2003–04 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team

The 2003–04 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team represented 98th season University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in the 2003-04 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. This was head coach Bruce Weber's first season at Illinois.

2003–04 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball
NCAA tournament, Sweet Sixteen
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 11
APNo. 13
Record26–7 (13–3 Big Ten)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Wayne McClain (3rd season)
  • Jay Price (1st season)
  • Chris Lowery (1st season)
MVPDeron Williams
Captains
Home arenaAssembly Hall
Seasons
2003–04 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 13 Illinois 13 3   .813 26 7   .788
No. 10 Wisconsin 12 4   .750 25 7   .781
Michigan State 12 4   .750 18 12   .600
Iowa 9 7   .563 16 13   .552
Michigan 8 8   .500 23 11   .676
Northwestern 8 8   .500 14 15   .483
Purdue 7 9   .438 17 14   .548
Indiana 7 9   .438 14 15   .483
Ohio State 6 10   .375 14 16   .467
Minnesota 3 13   .188 12 18   .400
Penn State 3 13   .188 9 19   .321
2004 Big Ten tournament winner
Rankings from AP poll

Season

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Bill Self left the Fighting Illini in March, 2003 to take over as coach at Kansas, paving the way for Bruce Weber to be named the 16th Illinois head coach on April 30, 2003. Weber arrived in Champaign after directing the Southern Illinois Salukis for five seasons. Weber’s inaugural season directing the Orange and Blue was a success, as he became just the third coach in Big Ten history to win an outright conference championship in his first season. The Illini had to win its final 10 games of the regular season to clinch sole possession of the title, with six of those wins coming away from the Assembly Hall. Weber also guided Illinois to its first NCAA Tournament victory over a higher seeded team, when the No. 5 Illini defeated No. 4 Cincinnati in the second round of the tournament. The Illini finished the year with a record of 26-7 and advanced to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen.

Roster

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2003–04 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
F/C 1 Aaron Spears 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 250 lb (113 kg) Fr Dunbar High School Chicago, IL
G 4 Luther Head 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Jr Manley High School Chicago, IL
G 5 Deron Williams (C) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 210 lb (95 kg) So The Colony High School The Colony, TX
G 11 Dee Brown (C) 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) So Proviso East High School Maywood, IL
G 25 Jerrance Howard (C) 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 200 lb (91 kg) RS Sr Peoria High School Peoria, IL
G 33 Rich McBride 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Fr Lanphier High School Springfield, IL
F 34 Fred Nkemdi (W) 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Jr Riverside Brookfield High School/Morton Junior College North Riverside, IL
F 40 James Augustine 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 220 lb (100 kg) So Lincoln-Way Central High School Mokena, IL
F 41 Warren Carter 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Fr Lake Highlands High School Dallas, TX
F 42 Brian Randle 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Fr Peoria Notre Dame High School East Peoria, IL
F 43 Roger Powell 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Jr Joliet Central High School Joliet, IL
C 45 Nick Smith 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) 240 lb (109 kg) RS Jr Bloomingdale High School Valrico, FL
F/C 50 Jack Ingram 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 245 lb (111 kg) RS Jr Marshall High School/University of Tulsa San Antonio, TX
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

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

Roster

Schedule

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
Sun, Nov 9*
4:00 pm
No. 12 Illinois All-Stars W 91–66 
Assembly Hall (14,325)
Champaign, IL
Mon, Nov 17*
7:00 pm
No. 12 Spot-Lite Jammers W 83–63 
Assembly Hall (14,151)
Champaign, IL
Non-Conference regular season
Sat, Nov 22*
7:00 pm
No. 12 Western Illinois W 94–66  1–0
Assembly Hall (15,591)
Champaign, IL
Wed, Nov 26*
7:00 pm
No. 12 Mercer W 93–61  2–0
Assembly Hall (13,742)
Champaign, IL
Sat, Nov 29*
4:00 pm, ESPN2
No. 12 at Temple W 75–60  3–0
The Palestra (6,194)
Philadelphia, PA
Tue, Dec 2*
9:00 pm, ESPN
No. 11 vs. No. 10 North Carolina L 81–88  3–1
Greensboro Coliseum (16,211)
Greensboro, NC
Sat, Dec 6*
11:00 am, ESPN Plus
No. 11 vs. Arkansas W 84–61  4–1
United Center (15,398)
Chicago, IL
Tue, Dec 9*
6:00 pm, ESPN
No. 14 vs. Providence
Jimmy V Classic
L 51–70  4–2
Madison Square Garden (7,665)
New York, NY
Thu, Dec 11*
7:00 pm
No. 14 Maryland-Eastern Shore W 85–43  5–2
Assembly Hall (14,751)
Champaign, IL
Sat, Dec 13*
8:00 pm, ESPN2
No. 14 Memphis W 74–64  6–2
Assembly Hall (16,618)
Champaign, IL
Tue, Dec 23*
8:00 pm, ESPN2
No. 21 vs. No. 11 Missouri
Braggin' Rights
W 71–70  7–2
Savvis Center (22,153)
St. Louis, MO
Tue, Dec 30*
7:00 pm, WBBM
No. 20 vs. Illinois-Chicago W 75–60  8–2
United Center (15,415)
Chicago, IL
Sat, Jan 3*
1:00 pm, ESPN Plus
No. 20 Illinois State W 80–73  9–2
Assembly Hall (16,618)
Champaign, IL
Big Ten regular season
Wed, Jan 7
8:00 pm, ESPN Plus
No. 19 Ohio State W 85–63  10–2
(1–0)
Assembly Hall (15,659)
Champaign, IL
Sat, Jan 10
3:30 pm, ESPN Plus
No. 19 No. 24 Purdue L 54–58  10–3
(1–1)
Assembly Hall (16,618)
Champaign, IL
Wed, Jan 14
7:00 pm, ESPN Plus
No. 25 at Northwestern
Rivalry
L 60–70  10–4
(1–2)
Welsh-Ryan Arena (8,117)
Evanston, IL
Sat, Jan 17
11:00 am, ESPN
No. 25 Iowa
Rivalry
W 88–82  11–4
(2–2)
Assembly Hall (16,618)
Champaign, IL
Wed, Jan 21
8:00 pm, ESPN Plus
Penn State W 80–37  12–4
(3–2)
Assembly Hall (16,248)
Champaign, IL
Sat, Jan 24
1:35 pm, ESPN Plus
at No. 21 Wisconsin L 56–76  12–5
(3–3)
Kohl Center (17,142)
Madison, WI
Sat, Jan 31
12:39 pm, CBS
Michigan W 67–52  13–5
(4–3)
Assembly Hall (16,618)
Champaign, IL
Tue, Feb 3
7:00 pm, ESPN
at Indiana
Rivalry
W 51–49  14–5
(5–3)
Assembly Hall (17,306)
Bloomington, IN
Sun, Feb 8
12:00 pm, CBS
at Minnesota W 79–69  15–5
(6–3)
Williams Arena (13,404)
Minneapolis, MN
Tue, Feb 10
8:00 pm, ESPN
Michigan State W 75–51  16–5
(7–3)
Assembly Hall (16,618)
Champaign, IL
Wed, Feb 18
7:00 pm, ESPN Plus
No. 12 Wisconsin W 65–57  17–5
(8–3)
Assembly Hall (16,618)
Champaign, IL
Sat, Feb 21
4:00 pm, ESPN
at Penn State W 66–58  18–5
(9–3)
Bryce Jordan Center (10,008)
University Park, PA
Wed, Feb 25
6:05 pm, ESPN Plus
No. 23 at Iowa
Rivalry
W 78–59  19–5
(10–3)
Carver–Hawkeye Arena (14,493)
Iowa City, IA
Sat, Feb 28
1:30 pm, ESPN Plus
No. 23 Northwestern
Rivalry
W 66–56  20–5
(11–3)
Assembly Hall (16,618)
Champaign, IL
Wed, Mar 3
7:00 pm, ESPN Plus
No. 18 at Purdue W 81–79 OT 21–5
(12–3)
Mackey Arena (13,740)
West Lafayette, IN
Sun, Mar 7
4:05 pm, CBS
No. 18 at Ohio State W 64–63  22–5
(13–3)
Value City Arena (16,445)
Columbus, OH
Big Ten tournament
Fri, Mar 12
12:00 pm, ESPN
(1) No. 12 vs. (8) Indiana
Quarterfinals
W 71–59  23–5
Conseco Fieldhouse (N/A)
Indianapolis, IN
Sat, Mar 13
12:40 pm, CBS
(1) No. 12 vs. (5) Michigan
Semifinals
W 74–60  24–5
Conseco Fieldhouse (N/A)
Indianapolis, IN
Sun, Mar 14
2:40 pm, CBS
(1) No. 12 vs. (2) No. 10 Wisconsin
Championship
L 53–70  24–6
Conseco Fieldhouse (14,617)
Indianapolis, IN
NCAA tournament[1]
Fri, Mar 19*
11:25 am, CBS
(5 A) No. 13 vs. (12 A) Murray State
First round
W 72–53  25–6
Nationwide Arena (19,588)
Columbus, OH
Sun, Mar 21*
1:30 pm, CBS
(5 A) No. 13 vs. (4 A) No. 11 Cincinnati
Second round
W 92–68  26–6
Nationwide Arena (19,588)
Columbus, OH
Fri, Mar 26*
10:16 pm, CBS
(5 A) No. 13 vs. (1 A) No. 6 Duke
Sweet Sixteen
L 62–72  26–7
Georgia Dome (24,533)
Atlanta, GA
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.

Season Statistics

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Legend
  GP  Games played   GS  Games started  Avg  Average per game
  FG  Field-goals made  FGA  Field-goal attempts  Off  Offensive rebounds
 Def  Defensive rebounds   A  Assists   TO Turnovers
 Blk  Blocks  Stl  Steals  High  Team high
Individual Player Statistics[2]
Minutes Scoring Total FGs 3-point FGs Free-Throws Rebounds
Player GP GS Tot Avg Pts Avg FG FGA Pct 3FG 3FA Pct FT FTA Pct Off Def Tot Avg A TO Blk Stl
Brown, Dee 33 33 1153 34.9 440 13.3 160 389 .411 71 205 .346 49 73 .671 34 89 123 3.7 147 65 3 51
Williams, Deron 30 29 1017 33.9 420 14.0 147 360 .408 67 170 .394 59 75 .787 14 83 97 3.2 185 75 9 31
Powell, Roger 32 31 856 26.8 371 11.6 150 252 .595 4 12 .333 67 105 .638 75 85 160 5.0 22 40 14 21
Head, Luther 29 24 863 29.8 319 11.0 107 239 .448 49 143 .343 56 72 .778 25 85 110 3.8 75 45 6 30
Augustine, James 33 33 904 27.4 318 9.6 125 197 .635 0 2 .000 68 106 .642 93 149 242 7.3 21 41 42 38
Smith, Nick 33 6 552 16.7 223 6.8 81 178 .455 8 26 .308 53 66 .803 38 69 107 3.2 38 49 24 8
McBride, Rich 29 0 411 14.2 92 3.2 30 99 .303 24 74 .324 8 10 .800 16 20 36 1.2 31 13 0 14
Randle, Brian 32 9 354 11.1 86 2.7 35 62 .565 3 12 .250 13 28 .464 24 49 73 2.3 16 26 11 15
Ingram, Jack 33 0 293 8.9 73 2.2 32 75 .427 1 7 .143 8 12 .667 31 42 73 2.2 14 11 9 7
Spears, Aaron 20 0 97 4.9 21 1.1 9 19 .474 0 0 .000 3 8 .375 2 9 11 0.6 2 10 2 3
Carter, Warren 17 0 63 3.7 20 1.2 6 15 .400 0 0 .000 8 10 .800 1 9 10 0.6 5 4 1 1
Howard, Jerrance 18 0 78 4.3 19 1.1 5 14 .357 4 11 .364 5 6 .833 1 7 8 0.4 9 9 1 5
Nkemdi, Fred 6 0 9 1.5 0 0.0 0 0 .000 0 0 .000 0 0 .000 0 3 3 0.5 0 0 0 0
Team 39 58 97 13
Total 33 6650 2402 72.8 887 1899 .467 231 662 .349 397 571 .695 393 757 1150 34.8 565 401 122 224
Opponents 33 6650 2077 62.9 733 1750 .419 183 540 .339 428 627 .683 372 692 1064 32.2 405 474 112 197

Awards and honors

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Team players drafted into the NBA

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Player NBA Club Round Pick

[4]

Rankings

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References

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  1. ^ 2004 Tournament
  2. ^ University of Illinois Fighting Illini Statistics Summary for 2003-04 Archived 2013-02-27 at the Wayback Machine, FightingIllini.com
  3. ^ "List of MVPs" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on October 30, 2014. Retrieved January 15, 2013.
  4. ^ 2004 NBA draft Archived 2010-01-17 at the Wayback Machine