1974–75 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team

1974–75 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball
Conference Big Ten Conference
Ranking
Coaches No. Not ranked
AP No. Not ranked
1974–75 record 8–18 (4–14 Big Ten)
Head coach Gene Bartow
Assistant coach Tony Yates
Assistant coach Leroy Hunt
MVP Rick Schmidt
Captain Rick Schmidt
Home arena Assembly Hall
1974–75 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   PCT     W   L   PCT
#3 Indiana 18 0   1.000     31 1   .969
#19 Michigan 12 6   .667     19 8   .704
Minnesota 11 7   .611     18 8   .692
Purdue 11 7   .611     17 11   .607
Michigan State 10 8   .556     17 9   .654
Ohio State 8 10   .444     14 14   .500
Iowa 7 11   .389     10 16   .385
Wisconsin 5 13   .278     8 18   .308
Illinois 4 14   .222     8 18   .308
Northwestern 4 14   .222     6 20   .231
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1974–75 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team represented the University of Illinois.

Regular season

Illinois finished ninth in the Big Ten going went 8-18 overall. Gene Bartow took over the team as head coach. Brought to Illinois to continue the magical rebuilding jobs he had undertaken at Valparaiso and Memphis State, Gene Bartow was counted on by Athletic Director Cecil Coleman to restore the successful level of play fans had become accustomed to in the past few decades. However, Bartow’s stay in Champaign was short-lived, lasting only one year. The lure away from Illinois was a strong one for Bartow; he was hired away by UCLA to replace legendary Bruin coach John Wooden.

This marked the first time that a Big Ten school would finish with a record of 30 or more wins.

Team

No. Player Hometown High School Class Position
10 Nate Williams Chicago, Illinois Crane High School Jr. Guard
11 Dave Roberts Broadview, Illinois Proviso East High School Sr. Guard
15 Tom Carmichael Rochelle, Illinois Rochelle Township High School Sr. Forward/Center
20 Dennis Graff Gibson City, Illinois Gibson City High School Jr. Guard
22 Howie Johnson Marshall, Illinois Marshall High School So. Guard
24 Tom Gerhardt Chicago, Illinois De La Salle High School So. Forward
32 Rick Schmidt Royal, Illinois St. Joseph-Ogden High School Sr. Forward
33 Otho Tucker Paris, Illinois Paris High School Sr. Guard
34 Rick Leighty Lawrenceville, Illinois Lawrenceville High School Fr. Forward
40 Rich Adams Cincinnati, Ohio Colerain High School Fr. Forward
41 Dave Smith Clarendon Hills, Illinois Hinsdale Central High School Jr. Forward/Center
42 Tim Bushell Lincoln, Illinois Lincoln Community High School So. Forward/Guard
43 Brad Farnham Paris, Illinois Paris High School So.. Forward
44 Audie Matthews Chicago Heights, Illinois Bloom High School Fr. Forward/Guard
53 Bill Rucks Waukegan, Illinois Waukegan High School Jr. Forward
54 Mike Washington Chicago Heights, Illinois Morgan Park High School Jr. Forward

Schedule

Source[2]

Date
Time, TV
Opponent Result Record Site (Attendance)
City, State
12/3/1974*
no, no
vs. Valparaiso W 69-58  1 - 0
Assembly Hall (5,990)
Champaign, IL

12/7/1974*
no, no
vs. DePauw W 96-53  2 - 0
Assembly Hall (6,912)
Champaign, IL

12/9/1974*
no, no
@ Iowa State W 77-71  3 - 0
Hilton Coliseum (7,500)
Ames, IA

12/13/1974*
no, no
vs. #17 Arizona
Fiesta Bowl Classic
L 66-78  3 - 1
McKale Center (11,574)
Tucson, AZ

12/14/1974*
no, no
vs. Arizona State
Fiesta Bowl Classic
L 69-91  3 - 2
Wells Fargo Arena (8,136)
Tempe, AZ

12/27/1974*
no, no
vs. Stanford
Lobo Invitational Tournament
L 76-89  3 - 3
The Pit (14,163)
Albuquerque, NM

12/28/1974*
no, no
vs. Army
Lobo Invitational Tournament
W 79-70  4 - 3
The Pit (14,831)
Albuquerque, NM

1/2/1975
no, no
vs. #17 Michigan L 84-86 2OT 4 - 4 ( 0 - 1 )
Assembly Hall (6,608)
Champaign, IL

1/4/1975
no, no
@ Iowa L 70-95  4 - 5 ( 0 - 2 )
Iowa Field House (9,800)
Iowa City, IA

1/6/1975
no, no
@ Minnesota L 47-75  4 - 6 ( 0 - 3 )
Williams Arena (17,573)
Minneapolis, MN

1/11/1975
no, no
vs. Northwestern W 64-60  5 - 6 ( 1 - 3 )
Assembly Hall (6,009)
Champaign, IL

1/13/1975
no, no
vs. Wisconsin W 72-56  6 - 6 ( 2 - 3 )
Assembly Hall (6,117)
Champaign, IL

1/18/1975
no, no
vs. Purdue L 67-86  6 - 7 ( 2 - 4 )
Assembly Hall (9,493)
Champaign, IL

1/23/1975*
no, no
vs. Tulane L 69-81  6 - 8
Assembly Hall (7,107)
Champaign, IL

1/25/1975
no, no
@ Ohio State W 66-62  7 - 8 ( 3 - 4 )
St. John Arena (8,778)
Columbus, OH

1/27/1975
no, no
@ #1 Indiana L 57-73  7 - 9 ( 3 - 5 )
Assembly Hall (17,581)
Bloomington, IN

2/1/1975
no, no
vs. Michigan State L 60-75  7 - 10 ( 3 - 6 )
Assembly Hall (8,327)
Champaign, IL

2/3/1975
no, no
vs. Minnesota L 50-56  7 - 11 ( 3 - 7 )
Assembly Hall (7,720)
Champaign, IL

2/8/1975
no, no
@ Northwestern L 47-51  7 - 12 ( 3 - 8 )
Welsh-Ryan Arena (4,007)
Evanston, IL

2/10/1975
no, no
@ Wisconsin L 70-76  7 - 13 ( 3 - 9 )
Wisconsin Field House (4,492)
Madison, WI

2/15/1975
no, no
@ Purdue L 91-114  7 - 14 ( 3 - 10 )
Mackey Arena (13,936)
West Lafayette, IN

2/22/1975
no, no
vs. Ohio State W 83-78 OT 8 - 14 ( 4 - 10 )
Assembly Hall (9,192)
Champaign, IL

2/24/1975
no, no
vs. #1 Indiana L 89-112  8 - 15 ( 4 - 11 )
Assembly Hall (14,127)
Champaign, IL

3/1/1975
no, no
@ Michigan State L 82-96  8 - 16 ( 4 - 12 )
Jenison Fieldhouse (4,851)
East Lansing, MI

3/3/1975
no, no
@ Michigan L 75-77  8 - 17 ( 4 - 13 )
Crisler Center (6,309)
Ann Arbor, MI

3/8/1975
no, no
vs. Iowa L 70-73  8 - 18 ( 4 - 14 )
Assembly Hall (9,171)
Champaign, IL
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central Time.

Player stats

Player Games Played Field Goals Free Throws Rebounds Assists Points
Rick Schmidt[3] 2619014413973524
Otho Tucker[4]24114547872282
Nate Williams[5] 24107425571256
Mike Washington[6] 26843812627206
Rich Adams[7] 26503310719133
Tom Carmichael[8] 26542312731131
Audi Matthews[9]2641188719100

Awards and honors

Team players drafted into the NBA

Round Pick Player NBA Club
691Rick SchmidtNew Orleans Jazz

[11]

References

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