Feb. 23, 2001
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#3/4 Illinois (21-6, 11-3 Big Ten)
vs.
Iowa (18-8, 7-6)
Saturday, Feb. 24, 2001
4:01 p.m. CT (ESPN+Plus Regional)
Champaign, Ill.
Assembly Hall (16,450)
Illinois Basketball Notes
Series History
Illinois leads the all-time series by a 66-63 margin, including a 51-14
advantage in games played at Champaign. Illinois has won 12 of the
last 13 meetings at the Assembly Hall. The Hawkeyes knocked off the
Illini, 78-62, at Iowa City on Jan. 11 behind 27 points by Luke
Recker and 16 points by Dean Oliver. Frank Williams led the Illini
with 22 points.
Senior Day
Illinois will honor six seniors
associated with the Fighting Illini basketball
progame Feb. 24 prior to the Iowa
game. Basketball managers in the final
home game for the Illini are Eric Flores
(Broadview, Ill.) and Senior Manager
Robbie Wostratzky (Darien, Ill.). The four
players to be recognized are Joe Cross, Nate
Mast, Marcus Griffin and Sergio McClain.
Senior Day Success
Since 1980, Illinois is 16-5 on Senior Day, including a
perfect 3-0 against Iowa. Other appearances
by the Hawkeyes on Illini Senior Day were
118-94 (1989), 118-85 (1990) and 79-72
(1998) victories by the Illini.
Judson Shot Gave Illini Win
On Feb.
18, 1978, Illini freshman Rob Judson
drilled a 22-foot jump shot with eight seconds
remaining to give the Illini a 77-76
victory over Iowa at the Assembly Hall. The
current Illini assistant coach finished the
game with 10 points in 30 minutes of playing
time.
High Ranking
Illinois' current No. 3
ranking in the AP poll is its highest since
being ranked No. 3 at the end of the 1989
regular season. Illinois earned a No. 1 seed
in the NCAA Tournament that year and
advanced to the Final Four.
Sweet Sweep in Indiana
Illinois' road
victories over Purdue and Indiana marked
the first time the Illini won at both West
Lafayette and Bloomington since 1956.
Illini Milestone
Illinois became the
18th Div. I program to reach 1,400 all-time
victories with the Feb. 17 win at Indiana.
Quick BigTen Start
Illinois' 11-3 start
in Big Ten play is its best since 1984 when
the Illini went on to finish 15-3 and tie for
the Big Ten title with Purdue.
20th 20-win Season
Illinois' victory
over Wisconsin on Feb. 13 marked the 20th
win of the season, and the 20th 20-win season
in Illini basketball history. It also marks
the second-earliest 20th win in school history
(by calendar date). The earliest was Feb.
11, 1989 when the Illini defeated
Northwestern. That team went on to win a
school-record 31 games.
Rejection Notice
After blocking a total
of 37 shots (3.1 avg.) over the first 12 games
of the season, the Fighting Illini have totaled
83 (5.5 avg.) in the last 15 games. Illinois'
season average of 4.4 blocks is the team's
highest average since the school record aver-age
of 4.7 was set in the 1986-87 season.
Blocked shots were not kept as an official
statistic until 1977.
In Big Ten play, Brian Cook (3rd, 1.71
avg.), Marcus Griffin (4th, 1.54) and
Robert Archibald (9th, 1.23) all rank in the
Top 10 in the league in blocked shots.
Comeback Kids
Illinois overcame a 13-
point second-half deficit to defeat
Wisconsin 68-67 Feb. 13 in Champaign.
Earlier this season, the Illini set a school
record by coming from 21 points down to
defeat Seton Hall.
High-Scoring
Illinois is averaging 77.6
points per game, the highest Illini scoring
average since 1994 when Illinois averaged
84.0 points per game. In Big Ten games, the
Illini are third in the league in scoring with
an average of 74.9 points.
Very Offensive
In Big Ten play, the
Illini lead the league in three-point field goal
shooting (.403), rank second in scoring
margin (+10.9) and rank third in both scoring
(74.9 ppg) and field-goal shooting
(.465). Illinois also ranks second in the
league in assists (15.00) and third in offensive
rebounds (12.57) and three-point field
goals made (7.00 avg.).
Self Defense
After 27 games, opponents are
shooting just 38.7 percent from the field. That is
the lowest opponent shooting percentage since the
1955-56 season when Illini opponents shot 35.2
percent from the field. In games played through
Feb. 19, Illinois ranked third in the nation in field-goal
percentage defense behind Holy Cross and
North Carolina.
In league play, the Illini are second in the Big
Ten in field-goal percentage defense (.393) while
ranking second in blocked shots (5.21), third in
steals (7.29) and third in scoring defense (64.0).
Defending Home Court
In Illinois' 11
homes games at the Assembly Hall this season,
opponents are shooting a combined
34.8 percent (220-633 FG) from the field
and 28.7 percent (67-233 3FG) from three-point
range.
Home Court Streakin'
Illinois enters
the Feb. 24 game against Iowa with a 17
game winning streak at the Assembly Hall,
the longest home winning streak by the
Illini since winning 28 straight from Feb.
11, 1988 to Jan. 15, 1990. Against the
Hawkeyes, Illinois will attempt to complete
an unbeaten home season for the first time
since the 1988-89 season (17-0). The current
17-game winning streak ranks ninth
nationally.
Board Work
Illinois' average of 39.9
rebounds per game is the team's highest
average since 1979 when the Illini averaged
41.3 rebounds per game. Illinois' rebounding
margin (6.6) ranks 16th in the nation.
Streak Breakin'
Illinois has snapped
several losing streaks this season with victories
over Missouri (had lost three straight),
Michigan State (five) and Purdue (nine).
Schedule Change
CBS has chosen to broadcast the
Illinois at Minnesota game on Sunday,
March 4. Game time is 3 p.m. This is a
change from the original date of March 3.
Last Time Out at Ohio State
Ohio State used a three-pointer by
Sean Connolly with less than a minute
remaining defeat the Illini 63-61 at
Columbus Thursday night. Frank Williams
once again led the Illini with 22 points, five
assists and four steals, but his three-point
attempt at the buzzer fell short to hand
Illinois its third league loss of the season.
Ken Johnson scored 16 points and grabbed
seven rebounds on senior night for the
Buckeyes. Brian Brown led the Bucks with
18 points, while Brent Darby came off the
bench to score 14.
Williams Big Ten P-O-W Honors
For the second time this season, sophomore
guard Frank Williams was named Big
Ten Player-of-the-Week, sharing honors
with Michigan State's Jason Richardson.
Williams scored 18 of his game-high 22
points in the second half to lead the Illini to
a come-from-behind victory over Wisconsin
on Feb. 13, then followed with 14 points in
the victory over Indiana Feb. 17. He also
earned player-of-the-week honors in
November after leading the Illini to second
place at the Maui Invitational.
Top 10 Matchups
Illinois and Michigan State both
brought Top 10 rankings into the Feb. 6
game. The previous Big Ten game at the
Assembly Hall when both teams we re
ranked in the Top 10 was Jan. 15, 1990
when third-ranked Michigan defeated No. 8
Illinois, 74-70.
MSU was the highest-ranked opponent
to play at the Assembly Hall since No. 3
Michigan defeated unranked Illinois, 98-
97, in overtime on March 10, 1993.
Success Against the Top 10
Illinois is 4-2 against the Top 10 this
season, including three straight wins.
Illinois' best season against the AP Top 10
came in 1988-89 when the Illini were 5-2
for the season and 4-1 in the regular season.
Williams Tough in the Clutch
Frank Williams has made a habit of
picking up his level of play in crunch time.
So far this season, he is averaging 5.4 points
in the first half of games and 10.0 points in
the second half (including overtime). His
shooting percentage also has improved in
the second half from 40 percent to 44 percent.
He has scored in double figures 12
times in the second half alone, while reaching
double figures in the first half just once.
His top efforts have come against some of
Illinois' toughest opponents. In the second
half he has scored 14 against UNLV, 16 vs.
Maryland, 18 vs. Arizona, 13 vs. Duke, 17
vs. Seton Hall, 12 vs. Missouri, 16 against
Minnesota, 16 against Ohio State, 16 vs.
Michigan, 14 vs. Penn State, 18 vs.
Wisconsin and 14 vs. Ohio State.
UI vs. Ranked Opponents
Under Bill Self, the Illini have played
six games against opponents ranked by
the Associated Press, winning four times.
