1999–2000 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team

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

1999–2000 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball
NCAA tournament, second round
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Ranking
AP	No. 21
Record	22–10 (11–5 Big Ten)
Head coach	Lon Kruger
Assistant coaches	Robert McCullum Rob Judson Steve Henson
MVP	Cory Bradford
Captain	Victor Chukwudebe
Home arena	Assembly Hall
Seasons ← 1998–99 2000–01 →

1999–2000 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 2 Michigan State†	13	–	3		.813			32	–	7		.821
No. 25 Purdue	12	–	4		.750			24	–	10		.706
No. 21 Illinois	11	–	5		.688			22	–	10		.688
No. 22 Indiana	10	–	6		.625			20	–	9		.690
Wisconsin	8	–	8		.500			22	–	14		.611
Iowa	6	–	10		.375			14	–	16		.467
Michigan	6	–	10		.375			15	–	14		.517
Penn State	5	–	11		.313			19	–	16		.543
Minnesota	4	–	12		.250			12	–	16		.429
Northwestern	0	–	16		.000			5	–	25		.167
No. 8 Ohio State*	5	–	1		.833			11	–	3		.786
† 2000 Big Ten tournament winner Rankings from AP poll *Ohio State: 14 reg. season games; 2 NCAA Tourn. games vacated due to sanctions against the program Disputed record: Ohio State (23–7) (13–3)

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.^[1] 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

1999–2000 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown F 00 Victor Chukwudebe (C) 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Sr Lanphier High School Springfield, Illinois G 3 Gareth Breunlin   6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) RS Fr Lyons Township High School La Grange, Illinois G 5 Nate Mast 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 160 lb (73 kg) Jr Champaign Central High School Champaign, Illinois G 12 Joe Cross 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Jr Carbondale Community High School Carbondale, Illinois G 13 Cory Bradford 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 200 lb (91 kg) RS So Raleigh Egypt High School Memphis, Tennessee F/C 21 Robert Archibald 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 230 lb (104 kg) So Lafayette High School Ballwin, Missouri F 22 Lucas Johnson 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) So Maine West High School Des Plaines, Illinois G 24 Sean Harrington 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr Elgin High School Bartlett, Illinois G 25 Jerrance Howard   6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) RS Fr Peoria High School Peoria, Illinois G 30 Frank Williams 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 200 lb (91 kg) RS Fr Manual High School Peoria, Illinois F 32 Cleotis Brown 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Sr Russell County High School Pittsview, Alabama F 33 Damir Krupalija 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) So Rockford Boylan High School Rockford, Illinois F 34 Brian Cook 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Fr Lincoln Community High School Lincoln, Illinois F 40 Sergio McClain (C) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Jr Manual High School Peoria, Illinois F 42 Clayton Thomas (W) 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Fr Larkin High School Elgin, Illinois F 52 Marcus Griffin 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Jr Manual High School/Lincoln College Peoria, Illinois	Head coach Lon Kruger (Kansas State) (4th year) Assistant coach(es) Rob Judson (University of Illinois) (4th year) Robert McCullum (Seminole State) (4th year) Steve Henson (Kansas State) (3rd year) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on   Injured   Current redshirt All-Time Illini Rosters Roster

Source^[2]

Schedule

Source^[3]

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Non-Conference regular season
11/19/1999* no, ESPN+	No. 17	vs. Western Illinois	W 76–53	1–0	Assembly Hall (14,421) Champaign, IL
11/22/1999* no, MVCN	No. 15	@ Bradley	W 72–62	2–0	Carver Arena (11,430) Peoria, IL
11/30/1999* no, ESPN	No. 16	vs. #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	No. NR	vs. Texas-Pan American	W 98–61	4–2	Assembly Hall (11,705) Champaign, IL
12/11/1999* no, ESPN2	No. 22	vs. Kansas State	W 81–48	5–2	Assembly Hall (14,022) Champaign, IL
12/18/1999* no, ESPN	No. 20	vs. #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	vs. Bethune-Cookman	W 97–47	7–3	Assembly Hall (12,070) Champaign, IL
12/30/1999* no, no	No. 20	vs. Loyola (Chicago)	W 107–71	8–3	Assembly Hall (12,462) Champaign, IL
Big Ten regular season
1/6/2000 no, ESPN	No. 19	vs. #13 Ohio State	W 80–77	9–3 (1–0)	Assembly Hall (13,756) Champaign, IL
1/8/2000 no, Raycom	No. 19	@ Wisconsin	L 59–63	9–4 (1–1)	Kohl Center (17,142) Madison, WI
1/12/2000 no, ESPN2	No. 22	vs. Purdue	L 66–69	9–5 (1–2)	Assembly Hall (15,473) Champaign, IL
1/16/2000 no, CBS	No. 22	@ Michigan	L 91–95 ^ot	9–6 (1–3)	Crisler Arena (11,367) Ann Arbor, MI
1/22/2000 no, ESPN+	No. NR	vs. Penn State	W 87–76	10–6 (2–3)	Assembly Hall (16,038) Champaign, IL
1/26/2000 no, ESPN+	No. NR	@ Iowa Rivalry	W 69–58	11–6 (3–3)	Carver–Hawkeye Arena (15,500) Iowa City, IA
1/30/2000 no, CBS	No. NR	@ #9 Michigan State	L 66–91	11–7 (3–4)	Breslin Student Events Center (14,659) East Lansing, MI
2/2/2000 no, ESPN+	No. NR	vs. Minnesota	W 73–59	12–7 (4–4)	Assembly Hall (12,977) Champaign, IL
2/6/2000 no, ESPN+	No. NR	@ Penn State	W 51–50	13–7 (5–4)	Bryce Jordan Center (13,001) University Park, PA
2/9/2000 no, no	No. NR	vs. Michigan	W 75–59	14–7 (6–4)	Assembly Hall (15,539) Champaign, IL
2/12/2000 no, IowaSports	No. NR	vs. Iowa Rivalry	W 78–50	15–7 (7–4)	Assembly Hall (16,450) Champaign, IL
2/17/2000 no, ESPN	No. NR	@ Minnesota	W 89–80	16–7 (8–4)	Williams Arena (13,795) Minneapolis, MN
2/19/2000 no, ESPN+	No. NR	@ Northwestern	W 63–30	17–7 (9–4)	Welsh-Ryan Arena (8,117) Evanston, IL
2/22/2000 no, ESPN	No. NR	vs. #16 Indiana Rivalry	W 87–63	18–7 (10–4)	Assembly Hall (16,450) Champaign, IL
2/27/2000 4:00 pm, CBS	No. NR	@ #6 Ohio State	L 51–64	18–8 (10–5)	Value City Arena (19,100) Columbus, OH
3/4/2000 no, ESPN+	No. 25	vs. Northwestern	W 73–44	19–8 (11–5)	Assembly Hall (16,450) Champaign, IL
Big Ten tournament
3/10/2000* no, ESPN2	No. 21	vs. #13 Indiana Quarterfinals	W 72–69	20–8	United Center (21,141) Chicago, IL
3/11/2000* 2:30 pm, CBS	No. 21	vs. Penn State Semifinals	W 94–84	21–8	United Center (22,011) Chicago, IL
3/12/2000* 4:00 pm, CBS	No. 21	vs. #5 Michigan State Championship	L 61–76	21–9	United Center (19,663) Chicago, IL
NCAA tournament^[4]
3/17/2000* no, CBS	No. 21	vs. Penn first round	W 68–58	22–9	Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum (14,252) Winston-Salem, NC
3/19/2000* no, CBS	No. 21	vs. 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^[5]	32	60	96	82	80	63	1	31	490
Frank Williams^[6]	32	83	42	70	135	20	41	16	366
Marcus Griffin^[7]	27	110	0	70	135	20	41	16	290
Brian Cook^[8]	32	100	12	51	143	24	28	22	287
Cleotis Brown^[9]	32	60	21	40	113	33	4	24	223
Sergio McClain^[10]	29	67	4	51	109	71	5	53	197
Lucas Johnson^[11]	32	21	29	67	106	62	7	25	196
Damir Krupalija^[12]	27	38	5	16	112	28	6	20	107
Robert Archibald^[13]	30	35	0	31	97	15	7	12	101
Sean Harrington^[14]	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

^[15]

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 ^[16]

Rankings

Main article: 1999–2000 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings

References

1. NCAA Division I record book pg. 5
2. FightingIllini.com
3. University of Illinois Fighting Illini Statistics Summary for 1999-2000 2014-02-22 at the Wayback Machine, FightingIllini.com
4. 2000 Tournament
5. (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 8, 2011. Retrieved March 18, 2011.
6. (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 8, 2011. Retrieved March 18, 2011.
7. (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 8, 2011. Retrieved March 18, 2011.
8. (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 8, 2011. Retrieved March 18, 2011.
9. (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 8, 2011. Retrieved March 18, 2011.
10. (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 8, 2011. Retrieved March 18, 2011.
11. (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 8, 2011. Retrieved March 18, 2011.
12. (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 8, 2011. Retrieved March 18, 2011.
13. (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 8, 2011. Retrieved March 18, 2011.
14. (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 8, 2011. Retrieved March 18, 2011.
15. 2000 NCAA Tournament
16. (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on October 30, 2014. Retrieved January 15, 2013.