brian O'Connell 4510230004Eddie Manzke 182500120001 Head Coach Lou Henson (14th year at Illinois)All-Time Illini Rosters https://web.archive.org/web/20131216075734/http://www.fightingillini.com/sports/m-baskbl/archive/MBKBHist-All-TimeRosters--1975-99.html 2013-12-16 Awards and honors Stephen Bardo Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year Nick Anderson 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 NCAA Tournament Regional Most Outstanding Player Fighting Illini All-Century team (2005) Kenny Battle Fighting Illini All-Century team (2005) Kendall Gill Fighting Illini All-Century team (2005) Team players drafted into the NBA PlayerNBA ClubRoundPickKendall GillCharlotte Hornets15Nick AndersonOrlando Magic1 11Kenny BattleDetroit Pistons2 271989 NBA draft Rankings 1988–89 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings References Illinois Fighting Illini Category:Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball seasons Category:NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Final Four seasons Illinois Category:1988 in sports in Illinois Category:1989 in sports in Illinois