Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball

Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball
2025–26 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team
UniversityUniversity of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
First season1905–06; 120 years ago
All-time record1927–1074 (.642)
Athletic directorJosh Whitman
Head coachBrad Underwood (9th season)
ConferenceBig Ten
LocationChampaign, Illinois
ArenaState Farm Center
(capacity: 15,544)
NicknameFighting Illini
Student sectionOrange Krush
ColorsOrange and blue
   
Uniforms
Home
Away
Alternate
NCAA tournament runner-up
2005
Other NCAA tournament results
Final Four1949, 1951, 1952, 1989, 2005
Elite Eight1942, 1949, 1951, 1952, 1963, 1984, 1989, 2001, 2005, 2024
Sweet Sixteen1951, 1952, 1963, 1981, 1984, 1985, 1989, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2024
Appearances1942, 1949, 1951, 1952, 1963, 1981, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025
Pre-tournament Premo-Porretta champions
1915
Pre-tournament Helms champions
1915, 1943
Conference tournament champions
2003, 2005, 2021, 2024
Conference regular-season champions
1915, 1917, 1924, 1935, 1937, 1942, 1943, 1949, 1951, 1952, 1963, 1984, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2022

The Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team is an NCAA Division I college basketball team competing in the Big Ten Conference, that represent the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Home games are played at the State Farm Center, located on the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign's campus in Champaign. Illinois has one pre-tournament national championship and one non-NCAA tournament national championship in 1915 and 1943, awarded by the Premo-Porretta Power Poll. Illinois has appeared in the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament 35 times, and has competed in 5 Final Fours, 10 Elite Eights, and has won 18 Big Ten regular season championships, and 4 Big Ten Tournament Championships.

The team is currently coached by Brad Underwood, who was hired on March 18, 2017. Through the end of the 2023–24 season, Illinois ranks 13th all-time in winning percentage and 13th all-time in wins among all NCAA Division I men's college basketball programs.