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1997–98 Illinois Fighting Illini Men's Basketball Team
The 1997–98 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team represented the University of Illinois. Regular season During the 1997-98 season, head coach Lon Kruger did the unthinkable as he took a team picked to finish seventh in the Big Ten and guided the Illini to a share of its first Big Ten title since 1984. On the way to the league crown, Illinois went 5-0 against Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball, Indiana, Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball, Iowa and Michigan Wolverines men's basketball, Michigan, marking the first time in school history the Illini had gone undefeated against those teams during the course of a season. Illinois advanced to the second round of the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship, NCAA tournament after earning a No. 5 seed in the West Regional. The Illini defense was the Big Ten's best as Illinois finished the year first in scoring defense, fieldgoal defense and three-point defense in conference games. Additionally, this would be the inaugural sea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lon Kruger
Lonnie Duane Kruger (born August 19, 1952) is a retired American college and professional basketball coach (sport), coach who was most recently the men's basketball head coach of the University of Oklahoma. Kruger played college basketball for Kansas State University. He has served as the head coach of the University of Texas–Pan American, Kansas State, the University of Florida, the University of Illinois, and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, as well as the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Kruger was one of only three coaches ever (the others being Rick Pitino and Tubby Smith) to lead five programs to the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, NCAA tournament. His teams have participated in 17 NCAA Tournaments, including two Final Fours (1994 with Florida; 2016 with Oklahoma). Early life Kruger was born and raised in Silver Lake, Kansas. As a point guard, Kruger led the Kansas State Wildcats men's basketball, Kansas State Wildcats to bac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
