1970–71 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team explained

Mode:	Basketball
Year:	1970–71
Team:	Illinois Fighting Illini
Conference:	Big Ten Conference
Short Conf:	Big Ten
Record:	11-12
Conf Record:	5–9
Asst Coach3:	Nat Frazier
Hc Year:	4th
Ac1 Year:	4th
Ac2 Year:	12th
Ac3 Year:	1st

The 1970–71 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team represented the University of Illinois.

Regular season

Head coach Harv Schmidt, in only his fourth season at the helm of the Fighting Illini men's basketball team, saw the longest losing streak of his career, 8 games. After starting the year by winning 9 of their first 12 games and 10 of their first 14, the Illini started their losing streak at Ohio State on February 13, and continue for a month. The agonizing month ended March 13, 1971, when the Illini visited Indiana in the season finale. The Fighting Illini finished the season with an 11-12 record, tied for 5th place in the conference with a 5-9 record.

The Illini added sophomore forward Nick Weatherspoon for the season. Weatherspoon finished his inaugural season by scoring 381 points, averaging 16.5 points per game, and collected 246 rebounds. By the completion of his time at Illinois, Weatherspoon was their all-time leading scorer.

The 1970-71 team's starting lineup included Weatherspoon and Fred Miller at the forward spots, Jim Krelle and Rick Howat as guards and Greg Jackson at center.

Roster

Schedule

Source^[1] |- !colspan=12 style="background:#DF4E38; color:white;"| Non-Conference regular season |-!colspan=9 style="background:#DF4E38; color:#FFFFFF;"|Big Ten regular season|-

Player stats

Player	Games Played	Field Goals	Free Throws	Rebounds	Points
Rick Howat^[2]	23	190	94	67	474
Nick Weatherspoon^[3]	23	151	79	246	381
Greg Jackson^[4]	23	113	49	157	275
Fred Miller^[5]	22	79	65	109	223
Nick Conner^[6]	23	74	33	162	181
Jim DeDecker^[7]	22	37	16	40	90
Jim Krelle^[8]	17	31	12	38	74
Alvin O'Neal	16	24	7	33	55
Jed Foster^[9]	21	19	15	40	53
Larry Cohen	17	16	4	12	36
Bob Shapland	12	4	6	6	14
Tom Dezort	5	3	2	2	8
Jim Rucks	2	1	0	2	2
Sam Scaletta	1	0	1	0	1

Awards and honors

• Rick Howat
  • Team Most Valuable Player ^[10]

Team players drafted into the NBA

^[11]

Rankings

See main article: 1970–71 NCAA University Division men's basketball rankings.

Notes and References

1. http://www.fightingillini.com/sports/m-baskbl/records/year-1970.html University of Illinois Fighting Illini Statistics Summary for 1970-71
2. Web site: Season Stats pg. 117 . 2013-12-16 . 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 .
3. Web site: Season Stats pg. 117 . 2013-12-16 . 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 .
4. Web site: Season Stats pg. 117 . 2013-12-16 . 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 .
5. Web site: Season Stats pg. 117 . 2013-12-16 . 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 .
6. Web site: Season Stats pg. 117 . 2013-12-16 . 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 .
7. Web site: Season Stats pg. 117 . 2013-12-16 . 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 .
8. Web site: Season Stats pg. 117 . 2013-12-16 . 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 .
9. Web site: Season Stats pg. 117 . 2013-12-16 . 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 .
10. Web site: List of MVPs . 2013-12-16 . 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 .
11. https://web.archive.org/web/20060213045324/http://www.databasebasketball.com/draft/draftyear.htm?yr=1971&lg=n 1971 NBA Draft