1952–53 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team



The 1952–53 Illinois Fighting Illini men’s basketball team represented the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign.

Regular season
Under the leadership of Harry Combes and coming off consecutive third-place finishes in the NCAA Tournament, the Fighting Illini men's basketball program had become one of the most powerful in the nation. The 1952-53 team returned one of the most dominant players in the NCAA, Johnny Kerr. It also returned United Press honorable mention all-American guards Irv Bemoras and Jim Bredar.

Unfortunately the Illini would lose 4 conference games during the Big Ten season which would give them a second-place finish. Three of the four losses came at the hands of ranked opponents. The starting lineup included captain Jim Bredar and Irving Bemoras at guard, Clive Follmer and Max Hooper at the forward slot with Robert Peterson and, future hall of famer Johnny "Red" Kerr at the center position. The team also included former University of Minnesota head coach Jim Dutcher.

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

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



Awards and honors

 * Irv Bemoras
 * Converse 2nd team All-American
 * Look Magazine 2nd team All-American
 * Helms 2nd team All-American
 * Associated Press Honorable Mention All-American
 * Team Most Valuable Player
 * Jim Bredar
 * International News Service 2nd team All-American
 * Converse 2nd team All-American
 * Look Magazine 2nd team All-American
 * Helms 2nd team All-American
 * Associated Press 3rd team All-American
 * Johnny Kerr
 * Associated Press Honorable Mention All-American
 * International News Service Honorable Mention All-American
 * Converse Honorable Mention All-American
 * Clive Follmer
 * Big Ten Medal of Honor