Dec. 7, 2003
Illinois Men's Basketball Game Notes vs. Providence in PDF Format
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FIGHTING ILLINI BASKETBALL
Game #6: #11/11 Illinois (4-1) vs. Providence (3-1)
ESPN * 6 p.m. CT / 7 p.m. ET * Dec. 9, 2003 * Jimmy V Classic
New York, N.Y. * Madison Square Garden (19,763)
Probable Starters
#11/11 ILLINOIS (4-1)
F - 40 James Augustine (So., 6-10, 225, 10.4 ppg, 10.0 rpg)
F - 43 Roger Powell (Jr., 6-6, 220, 15.0 ppg, 5.8 rpg)
C - 45 Nick Smith (Jr.-r, 7-2, 240, 7.2 ppg, 4.6 rpg)
G - 5 Deron Williams (So., 6-3, 210, 16.4 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 7.2 apg)
G - 11 Dee Brown (So., 6-0, 175, 15.6 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 4.4 apg)
Off The Bench ...
C - 1 Aaron Spears (Fr.-r, 6-9, 260, 4.0 ppg, 1.3 rpg)
G - 4 Luther Head (Jr., 6-3, 175, 9.7 ppg, 2.0 rpg)
G - 25 Jerrance Howard (Sr.-r, 6-1, 200, 1.0 ppg, 1.0 rpg)
G - 33 Richard McBride (Fr., 6-3, 210, 0.0 ppg, 2.0 rpg)
F - 41 Warren Carter (Fr., 6-9, 205, 4.3 ppg, 2.0 rpg)
F - 42 Brian Randle (Fr., 6-8, 200, 5.6 ppg, 2.8 rpg)
C - 50 Jack Ingram (Jr.-r, 6-10, 240, 3.6 ppg, 4.4 rpg)
Illinois Head Coach Bruce Weber
Overall Record: 107-55/.660 (6th year)
Big Ten: 0-0
At Illinois: 4-1 (1st year)
Vs. Providence: first meeting
Assistant Coaches: Chris Lowery (1st year), Wayne McClain (3rd year), Jay Price (1st year)
Assistant to the head coach: Gary Nottingham (1st year)
Trainer: Al Martindale (21st year at Illinois)
Providence Head Coach: Tim Welsh
Overall Record: 154-99 (9th season)
At Providence: 84-74 (6th season)
Vs. Illinois: first meeting
Assistant Coaches: Steve DeMeo, Phil Seymore and Bob Walsh
Series History - Providence
Providence won the only previous meeting between the two schools, 81-79, on Dec. 28, 1965, at the old Madison Square Garden. Providence was ranked 10th in the nation in that meeting.
Illinois at Madison Square Garden
Illinois has made several trips to the Big Apple to play at Madison Square Garden dating back to its first game in the Garden in 1937. Illinois is 10-8 all-time at MSG.
12/18/37 Illinois 60, St. John's 45 W
3/21/49 Illinois 71, Yale 67 W
3/22/49 Kentucky 76, Illinois 47 L
320/51 Illinois 79, Columbia 71 W
3/22/51 Illinois 84, N.C. State 70 W
3/24/51 Kentucky 76, Illinois 74 L
12/26/62 Illinois 98, Penn 66 W
12/28/62 Illinois 91, NYC 84 W
12/29/62 Illinois 92, West Virginia 74 W
12/27/65 Illinois 96, Georgetown 94 W
12/28/65 Providence 81, Illinois 79 L
12/30/65 Army 78, Illinois 69 L
12/27/73 St. John's 76, Illinois 60 L
12/29/73 Duquesne 85, Illinois 83 L
3/17/80 Minnesota 65, Illinois 63 L
3/19/80 Illinois 84, UNLV 74 W
11/10/98 Wake Forest 75, Illinois 73 L
11/11/98 Illinois 65, Georgetown 50 W
Illinois' First Appearance in Jimmy V Classic
Illinois is making its first appearance in the Jimmy V Classic, with a portion of the proceeds from the event benefitting The V Foundation For Cancer Research. Illinois coach Bruce Weber and the Fighting Illini are also involved with Coaches vs. Cancer and have raised over $100,000 toward cancer research.
Big Ten Leaders
* Sophomore James Augustine (.657) and Roger Powell (.644) rank third and fourth, respectively, in field goal percentage in the Big Ten.
* Deron Williams ranks seventh (16.4), Dee Brown (15.6), ninth and Roger Powell (15.0) 11th in scoring.
* Williams ranks first in assists (7.2 avg.), while Brown is seventh (4.4 avg.).
* Augustine ranks second in rebounding (10.0 avg.).
* Williams ranks second in free-throw percentage (12-13, .923).
* Williams ranks seventh in steals (1.80 avg.).
* Williams ranks fifth in 3-point FG percentage (.455).
* Augustine ranks sixth in blocked shots (1.40 avg.).
* Brown leads Big Ten with 3.2 3-pt. FGs per game, while Williams is fifth (2.0 avg.).
* Illinois leads the Big Ten in scoring (85.4 ppg), scoring margin (+18.2) and field goal percentage (.497).
* Illinois ranks second in rebounding margin (+8.4), assists (19.8 avg.), offensive rebounding (15.0 avg.), three-point field goals (6.6 avg.) and assist/turnover ratio (1.38).
Top 25 Streak Continues
Illinois is ranked 11th in the current (Dec. 1) ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Poll, extending its streak to 62 consecutive polls in which the Illini have been ranked. Illinois is also ranked No. 11 in the AP Top 25 poll.
The Illini had a school record-streak of 30 straight polls in the Top 10 snapped in January, 2002, but has never dropped out of the Coaches' Top 25 the last three-plus seasons.
Last Time Out
Illinois used smothering defense to pound Arkansas 84-61 at the United Center in Chicago on Dec. 6. The Illini held the Razorbacks to just 33 percent field goal shooting and forced 21 turnovers. Illinois' Deron Williams posted the first double-double of his career with a team-high 17 points and career-high 10 assists. Williams combined with Dee Brown for 30 points, 16 assists and just three turnovers in 63 minutes. James Augustine also posted a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds. Nick Smith (10) and Luther Head (11) joined Williams, Brown and Augustine in double figures.
Williams Showcases All-Around Game
He scores, he defends, he distributes the ball...guard Deron Williams has been turning heads with his senational play to start his sophomore season. Williams leads the team in scoring (16.4 ppg) and has scored in double figures in all five games, setting a career-high in points in three-consecutive games up to the Arkansas game, but setting a career-high with 10 assists against the Razorbacks. His scoring average so far is more than 10 points better than his freshman scoring average of 6.3 points. He scored a career-high 22 points vs. North Carolina and is shooting 51 percent from the field (30-59) and nearly so from 3-point land (10-22, .455). While his scoring has improved dramatically, Williams remains an unselfish player with the ball in his hands. He leads the Big Ten in assists with 36 (7.2 apg), handing out eight assists in the season opener vs. Western Illinois and again against North Carolina before dropping 10 dimes against Arkansas.
Brown Named Big Ten Preseason Player of the Year
Sophomore guard Dee Brown, nicknamed the "One-Man Fast Break," was named the Big Ten's Preseason Player of the Year by the media and to the preseason All-Big Ten squad by both the media and coaches. Wisconsin's Devin Harris was the preseason player of the year as voted by the coaches. Brown was also named to the 12-man Playboy Magazine All-America squad and is one of 50 players on the Wooden Award All-America preseason watch list. Brown is the fourth-consecutive Illini to earn league preseason player of the year honors following Cory Bradford in 2001, Frank Williams in 2002 and Brian Cook in 2003.
Brown is currently second on the team in scoring at 15.6 points per game. He also ranks second in assists with 4.4 per game. Brown leads the Big Ten in three-pointers per game with an average of 3.2.
Last year, he earned second-team All-Big Ten honors from the media and third-team honors from the coaches, and earned a spot on the first-ever Big Ten All-Freshman steam. Brown was second on the team in scoring, averaging 12.0 points. He led the Big Ten in assists with 4.97 per game and also led the league with an assist/turnover ratio of 2.56. He ranked 18th in the Big Ten in scoring at 12.0 points per game. One of the quickest guards in America, Brown's 1.78 steals per game led the team and ranked third in the Big Ten.
In Big Ten Conference games only, Brown totaled 76 assists with only 25 turnovers, leading the conference with an assist/turnover ratio of 3.04 in league play.
Back-to-Back Double-Doubles vs. Mercer and Temple for Powell
Junior Roger Powell recorded the first double-double of his Illinois career against Mercer on Nov. 26, scoring 16 points and grabbing a career-high 10 rebounds. What better way to follow up that performance than with another double-double in his next outing vs. Temple. Powell scored 19 points and matched his career high with 10 boards. He then scored a season-high 20 points against North Carolina Dec. 2. Powell ranks third on the team in scoring and second in rebounding, averaging 15.0 points and 5.8 rebounds. He is shooting 64 percent from the field (29-45) and is second on the Illini with 15 offensive rebounds.
Last year in Big Ten play, Powell led the league in field-goal shooting at 64.1 percent and was named to the Big Ten All-Tournament Team after helping the Illini to the title.
Augustine Averaging Double-Double
Another member of the heralded Illini sophomore class is James Augustine. Augustine, named to the first-ever Big Ten All-Freshman Team last season, is averaging a double-double with 10.4 points and 10.0 rebounds per game. He is shooting 66 percent (23-35) from the field and leads the team with 17 offensive rebounds in five games. Augustine has scored at least nine points in each game, and has had at least nine boards in four of five games, with a career-high 13 against Western Illinois in the season opener.
Last year as a freshman, he averaged 7.0 points while shooting 58.0 percent from the field. Augustine was second on the team behind Brian Cook in rebounding, averaging 5.8 boards. He ranked 13th in the Big Ten in rebounding at 5.8 per game and was 13th in blocked shots. In Big Ten play only, Augustine ranked third in field-goal shooting at 58.6 percent.
Smith Steps Into Starting Role
Nick Smith, a 7-foot-2-inch junior, moved into the starting lineup in the third game of the season and is averaging 7.2 points and 4.6 rebounds. He has scored in double figures in three games, with season highs of 13 against Western Illinois and Mercer. Smith is coming off a 10-point performance vs. Arkansas.
Last year, he put up some impressive numbers off the bench in Big Ten play. In 16 conference games, Smith shot 67.3 percent (33-49) from the field, made 4-of-6 treys, and shot 90.5 percent (19-21) from the free-throw line. Smith averaged 5.9 points and 2.9 rebounds in the league while averaging 18.8 minutes per game. He led the Illini and ranked seventh in the Big Ten with 38 blocked shots. Smith was Illinois' top free throw shooter, making 38-of-44 from the line for 86.4 percent on the season.
Complete Illinois men's basketball game notes available by clicking on .pdf link at the top of this page.
