1948–49 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team

The 1948–49 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team represented the University of Illinois.

Regular season
The 1948-49 squad, led by Dike Eddleman, Bill Erickson, and Walter Osterkorn, was Illinois’ first 20-game winner since 1908, finishing 21-4. Illinois beat Yale, 71-67, to advance to a national semifinal showdown with Kentucky at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The Illini fell to the Wildcats, 76-47, forcing Illinois to defeat Oregon State, 57-53, in Seattle for third place.

Schedule
Source

!colspan=12 style="background:#DF4E38; color:white;"| Non-Conference regular season

!colspan=9 style="background:#DF4E38; color:#FFFFFF;"| Big Ten regular season

!colspan=9 style="text-align: center; background:#DF4E38"| NCAA tournament



NCAA basketball tournament

 * Eastern
 * Illinois 71, Yale 67
 * Final Four
 * Kentucky 76, Illinois 47
 * Third-place game
 * Illinois 57, Oregon State 53

Awards and honors

 * Dwight Eddleman
 * Converse 1st team All-American (1949)
 * Associated Press 2nd team All-American (1949)
 * United Press International 2nd team All-American (1949)
 * Chicago Tribune Silver Basketball award (1949)
 * Big Ten Player of the Year (1949)
 * Fighting Illini All-Century team (2005)
 * Team Most Valuable Player
 * Bill Erickson
 * Consensus 2nd team All-American (1949)
 * Helms 1st team All-American (1949)
 * Collier's Weekly 1st team All-American (1949)
 * National Association of Basketball Coaches 1st team All-American (1949)
 * United Press International 3rd team All-American (1949)
 * Sporting News 3rd team All-American (1949)
 * Converse Honorable Mention All-American (1949)