# 1954–55 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team

The 1954–55 Illinois Fighting Illini men’s basketball team represented the University of Illinois.

## Regular season

Head coach Harry Combes, in his eighth year at Illinois, directed a youthful team with only three returning seniors, none of which were regular players. Combes' team, once again, was primarily made of sophomores and juniors recruited from the state of Illinois.
The 1954-55 team had some talented juniors including the return of twin brothers, Paul and Phil Judson from Hebron, Illinois, Bruce Brothers and Bill Ridley. It also added sophomores George Bon Salle, Bill Altenberger, Hiles Stout, and future Illini head coach, Harv Schmidt. Exactly like the previous season, the Illini finished with a conference record of 10 wins and 4 losses, finishing in a 2nd place tie in the Big Ten. The Illini lost 5 total games with three of the five losses coming at the hands of ranked opponents. The starting lineup included George Bon Salle at the center position, Bill Ridley and Bill Altenberger at guard and Bruce Brothers and Paul Judson at the forward slots.

### Roster
## Schedule

Source
| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-Conference regular season ||||||
| 12/2/1954* no, no | | Butler | W 88–34 | 1-0 | Huff Hall (4,566) Champaign, IL |
| 12/4/1954* no, no | | Missouri Rivalry | W 77–69 | 2-0 | Huff Hall (4,766) Champaign, IL |
| 12/11/1954* no, no | No. 14 | at No. 11 Oklahoma A&M | W 59–53 | 3-0 | Gallagher Hall (8,200) Stillwater, OK |
| 12/15/1954* no, no | No. 3 | Miami (OH) | W 97–72 | 4-0 | Huff Hall (4,898) Champaign, IL |
| 12/18/1954* no, no | No. 3 | No. 20 Notre Dame | W 66–57 | 5-0 | Huff Hall (6,804) Champaign, IL |
| 12/21/1954* no, no | No. 3 | at Rice | W 86–53 | 6-0 | Tudor Fieldhouse (3,300) Houston, TX |
| 12/22/1954* no, no | No. 3 | at Loyola (New Orleans) | L 66–72 | 6-1 | The Den (-) New Orleans, LA |
| Big Ten regular season ||||||
| 1/1/1955 no, no | No. 6 | Wisconsin | L 64–79 | 6-2 (0-1) | Huff Hall (6,912) Champaign, IL |
| 1/8/1955 no, no | No. 12 | Indiana Rivalry | L 64–67 | 7-2 (1-1) | Huff Hall (6,912) Champaign, IL |
| 1/10/1955 no, no | No. 12 | at Purdue | W 83–73 | 8-2 (2-1) | Lambert Fieldhouse (9,700) West Lafayette, IN |
| 1/15/1955 no, no | No. 7 | at Ohio State | W 86–78 | 9-2 (3-1) | Ohio Expo Center Coliseum (6,154) Columbus, OH |
| 1/17/1955 no, no | No. 7 | at No. 19 Iowa Rivalry | L 80–92 | 9-3 (3-2) | Iowa Field House (15,000) Iowa City, IA |
| 1/29/1955* no, no | No. 10 | at Loyola (Chicago) | W 95–69 | 10-3 | Chicago Stadium (12,181) Chicago, IL |
| 2/5/1955 no, no | No. 10 | Northwestern Rivalry | W 104–89 | 11-3 (4-2) | Huff Hall (5,844) Champaign, IL |
| 2/7/1955 no, no | No. 10 | at Michigan | W 81–80 | 12-3 (5-2) | Yost Field House (6,913) Ann Arbor, MI |
| 2/12/1955 no, no | No. 10 | at No. 12 Minnesota | L 71–78 $^{OT}$ | 12-4 (5-3) | Williams Arena (11,879) Minneapolis, MN |
| 2/14/1955 no, no | No. 10 | Michigan State | W 90–72 | 13-4 (6-3) | Huff Hall (6,912) Champaign, IL |
| 2/19/1955 no, no | No. 14 | at Wisconsin | W 99–71 | 14-4 (7-3) | Wisconsin Field House (12,100) Madison, WI |
| 2/21/1955 no, no | No. 14 | No. 15 Iowa Rivalry | L 70–89 | 14-5 (7-4) | Huff Hall (6,912) Champaign, IL |
| 2/26/1955 no, no | No. 13 | Ohio State | W 85–77 | 15-5 (8-4) | Huff Hall (5,829) Champaign, IL |
| 2/28/1955 no, no | No. 13 | Michigan | W 81–75 | 16-5 (9-4) | Huff Hall (4,366) Champaign, IL |
| 3/5/1955 no, no | No. 17 | at Northwestern Rivalry | W 81–69 | 17-5 (10-4) | McGaw Memorial Hall (9,765) 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 | Points |
| Paul Judson | 22 | 139 | 85 | 363 |
| Bill Ridley | 22 | 123 | 88 | 334 |
| George BonSalle | 20 | 98 | 67 | 263 |
| Bruce Brothers | 22 | 93 | 55 | 241 |
| Bill Altenberger | 22 | 91 | 25 | 207 |
| Hiles Stout | 16 | 40 | 44 | 124 |
| Harv Schmidt | 21 | 36 | 28 | 100 |
| Phil Judson | 22 | 35 | 22 | 92 |
| Jim Dutcher | 13 | 20 | 20 | 60 |
| Morris Sterneck | 12 | 4 | 1 | 9 |
| Elmer Plew | 12 | 3 | 3 | 9 |
| James Burks | 7 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| Dick Rapp | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| William Bosnak | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

## Awards and honors

* Paul Judson
** International News Service Honorable Mention All-American
** Converse Honorable Mention All-American
** Team Most Valuable Player
* Bill Ridley
** Associated Press Honorable Mention All-American
** Converse Honorable Mention All-American
* George Bon Salle
** Converse Honorable Mention All-American

## Team players drafted into the NBA

| Player | NBA Club | Round | Pick |
| No Player Drafted | | | |