| 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.
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]
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 | Games Played | Field Goals | Free Throws | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Don Sunderlage | 27 | 150 | 171 | 471 |
| Ted Beach | 27 | 124 | 47 | 295 |
| Rod Fletcher | 27 | 115 | 60 | 290 |
| Clive Follmer | 27 | 88 | 64 | 240 |
| Bob Peterson | 27 | 85 | 67 | 237 |
| Irv Bemoras | 27 | 83 | 49 | 215 |
| Max Baumgardner | 23 | 29 | 11 | 69 |
| Jim Bredar | 20 | 15 | 4 | 34 |
| Mack Follmer | 12 | 9 | 3 | 21 |
| Herb Gerecke | 11 | 5 | 5 | 15 |
| Dick Christiansen | 7 | 6 | 3 | 15 |
| John Marks | 8 | 4 | 0 | 8 |
| Jim Schuldt | 16 | 1 | 4 | 6 |
| Seymour Gantman | 5 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Richard Ems | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Player | NBA Club | Round | Pick |
|---|---|---|---|
| Don Sunderlage | Philadelphia Warriors | 1 | 9 |
| Ted Beach | Indianapolis Olympians | 7 | 73 |
See main article: 1950–51 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings.