This Day In Illini Basketball History: March 17

Illinois’ history on March 17 includes Henson’s last NCAA tournament game with the Illini, Lon Kruger’s last NCAA tournament win at Illinois and the first round game of the 2005 NCAA run.

The Illinois men’s basketball has a rich history of playing on March 17 that includes some of the memorable postseason moments of its program.

Due to the concerns over the COVID-19 novel coronavirus epidemic, the NCAA released a statement Thursday afternoon announcing an unprecedented decision of canceling the 2020 NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments. Therefore, Illini Now/Sports Illustrated will be detailing the Illini’s history on specific dates in March.

Illinois has played nine games on March 17 in its program history going back to the 1980 National Invitational Tournament, which was Lou Henson’s first postseason with the Illini and 2015 NIT first round under then-head coach John Groce. In the middle is Henson’s last NCAA tournament game with the Illini, Lon Kruger’s last NCAA tournament win at Illinois and the first round game of the Illini’s 2005 NCAA run.

Here are the following games Illinois has played on March 17:

1980 - NIT Semifinal - Minnesota 65, Illinois 63

In the first postseason run by Illini head coach Lou Henson, Illinois lost in the rubber match after these Big Ten Conference foes split the home games in the regular season. After Illinois defeated Loyola-Chicago, Illinois State and Murray State on its road to Madison Square Garden, Mark Smith and Eddie Johnson combined for 30 points in the loss to a Gophers team that featured future NBA Hall of Fame selection Kevin McHale, who had a double-double in this game (12 points and 11 rebounds) but 7-foot-3 freshman center Randy Breuer led all scorers with 24 points and nine rebounds off the bench. Breuer would eventually be drafted in the 1st round of the 1983 NBA Draft by the Milwaukee Bucks..

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1983 - NCAA West Regional 1st Round - No. 10 Utah 52, No. 7 Illinois 49

In Derek Harper’s last game in an Illini jersey, Illinois lost a first round matchup in Boise, Idaho to Utah. Harper, Anthony Welch and Efrem Winters had 11 points each but Peter Williams and Manuel Hendrix led the Utes with 14 points each.

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1985 - NCAA East Regional 2nd Round - No. 3 Illinois 74, No. 6 Georgia 58

In the first year the NCAA tournament expanded to 64 teams, Illinois got into the second weekend of play thanks to defeating the home state Bulldogs in The Omni in Atlanta. The Illini jumped out to a 15-point halftime lead and were led by 19 from Efrem Winters, 16 points from Doug Altenberger and 15 points from Ken Norman.

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1995 - NCAA East Regional 1st Round - No. 6 Tulsa 68, No. 11 Illinois 62

This loss would turn out to be the final NCAA tournament game for the Illini with Lou Henson on the sideline. Illinois was one of the final at-large bids in the tournament and ran off a 34-27 halftime lead. Kiwane Garris led the Illini with 24 points in 36 minutes but Tubby Smith’s Golden Hurricane mounted a comeback thanks to Shea Seals’ 22 points along with 14 points from both Ray Poindexter and Pooh Williamson. Illinois was just 3 of 15 from 3-point range but got a double-double from center Shelly Clark (13 points and 12 rebounds).

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Lon Kruger yells from the bench during the second half as his Oklahoma team faces West Virginia Mountaineers at WVU Coliseum :: Ben Queen/USA TODAY Sports

2000 - NCAA East Regional 1st Round - No. 4 Illinois 68, No. 13 Pennsylvania 58

In the last NCAA tournament win for the Illini with Lon Kruger on the sidelines, the Peoria duo of Frank Williams (21 points) and Marcus Griffin (17 points) for 38 points in a NCAA first round game at Lawrence Joel Coliseum in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Griffin got a double-double by adding 10 rebounds off the bench. The Ivy League champion was led by 17 points from Ugonna Onyekwe but was just 8 of 28 from 3-point range.

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Frank Williams, a former Big Ten Conference Player of the Year selection, led Illinois to multiple NCAA Tournament victories / ESPN The Magazine file photo

2002 - Midwest Regional 2nd Round - No. 4 Illinois 72, No. 12 Creighton 60

In front of a very partisan crowd at the United Center in Chicago, Bill Self’s Illini team had four players in double figures as they made it to the second weekend in Madison, Wisconsin. A young Kyle Korver led Creighton to a team-high 14 points but had only six field goal attempts. Illinois was 10 of 21 from 3-point range and Frank Williams had all of his game-high 20 points in the second half.

"I know the first half I didn't play that well, and Coach kind of jumped me in the locker room," Williams said after the win. "But my teammates kept telling me, 'Pick it up, you know what to do out there. You're the best player on the floor.' And the second half I came out more aggressive."

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2005 - NCAA Chicago Regional 1st Round - No. 1 Illinois 67, No. 16 Fairleigh Dickinson 55

The Illini began its journey to the National Championship Game with a 12-point first round win as the top seed in the RCA Dome in Indianapolis. Luther Head added 13 points for Illinois, while James Augustine grabbed 15 rebounds to go with 11 points. FDU won the overall rebounding battle 42-30. The Illini responded from a very lackluster first half by scoring 22 of the first 30 second-half points to take a 52-39 lead with 7:51 to go.

"In the second half, we were much more active, we were on our toes, we were aggressive and we rebounded, too," Illini coach Bruce Weber said after the win. "We went into transition and that was probably the difference in the game."

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2010 - NIT 1st Round - Illinois 76, Stony Brook 66

After getting the top seed in the NIT, a scheduling quirk forced Illinois on the road. Cirque du Soleil had been previously booked for Assembly Hall and therefore, Stony Brook received the chance to host the first postseason game in its 11-year Division I tenure. Demetri McCamey came very close to a triple-double with 16 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds to lead the Illini to a tight win.

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2015 - NIT 1st Round - Alabama 79, Illinois 58

Illinois lost by 21 points to an Alabama team that had fired head coach Anthony Grant, the same man that led Dayton to a 29-2 record this past season, as the Illini found themselves down 46-22 at Coleman Coliseum at halftime. Malcolm Hill had a team-high 22 points and six assists off the Illini bench in Rayvonte Rice’s final game in an Illinois jersey. Alabama was 8 of 15 from 3-point range. This would be last postseason game John Groce would coach the Illini.

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