1913–14 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team

The 1913–14 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team represented the University of Illinois.

1913–14 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Record9–4 (7–3 Big Ten)
Head coach
  • Ralph Jones (2nd season)
CaptainEdward Williford
Home arenaKenney Gymnasium Arena
Seasons
1913–14 Western Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Wisconsin 12 0   1.000 15 0   1.000
Ohio State 5 1   .833 11 4   .733
Chicago 8 4   .667 19 9   .679
Illinois 7 3   .700 9 4   .692
Northwestern 5 5   .500 11 6   .647
Minnesota 4 8   .333 4 11   .267
Purdue 3 9   .250 5 9   .357
Iowa 1 5   .167 9 7   .563
Indiana 1 11   .083 2 12   .143

Regular season

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The 1913–14 University of Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team, under the direction of second year coach Ralph Jones, took a step in a positive direction regarding the team's status in the Western Conference. The addition of key players, including future National Player of the Year, Ray Woods, helped guide the Illini to an overall record of nine wins and four losses.[1] The conference record, however, of seven wins and three losses marked, to date, the highest league winning percentage in the history of the university. Unfortunately for the Illini, a scarlet fever scare caused the last two games of the year to be cancelled, including a game at Chicago and at Northwestern. The team finished fourth in the conference with a starting squad of Kircher, Williford, Bane, Crane & Duner would return the following season.[2]

Roster

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1913–14 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown
G Sven Duner
Jr Downers Grove, Illinois
F Helmuth Kircher
Jr Kalamazoo, Michigan
C Edward Williford (C)
Jr Binghamton, New York
G Ray Woods
Fr Oak Park, Illinois
G Ralf Woods
Fr Oak Park, Illinois
C Frank M. Bane
Jr Pontiac, Illinois
G Dudley Crane
So Columbus, Ohio
F Clyde Alwood
Fr Clinton, Illinois
F George Clark
So Lincoln, Nebraska
G Robert William Hoffman
Jr Detroit, Michigan
C Daniel Franklin Comstock
Jr Evanston, Illinois
F Walter Boynton Erwin
Jr Chicago, Illinois
F Milton Owen Jensen
Jr Kansas City, Missouri
F Sylvester Randall Derby
Jr Lemont, Illinois
Head coach
  • Ralph Jones (Indianapolis YMCA Training School) (2nd year)
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster

Schedule

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Source[3]

Date
time, TV
Opponent Result Record Site
city, state
Non-Conference regular season
12/18/1913*
no, no
Millikin W 19–10  1-0
Kenney Gym 
Urbana, IL
1/2/1914*
no, no
at Riverside High School W 46–17  2-0
Riverside High School 
LaGrange, IL
1/3/1914*
no, no
at Evanston YMCA L 20–24  2-1
Evanston YMCA 
Evanston, IL
Big Ten regular season
1/6/1914
no, no
Indiana
Rivalry
W 35–6  3-1
(1-0)
Kenney Gym 
Urbana, IL
1/10/1914
no, no
Wisconsin L 25–26  3-2
(1-1)
Kenney Gym 
Urbana, IL
1/17/1914
no, no
Purdue W 26–20  4-2
(2-1)
Kenney Gym 
Urbana, IL
1/20/1914
no, no
University of Chicago L 11–12  4-3
(2-2)
Kenney Gym 
Urbana, IL
1/23/1914
no, no
Minnesota W 18–16  5-3
(3-2)
Kenney Gym 
Urbana, IL
2/6/1914
no, no
at Purdue W 30–25  6-3
(4-2)
Memorial Gymnasium 
West Lafayette, IN
2/7/1914
no, no
at Indiana
Rivalry
W 31–15  7-3
(5-2)
Old Assembly Hall 
Bloomington, IN
2/14/1914
no, no
Northwestern
Rivalry
W 35–15  8-3
(6-2)
Kenney Gym 
Urbana, IL
2/20/1914
no, no
at Wisconsin L 16–29  8-4
(6-3)
University of Wisconsin Armory and Gymnasium 
Madison, WI
2/21/1914
no, no
at Minnesota W 26–11  9-4
(7-3)
University of Minnesota Armory 
Minneapolis, MN
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central Time.

Awards and honors

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Ray Woods was elected to the "Illini Men's Basketball All-Century Team" in 2004.

References

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  1. ^ A Century of Orange and Blue: Celebrating 100 Years of Fighting Illini Basketball By Loren Tate, Jared Gelfond pg.20 ISBN 1-58261-793-7
  2. ^ Fighting Illini Basketball: A Hardwood History By News-Gazette, Sports Publishing LLC ISBN 1-58261-356-7
  3. ^ University of Illinois Fighting Illini Statistics Summary for 1913-14 Archived 2015-02-10 at the Wayback Machine, FightingIllini.com