The 1962–63 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team represented the University of Illiniois.

Regular season

The 1962-63 season saw the

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 fac ...

finish with 20-6 overall, 11-3 in the conference. Senior Dave Downey led the team in scoring, as he had the previous two seasons, and he moved into first on the all-time scoring list. Downey also set the school record for points in a game, which still stands, with 53 in a road loss to

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

on February 16, 1963. Illinois was a game back of first place in the league standings with only two games remaining when the

Assembly Hall An assembly hall is a hall to hold public meetings or meetings of an organization such as a school, church, or deliberative assembly. An example of the last case is the Assembly Hall (Washington, Mississippi) where the general assembly of the s ...

opened its doors on March 4, 1963. Illinois’ first game at ''the Hall'' was an exciting 79-73 victory over Northwestern before 16,137 fans to stay within a game of first-place

Ohio State The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one of the largest universities by enrollme ...

. After Illinois edged

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

, 73-69, in the last game of the season, the Fighting Illini would need an overtime loss two hours later by the Buckeyes at Indiana to share the title. During the season the Illini would win the

Eastern College Athletic Conference The Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) is a college athletic conference comprising schools that compete in 15 sports (13 men's and 13 women's). It has 220 member institutions in NCAA Divisions I, II, and III, ranging in location from ...

Holiday Festival and make the Elite Eight of the

1963 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament The 1963 NCAA University Division basketball tournament involved 25 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball in the United States. It began on March 9, 1963, and e ...

, losing to eventual champion Loyola (Chicago).

Roster

Schedule

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Rankings

Player stats

Awards and honors

* Dave Downey ** Helms 1st team All-American ** Converse 2nd team All-American ** Associated Press Honorable Mention All-American **Team Most Valuable Player ** Fighting Illini All-Century team (2005) *Bill Small ** Converse Honorable Mention All-American * Skip Thoren ** Fighting Illini All-Century team (2005)

Team players drafted into the NBA

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1962-63 Illinois Fighting Illini Men's Basketball Team

Illinois Fighting Illini The Illinois Fighting Illini () are the College athletics, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The university offers 10 men's and 11 women's Varsity team, varsity sports. The university op ...

Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball seasons

Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball The Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team is an NCAA Division I college basketball team competing in the Big Ten Conference, that represent the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Home games are played at the State Farm Center, loca ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...