1961–62 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team
The 1961–62 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team represented the University of Illinois.
1961–62 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball | |
---|---|
Conference | Big Ten Conference |
Ranking | |
Coaches | No. Not Ranked |
AP | No. Not Ranked |
Record | 15-8 (7-7 Big Ten) |
Head coach | |
Assistant coaches |
|
MVP | Dave Downey |
Captain | Jerry Colangelo |
Home arena | Huff Hall |
Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Team | W | L | PCT | W | L | PCT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 1 Ohio State | 13 | – | 1 | .929 | 26 | – | 2 | .929 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Wisconsin | 10 | – | 4 | .714 | 17 | – | 7 | .708 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Purdue | 9 | – | 5 | .643 | 17 | – | 7 | .708 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Illinois | 7 | – | 7 | .500 | 15 | – | 8 | .652 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Indiana | 7 | – | 7 | .500 | 13 | – | 11 | .542 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Iowa | 7 | – | 7 | .500 | 13 | – | 11 | .542 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Minnesota | 6 | – | 8 | .429 | 10 | – | 14 | .417 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Michigan | 5 | – | 9 | .357 | 7 | – | 17 | .292 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Michigan State | 3 | – | 11 | .214 | 8 | – | 14 | .364 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Northwestern | 3 | – | 11 | .214 | 8 | – | 15 | .348 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rankings from AP Poll[1] |
Regular season
The 1961-62 Fighting Illini basketball team bounced back from a miserable season the year prior. Head coach Harry Combes non-conference season was nearly perfect with an 8-1 record. The only blemish for the University of Illinois was a home loss to Cornell. The most unusual thing about this season was the fact that the Illini played three neutral court games in Chicago. This would also be the final full season that the Fighting Illini would play their home games at Huff Hall.
The 1961-62 team utilized several returning lettermen including the leading scorer and team "MVP" Dave Downey. It also saw the return of team captain Jerry Colangelo, juniors Bill Burwell, Bill Small, Bob Starnes as well as senior Doug Mills. The Illini also added sophomore John Love to their lineup. The Illini finished the season with a conference record of 7 wins and 7 losses, finishing in a 4th place tie in the Big Ten. They would finish with an overall record of 15 wins and 8 losses. The starting lineup included Bill Burwell at the center position, Bill Small and Jerry Colangelo at guard and Dave Downey and Bob Starnes at the forward slots.[2]
Roster
1961–62 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
Source[3]
Schedule
Source[4]
Date time, TV |
Rank# | Opponent# | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state[5] | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Non-Conference regular season | |||||||||||
12/1/1961* no, no |
No. NR | vs. Butler | W 82-72 | 1-0 |
Huff Hall (4,960) Champaign, IL | ||||||
12/9/1961* no, no |
No. NR | @ Oklahoma | W 72–60 | 2-0 |
McCasland Field House (3,000) Norman, OK | ||||||
12/12/1961* no, no |
No. NR | vs. Creighton | W 70-61 | 3-0 |
Huff Hall (6,017) Champaign, IL | ||||||
12/16/1961* 1:30 pm, no |
No. NR | vs. Iowa State | W 82-73 | 4-0 |
Huff Hall (6,437) Champaign, IL | ||||||
12/18/1961* no, no |
No. NR | vs. Xavier | W 81-69 | 5-0 |
Huff Hall (6,717) Champaign, IL | ||||||
12/23/1961* no, no |
No. NR | vs. Cornell | L 60-72 | 5-1 |
Huff Hall (5,258) Champaign, IL | ||||||
12/28/1961* no, no |
No. NR | vs. Manhattan | W 61-56 | 6-1 |
Chicago Stadium (3,000) Chicago, IL | ||||||
12/30/1961* no, no |
No. NR | vs. Colgate | W 88-50 | 7-1 |
Chicago Stadium (6,000) Chicago, IL | ||||||
Big Ten regular season | |||||||||||
1/6/1962 no, no |
No. NR | vs. Michigan | W 91-71 | 8-1 (1-0) |
Huff Hall (6,509) Champaign, IL | ||||||
1/8/1962 no, no |
No. NR | @ Purdue | L 89-96 | 8-2 (1-1) |
Lambert Fieldhouse (6,500) West Lafayette, IN | ||||||
1/13/1962 no, no |
No. NR | @ Michigan State | W 66-65 | 9-2 (2-1) |
Jenison Fieldhouse (7,068) East Lansing, MI | ||||||
1/27/1962* no, no |
No. NR | vs. Notre Dame | W 85-77 | 10-2 |
Chicago Stadium (12,224) Chicago, IL | ||||||
1/29/1962 no, no |
No. NR | vs. Wisconsin | L 81-85 | 10-3 (2-2) |
Huff Hall (6,740) Champaign, IL | ||||||
2/3/1962 no, no |
No. NR | vs. Indiana Rivalry |
W 96-85 | 11-3 (3-2) |
Huff Hall (6,557) Champaign, IL | ||||||
2/5/1962 no, no |
No. NR | vs. Minnesota | W 89-80 | 12-3 (4-2) |
Huff Hall (5,927) Champaign, IL | ||||||
2/10/1962 no, no |
No. NR | @ Iowa Rivalry |
W 91-81 | 13-3 (5-2) |
Iowa Field House (12,300) Iowa City, IA | ||||||
2/12/1962 no, no |
No. NR | vs. Northwestern | W 88-70 | 14-3 (6-2) |
Huff Hall (6,673) Champaign, IL | ||||||
2/17/1962 no, no |
No. NR | vs. Purdue | L 88-100 | 14-4 (6-3) |
Huff Hall (6,912) Champaign, IL | ||||||
2/19/1962 no, no |
No. NR | @ Wisconsin | L 101-103 | 14-5 (6-4) |
Wisconsin Field House (7,399) Madison, WI | ||||||
2/24/1962 no, no |
No. NR | @ Ohio State (#1) | L 79-102 | 14-6 (6-5) |
St. John Arena (13,497) Columbus, OH | ||||||
3/3/1962 no, no |
No. NR | vs. Iowa Rivalry |
L 78-88 | 14-7 (6-6) |
Huff Hall (6,669) Champaign, IL | ||||||
3/5/1962 no, no |
No. NR | @ Indiana Rivalry |
L 92-104 | 14-8 (6-7) |
New Fieldhouse (5,000) Bloomington, IN | ||||||
3/10/1962 no, no |
No. NR | vs. Northwestern | W 73–68 | 15-8 (7-7) |
McGaw Memorial Hall (5,000) Evanston, 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 | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dave Downey | 22 | 174 | 97 | 269 | 445 |
Bill Burwell | 23 | 151 | 124 | 266 | 426 |
Bill Small | 23 | 133 | 70 | 90 | 336 |
Jerry Colangelo | 23 | 111 | 73 | 95 | 295 |
Bob Starnes | 23 | 81 | 58 | 147 | 220 |
Doug Mills | 15 | 25 | 9 | 18 | 59 |
John Love | 22 | 18 | 15 | 86 | 51 |
Jay Lovelace | 13 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 14 |
Jerry Curless | 10 | 6 | 2 | 8 | 14 |
Bill Edwards | 14 | 5 | 1 | 9 | 11 |
Jerry Renner | 5 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 10 |
Sam Leeper | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
Jeff Ferguson | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
Awards and honors
- Dave Downey
- Converse Honorable Mention All-American
- Team Most Valuable Player [7]
- Bill Burwell
Rankings
References
- "1961-62 Big Ten Conference Season Summary". Sports Reference.
- Fighting Illini Basketball: A Hardwood History By News-Gazette, Sports Publishing LLC ISBN 1-58261-356-7
- Men's Basketball Roster
- University of Illinois Fighting Illini Statistics Summary for 1961-62, FightingIllini.com
- Schedule
- "Season Stats". Archived from the original on March 10, 2014. Retrieved March 10, 2014.
- "List of MVPs" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on October 30, 2014. Retrieved February 8, 2013.
- 1962 NBA Draft Archived 2013-02-03 at the Wayback Machine