The Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team is a men’s college basketball team representing the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The Fighting Illini compete at the NCAA Division I level as a member of the Big Ten Conference, and play their home games at State Farm Center, located in Champaign, Illinois. The team is currently coached by Brad Underwood, who was hired on March 18, 2017.

Through the end of the 2025–26 season, Illinois ranks tenth all-time in Associated Press (AP) poll appearances, eighth all-time in AP Top 25 finishes, and top-fifteen all-time in wins and win percentage among high-major NCAA Division I men's college basketball programs. Illinois has appeared in the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament thirty-six times, and has competed in six Final Fours and eleven Elite Eights. In conference play, Illinois has won eighteen Big Ten regular season championships and four Big Ten Tournament championships. Illinois has one retroactive national championship designation for the 1915 season by the Helms Athletic Foundation. Additionally, the 1943 team was retroactively listed as the top team of the season by the Premo-Porretta Power Poll. Illinois has finished ranked No. 1 in the final AP poll once, in 2005.

Seventy-nine former Illini have been drafted into the National Basketball Association (NBA); two of these draft selections have been enshrined in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, and a total of six former Illini have been enshrined for various contributions to basketball. Notable contributions to the sport by former Illini include the creation of the Harlem Globetrotters; participation in multiple gold medal victories in Olympic basketball; significant executive impact in the NBA; and organizational contributions to the formation of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Illinois has had seventeen different consensus All-Americans, selected for a total of twenty-four times.

History

1906–12: Early years

The Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team began play during the 1905–06 season with Elwood Brown guiding the team to a 9–8 record as their first coach. Frank L. Pinckney took control of the team before the start of the 1906–07 season. The team would win its first game but lose the next 10 contests.

Another coaching change led to Fletcher Lane being in charge of the team for the 1907–08 season. After starting the season 14–1 in non-conference, Illinois would finish the season losing five of their 11 conference games, ending the year third in the Western Conference with a 20–6 (6–5) record.

Even though Lane led a successful season, his style of coaching was deemed subpar. Former Illini player Herb Juul was then hired as the head coach of the 1908–09 squad. The Illini would not see the same success as the season prior, finishing the season with a 7–6 (5–6) record. Despite the struggles, Juul became the first coach in Illinois history to return for more than one season. However, the 1909–10 season would be his last as the Illini finished with a 5–4 (5–4) record.

Thomas E. Thompson took the reins before the 1910–11 season. The Illini would finish fourth in the Western Conference after earning a 6–6 (6–5) record. The 1911–12 season was Thompson's last year as head coach of the Illini after they finished with an 8–8 (4–8) record.

1912–20: Ralph Jones era Before the start of the 1912–13 season, Illinois hired former Purdue head coach, Ralph Jones. During his three seasons in West Lafayette, Jones compiled a 32–9 record, while also winning the previous two Western Conference titles. During his first season with Illinois, Jones led the Illini to a 10–6 record which was Illinois' second 10-win season in school history.

During the 1914–15 season, Illinois won their first-ever Big Ten title, going 16–0 (12–0). They were retroactively named as the national champion of that season by the Helms Athletic Foundation and were also retroactively listed as the top team of the season by the Premo-Porretta Power Poll. They would earn another Big Ten title during the 1916–17 season, sharing it with Minnesota.

1936–47: Douglas Mills era

Before the start of the 1936–37 season, Douglas R. Mills began acting as the head coach and athletic director of the Illinois men's basketball team. In his first season, the Illini finished with a 14–4 (10–2) record, which was good enough to share the Big Ten title with Minnesota.

Before World War II broke out, the Fighting Illini men's basketball program had achieved a status that had never been seen prior. Mills grouped a team of players, all around 6-foot-3, into a nearly undefeatable lineup later known as the "Whiz Kids". The 1941–42 freshman and sophomore lineup of Arthur Smiley, Ken Menke, Andy Phillip, Gene Vance, Victor Wukovits, and Art Mathisen dominated the Big Ten by posting a 13–2 conference record and winning the conference title outright. It would be their first unanimous Big Ten championship since 1915.

The Illini finished 1942–43 season with a 17–1 (12–0) record, winning their second-straight Big Ten title. Despite being ranked No. 1 in the nation, they opted not to play in the 1943 NCAA tournament after three of their five starters were called to duty in World War II. This team was retroactively ranked as the best team in the country by Premo-Porretta.

The 1946–47 season, would be Mills' last season as the head coach of the Illini. The team ended the season with a 14–6 (8–4) record, finishing one game behind Wisconsin in the Big Ten standings. Under Mills, the Illini compiled a record of 151 wins and 66 losses while winning three conference championships in the process.

1947–67: Harry Combes era Champaign High School basketball coach Harry Combes was hired to succeed Doug Mills as Mills left the position to focus on his duties as the athletic director. Through his first five seasons as head coach, Combes led the Fighting Illini to three NCAA Final Four appearances in 1949, 1951, and 1952. During his tenure as coach, Combes increased the Fighting Illini's offensive output by changing their style of play. Combes implemented Full-court press defense, causing turnovers at a high rate which translated into Fast break points.

In 1951, Combes signed the first black player to don an Illinois uniform, 3x All-State point guard Walt Moore of Mount Vernon. Along with teammate and future Illinois standout Max Hooper, Moore led the Rams to back-to-back state championship titles, culminating with a perfect 33–0 record in 1950.

During the 1957–58 season, Mannie Jackson and Govoner Vaughn were inserted into the starting lineup as the first two African-Americans to start and letter in basketball at Illinois. Combes also oversaw the Illini's move from Huff Hall to Assembly Hall in 1963 and during that same season the Illini won a fourth Big Ten Conference championship under Combes. However, the Illini lost to eventual national champion Loyola (Chicago) in the Elite Eight of the 1963 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. The following 1964–65 season, saw several upset victories over defending national champion UCLA Bruins and national powerhouse Kentucky Wildcats at Memorial Coliseum in Lexington, Kentucky.

Combes' tenure came to an end as a result of the University of Illinois slush fund scandal. As head coach of the basketball team, he was primarily responsible for the basketball fund, and thus held a key role in the scandal. Assistant basketball coach Howie Braun also lost his job due to the scandal.

1967–74: Harv Schmidt era Former Illini player Harv Schmidt was hired to fill the head coaching vacancy ten days after Combes' forced resignation. During his tenure, the Illini compiled an 89-77 overall record but went 43-55 in conference play. The team did not have any postseason appearances during his tenure.

1974–75: Gene Bartow year Gene Bartow would later sign a five-year contract to replace Schmidt in 1974, but he left after one season in which the Illini finished last place in the conference to replace John Wooden at UCLA.

1975–96: Lou Henson era In 1975, after having taken New Mexico State (and future Illinois assistant coach Jimmy Collins) to the 1970 Final Four, Lou Henson moved to the University of Illinois to replace Gene Bartow, after Bartow left Illinois to replace the legendary John Wooden at UCLA. Henson would lead the Fighting Illini back to their glory after having a number of difficult years following the Illinois slush fund scandal (where Illinois was hit with severe penalties for infractions that other Big 10 schools had in years prior been punished much more leniently (according to Sports Illustrated) at the time). In 21 years at Illinois, Henson garnered 423 wins and 224 losses (.654 winning percentage), and with a record of 214 wins and 164 losses (.567) in Big Ten Conference games. The 214 wins in Big Ten games were the third highest total ever at the time of his retirement. At Illinois, Henson coached many future NBA players, including Eddie Johnson, Derek Harper, Ken Norman, Nick Anderson, Kendall Gill, Kenny Battle, Marcus Liberty, Steve Bardo, and Kiwane Garris.

Early 1980s

In 1981, Illinois made strides in its return to the national spotlight with a 21–8 record, a third-place Big Ten finish and an invitation to the NCAA Tournament. The team received a first-round bye in the NCAA Tournament and beat Wyoming, 67–65, in Los Angeles to advance to the regionals in Salt Lake City, where Illinois lost to Kansas State, 57–52. During this season, the Fighting Illini led the Big Ten in scoring for the second consecutive season and were again led by Eddie Johnson and Mark Smith. Guards Craig Tucker and Derek Harper arrived to add backcourt punch, and Harper began his Illini career being named First-Team Freshman All-America by ESPN and ABC.

Flyin' Illini

The top-seeded and top-ranked 1989 Illini were upset 83–81 in the Final Four on a last second basket by Michigan's Sean Higgins, ending the school's deepest run in the tournament at that time. Illinois had beaten the Wolverines by 12 and 16 points in two previous meetings that season. The 1988–89 Illinois Fighting Illini team gained the moniker "Flyin' Illini" by Dick Vitale during an ESPN broadcast that season. The team also gained national prominence for its athletic players, such as NCAA slam dunk champions Kenny Battle and Kendall Gill, as well as Lowell Hamilton, Nick Anderson, Marcus Liberty, and Stephen Bardo.

1990s The early 1990s Illini were dominated by players such as guards Andy Kauffman, Richard Keene, and Kiwane Garris, as well as centers Shelly Clark and Deon Thomas. Thomas was at the center of a report of misconduct by Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball assistant coach Bruce Pearl, who alleged that Thomas had been offered cash to attend Illinois. The Illini were suspended from postseason play for one season for unrelated violations uncovered during the investigation.

1996–2000: Lon Kruger years