1948–49 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team

The 1948–49 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team represented the University of Illinois.

Regular season

The 1948-49 squad, led by Dike Eddleman, Bill Erickson, and Walter Osterkorn, was Illinois’ first 20-game winner since 1908, finishing 21-4. Illinois beat Yale, 71-67, to advance to a national semifinal showdown with Kentucky at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The Illini fell to the Wildcats, 76-47, forcing Illinois to defeat Oregon State, 57-53, in Seattle for third place.

Roster

Schedule

<small> Source </small>

|- !colspan=12 style="background:#DF4E38; color:white;"| Non-Conference regular season

|- !colspan=9 style="background:#DF4E38; color:#FFFFFF;"|<span style="color:#FFFFFF;">Big Ten regular season</span>

|- !colspan=9 style="text-align: center; background:#DF4E38"|<span style="color:#FFFFFF;">NCAA tournament</span>

|-

NCAA basketball tournament

• Eastern
• Illinois 71, Yale 67
• Final Four
• Kentucky 76, Illinois 47
• Third-place game
• Illinois 57, Oregon State 53

Rankings

Player stats

Awards and honors

• Dwight Eddleman
• Converse 1st team All-American (1949)
• Associated Press 2nd team All-American (1949)
• United Press International 2nd team All-American (1949)
• Chicago Tribune Silver Basketball award (1949)
• Big Ten Player of the Year (1949)
• Fighting Illini All-Century team (2005)
• Team Most Valuable Player
• Bill Erickson
• Consensus 2nd team All-American (1949)
• Helms 1st team All-American (1949)
• Collier's Weekly 1st team All-American (1949)
• National Association of Basketball Coaches 1st team All-American (1949)
• United Press International 3rd team All-American (1949)
• Sporting News 3rd team All-American (1949)
• Converse Honorable Mention All-American (1949)

Team players drafted into the NBA

Rankings

References