1943–44 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team one player from the 1942-43 season, Gordon Horton, who wasn't even a starter, which meant the entire lineup was made up of rookie/unproven players. The starting lineup consisted of Walton Kirk, Howard Judson, Ray DeMoulin, Bob Morton, Don Delaney and Gordon Gillespie. !colspan=12 style="background:#DF4E38; color:white;"| Non-Conference regular season !colspan=9 style="background:#DF4E38; color:#FFFFFF;"|Big Ten regular season 1943–44 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team The 1943–44 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team represented the University of Illinois. March 1, 1943, changed the future of Fighting Illini men's basketball when the team was broken up due to all five starters from back-to-back Big Ten
1957–58 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team 1957–58 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team The 1957–58 Illinois Fighting Illini men’s basketball team represented the University of Illinois. Starting his second decade as the head coach of the University of Illinois' Fighting Illini basketball team, Harry Combes and his assistant coach and top recruiter, Howie Braun, were beginning to lose some of the top recruits from the state of Illinois. Talented players, such as Tom Hawkins, Charlie Brown, McKinley "Deacon" Davis, Nolden Gentry, John Tidwell and Charles ""Chico"" Vaughn were lured away to play for other programs during the late 1950s, a trend that would continue for Combes