1950–51 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team explained

Mode:Basketball
Year:1950–51
Team:Illinois Fighting Illini
Conference:Big Ten Conference
Short Conf:Big Ten
Coachrank:4
Aprank:5
Record:22–5
Conf Record:13-1
Hc Year:4th
Ac1 Year:14th
Ac2 Year:1st
Bowl Result:Final Four

The 1950–51 Illinois Fighting Illini men’s basketball team represented the University of Illinois.

Regular season

A 13 win conference season marked only the second time since 1942 that the Fighting Illini men's basketball team had completed that feat. The only time they finished with a better conference record was 1943, where they completed the season with a perfect 12-0 record.

Head coach Harry Combes had guided his team to a Big Ten championship, a third-place finish in the 1951 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament and a final AP ranking of No. 5 in the nation. This was Combes 2nd Big Ten Championship as well as his 2nd third-place finish in the NCAA tournament within his first 4 years as head coach.

The 1950-51 team compiled an overall record of 22 wins and 5 losses with a conference record of 13 wins and 1 loss. The season featured a rematch with Kentucky, which had downed the Illini in the national semifinals in 1949. Illinois beat Columbia, 79-71, and North Carolina State, 84-70, to get to the national semifinals and a rematch with the Wildcats. In a heart-breaking loss, Kentucky nipped Illinois, 76-74, on a shot by Wildcat sub Shelby Linville with 12 seconds remaining in the game. The Illini collected third place nationally by beating Oklahoma A&M, 61-46, in Minneapolis.

The starting lineup included captain Donald Sunderlage and Theodore Beach as forwards, Rodney Fletcher and Irving Bemoras at guard and Robert Peterson and Mack Follmer rotating at the center position.[1]

Roster

Schedule

Source[2] [3] |-!colspan=12 style="background:#DF4E38; color:white;"| Non-Conference regular season

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

|-!colspan=9 style="text-align: center; background:#DF4E38"|NCAA tournament

|-

Player stats

PlayerGames PlayedField GoalsFree ThrowsPoints
Don Sunderlage 27150171471
Ted Beach2712447295
Rod Fletcher 2711560290
Clive Follmer 278864240
Bob Peterson278567237
Irv Bemoras 278349215
Max Baumgardner23291169
Jim Bredar2015434
Mack Follmer 129321
Herb Gerecke 115515
Dick Christiansen 76315
John Marks 8408
Jim Schuldt 16146
Seymour Gantman 5033
Richard Ems 1102
[4]

Awards and honors

Team players drafted into the NBA

PlayerNBA ClubRoundPick
Don SunderlagePhiladelphia Warriors1 9
Ted BeachIndianapolis Olympians7 73
[6]

Rankings

See main article: 1950–51 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings.

Notes and References

  1. Fighting Illini Basketball: A Hardwood History By News-Gazette, Sports Publishing LLC
  2. http://www.fightingillini.com/sports/m-baskbl/records/year-1950.html University of Illinois Fighting Illini Statistics Summary for 1950-51
  3. http://www.fightingillini.com/schedule.aspx?schedule=1509&path=mbball Schedule
  4. Web site: Season Stats . 2014-03-31 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140407054401/http://www.fightingillini.com/sports/m-baskbl/records/year-1950.html . 2014-04-07 . dead .
  5. Web site: 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 .
  6. http://www.databasebasketball.com/draft/draftyear.htm?lg=N&yr=1951 1951 NBA draft