The 2000–01 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team represented the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign in the 2000–01 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Led by first year head coach Bill Self, the Illini played their home games at State Farm Center, Assembly Hall in Champaign, Illinois and were members of the Big Ten Conference. They finished the season with a record of 27–8, 13–3 in Big Ten play to win a share of the Big Ten regular season title with 2000-01 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team, Michigan State. They lost in the semifinals of the 2001 Big Ten Conference men's basketball tournament, Big Ten tournament to 2000-01 Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball team, Indiana. They received an at-large bid to the 2001 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, NCAA tournament as the No. 1 seed in the Midwest Region. They advanced to the Elite Eight before losing to 2000-01 Arizona Wildcats men's basketball team, Arizona.

Regular season

In May 2000, Lon Kruger left Illinois to become head coach of the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks. Bill Self was named Illinois’ 15th head men’s basketball coach on June 9, 2000. Self came to Illinois from Tulsa Golden Hurricane men's basketball, Tulsa where he had led the Golden Hurricane to consecutive NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship, NCAA tournament appearances, including a 32–5 record and 2000 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, Tournament run to the Elite Eight in 2000. Self ’s first season at Illinois, was memorable. The Illini were ranked in the Top 10 the entire season and tied for the Big Ten Championship with Michigan State. The Illini defeated Purdue in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten tournament, but fell to Indiana in the semifinals. The Illini received an at-large as a No. 1 seed in the Midwest Region of the NCAA Tournament. Easy wins over Northwestern State Demons basketball, Northwestern State and Charlotte 49ers men's basketball, Charlotte led to a trip to the Sweet Sixteen. The Illini defeated 2000–01 Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball team, Kansas in the Sweet Sixteen to advance to the Elite Eight. However, the Illini run ended in the Elite Eight to eventual national runner-up Arizona, the third meeting between the two schools on the season. Sophomore Frank Williams (basketball), Frank Williams became the first Illini player to earn Big Ten Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year, Big Ten Player of the Year honors since 1967 and was named to several postseason All-America squads. Junior Cory Bradford set an NCAA record by making a three-point field goal in 88 consecutive games.

Roster

Source

Schedule and results

, - !colspan=12 style="background:#; color:#;", Non-conference regular season , - !colspan=9 style="background:#", 2000–01 Big Ten Conference men's basketball season, Big Ten regular season , - !colspan=9 style="background:#", 2001 Big Ten Conference men's basketball tournament, Big Ten tournament , - !colspan=9 style="background:#", 2001 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, NCAA tournament Source

Player stats

Awards and honors

* Frank Williams (basketball), Frank Williams **Big Ten Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year, Big Ten Player of the Year **Chicago Tribune Silver Basketball award **2001 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans, Wooden 1st team All-American **2001 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans, National Association of Basketball Coaches 2nd team All-American **2001 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans, Associated Press 3rd team All-American **Team Most Valuable Player **Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball#All-Century Team, Fighting Illini All-Century team (2005) *Brian Cook (basketball), Brian Cook **Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball#All-Century Team, Fighting Illini All-Century team (2005) *Cory Bradford **2001 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans, Associated Press Honorable Mention All-American

Rankings

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2000-01 Illinois Fighting Illini Men's Basketball Team 2000–01 Big Ten Conference men's basketball season, Illinois Fighting Illini Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball seasons 2001 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament participants, Illinois 2000 in sports in Illinois 2001 in sports in Illinois