# 1978–79 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team

The 1978–79 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team represented the University of Illinois.

## Regular season

In 1978-79 season, Illinois finished seventh in the Big Ten, but went 19-11 overall, including ascension to No. 2 in the national polls after starting the year 15-0. During this season, Illinois upset top-ranked Michigan State and Magic Johnson, 57-55, in one of the school’s most memorable games. It was during this season that Illinois also led the nation in field-goal percentage defense (.404).

### Roster
## Schedule

Source
| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-Conference regular season ||||||
| 11/24/1978* no, no | | Texas-Arlington | W 109-74 | 1-0 | Assembly Hall (9,097) Champaign, IL |
| 11/28/1978* no, no | | Denver | W 81-57 | 2-0 | Assembly Hall (10,092) Champaign, IL |
| 12/2/1978* no, no | | at Tulane | W 65-60 | 3-0 | Devlin Fieldhouse (3,542) New Orleans, LA |
| 12/5/1978* no, no | | at Missouri Show-Me Classic | W 69-57 | 4-0 | Hearnes Center (6,002) Columbia, MO |
| 12/8/1978* no, no | | South Carolina | W 64-57 | 5-0 | Assembly Hall (12,156) Champaign, IL |
| 12/9/1978* no, no | | Centenary | W 86-60 | 6-0 | Assembly Hall (10,082) Champaign, IL |
| 12/16/1978* no, no | No. 18 | at Kent State | W 82-44 | 7-0 | Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center (1,020) Kent, OH |
| 12/22/1978* no, no | No. 15 | vs. No. 8 Syracuse Kentucky Invitational Tournament | W 64-61 | 8-0 | Rupp Arena (21,000) Lexington, KY |
| 12/23/1978* no, no | No. 15 | vs. No. 7 Texas A&M Kentucky Invitational Tournament | W 71-57 | 9-0 | Rupp Arena (23,272) Lexington, KY |
| 12/28/1978* no, no | No. 6 | vs. Western Michigan Glacier Bowl Classic | W 84-79 | 10-0 | Buckner Fieldhouse (-) Anchorage, AK |
| 12/29/1978* no, no | No. 6 | vs. Ozarks Glacier Bowl Classic | W 88-82 | 11-0 | Buckner Fieldhouse (-) Anchorage, AK |
| 12/30/1978* no, no | No. 6 | at Alaska-Anchorage Glacier Bowl Classic | W 92-80 | 12-0 | Buckner Fieldhouse (-) Anchorage, AK |
| Big Ten regular season ||||||
| 1/4/1979 no, no | No. 4 | at Indiana Rivalry | W 65-61 | 13-0 (1-0) | Assembly Hall (16,104) Bloomington, IN |
| 1/6/1979 no, no | No. 4 | at Northwestern Rivalry | W 75-56 | 14-0 (2-0) | McGaw Memorial Hall (7,122) Evanston, IL |
| 1/11/1979 no, no | No. 4 | No. 1 Michigan State | W 57-55 | 15-0 (3-0) | Assembly Hall (16,209) Champaign, IL |
| 1/13/1979 no, no | No. 4 | Ohio State | L 66-69 $^{OT}$ | 15-1 (3-1) | Assembly Hall (12,088) Champaign, IL |
| 1/18/1979 no, no | No. 4 | at Wisconsin | W 81-74 | 16-1 (4-1) | Wisconsin Field House (12,204) Madison, WI |
| 1/20/1979 no, no | No. 4 | Purdue | L 57-69 | 16-2 (4-2) | Assembly Hall (16,458) Champaign, IL |
| 1/25/1979 no, no | No. 8 | at Iowa Rivalry | L 52-58 | 16-3 (4-3) | Iowa Field House (13,355) Iowa City, IA |
| 1/27/1979 no, no | No. 8 | Michigan | L 54-56 | 16-4 (4-4) | Assembly Hall (16,473) Champaign, IL |
| 2/1/1979 no, no | No. 14 | Minnesota | W 67-57 | 17-4 (5-4) | Assembly Hall (14,383) Champaign, IL |
| 2/3/1979 no, no | No. 14 | at Michigan | L 65-74 | 17-5 (5-5) | Crisler Center (13,609) Ann Arbor, MI |
| 2/8/1979 no, no | No. 20 | at Purdue | L 65-71 | 17-6 (5-6) | Mackey Arena (14,123) West Lafayette, IN |
| 2/10/1979 no, no | No. 20 | at Minnesota | W 59-57 | 18-6 (6-6) | Williams Arena (16,615) Minneapolis, MN |
| 2/15/1979 no, no | | Wisconsin | W 81-64 | 19-6 (7-6) | Assembly Hall (12,880) Champaign, IL |
| 2/17/1979 no, no | | No. 14 Iowa Rivalry | L 53-67 | 19-7 (7-7) | Assembly Hall (9,441) Champaign, IL |
| 2/22/1979 no, no | | at No. 14 Ohio State | L 55-73 | 19-8 (7-8) | St. John Arena (13,489) Columbus, OH |
| 2/24/1979 no, no | | at No. 7 Michigan State | L 62-76 | 19-9 (7-9) | Jenison Fieldhouse (10,004) East Lansing, MI |
| 3/1/1979 no, no | | Northwestern Rivalry | L 64-71 | 19-10 (7-10) | Assembly Hall (12,390) Champaign, IL |
| 3/3/1979 no, no | | Indiana Rivalry | L 60-72 | 19-11 (7-11) | Assembly Hall (16,503) Champaign, IL |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. ||||||

## Player stats

| Player | Games Played | Minutes Played | Field Goals | Free Throws | Rebounds | Assists | Blocks | Steals | Points |
| Mark Smith | 30 | 897 | 160 | 84 | 173 | 121 | 23 | 53 | 404 |
| Eddie Johnson | 30 | 786 | 168 | 26 | 170 | 52 | 4 | 18 | 362 |
| Rob Judson | 30 | 918 | 123 | 35 | 68 | 61 | 3 | 33 | 281 |
| Neil Bresnahan | 30 | 840 | 105 | 40 | 236 | 75 | 7 | 32 | 250 |
| James Griffin | 30 | 426 | 105 | 19 | 98 | 7 | 29 | 12 | 229 |
| Derek Holcomb | 29 | 818 | 90 | 34 | 190 | 49 | 86 | 17 | 214 |
| Levi Cobb | 30 | 504 | 68 | 24 | 122 | 29 | 4 | 19 | 160 |
| Steve Lanter | 27 | 473 | 35 | 16 | 38 | 52 | 1 | 15 | 72 |
| Perry Range | 24 | 180 | 21 | 14 | 25 | 12 | 0 | 8 | 56 |
| Bryan Leonard | 16 | 45 | 6 | 11 | 11 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 23 |
| Larry Lubin | 22 | 88 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 1 | 6 | 12 |
| Kevin Westervelt | 8 | 15 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
| Cletis Hubbard | 8 | 22 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| Matt Meyer | 6 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dave Schulter | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

## Awards and honors

* Eddie Johnson
** Fighting Illini All-Century team (2005)
* Mark Smith
** Team Most Valuable Player

## Team players drafted into the NBA

| Player | NBA Club | Round | Pick |