1980–81 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team

The 1980–81 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team represented the University of Illinois.

Regular season 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.

This season marked a change in location and name for the annual game with Missouri. The name was altered from the "Show-Me Classic" to the "Braggin' Rights" and took on a permanent location, St. Louis, with the St. Louis Arena as its original home. Prior to 1980, the location of the game alternated from Assembly Hall and the Hearnes Center. Since 1994, the game is played at the Scottrade Center.

Roster

Schedule

SourceUniversity of Illinois Fighting Illini Statistics Summary for 1980-81 , 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

Player stats Player Games played Minutes played Field goals Free throws Rebounds Assists Blocks Steals PointsEddie Johnson2910092196226770630500Mark Smith29914150102172981836402Craig Tucker29615117763958319310Perry Range298151016511570033267Derek Harper 299341043375156839241James Griffin 29519117763958318227Derek Holcomb 296357031148404214171Bryan Leonard2520026744128359Kevin Bontempts197812127171236Quinn Richardson226297970525Sherrod Arnold744461050114Mitch Arnold3271052002

Awards and honors Eddie Johnson Fighting Illini All-Century team (2005) Team Most Valuable Player Derek Harper Fighting Illini All-Century team (2005)

Team players drafted into the NBA Player NBA club Round Pick Eddie JohnsonKansas City Kings2 29 Derek HolcombPortland Trail Blazers3 50 Mark Smith Milwaukee Bucks3 67

Rankings

References