The 1949–50 Illinois Fighting Illini men’s basketball team represented the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the University ...

Regular season

The 1949-50 season looked to have solid promise based on the fact that the team had 3 returning starters from a " Final Four" team a year earlier. Unfortunately for the Fighting Illini men's basketball team, the conference season proved to be more difficult than expected. With 5 of the team's 8 losses coming at the hands of conference competition, the Illini, not only placed in a third place tie in the

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

, they also missed out on the opportunity to play in a post-season tournament. Head coach

Harry Combes Harry Combes (March 3, 1915 – November 13, 1977), a native of Monticello, Illinois, served as head men's basketball coach at University of Illinois between 1947 and 1967. Biography Combes played high school basketball for Monticello High Scho ...

had guided the team a year earlier to a

championship, a third place finish in the

1949 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament The 1949 NCAA basketball tournament involved eight schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 18, 1949, and ended with the championship game on Ma ...

and a final AP ranking of No. 4 in the nation. The 1949-50 team compiled an overall record of 14 wins and 8 losses with a conference record of 7 wins and 5 losses. The starting lineup included ''captain''

William Erickson Bertil William Erickson (June 8, 1928 – September 21, 1987) was an NCAA All-American basketball player at the University of Illinois during a career that spanned from 1947 to 1950, and then a player in the National Professional Basketball Leagu ...

, Roy Gatewood and Donald Sunderlage as forwards, Rodney Fletcher, and Burdette Thurlby at guard and Walter Osterkorn and Mack Follmer rotating at the center position.

Roster

Source

Schedule

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Rankings

Player stats

Awards and honors

* Bill Erickson ** Converse Honorable Mention All-American (1950) *

Wally Osterkorn Walter Raymond Osterkorn (July 6, 1928 – January 11, 2012) was an American professional basketball player. A 6'5" forward from the University of Illinois, Osterkorn began his pro career with the St. Paul Lights of the National Professional ...

**Team Most Valuable Player

Team players drafted into the NBA

1950 NBA Draft

Rankings

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1949-50 Illinois Fighting Illini Men's Basketball Team

Illinois Fighting Illini The Illinois Fighting Illini () are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The university offers 10 men's and 11 women's varsity sports. The University operates a number of athletic faci ...

Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball seasons 1949 in sports in Illinois 1950 in sports in Illinois