# 1958–59 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team

The 1958–59 Illinois Fighting Illini men’s basketball team represented the University of Illinois.

## Regular season

University of Illinois' head coach, Harry Combes and his Fighting Illini basketball team once again led the Big Ten in wins for a decade with a 165-64 record in the 1950s. The Illini’s winning percentage, .721, ranked 11th nationally. Additionally, the Associated Press began its basketball poll in 1949 with United Press International adding its poll in 1951 and from 1951-56 the Illini finished the season ranked in the Top 20 nationally every year. Illinois’ highest final ranking in the 1950s was second in both polls in 1952.
The 1958-59 team utilized several returning lettermen including the leading scorer, team "captain" and team "MVP" Roger Taylor. It also saw the return of Mannie Jackson, Govoner Vaughn, Bruce Bunkenberg, Al Gosnell, Lou Landt and Ed Perry. The Illini finished the season with a conference record of 7 wins and 7 losses, finishing tied for 5th place in the Big Ten. They would finish with an overall record of 12 wins and 10 losses. During the season, the Illini would play Kentucky, the No. 1 ranked team in the nation, at a Freedom Hall in Louisville. The outcome of this game would be a 75-76 loss. The starting lineup included John Wessels at the center position, Roger Taylor and Mannie Jackson at guard and Govoner Vaughn, Ed Perry and Al Gosnell at the forward slots.

### Roster
## Schedule

Source
| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-Conference regular season ||||||
| 12/1/1958* no, no | | Butler | W 103–79 | 1-0 | Huff Hall (6,057) Champaign, IL |
| 12/6/1958* no, no | | at Marquette | L 53–69 | 1-1 | Marquette Gymnasium (9,280) Milwaukee, WI |
| 12/13/1958* no, no | | College of Pacific | W 85–67 | 2-1 | Huff Hall (6,257) Champaign, IL |
| 12/15/1958* no, no | | Iowa State | W 68–46 | 3-1 | Huff Hall (6,328) Champaign, IL |
| 12/20/1958* no, no | | New York University | W 83–78 | 4-1 | Huff Hall (3,401) Champaign, IL |
| 12/23/1958* no, no | | Stanford | W 71–62 | 5-1 | Huff Hall (3,203) Champaign, IL |
| 12/30/1958* no, no | | vs. No. 1 Kentucky | L 75–76 | 5-2 | Freedom Hall (18,274) Louisville, KY |
| Big Ten regular season ||||||
| 1/3/1959 no, no | | Ohio State | W 81–80 | 6-2 (1-0) | Huff Hall (3,454) Champaign, IL |
| 1/5/1959 no, no | | at Wisconsin | W 77–51 | 7-2 (2-0) | Wisconsin Field House (3,618) Madison, WI |
| 1/10/1959 no, no | No. 20 | No. 5 Michigan State | L 96–97 | 7-3 (2-1) | Huff Hall (6,649) Champaign, IL |
| 1/12/1959 no, no | No. 20 | Iowa Rivalry | W 103–97 | 8-3 (3-1) | Huff Hall (6,887) Champaign, IL |
| 1/24/1959* no, no | | vs. Notre Dame | L 75–85 | 8-4 | Chicago Stadium (-) Chicago, IL |
| 1/26/1959 no, no | | at Minnesota | L 70–81 | 8-5 (3-2) | Williams Arena (7,965) Minneapolis, MN |
| 1/31/1959 no, no | No. 18 | at Purdue | L 81–102 | 8-6 (3-3) | Lambert Fieldhouse (10,000) West Lafayette, IN |
| 2/2/1959 no, no | No. 18 | Michigan | L 85–87 | 8-7 (3-4) | Huff Hall (6,901) Champaign, IL |
| 2/7/1959 no, no | | at Northwestern Rivalry | L 79–88 | 8-8 (3-5) | McGaw Memorial Hall (9,045) Evanston, IL |
| 2/9/1959 no, no | | at Indiana Rivalry | W 89–83 | 9-8 (4-5) | The Fieldhouse (9,500) Bloomington, IN |
| 2/16/1959 no, no | | Wisconsin | W 93–54 | 10-8 (5-5) | Huff Hall (6,067) Champaign, IL |
| 2/21/1959 no, no | | No. 19 Indiana Rivalry | W 100–98 | 11-8 (6-5) | Huff Hall (6,712) Champaign, IL |
| 2/28/1959 no, no | | at Iowa Rivalry | W 72–70 | 12-8 (7-5) | Iowa Field House (15,125) Iowa City, IA |
| 3/2/1959 no, no | | at Michigan | L 95-101 | 12-9 (6-7) | Yost Field House (4,500) Ann Arbor, MI |
| 3/7/1959 no, no | | Northwestern Rivalry | L 81–84 | 12-10 (7-7) | Huff Hall (6,376) Champaign, 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 |
| Roger Taylor | 21 | 158 | 60 | 68 | 376 |
| John Wessels | 22 | 126 | 75 | 205 | 327 |
| Mannie Jackson | 22 | 137 | 25 | 89 | 299 |
| Govoner Vaughn | 21 | 110 | 43 | 170 | 263 |
| Al Gosnell | 22 | 59 | 49 | 108 | 167 |
| Ed Perry | 22 | 46 | 22 | 93 | 114 |
| Vern Altemeyer | 21 | 34 | 25 | 80 | 93 |
| Lou Landt | 19 | 36 | 11 | 34 | 83 |
| Bruce Bunkenburg | 13 | 17 | 12 | 41 | 46 |
| Lee Frandsen | 15 | 12 | 2 | 14 | 26 |
| John Easterbrook | 12 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 13 |
| Tom Adams | 6 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| Jim Dorris | 5 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 4 |
| Bob Schmidt | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Bill Mohlenbrock | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| John Homeier | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |

## Awards and honors

* Roger Taylor
** Converse Honorable Mention All-American
** Team Most Valuable Player

## Team players drafted into the NBA

| Player | NBA Club | Round | Pick |
| Roger Taylor | Syracuse Nationals | 5 | 5 |