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, Bill Erickson, and Walter Osterkorn, was Illinois’ first 20-game winner since 1908, finishing 21-4. Illinois beat Yale, 71-67, to advance to a national semifinal showdown with Kentucky at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The Illini fell to the Wildcats, 76-47, forcing Illinois to defeat Oregon State, 57-53, in Seattle for third place.
Roster
Schedule
SourceUniversity of Illinois Fighting Illini Statistics Summary for 1948-49 , FightingIllini.com
!colspan=12 style="background:#DF4E38; color:white;"| Non-Conference regular season
!colspan=9 style="background:#DF4E38; color:#FFFFFF;"|Big Ten regular season
!colspan=9 style="text-align: center; background:#DF4E38"|NCAA tournament
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 Player Games played Field goals Free throws PointsDwight Eddleman 2513069329Wally Osterkorn 259081261Bill Erickson 259179261Fred Green256524154Don Sunderlage 255739153Jim Marks 205327133Walt Kersulis 204323109Burdette Thurlby 17362193Van Anderson2332872Dick Foley 24241159Ted Beach1413834Roy Gatewood99422Richard Brogren 64311Glen Trugillo10226Benton Odum 3133Jim Cottrell 5113Bill Boyer 2000
Awards and honors Dwight Eddleman 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 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 Round Pick Player NBA club 3 N/ADike EddlemanChicago Stags
Rankings
References