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Illinois Postgame Notes

Illinois 93, Kennesaw State 45
State Farm Center, Champaign, Ill. // Dec. 27, 2014 // Attendance: 16,158 (sellout) 


1. Illinois won its 36th straight non-conference game at State Farm Center, and extended its home-court winning streak in regular-season non-conference games to 47 in a row. The 36-game winning streak at State Farm Center against non-conference opponents ranks third nationally.

2. UI led wire-to-wire for the third time this season, as it also did so against Indiana State (11/27/14) and Hampton (12/17/14).

3. The Illini blew the game open with a 25-0 scoring run over a span of 6:21 in the first half, which turned a 24-15 lead into a 49-15 blowout late in the first half. Illinois went on to lead 54-18 at the break, the biggest halftime margin of the season, surpassing the 35-point halftime bulge against Coppin State.

4. Illinois held Kennesaw State to 24.6% from the field, the lowest field goal percentage for an Illini opponent this season. The Illini shot 55.4% from the field, their highest percentage since shooting 59.7% against Austin Peay (11/21/14). It was the third time this season the Illini shot over 50 percent from the field.

5. Rayvonte Rice stayed hot after making the game-winning buzzer beater in the last Illini game. Rice hit all seven of his field goal attempts, including two three-pointers, and hit 5-of-6 from the line to finish with a game-high 21 points. He has now scored double-figures in all 28 of his non-conference games as an Illini.

6. Aaron Cosby finished with 13 points, his first game in double figures since Indiana State. Cosby was the top scorer off the bench as the Illini subs finished with 35 points, the most since the bench poured in 44 points against Austin Peay.

7. Malcolm Hill went for 16 points and nine rebounds, narrowly missing his first career double-double. Hill's nine rebounds matched his career high set against Coppin State (11/16/14).

8. The Illini had a season-high 44 points in the paint, eclipsing their previous mark of 38 points against Coppin State and Brown (11/24/14), outscoring the Owls by 30 points in the paint.

9. Illinois turned 16 Kennesaw State turnovers into 23 points, its highest total since converting 19 turnovers by American (12/6/14) into 26 points. For the game, the Illini had a 23-6 edge in points off turnovers.

10. It was officially a sellout crowd at the State Farm Center with 16,158 in attendance and several sections unavailable due to ongoing renovations.