1907–08 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team American college basketball season
1907–08 Western Conference men's basketball standings
Conf
Overall
Team
W
L
PCT
W
L
PCT
Chicago
7
–
1
.875
23
–
2
.920
Wisconsin
7
–
1
.875
10
–
2
.833
Illinois
6
–
5
.545
20
–
6
.769
Minnesota
2
–
6
.250
12
–
7
.632
Purdue
0
–
8
.000
5
–
9
.357
Iowa
-
–
-
–
10
–
6
.625
Indiana
-
–
-
–
9
–
6
.600
Northwestern
-
–
-
–
2
–
7
.222
The 1907–08 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team represented the University of Illinois .
Regular season
The 1907–08 season saw the third coach in three years take the reins at the University of Illinois. Fletcher Lane was Illinois’ third coach, but lasted just one season. Even though he led his team to a 20–6 record, the university, as well as the athletes, deemed Lane's coaching style as subpar.[ 1] Lane's team benefited from a long Southern trip in which the team beat several YMCA and club teams from Tennessee , Texas , Alabama , and Georgia . The starting lineup consisted of forwards Albert Penn and H. J. Popperfuss , center Avery Brundage , and guards Thomas E. Thompson and captain M. G. Dadant .[ 2]
Roster
"1907-08 Fighting Illini team"
1907–08 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team
Players
Coaches
Pos.
#
Name
Height
Weight
Year
Hometown
F
Charles Stewart
—
—
Sr
New York, New York
G
Edward Ryan
—
—
Sr
Chicago, Illinois
F
Henry Popperfuss
—
—
So
Tomah, Wisconsin
F
Maurice Dadant (C)
—
—
Sr
Hamilton, Illinois
G
Avery Brundage
—
—
Jr
Chicago, Illinois
G
Thomas E. Thompson
—
—
So
Williams Bay, Wisconsin
G
Roy Rennacker
—
—
So
Winnetka, Illinois
G
Carl Watson
—
—
Fr
DeKalb, Illinois
F
Albert Penn
—
—
Jr
Syracuse, New York
G
Strother Ambrose Briggs
—
—
Fr
Minier, Illinois
G
Benjamin Albert Horn
—
—
So
Chicago, Illinois
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on
Roster
Schedule
Source[ 3]
Date time, TV
Opponent
Result
Record
Site city, state
Non-Conference regular season
12/19/1907 *no, no
at Decatur YMCA
W 33-28
1-0
Decatur YMCA Decatur, IL
12/20/1907 *no, no
at WashingtonU
W 36–25
2-0
Francis Gymnasium St. Louis, MO
12/21/1907 *no, no
at Cairo Athletic Club
W 92–14
3-0
Cairo Athletic Club Cairo, IL
12/23/1907 *no, no
at Memphis YMCA
W 56–8
4-0
Memphis YMCA Memphis, TN
12/25/1907 *no, no
at Ft. Worth YMCA
W 41–25
5-0
Ft. Worth YMCA Ft. Worth, TX
12/25/1907 *no, no
at Ft. Worth YMCA
W 32–20
6-0
Ft. Worth YMCA Ft. Worth, TX
12/26/1907 *no, no
at Waco YMCA
W 58–20
7-0
Waco YMCA Waco, TX
12/27/1907 *no, no
at Temple YMCA
W 36–17
8-0
Temple YMCA Temple, TX
12/28/1907 *no, no
at Galveston YMCA
W 41–21
9-0
Galveston YMCA Galveston, TX
12/30/1907 *no, no
at Beaumont YMCA
W 34–17
10-0
Beaumont YMCA Beaumont, TX
1/1/1908 *no, no
at Mobile YMCA
W 22–21
11-0
Mobile YMCA Mobile, AL
1/2/1908 *no, no
at Columbus YMCA
W 31-30
12-0
Columbus YMCA Columbus, GA
1/2/1908 *no, no
at Montgomery YMCA
L 21–31
12-1
Montgomery YMCA Montgomery, AL
1/3/1908 *no, no
at Birmingham Athletic Club
W 46–24
13-1
Birmingham Athletic Club Birmingham, AL
1/4/1908 *no, no
at Rose Polytechnic Institute
W 35–26
14-1
Terre Haute High School Terre Haute, IN
Big Ten regular season
1/11/1908 no, no
at Purdue
W 24–23
15-1 (1-0)
Lafayette Colliseum West Lafayette, IN
1/18/1908 no, no
Wisconsin
L 20–28
15-2 (1-1)
Kenney Gym Urbana, IL
1/25/1908 no, no
Indiana Rivalry
W 39–12
16-2 (2-1)
Kenney Gym Urbana, IL
2/8/1908 no, no
University of Chicago
L 21–35
16-3 (2-2)
Kenney Gym Urbana, IL
2/14/1908 no, no
at Iowa Rivalry
L 36–46
16-4 (2-3)
Iowa Armory Iowa City, IA
2/15/1908 no, no
at Minnesota
W 16–15
17-4 (3-3)
University of Minnesota Armory Minneapolis, MN
2/29/1908 no, no
Purdue
W 38–15
18-4 (4-3)
Kenney Gym Urbana, IL
3/6/1908 no, no
at University of Chicago
L 17–42
18-5 (4-4)
Bartlett Gymnasium Chicago, IL
3/7/1908 no, no
at Northwestern Rivalry
W 18–13
19-5 (5-4)
Patten Gymnasium Evanston, IL
3/9/1908 no, no
at Wisconsin
L 14–27
19-6 (5-5)
University of Wisconsin Armory and Gymnasium Madison, WI
3/12/1908 no, no
Minnesota
W 22–20
20-6 (6-5)
Kenney Gym Urbana, IL
*Non-conference game.
# Rankings from
AP Poll . (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in
Central Time .
Awards and honors
First 20 win season for the Fighting Illini men's basketball program.
References
Venues Rivalries Culture & lore People Seasons Helms and Premo-Porretta national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics