1955–56 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team

The 1955–56 Illinois Fighting Illini men’s basketball team represented the University of Illinois.

Regular season
Harry Combes, for the ninth consecutive year at Illinois, directed a team that would finish no worse than third place in the Big Ten. His 164 wins and 44 losses overall with a 94 and 30 record in the conference gave Combes three "Final Four" finishes as well as three conference championships. Combes' team, recruited by assistant coach Howie Braun, was exclusively recruited from the state of Illinois.

The 1955-56 team had talented lettermen return including the leading scorers George Bon Salle and team "captain" Paul Judson. It also saw the return of Bruce Brothers, Bill Ridley, Bill Altenberger, Hiles Stout, and future Illini head coach, Harv Schmidt. The team also added future NBA all-star Don Ohl as a sophomore. The Illini finished the season with a conference record of 11 wins and 3 losses, finishing in 2nd place in the Big Ten. Unfortunately the Illini would lose four total games with two of the four coming in the final three days of the season. The Illini's final Associated Press ranking placed them at "#7", however; they maintained a "#2" national ranking for the final month of the regular season. The starting lineup included George Bon Salle at the center position, Bill Ridley and Paul Judson at guard and Harv Schmidt, Bruce Brothers and Don Ohl at the forward slots.

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

 * Paul Judson
 * Converse 2nd Team All-American
 * National Association of Basketball Coaches 3rd Team All-American
 * United Press International 3rd Team All-American
 * Newspaper Enterprises Association 3rd Team All-American
 * International News Service Honorable Mention All-American
 * Bill Ridley
 * Converse 2nd Team All-American
 * National Association of Basketball Coaches 3rd Team All-American
 * United Press International 3rd Team All-American
 * Newspaper Enterprises Association 3rd Team All-American
 * Bruce Brothers
 * Converse Honorable Mention All-American
 * Team Most Valuable Player
 * Harv Schmidt
 * Converse Honorable Mention All-American