# 1999–2000 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team

The 1999–2000 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team represented the University of Illinois.

## Regular season

In 2000, for the third time in four seasons, Illinois advanced to the NCAA tournament, this time as a #4 seed. After defeating Penn in the opening round, the Illini season ended with a defeat to eventual national runner-up Florida. The Fighting Illini spent much of the season ranked in the Top 25, climbing as high as No. 15 in late December. An early three-game losing streak in Big Ten play put the Illini in a hole to start league play at 1-3. But, Illinois went on to win 10 of the last 12 league games before finishing second in the Big Ten tournament. During the February 19th game vs. Northwestern, the Illini would set an NCAA record fewest points allowed in the first half of a game by giving up only 6 points. Cory Bradford earned second-team All-Big Ten honors after leading Illinois in scoring and the Big Ten in three-point field goals. Forward Brian Cook was named Co-Freshman of the Year in the conference and earned All-Tournament honors with strong play in the Big Ten tournament.

### Roster
## Schedule

Source
| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-Conference regular season ||||||
| 11/19/1999* no, ESPN+ | No. 17 | Western Illinois | W 76–53 | 1–0 | Assembly Hall (14,421) Champaign, IL |
| 11/22/1999* no, MVCN | No. 15 | at Bradley | W 72–62 | 2–0 | Carver Arena (11,430) Peoria, IL |
| 11/30/1999* no, ESPN | No. 16 | vs. No. 17 Duke Big Ten-ACC Challenge | L 69–72 | 2–1 | United Center (20,143) Chicago, IL |
| 12/4/1999* no, MASN | No. 16 | vs. Maryland BB&T Classic Basketball Tournament | L 67–69 | 2–2 | Verizon Center (13,536) Washington, D.C. |
| 12/5/1999* no, no | No. 16 | vs. Seton Hall BB&T Classic Basketball Tournament | W 72–61 | 3–2 | Verizon Center (13,703) Washington, D.C. |
| 12/8/1999* no, no | | Texas-Pan American | W 98–61 | 4–2 | Assembly Hall (11,705) Champaign, IL |
| 12/11/1999* no, ESPN2 | No. 22 | Kansas State | W 81–48 | 5–2 | Assembly Hall (14,022) Champaign, IL |
| 12/18/1999* no, ESPN | No. 20 | vs. No. 8 Kansas | W 84–70 | 6–2 | United Center (16,714) Chicago, IL |
| 12/21/1999* no, ESPN+ | No. 15 | vs. Missouri Braggin' Rights | L 72–78 | 6–3 | Scottrade Center (22,484) St. Louis, MO |
| 12/28/1999* no, no | No. 20 | Bethune-Cookman | W 97–47 | 7–3 | Assembly Hall (12,070) Champaign, IL |
| 12/30/1999* no, no | No. 20 | Loyola (Chicago) | W 107–71 | 8–3 | Assembly Hall (12,462) Champaign, IL |
| Big Ten regular season ||||||
| 1/6/2000 no, ESPN | No. 19 | No. 13 Ohio State | W 80–77 | 9–3 (1–0) | Assembly Hall (13,756) Champaign, IL |
| 1/8/2000 no, Raycom | No. 19 | at Wisconsin | L 59–63 | 9–4 (1–1) | Kohl Center (17,142) Madison, WI |
| 1/12/2000 no, ESPN2 | No. 22 | Purdue | L 66–69 | 9–5 (1–2) | Assembly Hall (15,473) Champaign, IL |
| 1/16/2000 no, CBS | No. 22 | at Michigan | L 91–95 $^{ot}$ | 9–6 (1–3) | Crisler Arena (11,367) Ann Arbor, MI |
| 1/22/2000 no, ESPN+ | | Penn State | W 87–76 | 10–6 (2–3) | Assembly Hall (16,038) Champaign, IL |
| 1/26/2000 no, ESPN+ | | at Iowa Rivalry | W 69–58 | 11–6 (3–3) | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (15,500) Iowa City, IA |
| 1/30/2000 no, CBS | | at No. 9 Michigan State | L 66–91 | 11–7 (3–4) | Breslin Student Events Center (14,659) East Lansing, MI |
| 2/2/2000 no, ESPN+ | | Minnesota | W 73–59 | 12–7 (4–4) | Assembly Hall (12,977) Champaign, IL |
| 2/6/2000 no, ESPN+ | | at Penn State | W 51–50 | 13–7 (5–4) | Bryce Jordan Center (13,001) University Park, PA |
| 2/9/2000 no, no | | Michigan | W 75–59 | 14–7 (6–4) | Assembly Hall (15,539) Champaign, IL |
| 2/12/2000 no, IowaSports | | Iowa Rivalry | W 78–50 | 15–7 (7–4) | Assembly Hall (16,450) Champaign, IL |
| 2/17/2000 no, ESPN | | at Minnesota | W 89–80 | 16–7 (8–4) | Williams Arena (13,795) Minneapolis, MN |
| 2/19/2000 no, ESPN+ | | at Northwestern Rivalry | W 63–30 | 17–7 (9–4) | Welsh-Ryan Arena (8,117) Evanston, IL |
| 2/22/2000 no, ESPN | | No. 16 Indiana Rivalry | W 87–63 | 18–7 (10–4) | Assembly Hall (16,450) Champaign, IL |
| 2/27/2000 4:00 pm, CBS | | at No. 6 Ohio State | L 51–64 | 18–8 (10–5) | Value City Arena (19,100) Columbus, OH |
| 3/4/2000 no, ESPN+ | No. 25 | Northwestern Rivalry | W 73–44 | 19–8 (11–5) | Assembly Hall (16,450) Champaign, IL |
| Big Ten tournament ||||||
| 3/10/2000 no, ESPN2 | (4) No. 21 | vs. (5) No. 13 Indiana Quarterfinals | W 72–69 | 20–8 | United Center (21,141) Chicago, IL |
| 3/11/2000 2:30 pm, CBS | (4) No. 21 | vs. (9) Penn State Semifinals | W 94–84 | 21–8 | United Center (22,011) Chicago, IL |
| 3/12/2000 4:00 pm, CBS | (4) No. 21 | vs. (2) No. 5 Michigan State Championship | L 61–76 | 21–9 | United Center (19,663) Chicago, IL |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| 3/17/2000 no, CBS | (4E) No. 21 | vs. (13E) Penn First Round | W 68–58 | 22–9 | Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum (14,252) Winston-Salem, NC |
| 3/19/2000 no, CBS | (4E) No. 21 | vs. (5E) Florida Second Round | L 76–93 | 22–10 | Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum (14,252) Winston-Salem, NC |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. ||||||

## Player stats

| Player | Games Played | 2 pt. Field Goals | 3 pt. Field Goals | Free Throws | Rebounds | Assists | Blocks | Steals | Points |
| Cory Bradford | 32 | 60 | 96 | 82 | 80 | 63 | 1 | 31 | 490 |
| Frank Williams | 32 | 83 | 42 | 70 | 135 | 20 | 41 | 16 | 366 |
| Marcus Griffin | 27 | 110 | 0 | 70 | 135 | 20 | 41 | 16 | 290 |
| Brian Cook | 32 | 100 | 12 | 51 | 143 | 24 | 28 | 22 | 287 |
| Cleotis Brown | 32 | 60 | 21 | 40 | 113 | 33 | 4 | 24 | 223 |
| Sergio McClain | 29 | 67 | 4 | 51 | 109 | 71 | 5 | 53 | 197 |
| Lucas Johnson | 32 | 21 | 29 | 67 | 106 | 62 | 7 | 25 | 196 |
| Damir Krupalija | 27 | 38 | 5 | 16 | 112 | 28 | 6 | 20 | 107 |
| Robert Archibald | 30 | 35 | 0 | 31 | 97 | 15 | 7 | 12 | 101 |
| Sean Harrington | 30 | 6 | 20 | 20 | 15 | 29 | 1 | 9 | 92 |
| Victor Chukwedebe | 23 | 18 | 0 | 15 | 45 | 7 | 9 | 3 | 51 |
| Nate Mast | 21 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 8 | 16 | 1 | 6 | 15 |
| Joe Cross | 10 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 |

## NCAA basketball tournament

* East regional
** Illinois 68, Pennsylvania 58
** Florida 93, Illinois 76

## Awards and honors

* Frank Williams
** Fighting Illini All-Century team (2005)
* Brian Cook
** Big Ten Freshman of the Year
** Fighting Illini All-Century team (2005)
* Cory Bradford
** Team Most Valuable Player