The 1948–49 Illinois Fighting Illini men’s basketball team represented the University of Illinois.

Regular season

The 1948-49 squad, led by

Dike Eddleman Thomas Dwight "Dike" Eddleman (December 27, 1922 – August 1, 2001) was an American athlete who was generally considered the greatest athlete in the history of athletics at the University of Illinois. Eddleman participated on the university ...

, Bill Erickson, and Walter Osterkorn, was Illinois’ first 20-game winner since 1908, finishing 21-4. Illinois beat

Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...

, 71-67, to advance to a national semifinal showdown 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 ...

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...

in New York City. The Illini fell to the Wildcats, 76-47, forcing Illinois to defeat

Oregon State Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering col ...

, 57-53, in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

for third place.

Roster

Source

Schedule

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NCAA basketball tournament

*Eastern ** Illinois 71, Yale 67 *Final Four ** Kentucky 76, Illinois 47 *Third-place game ** Illinois 57, Oregon State 53

Rankings

Player stats

Awards and honors

Dwight Eddleman Thomas Dwight "Dike" Eddleman (December 27, 1922 – August 1, 2001) was an American athlete who was generally considered the greatest athlete in the history of athletics at the University of Illinois. Eddleman participated on the university ...

** Converse 1st team All-American (1949) ** Associated Press 2nd team All-American (1949) ** United Press International 2nd team All-American (1949) **

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 (1949) ** Big Ten Player of the Year (1949) ** Fighting Illini All-Century team (2005) **Team Most Valuable Player * Bill Erickson ** Consensus 2nd team All-American (1949) ** Helms 1st team All-American (1949) ** Collier's Weekly 1st team All-American (1949) ** National Association of Basketball Coaches 1st team All-American (1949) ** United Press International 3rd team All-American (1949) ** Sporting News 3rd team All-American (1949) ** Converse Honorable Mention All-American (1949)

Team players drafted into the NBA

1949 NBA draft

Rankings

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1948-49 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 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Final Four seasons

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 ...

1948 in sports in Illinois 1949 in sports in Illinois