1954–55 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team
1954–55 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball | |
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Conference | Big Ten Conference |
Ranking | |
Coaches | No. 16 |
AP | No. 18 |
1954–55 record | 17–5 (10-4 Big Ten) |
Head coach | |
Assistant coach | Howie Braun |
MVP | Paul Judson |
Captain | Morris Sterneck |
Home arena | Huff Hall |
Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Team | W | L | PCT | W | L | PCT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 5 Iowa | 11 | – | 3 | .786 | 19 | – | 7 | .731 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 18 Illinois | 10 | – | 4 | .714 | 17 | – | 5 | .773 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 11 Minnesota | 10 | – | 4 | .714 | 15 | – | 7 | .682 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Michigan State | 8 | – | 6 | .571 | 13 | – | 9 | .591 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Northwestern | 7 | – | 7 | .500 | 12 | – | 10 | .545 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Purdue | 5 | – | 9 | .357 | 12 | – | 10 | .545 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Michigan | 5 | – | 9 | .357 | 11 | – | 11 | .500 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Wisconsin | 5 | – | 9 | .357 | 10 | – | 12 | .455 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Indiana | 5 | – | 9 | .357 | 8 | – | 14 | .364 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Ohio State | 4 | – | 10 | .286 | 10 | – | 12 | .455 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rankings from AP Poll |
The 1954–55 Illinois Fighting Illini men’s basketball team represented the University of Illinois.
Regular season[]
Head coach Harry Combes, in his eighth year at Illinois, directed a youthful team with only three returning seniors, none of which were regular players. Combes' team, once again, was primarily made of sophomores and juniors recruited from the state of Illinois.
The 1954-55 team had some talented juniors including the return of twin brothers, Paul and Phil Judson from Hebron, Illinois, and Bill Ridley. It also added sophomores George Bon Salle, , , and future Illini head coach, Harv Schmidt. Exactly like the previous season, the Illini finished with a conference record of 10 wins and 4 losses, finishing in a 2nd place tie in the Big Ten. Unfortunately the Illini would lose 5 total games with three of the five losses coming at the hands of ranked opponents. The starting lineup included George Bon Salle at the center position, Bill Ridley and Bill Altenberger at guard and Bruce Brothers and Paul Judson at the forward slots.[1]
Roster[]
1954–55 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source[2]
Schedule[]
Source[3]
Date time, TV |
Rank# | Opponent# | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state[4] | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Non-Conference regular season | |||||||||||
12/2/1954* no, no |
No. NR | Butler | W 88–34 | 1-0 |
Huff Hall (4,566) Champaign, IL | ||||||
12/4/1954* no, no |
No. NR | Missouri Rivalry |
W 77–69 | 2-0 |
Huff Hall (4,766) Champaign, IL | ||||||
12/11/1954* no, no |
No. 14 | Oklahoma A&M (No. 11) | W 59–53 | 3-0 |
Gallagher Hall (8,200) Stillwater, OK | ||||||
12/15/1954* no, no |
No. 3 | Miami (OH) | W 97–72 | 4-0 |
Huff Hall (4,898) Champaign, IL | ||||||
12/18/1954* no, no |
No. 3 | Notre Dame (No. 20) | W 66–57 | 5-0 |
Huff Hall (6,804) Champaign, IL | ||||||
12/21/1954* no, no |
No. 3 | Rice | W 86–53 | 6-0 |
Tudor Fieldhouse (3,300) Houston, TX | ||||||
12/22/1954* no, no |
No. 3 | Loyola (New Orleans) | L 66–72 | 6-1 |
(-) New Orleans, LA | ||||||
1/1/1955 no, no |
No. 6 | Wisconsin | L 64–79 | 6-2 (0-1) |
Huff Hall (6,912) Champaign, IL | ||||||
1/8/1955 no, no |
No. 12 | Indiana Rivalry |
L 64–67 | 7-2 (1-1) |
Huff Hall (6,912) Champaign, IL | ||||||
1/10/1955 no, no |
No. 12 | Purdue | W 83–73 | 8-2 (2-1) |
Lambert Fieldhouse (9,700) West Lafayette, IN | ||||||
1/15/1955 no, no |
No. 7 | Ohio State | W 86–78 | 9-2 (3-1) |
Ohio Expo Center Coliseum (6,154) Columbus, OH | ||||||
1/17/1955 no, no |
No. 7 | Iowa (No. 19) Rivalry |
L 80–92 | 9-3 (3-2) |
Iowa Field House (15,000) Iowa City, IA | ||||||
1/29/1955* no, no |
No. 10 | Loyola (Chicago) | W 95–69 | 10-3 |
Chicago Stadium (12,181) Chicago, IL | ||||||
2/5/1955 no, no |
No. 10 | Northwestern | W 104–89 | 11-3 (4-2) |
Huff Hall (5,844) Champaign, IL | ||||||
2/7/1955 no, no |
No. 10 | Michigan | W 81–80 | 12-3 (5-2) |
Yost Field House (6,913) Ann Arbor, MI | ||||||
2/12/1955 no, no |
No. 10 | Minnesota (No. 12) | L 71–78 OT | 12-4 (5-3) |
Williams Arena (11,879) Minneapolis, MN | ||||||
2/14/1955 no, no |
No. 10 | Michigan State | W 90–72 | 13-4 (6-3) |
Huff Hall (6,912) Champaign, IL | ||||||
2/19/1955 no, no |
No. 14 | Wisconsin | W 99–71 | 14-4 (7-3) |
Wisconsin Field House (12,100) Madison, WI | ||||||
2/21/1955 no, no |
No. 14 | Iowa (No. 15) Rivalry |
L 70–89 | 14-5 (7-4) |
Huff Hall (6,912) Champaign, IL | ||||||
2/26/1955 no, no |
No. 13 | Ohio State | W 85–77 | 15-5 (8-4) |
Huff Hall (5,829) Champaign, IL | ||||||
2/28/1955 no, no |
No. 13 | Michigan | W 81–75 | 16-5 (9-4) |
Huff Hall (4,366) Champaign, IL | ||||||
3/5/1955 no, no |
No. 17 | Northwestern | W 81–69 | 17-5 (10-4) |
McGaw Memorial Hall (9,765) Evanston, IL | ||||||
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central Time. |
Bold Italic connotes conference game
Player stats[]
Player | Games Played | Field Goals | Free Throws | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|
Paul Judson | 22 | 139 | 85 | 363 |
Bill Ridley | 22 | 123 | 88 | 334 |
George BonSalle | 20 | 98 | 67 | 263 |
Bruce Brothers | 22 | 93 | 55 | 241 |
Bill Altenberger | 22 | 91 | 25 | 207 |
Hiles Stout | 16 | 40 | 44 | 124 |
Harv Schmidt | 21 | 36 | 28 | 100 |
Phil Judson | 22 | 35 | 22 | 92 |
Jim Dutcher | 13 | 20 | 20 | 60 |
Morris Sterneck | 12 | 4 | 1 | 9 |
Elmer Plew | 12 | 3 | 3 | 9 |
James Burks | 7 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
Dick Rapp | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
William Bosnak | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Awards and honors[]
- Paul Judson
- International News Service Honorable Mention All-American
- Converse Honorable Mention All-American
- Team Most Valuable Player [6]
- Bill Ridley
- George Bon Salle
Team players drafted into the NBA[]
Player | NBA Club | Round | Pick |
---|---|---|---|
No Player Drafted |
Rankings[]
References[]
- ^ Fighting Illini Basketball: A Hardwood History By News-Gazette, Sports Publishing LLC ISBN 1-58261-356-7
- ^ Men's Basketball Roster
- ^ University of Illinois Fighting Illini Statistics Summary for 1954-55, FightingIllini.com
- ^ Schedule
- ^ "Season Stats". Archived from the original on 2014-03-19. Retrieved 2014-03-19.
- ^ List of MVPs
- ^ 1955 NBA Draft Archived 2013-01-05 at the Wayback Machine
- 1954–55 Big Ten Conference men's basketball season
- Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball seasons
- 1954 in sports in Illinois
- 1955 in sports in Illinois