# 1998–99 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team

The 1998–99 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team represented the University of Illinois.

## Regular season

The Illini closed out the 1998-99 season with an amazing run at the Big Ten tournament title. After entering the tournament as the 11th-seeded team, Illinois reeled off three straight victories over Top 25-ranked teams before losing in the championship game to second-ranked Michigan State. Illini freshman Cory Bradford was the Big Ten's Freshman of the Year and was also selected to the All-Tournament team.

### Roster
## Schedule

Source
| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-Conference regular season ||||||
| 11/10/1998* no, no | | vs. Wake Forest Coaches Cancer Classic | L 73-75 $^{ot}$ | 0-1 | Madison Square Garden (13,239) New York, NY |
| 11/11/1998* no, no | | vs. Georgetown Coaches Cancer Classic | W 65-50 | 1-1 | Madison Square Garden (12,589) New York, NY |
| 11/17/1998* no, no | | George Washington | L 58-64 | 1-2 | Assembly Hall (10,683) Champaign, IL |
| 11/20/1998* no, no | | St. Louis | W 70-65 | 2-2 | Assembly Hall (12,586) Champaign, IL |
| 11/23/1998* no, no | | Tennessee-Martin | W 71-35 | 3-2 | Assembly Hall (10,496) Champaign, IL |
| 11/28/1998* no, no | | at Texas-Pan American | W 71-56 | 4-2 | UTPA Fieldhouse (2,463) Edinburg, TX |
| 11/30/1998* no, no | | Valparaiso | W 53-49 | 5-2 | Assembly Hall (10,842) Champaign, IL |
| 12/5/1998* no, no | | vs. Bradley | W 53-48 | 6-2 | United Center (11,084) Chicago, IL |
| 12/12/1998* no, no | | Eastern Illinois | W 70-67 | 7-2 | Assembly Hall (12,273) Champaign, IL |
| 12/19/1998* no, no | | vs. No. 13 Kansas | L 55-65 | 7-3 | Kemper Arena (13,728) Kansas City, MO |
| 12/22/1998* no, no | | vs. No. 15 Missouri Braggin' Rights | L 62-67 | 7-4 | Scottrade Center (22,471) St. Louis, MO |
| 12/29/1998* no, no | | vs. No. 14 Clemson | W 67-50 | 8-4 | Bi-Lo Center (14,687) Greenville, SC |
| Big Ten regular season ||||||
| 1/3/1999 no, no | | at No. 8 Indiana Rivalry | L 53-62 | 8-5 (0-1) | Assembly Hall (7,249) Bloomington, IN |
| 1/7/1999 no, no | | at No. 17 Iowa Rivalry | L 62-84 | 8-6 (0-2) | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (14,301) Iowa City, IA |
| 1/9/1999 no, no | | Northwestern Rivalry | L 46-59 | 8-7 (0-3) | Assembly Hall (12,255) Champaign, IL |
| 1/13/1999 no, no | | at No. 13 Purdue | L 54-63 | 8-8 (0-4) | Mackey Arena (14,123) West Lafayette, IN |
| 1/16/1999 no, no | | No. 14 Michigan State | L 49-51 | 8-9 (0-5) | Assembly Hall (15,428) Champaign, IL |
| 1/20/1999 no, no | | at No. 15 Wisconsin | L 53-75 | 8-10 (0-6) | Kohl Center (16,112) Madison, WI |
| 1/23/1999 no, no | | Penn State | L 61-65 | 8-11 (0-7) | Assembly Hall (12,552) Champaign, IL |
| 1/28/1999 no, no | | at Michigan | W 61-59 | 9-11 (1-7) | Crisler Arena (10,784) Ann Arbor, MI |
| 1/30/1999 no, no | | No. 15 Ohio State | L 61-64 | 9-12 (1-8) | Assembly Hall (13,756) Champaign, IL |
| 2/3/1999 no, no | | at No. 18 Minnesota | L 63-75 | 9-13 (1-9) | Williams Arena (14,792) Minneapolis, MN |
| 2/6/1999 no, no | | No. 11 Wisconsin | W 53-51 | 10-13 (2-9) | Assembly Hall (14,062) Champaign, IL |
| 2/11/1999 no, no | | at No. 5 Michigan State | L 44-61 | 10-14 (2-10) | Breslin Student Events Center (14,659) East Lansing, MI |
| 2/13/1999 no, no | | No. 21 Purdue | L 56-63 | 10-15 (2-11) | Assembly Hall (15,473) Champaign, IL |
| 2/17/1999 no, no | | at Northwestern Rivalry | W 69-63 | 11-15 (3-11) | Welsh-Ryan Arena (7,314) Evanston, IL |
| 2/21/1999 no, no | | No. 20 Iowa Rivalry | L 72-78 | 11-16 (3-12) | Assembly Hall (16,450) Champaign, IL |
| 2/24/1999 no, no | | No. 20 Indiana Rivalry | L 64-70 $^{ot}$ | 11-17 (3-13) | Assembly Hall (16,450) Champaign, IL |
| Big Ten tournament ||||||
| 3/4/1999* no, no | (11) | vs. (6) No. 23 Minnesota Opening Round | W 67-64 | 12-17 | United Center (18,641) Chicago, IL |
| 3/5/1999* no, no | (11) | vs. (3) No. 17 Indiana Quarterfinals | W 82-66 | 13-17 | United Center (20,297) Chicago, IL |
| 3/6/1999* no, no | (11) | vs. (2) No. 11 Ohio State Semifinals | W 79-77 | 14-17 | United Center (20,695) Chicago, IL |
| 3/7/1999* no, no | (11) | vs. (1) No. 2 Michigan State Championship | L 50-67 | 14-18 | United Center (19,581) Chicago, IL |
| *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 | 89 | 85 | 61 | 84 | 62 | 1 | 25 | 494 |
| Cleotis Brown | 32 | 87 | 20 | 61 | 152 | 44 | 13 | 52 | 295 |
| Sergio McClain | 31 | 92 | 6 | 65 | 106 | 81 | 3 | 71 | 267 |
| Fess Hawkins | 32 | 77 | 0 | 47 | 162 | 19 | 36 | 24 | 201 |
| Victor Chukwudebe | 32 | 78 | 0 | 22 | 158 | 16 | 20 | 22 | 178 |
| Lucas Johnson | 31 | 22 | 15 | 46 | 96 | 45 | 4 | 12 | 135 |
| Damir Krupalija | 24 | 29 | 6 | 34 | 132 | 25 | 13 | 15 | 110 |
| Robert Archibald | 32 | 32 | 0 | 31 | 100 | 26 | 10 | 10 | 95 |
| Arias Davis | 25 | 11 | 18 | 6 | 20 | 10 | 2 | 9 | 82 |
| Nate Mast | 31 | 9 | 11 | 14 | 17 | 36 | 0 | 14 | 65 |
| Rich Beyers | 11 | 13 | 4 | 15 | 20 | 10 | 5 | 7 | 43 |
| Carvell Ammons | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |

## Awards and honors

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