The 1965–66 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team represented the University of Illinois.

Regular season Harry Combes entered his 19th season as the head coach of the Fighting Illini. The program was heading in a positive direction with six up-and-coming sophomores joining a varsity team that already included five juniors and five seniors. This balance was demonstrated within the starting lineup which included a rotation of two sophomores, two juniors and two seniors. The starters included, Don Freeman and Rich Jones as forwards, Preston Pearson and Bob Brown as guards, and Ron Dunlap at center.

It was during this season that Freeman would mark his place in Illini history by setting a record for most points in a season (668), while averaging 27.8 points per game. When he finished at Illinois, he had totaled 1449 points and averaged 20.1 points and 10.3 rebounds per game over his three varsity seasons. This offensive output led to Freeman being named a 1st-team All-American by the Helms Foundation, a 2nd-team All-American by Converse and Basketball News, and honorable mention with UPI,

Roster

Schedule

SourceUniversity of Illinois Fighting Illini Statistics Summary for 1965-66 , FightingIllini.com

!colspan=12 style="background:#DF4E38; color:white;"| Non-Conference regular season

!colspan=9 style="background:#DF4E38; color:#FFFFFF;"|Big Ten regular season

Player stats Player Games played Field goals Free throws Rebounds PointsDon FreemanSeason Stats 24258152285668Rich JonesSeason Stats 2420696265508Jim DawsonSeason Stats 2416342100368Deon FlessnerSeason Stats 244838127134Bob BrownSeason Stats 15442442112Preston PearsonSeason Stats 22383068106Ron DunlapSeason Stats 23283210988Bob JohansenSeason Stats 2027113765Larry HintonSeason Stats 201271331Benny LouisSeason Stats 15441212Jerry MettileSeason Stats 62226Mike Graville 10000

Awards and honors Don Freeman Team Most Valuable Player 1st team All-American (Helms) 2nd team All-American (Converse) 2nd team All-American (Basketball News) Honorable Mention All-American (UPI) Rich Jones Honorable Mention All-American (Converse)

Team players drafted into the NBA Player NBA club Round PickDon FreemanPhiladelphia 76ers39

Rankings

References