The 1950–51 Illinois Fighting Illini men’s basketball team represented the University of Illinois.

Regular season

A 13 win conference season marked only the second time since 1942 that the Fighting Illini men's basketball team had completed that feat. The only time they finished with a better conference record was 1943, where they completed the season with a perfect 12-0 record. 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 his team to a

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 ...

championship, a third-place finish in the

1951 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament The 1951 NCAA basketball tournament involved 16 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 20, 1951, and ended with the championship game on March ...

and a final AP ranking of No. 5 in the nation. This was Combes 2nd Big Ten Championship as well as his 2nd third-place finish in the NCAA tournament within his first 4 years as head coach. The 1950-51 team compiled an overall record of 22 wins and 5 losses with a conference record of 13 wins and 1 loss. The season featured a rematch with

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

, which had downed the Illini in the national semifinals in 1949. Illinois beat Columbia, 79-71, and

North Carolina State North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The universit ...

, 84-70, to get to the national semifinals and a rematch with the Wildcats. In a heart-breaking loss, Kentucky nipped Illinois, 76-74, on a shot by Wildcat sub Shelby Linville with 12 seconds remaining in the game. The Illini collected third place nationally by beating Oklahoma A&M, 61-46, in

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

. The starting lineup included ''captain'' Donald Sunderlage and Theodore Beach as forwards, Rodney Fletcher and Irving Bemoras at guard and Robert Peterson and Mack Follmer rotating at the center position.

Roster

Source

Schedule

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Player stats

Awards and honors

Don Sunderlage Don J. Sunderlage (December 20, 1929 – July 15, 1961) was an American basketball player. A 6'1" guard from Roselle, Illinois, Sunderlage played collegiately at the University of Illinois, earning the Chicago Tribune Silver Basketball award in ...

Chicago Tribune Silver Basketball The Chicago Tribune Silver Basketball was an award presented annually by the ''Chicago Tribune'' to the top men's and women's college basketball player of the Big Ten Conference. The ''Chicago Tribune'' awarded the Silver Basketball for men's basket ...

award (1951) ** Helms 2nd team All-American (1951) ** Sporting News 2nd team All-American (1951) ** United Press International 3rd team All-American (1951) ** Converse 3rd team All-American (1951) ** Associated Press Honorable Mention All-American (1951) **Team Most Valuable Player *

Ted Beach TED may refer to: Economics and finance * TED spread between U.S. Treasuries and Eurodollar Education * ''Türk Eğitim Derneği'', the Turkish Education Association ** TED Ankara College Foundation Schools, Turkey ** Transvaal Education Depa ...

** Converse Honorable Mention All-American (1951) *

Rod Fletcher James Rodney Fletcher (23 September 1945 – 24 November 2023) was an English professional footballer who scored 60 goals from 201 games in the Football League playing as a centre forward for Crewe Alexandra, Lincoln City, Scunthorpe United a ...

** Converse Honorable Mention All-American (1951)

Team players drafted into the NBA

1951 NBA draft

Rankings

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1950-51 Illinois Fighting Illini Men's Basketball Team

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball seasons NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Final Four seasons 1950 in sports in Illinois 1951 in sports in Illinois