1977–78 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. Not ranked
APNo. Not ranked
Record13–14 (7–11 Big Ten)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
MVPAudie Matthews
CaptainAudie Matthews
Home arenaAssembly Hall
1977–78 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L PCTW L PCT
No. 4 Michigan State15–3 .83325–5  .833
No. 13 Indiana12–6 .66721–8  .724
Minnesota12–6 .66717–10  .630
Michigan11–7 .61116–11  .593
Purdue11–7 .61116–11  .593
Ohio State9–9 .50016–11  .593
Illinois7–11 .38913–14  .481
Iowa5–13 .27812–15  .444
Northwestern4–14 .2228–19  .296
Wisconsin4–14 .2228–19  .296
Rankings from AP Poll)

The 1977–78 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team represented the University of Illinois.

Regular season

The most significant recruit in the three years of Head Coach Lou Henson's tenure at Illinois came prior to the 1978-79 season. Eddie Johnson was considered to be the most significant piece to reviving the Illini basketball program, a program that had not been to a post-season tournament for 16 years. Johnson, who played at Chicago Westinghouse High School, was one of the state's top senior and a Parade Magazine All-American. During his senior year at Westinghouse, Johnson, along with teammate Mark Aguirre, became part of a team that went 29-0, losing only in the Public League Final to Wendell Phillips. Prior to choosing Illinois, Johnson visited Southern Cal, Iowa, Michigan and DePaul, but with the encouragement of assistant coach Tony Yates, he selected Illinois.

Along with Johnson, Henson recruited Mark Smith from Peoria Richwoods High School. By season's end, Smith would develop into the team's second leading scorer, finishing the season with 312 points. The team's starting lineup included Neil Bresnahan and Levi Cobb as forwards, Audie Matthews and Reno Gray at the guard positions, and Rich Adams playing center.

Roster

1977–78 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearPrevious schoolHometown
G 10 Reno Gray 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)170 lb (77 kg) JrHales Franciscan High School Chicago, Illinois
F 12 Ken Ferdinand 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)200 lb (91 kg) JrUrbana High School Urbana, Illinois
G 20 Matt Meyer 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)165 lb (75 kg) JrForeman High School Mantino, Illinois
G 21 Steve Lanter 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)175 lb (79 kg) RS SoMascoutah Community High School Belleville, Illinois
G 23 Larry Lubin 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)175 lb (79 kg) JrNew Trier High School Glencoe, Illinois
F 24 Tom Gerhardt 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)210 lb (95 kg) SrDe La Salle High School Chicago, Illinois
G 30 Rob Judson 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)170 lb (77 kg) SoZion-Benton High School Zion, Illinois
F 31 Neil Bresnahan 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)200 lb (91 kg) SoFenwick High School Oak Park, Illinois
F 32 Levi Cobb 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)205 lb (93 kg) SoMorgan Park High School Chicago, Illinois
F 33 Eddie Johnson 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)210 lb (95 kg) FrWestinghouse High School Chicago, Illinois
F 40 Rich Adams 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)205 lb (93 kg) SrColerain High School Cincinnati, Ohio
G/F 41 Mike Jones 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)185 lb (84 kg) FrJoliet Central High School Joliet, Illinois
F 42 Mark Smith 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)195 lb (88 kg) FrRichwoods High School Peoria, Illinois
F 42 Rick Leighty 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)195 lb (88 kg) FrRichwoods High School Peoria, Illinois
G/F 43 Audie Matthews (C) 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)185 lb (84 kg) SrBloom High School Chicago Heights, Illinois
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

All-Time Illini Roster

Source[1] [2]

Schedule

Source[3]

Date
time, TV		 Opponent Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Non-Conference regular season
11/25/1977*
no, no 		UNC Charlotte L 64-68  0-1
 Assembly Hall (8,655)
Champaign, IL
11/28/1977*
no, no 		Arizona W 113-107  1-1
 Assembly Hall (7,356)
Champaign, IL
12/1/1977*
no, no 		Southern California W 82-59  2-1
 Assembly Hall (8,941)
Champaign, IL
12/3/1977*
no, no 		South Carolina W 84-68  3-1
 Carolina Coliseum (9,116)
Columbia, SC
12/6/1977*
no, no 		Missouri
Show-Me Classic		 W 96-85  4-1
 Assembly Hall (6,010)
Champaign, IL
12/16/1977*
no, no 		BYU W 81-74  5-1
 Assembly Hall (8,612)
Champaign, IL
12/28/1977*
no, no 		Washington State
Far West Classic		 L 75-82  5-2
 Veterans Memorial Coliseum (9,762)
Portland, OR
12/29/1977*
no, no 		Oregon
Far West Classic		 W 86-80  6-2
 Veterans Memorial Coliseum (6,432)
Portland, OR
12/30/1977*
no, no 		Washington
Far West Classic		 L 68-81  6-3
 Veterans Memorial Coliseum (6,542)
Portland, OR
Big Ten regular season
1/5/1978
no, no 		Purdue L 85-95  6-4 (0-1)
 Mackey Arena (11,253)
West Lafayette, IN
1/7/1978
no, no 		Indiana (#11)
Rivalry		 W 65-64  7-4 (1-1)
 Assembly Hall (16,903)
Bloomington, IN
1/12/1978
no, no 		Michigan State (#12) L 70-82  7-5 (1-2)
 Assembly Hall (10,300)
Champaign, IL
1/14/1978
no, no 		Michigan W 65-61  8-5 (2-2)
 Assembly Hall (8,795)
Champaign, IL
1/19/1978
no, no 		Minnesota L 66-70  8-6 (2-3)
 Williams Arena (15,134)
Minneapolis, MN
1/21/1978
no, no 		Northwestern W 73-64  9-6 (3-3)
 Assembly Hall (9,616)
Champaign, IL
1/26/1978
no, no 		Iowa
Rivalry		 W 70-61  10-6 (4-3)
 Iowa Field House (11,000)
Iowa City, IA
1/30/1978
no, no 		Ohio State L 84-87  10-7 (4-4)
 Assembly Hall (9,285)
Champaign, IL
2/2/1978
no, no 		Wisconsin W 74-71  11-7 (5-4)
 Assembly Hall (7,802)
Champaign, IL
2/4/1978
no, no 		Ohio State L 65-70  11-8 (5-5)
 St. John Arena (13,489)
Columbus, OH
2/9/1978
no, no 		Northwestern L 61-72  11-9 (5-6)
 McGaw Memorial Hall (3,268)
Evanston, IL
2/11/1978
no, no 		Wisconsin L 73-80  11-10 (5-7)
 Wisconsin Field House (7,802)
Madison, WI
2/16/1978
no, no 		Minnesota L 69-75  11-11 (5-8)
 Assembly Hall (8,098)
Champaign, IL
2/18/1978
no, no 		Iowa
Rivalry		 W 77-76  12-11 (6-8)
 Assembly Hall (9,441)
Champaign, IL
2/23/1978
no, no 		Michigan L 96-107  12-12 (6-9)
 Crisler Center (13,589)
Ann Arbor, MI
2/25/1978
no, no 		Michigan State (#10) L 67-89  12-13 (6-10)
 Jenison Fieldhouse (9,886)
East Lansing, MI
3/2/1978
no, no 		Indiana
Rivalry		 L 68-77  12-14 (6-11)
 Assembly Hall (7,222)
Champaign, IL
3/2/1978
no, no 		Purdue W 67-66  13-14 (7-11)
 Assembly Hall (11,938)
Champaign, IL
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central Time.

Player stats

Player Games Played Minutes Played Field Goals Free Throws Rebounds Assists Blocks Steals Points
Audie Matthews[4]27780136558750012327
Mark Smith[5]276801119016336737312
Rich Adams[6]2761810858133373225274
Eddie Johnson[7]27469100208416811220
Rob Judson[8]2760576454957120197
Neil Bresnahan[9]27670943119568221219
Reno Gray[10]204349062966118186
Levi Cobb[11]276107228131231017172
Mike Jones2723235216202872
Ken Ferdinand15801351822231
Larry Lubin17112889190624
Tom Gerhardt21105422230110
Matt Meyer650011000

Awards and honors

Team players drafted into the NBA

Player NBA Club Round Pick
Rich AdamsSan Antonio Spurs486
Audie MatthewsDetroit Pistons6117

[13]

Rankings

References

  1. ↑ Men's Basketball Roster
  2. ↑ All-Time Illini Rosters Archived 2010-04-22 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ↑ University of Illinois Fighting Illini Statistics Summary for 1977-78 Archived 2013-06-25 at the Wayback Machine, FightingIllini.com
  4. ↑ "pg. 119 Season Stats" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 8, 2011. Retrieved March 25, 2011.
  5. ↑ "pg. 119 Season Stats" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 8, 2011. Retrieved March 25, 2011.
  6. ↑ "pg. 119 Season Stats" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 8, 2011. Retrieved March 25, 2011.
  7. ↑ "pg. 119 Season Stats" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 8, 2011. Retrieved March 25, 2011.
  8. ↑ "pg. 119 Season Stats" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 8, 2011. Retrieved March 25, 2011.
  9. ↑ "pg. 119 Season Stats" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 8, 2011. Retrieved March 25, 2011.
  10. ↑ "pg. 119 Season Stats" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 8, 2011. Retrieved March 25, 2011.
  11. ↑ "pg. 119 Season Stats" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 8, 2011. Retrieved March 25, 2011.
  12. ↑ "List of MVPs" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on October 30, 2014. Retrieved January 15, 2013.
  13. ↑ 1978 NBA Draft Archived 2010-03-18 at the Wayback Machine
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