2000–01 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team

The 2000–01 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team represented the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign in the 2000–01 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Led by first year head coach Bill Self, the Illini played their home games at Assembly Hall in Champaign, Illinois and were members of the Big Ten Conference. They finished the season with a record of 27–8, 13–3 in Big Ten play to win a share of the Big Ten regular season title with Michigan State. They lost in the semifinals of the Big Ten tournament to Indiana. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 1 seed in the Midwest Region. They advanced to the Elite Eight before losing to Arizona.

2000–01 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball
Big Ten Regular Season Co-Champions
NCAA tournament, Elite Eight
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 6
APNo. 4
Record27–8 (13–3 Big Ten)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
MVPFrank Williams
CaptainSergio McClain
Marcus Griffin
Home arenaAssembly Hall
Seasons
2000–01 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 4 Illinois 13 3   .813 27 8   .771
No. 3 Michigan State 13 3   .813 28 5   .848
No. 20 Indiana 10 6   .625 21 13   .618
No. 25 Wisconsin 9 7   .563 18 11   .621
No. 24 Iowa 7 9   .438 23 12   .657
Penn State 7 9   .438 21 12   .636
Purdue 6 10   .375 17 15   .531
Minnesota 5 11   .313 18 14   .563
Michigan 4 12   .250 10 18   .357
Northwestern 3 13   .188 11 19   .367
Ohio State* 0 0   0 0  
2001 Big Ten tournament winner
Rankings from AP poll
*Ohio State: 30 reg. season games; 1 NCAA Tourn. game vacated due to sanctions against the program
Disputed record: Ohio State-(20-11)(11-5)
"2000-01 Fighting Illini men's basketball team"

Regular season edit

In May 2000, Lon Kruger left Illinois to become head coach of the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks. Bill Self was named Illinois’ 15th head men’s basketball coach on June 9, 2000.[1] Self came to Illinois from Tulsa where he had led the Golden Hurricane to consecutive NCAA tournament appearances, including a 32–5 record and Tournament run to the Elite Eight in 2000. Self ’s first season at Illinois, was memorable. The Illini were ranked in the Top 10 the entire season and tied for the Big Ten Championship with Michigan State. The Illini defeated Purdue in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten tournament, but fell to Indiana in the semifinals.

The Illini received an at-large as a No. 1 seed in the Midwest Region of the NCAA Tournament. Easy wins over Northwestern State[2] and Charlotte[3] led to a trip to the Sweet Sixteen. The Illini defeated Kansas in the Sweet Sixteen to advance to the Elite Eight.[4] However, the Illini run ended in the Elite Eight to eventual national runner-up Arizona, the third meeting between the two schools on the season.[5] Sophomore Frank Williams became the first Illini player to earn Big Ten Player of the Year honors since 1967 and was named to several postseason All-America squads. Junior Cory Bradford set an NCAA record by making a three-point field goal in 88 consecutive games.

Roster edit

2000–01 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 00 Brett Melton 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Fr Mahomet-Seymour High School Mahomet, Illinois
G 5 Nate Mast 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Sr Champaign Central High School Champaign, Illinois
G 12 Joe Cross 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Sr Carbondale Community High School Carbondale, Illinois
G 13 Cory Bradford 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 200 lb (91 kg) RS Jr Raleigh Egypt High School Memphis, Tennessee
F/C 21 Robert Archibald 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 250 lb (113 kg) Jr Lafayette High School Ballwin, Missouri
F 22 Lucas Johnson 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Jr Maine West High School Des Plaines, Illinois
G 24 Sean Harrington 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) So Elgin High School Bartlett, Illinois
G 25 Jerrance Howard 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) RS Fr Peoria High School Peoria, Illinois
G 30 Frank Williams 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 212 lb (96 kg) RS So Manual High School Peoria, Illinois
F 33 Damir Krupalija 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Jr Rockford Boylan High School Rockford, Illinois
F 34 Brian Cook 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 240 lb (109 kg) So Lincoln Community High School Lincoln, Illinois
F 40 Sergio McClain (C) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Sr Manual High School Peoria, Illinois
F 42 Clayton Thomas (W) 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) So Larkin High School Elgin, Illinois
C 45 Nick Smith   7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) 240 lb (109 kg) RS Fr Bloomingdale High School Valrico, Florida
F 52 Marcus Griffin (C) 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) RS Sr Manual High School/Lincoln College Peoria, Illinois
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

All-Time Illini Rosters Roster

Source[6]

Schedule and results edit

Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Non-conference regular season
11/17/2000*
No. 8 Maine W 86–57  1–0
Assembly Hall (13,044)
Champaign, IL
11/20/2000*
No. 8 vs. UNLV
Maui Invitational Tournament
W 74–69  2–0
Lahaina Civic Center (2,500)
Lahaina, HI
11/21/2000*
No. 8 vs. (6) Maryland
Maui Invitational Tournament
W 90–80  3–0
Lahaina Civic Center (2,500)
Lahaina, HI
11/22/2000*
No. 8 No. 1 Arizona
Maui Invitational Tournament Championship
L 76–79  3–1
Lahaina Civic Center (2,500)
Lahaina, HI
11/26/2000*
No. 8 Texas Southern W 86–67  4–1
Assembly Hall (12,970)
Champaign, IL
11/28/2000*
No. 9 No. 1 Duke
Big Ten-ACC Challenge
L 77–78  4–2
Greensboro Coliseum (17,966)
Greensboro, NC
12/2/2000*
No. 9 at Kansas State W 76–56  5–2
Bramlage Coliseum (6,415)
Manhattan, KS
12/6/2000*
No. 9 Wisconsin-Milwaukee W 85–44  6–2
Assembly Hall (12,312)
Champaign, IL
12/9/2000*
2:00, CBS
No. 9 No. 7 Seton Hall W 87–79  7–2
Assembly Hall (16,683)
Champaign, IL
12/16/2000*
No. 5 vs. No. 7 Arizona W 81–73  8–2
United Center (21,885)
Chicago, IL
12/21/2000*
No. 5 vs. Missouri
Braggin' Rights
W 86–81 OT 9–2
Scottrade Center (22,089)
St. Louis, MO
12/23/2000*
No. 5 at Texas L 64–72  9–3
Frank Erwin Center (11,916)
Austin, TX
12/29/2000*
No. 9 vs. Illinois-Chicago W 77–64  10–3
Rosemont Horizon (9,152)
Rosemont, IL
Big Ten regular season
1/3/2001
No. 9 Minnesota W 80–64  11–3
(1–0)
Assembly Hall (13,840)
Champaign, IL
1/6/2001
No. 9 Ohio State W 83–68  12–3
(2–0)
Assembly Hall (16,683)
Champaign, IL
1/11/2001
No. 7 at Iowa
Rivalry
L 62–78  12–4
(2–1)
Carver–Hawkeye Arena (15,500)
Iowa City, IA
1/13/2001
No. 7 Michigan W 80–51  13–4
(3–1)
Assembly Hall (16,683)
Champaign, IL
1/17/2001
No. 11 at Northwestern W 63–49  14–4
(4–1)
Welsh-Ryan Arena (8,117)
Evanston, IL
1/20/2001
No. 11 Penn State W 92–60  15–4
(5–1)
Assembly Hall (16,683)
Champaign, IL
1/25/2001
No. 7 at Michigan W 55–51  16–4
(6–1)
Crisler Arena (11,092)
Ann Arbor, MI
1/31/2001
No. 6 at Penn State L 95–98 OT 16–5
(6–2)
Bryce Jordan Center (8,953)
University Park, PA
2/3/2001
No. 6 Northwestern W 84–59  17–5
(7–2)
Assembly Hall (16,683)
Champaign, IL
2/6/2001
No. 7 No. 4 Michigan State W 77–66  18–5
(8–2)
Assembly Hall (16,683)
Champaign, IL
2/10/2001
No. 7 at Purdue W 82–61  19–5
(9–2)
Mackey Arena (14,123)
West Lafayette, IN
2/13/2001
No. 4 No. 19 Wisconsin W 68–67  20–5
(10–2)
Assembly Hall (16,683)
Champaign, IL
2/17/2001
No. 4 at Indiana
Rivalry
W 67–61  21–5
(11–2)
Assembly Hall (17,460)
Bloomington, IN
2/22/2001
No. 3 at Ohio State L 61–63  21–6
(11–3)
Value City Arena (19,200)
Columbus, OH
2/24/2001
No. 3 Iowa
Rivalry
W 89–63  22–6
(12–3)
Assembly Hall (16,683)
Champaign, IL
3/4/2001
4:00, CBS
No. 5 at Minnesota W 67–59  23–6
(13–3)
Williams Arena (14,329)
Minneapolis, MN
Big Ten tournament
3/9/2001
(1) No. 4 vs. (8) Purdue
quarterfinals
W 83–66  24–6
United Center (22,679)
Chicago, IL
3/10/2001
(1) No. 4 vs. (4) Indiana
semifinals
L 56–58  24–7
United Center (23,418)
Chicago, IL
NCAA tournament
3/16/2001*
 CBS
(1 MW) No. 4 vs. (16 MW) Northwestern State
First Round
W 96–54  25–7
University of Dayton Arena (13,007)
Dayton, OH
3/18/2001*
 CBS
(1 MW) No. 4 (9 MW) Charlotte
Second Round
W 79–61  26–7
University of Dayton Arena (13,159)
Dayton, OH
3/23/2001*
 CBS
(1 MW) No. 4 vs. (4 MW) No. 12 Kansas
Sweet Sixteen
W 80–64  27–7
Alamodome (28,962)
San Antonio, TX
3/25/2001*
 CBS
(1 MW) No. 4 vs. (2 MW) No. 5 Arizona
Elite Eight
L 81–87  27–8
Alamodome (30,212)
San Antonio, TX
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central Time.

Source[7]

Player stats edit

Player Games Played 2 pt. Field Goals 3 pt. Field Goals Free Throws Rebounds Assists Blocks Steals Points
Frank Williams[8] 34 129 39 133 126 148 9 67 508
Brian Cook[9] 35 119 28 69 212 43 45 21 391
Marcus Griffin[10] 34 154 0 77 203 34 44 29 385
Cory Bradford[11] 35 41 72 47 89 63 3 23 345
Sergio McClain[12] 35 69 18 69 194 102 7 46 261
Robert Archibald[13] 34 77 0 90 154 22 26 12 244
Sean Harrington[14] 35 10 51 27 49 41 1 27 200
Lucas Johnson[15] 35 30 18 62 116 59 5 20 176
Damir Krupalija[16] 27 36 7 36 105 18 4 16 129
Brett Melton 28 7 8 5 23 7 1 3 43
Joe Cross 17 5 2 2 12 1 0 4 18
Nate Mast 20 1 4 1 12 2 0 1 15
Jerrance Howard 25 4 0 2 9 10 1 0 10

Awards and honors edit

Rankings edit

Ranking movement
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking. (RV) Received votes but unranked. (NR) Not ranked.
Poll Pre Wk 2 Wk 3 Wk 4 Wk 5 Wk 6 Wk 7 Wk 8 Wk 9 Wk 10 Wk 11 Wk 12 Wk 13 Wk 14 Wk 15 Wk 16 Wk 17 Final
AP[18] 8 8 8 9 9 5 9 9 7 11 7 6 7 4 3 5 4 4

References edit

  1. ^ "Illini Hires Self As Hoops Coach". CBS News. June 9, 2000. Retrieved July 6, 2016.
  2. ^ "Northwestern State vs. Illinois Box Score, March 16, 2001 | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved July 6, 2016.
  3. ^ "2001 Illinois vs. Charlotte Round of 32". ncaa-basketball-tournament.pointafter.com. Retrieved July 6, 2016.[permanent dead link]
  4. ^ "Kansas vs. Illinois Box Score, March 23, 2001 | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved July 6, 2016.
  5. ^ "NCAA Men's Basketball - Arizona vs. Illinois". usatoday30.usatoday.com. Retrieved July 6, 2016.
  6. ^ FightingIllini.com
  7. ^ "2000-01 Illinois Fighting Illini Roster and Stats".
  8. ^ "Season Stats pg. 125" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 8, 2011. Retrieved March 18, 2011.
  9. ^ "Season Stats pg. 125" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 8, 2011. Retrieved March 18, 2011.
  10. ^ "Season Stats pg. 125" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 8, 2011. Retrieved March 18, 2011.
  11. ^ "Season Stats pg. 125" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 8, 2011. Retrieved March 18, 2011.
  12. ^ "Season Stats pg. 125" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 8, 2011. Retrieved March 18, 2011.
  13. ^ "Season Stats pg. 125" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 8, 2011. Retrieved March 18, 2011.
  14. ^ "Season Stats pg. 125" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 8, 2011. Retrieved March 18, 2011.
  15. ^ "Season Stats pg. 125" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 8, 2011. Retrieved March 18, 2011.
  16. ^ "Season Stats pg. 125" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 8, 2011. Retrieved March 18, 2011.
  17. ^ "List of MVPs" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on October 30, 2014. Retrieved January 15, 2013.
  18. ^ "2000-01 Illinois Fighting Illini Schedule and Results".