Illinois fires Bruce Weber
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Illinois' incredible collapse has apparently cost Bruce Weber his job.
A Friday news conference has been scheduled by Illinois athletic director Mike Thomas to discuss the men's basketball program and the News-Gazette of Champaign has reported that Weber has been fired.
The Fighting Illini suffered their 12th loss in 14 games after dropping a 64-61 decision to Iowa in the Big Ten quarterfinals on Thursday. Illinois was 15-3 in mid-January and entered the rankings after an upset of Ohio State, but it was mostly downhill from there.
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Thursday's loss left Illinois at 17-15 and hoping for an invitation to the NIT or one of the other lower-tier postseason tournaments.
Weber was in his ninth season with the Illini and finished his tenure with a record of 210-101, a pair of Big Ten regular-season championships and one Big Ten Tournament crown. He also took the program to within a game of an NCAA championship, as Illinois lost to North Carolina in the title game of 2005 NCAA Tournament.
Only once did Illinois finish below .500 under Weber. The 2007-08 squad at 16-19, but the Illini rebounded with a trio of 20-win seasons and two NCAA Tournament berths. However, the Illini have had just two NCAA tourney wins since the run to the championship game seven years ago.
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This year's team was on track to easily surpass the 20-win plateau after the big win over Ohio State, but three straight losses by a combined 11 points followed.
After a one-point win over Michigan State left the Illini with a 5-4 record in the Big Ten to conclude January, a six-game losing streak ensued. The low point was an 80-57 drubbing at the hands of Nebraska. Illinois finished 6-12 in the conference, including just 1-8 on the road.
Weber was a long-time assistant under Gene Keady, first at Western Kentucky in 1979-80 and at Purdue for the following 18 seasons. He was given his first head coaching position at Southern Illinois in 1998 and guided the Salukis to a record of 103-54 with a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances in five seasons before taking over for Bill Self at Illinois for the 2003-04 campaign.
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In 14 seasons as a head coach, Weber owns a record of 313-155.
According to the News-Gazette, Weber is owed $3.9 million as a buyout from a contract extension that was slated to run through the 2014-15 season.