Jan. 22, 2004
Illinois Men's Basketball Game Notes vs. Wisconsin in PDF Format
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FIGHTING ILLINI BASKETBALL
Game #17: Illinois (12-4, 3-2) at #21/19 Wisconsin (12-3, 3-1)
ESPN+ Regional Television
1:30 p.m. CT * Jan. 24, 2004 * Madison, Wis. * Kohl Center (17,142)
Probable Starters
ILLINOIS (12-4, 3-2)
F - 40 James Augustine (So., 6-10, 225, 11.2 ppg, 9.3 rpg)
F - 43 Roger Powell (Jr., 6-6, 220, 12.8 ppg, 4.9 rpg)
G - 4 Luther Head (Jr., 6-3, 175, 9.5 ppg, 2.9 rpg)
G - 5 Deron Williams (So., 6-3, 210, 12.7 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 6.1 apg)
G - 11 Dee Brown (So., 6-0, 175, 12.8 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 5.1 apg)
Off The Bench ...
C - 1 Aaron Spears (Fr.-r, 6-9, 260, 1.6 ppg, 0.8 rpg)
G - 25 Jerrance Howard (Sr.-r, 6-1, 200, 1.9 ppg, 0.8 rpg)
G - 33 Rich McBride (Fr., 6-3, 210, 5.0 ppg, 1.6 rpg)
F - 34 Fred Nkemdi (Jr., 6-6, 235, 0.0 ppg, 1.0 rpg)
F - 41 Warren Carter (Fr., 6-9, 205, 2.3 ppg, 1.1 rpg)
F - 42 Brian Randle (Fr., 6-8, 200, 4.8 ppg, 3.4 rpg)
C - 45 Nick Smith (Jr.-r, 7-2, 240, 8.7 ppg, 4.4 rpg)
C - 50 Jack Ingram (Jr.-r, 6-10, 240, 2.2 ppg, 2.6 rpg)
Illinois Head Coach Bruce Weber
Overall Record: 115-58/.665 (6th year)
Big Ten: 3-2/.600
At Illinois: 12-4/.750 (1st year)
Vs. Wisconsin: 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)
Wisconsin Head Coach: Bo Ryan
Overall Record: 439-127/.776 (19th year)
At Wisconsin: 56-24/.700 (3rd year)
All-Time vs. Illinois: 2-3
Assistant Coaches: Rob Jeter, Gary Close, Greg Gard
Series History: Wisconsin
Illinois leads the all-time series 101-66 over Wisconsin, but the Badgers enjoy a 49-36 edge in games played at Madison. The teams split the season series last year, with Illinois winning 69-63 Jan. 11 in Champaign and Wisconsin winning 60-59 March 5 in Madison. Illinois has lost its last four games at Wisconsin. The Illini's last win at Wisconsin came on Feb. 7, 1998, a 53-47 overtime win.
Quick Shots
Illinois leads the Big Ten in scoring at 76.9 points per game, after leading the league in scoring each of the last three seasons ... The Illini have a +5.8 rebounding margin on the season, ranking second in the Big Ten behind Iowa ... Illinois is averaging 13.6 offensive rebounds per game in Big Ten play to rank third in the league ... The Illini have six players averaging between 8.7 and 13 points per game ... The Illini have had at least five players score in double figures five times this season ... Illinois players rank 12th (Brown), 14th (Powell), 15th (Williams) and 22nd (Augustine) in the Big Ten in scoring, the only Big Ten school to have four among the Top 22 scorers ... Six different players have led the Illini in scoring this season and six different players have led the team in rebounding ... James Augustine has posted six double-doubles in 2003-04 ... Dee Brown (81 total, 5.1 avg.) and Deron Williams (79 total, 6.1 avg.) both average at least 5.0 assists on the season, ranking first and third, respectively, in the Big Ten ... In his last three games, Brown played a total of 105 of a possible 120 minutes and handed out 16 assists with just three tunovers ... Illinois leads the Big Ten in assists with 18.1 per game ... Illinois' 43-point win over Penn State was its largest margin of victory in a Big Ten game since 1956, and the third-largest Big Ten win in school history.
Top 25 Streak Comes to an End
With a loss at Northwestern on Jan. 14, Illinois' streak of appearing in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Poll came to end this week at a school-record 68 consecutive polls. The team also dropped out of the AP Top 25, where it had been ranked for 26-consecutive polls. Illinois' longest streak in the AP poll is 43 from 1951-53.
Illinois is receiving votes in both polls this week. The Illini were ranked 25th in last week's AP Poll and ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Poll.
Illinois had a school record-streak of 30 straight polls in the Coaches' Top 10 snapped in January, 2002.
Home Cookin'
Illinois is 47-2 (.959) at the Assembly Hall over the last three-and-a-half years, with the only losses coming to Michigan State in 2002 and to Purdue on Jan. 10, 2003 ... The Boilermakers broke a 23-game Illini winning streak at the Hall that at the time ranked fourth nationally behind Pittsburgh, Duke and Creighton ... Illinois is 59-3 (.952) at the Assembly Hall over the past four-and-a-half seasons ...The Illini have also won 31 in a row at the Assembly Hall against non-conference opponents ... Illinois has won 32 of its last 34 Big Ten games at the Assembly Hall.
Weber Names Three Captains
Illinois coach Bruce Weber named senior Jerrance Howard and sophomore guards Dee Brown and Deron Williams as team captains for the 2003-04 season.
Last Time Out
Illinois was running on all cylinders Wednesday at the Assembly Hall in posting an 80-37 victory over Penn State. The Illini shot 59 percent from the field for the game, but the big story was the defensive effort. Penn State shot just 21 percent from the field, setting an Assembly Hall record for field-goal shooting futility. The Nittany Lions shot just 13.5 percent in the second half, making five of 37 shots. After Penn State pulled to within 20-16 at the 8:57 mark in the first half, the Nittany Lions made just six of their next 44 shots and were outscored by the Illini, 60-21. Seven Illini players scored at least seven points, led by Roger Powell with 16 and Deron Williams with 12. Williams added eight assists, while Dee Brown handed out six dimes. James Augustine scored nine points and grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds. Luther Head added eight points and a career-high nine rebounds. The 43-point win was the largest margin of victory by Illinois in a Big Ten game since 1956 and third-largest in school history. The 37 points allowed were the fewest Illinois has given up in Big Ten play at Champaign since a 57-36 win over Wisconsin in 1948. Illinois held Northwestern to just 30 points at Evanston in 2000.
Williams Excels in Return to Action
Deron Williams seems to be returning to the level of play he exhibited prior to breaking his jaw in mid-December. In Illinois' win over Iowa, Williams scored 17 points, grabbed four rebounds and handed out four assists. He followed that performance with 12 points and eight assists in a win over Penn State.
The sophomore missed three games (Memphis, Missouri and Illinois-Chicago) due to a fractured jaw that occurred Dec. 11 against Maryland-Eastern Shore after running into a screen early in the second half. Williams had surgery on Dec. 12 to repair the double fracture and made a successful return to the court Jan. 3 vs. Illinois State. With his jaw still wired shut and making it difficult to breath, Illinois coaches hoped to get Williams a maximum of 18-20 minutes of playing time. But he defied those odds, coming off the bench to play 34 minutes. Williams fueled the Illini comeback against ISU, leading the team with 20 points, including four 3-pointers. He also had four rebounds and three assists in his first game-action in nearly one month.
Williams returned to the starting lineup Jan. 7 vs. Ohio State, dishing out six assists and grabbing six rebounds in 32 minutes of play, and followed with nine points and seven assists Jan. 10 against Purdue. He scored 15 points and handed out five assists at Northwestern.
Williams has been turning heads with his sensational play during his sophomore season. He ranks third on the team in scoring (12.7 ppg) and has scored in double figures in nine of 13 games, setting a career-high in points in three-consecutive games up to the Arkansas game (Dec. 6), but setting a career-high with 10 assists against the Razorbacks. His scoring average so far is more than double his freshman average of 6.3 points. He scored a career-high 22 points vs. North Carolina (Dec. 2) and is shooting 42 percent from the field (61-146). While his scoring has improved dramatically, Williams remains an unselfish player with the ball in his hands, leading the Big Ten with 6.1 assists per game. He handed 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 currently leads the Illini in scoring at 12.8 points per game with a season-high 23 points coming in the season opener vs. Western Illinois Nov. 22. He ranks among the Big Ten's Top 10 players in three categories, ranking third with 5.1 assists per game, fourth with an assist/turnover ratio of 2.25 and third with 2.3 three-pointers per game. Brown has scored in double figures in five of his last six outings. He is averaging 14.7 points over the six-game stretch.
He dished out a season-high nine assists vs. UIC (Dec. 30) and had season highs of four steals vs. both UIC and Ohio State (Jan. 7). Brown has made at least four treys in four games this year and knocked down a career-high tying five 3s at Northwestern (Jan. 14).
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. 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.
Air Rog Takes Off
Junior Roger Powell ranks second on the team in scoring and second in rebounding, averaging 12.8 points and 4.9 rebounds. He ranks third in the Big Ten in field goal percentage, shooting 63.4 percent from the field (85-134), and is second on the team with 40 offensive rebounds.
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. He followed 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. He has scored in double figures nine times this season. Powell tied his season high with 20 points in the win over Iowa Jan. 17.
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 Nearly a Double-Double Man
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 nearly averaging a double-double with 11.2 points and team-leading 9.3 rebounds per game. His rebounding average ranks second in the Big Ten, and he is also second in the Big Ten in field-goal shooting at 63.9 percent (69-108). He also ranks second in the league in offensive rebounds with 3.3 per game. Augustine has scored at least nine points in 13 of 16 games, highlighted by a career-high 21 points vs. Memphis Dec. 13. He has had at least nine boards in nine games, with a career-high 14 against Northwestern Jan. 14, and has led the team in rebounding 10 times. Augustine has recorded six double-doubles on the season, most recently vs. Northwestern on Jan. 14 (10 pts-14 reb).
Last year as a freshman, Augustine averaged 7.0 points while shooting 58 percent from the field. He was second on the team behind Brian Cook and 13th in the Big Ten in rebounding, averaging 5.8 boards. He was also 13th in the league in blocked shots. In Big Ten play only, Augustine ranked third in field-goal shooting at 58.6 percent.
"Chainsaw" Strengthens UI Frontcourt
Nick Smith, a 7-foot-2-inch junior, has started four games this season and is averaging 8.7 points. He is also third on the team with 4.4 rebounds per game.
In five Big Ten games, Smith is averaging 11.8 points and 5.0 rebounds per game, both averages ranking second on the team. In all games played, he ranks second in the Big Ten in free-throw shooting at 86 percent (42-49).
He has scored in double figures in seven games, with a career-high 22 points in in the win over Ohio State Jan. 7. Smith had a perfect shooting day, hitting all six of his field goal attempts, including a 3-pointer, and 9-of-9 shooting from the free throw line. Smith also had a career-high in rebounds against the Buckeyes with nine boards.
Smith scored 14 points to help lead the Illini to a come-from-behind win over Illinois State on Jan 3. Smith was huge in the clutch, scoring 12 of his 14 points in the final eight minutes of the game and overtime. He shot a perfect 8-of-8 from the line, which included a pair of free throws with :19 left to send the game into overtime.
In the Jan. 17 win over Iowa, Smith scored 18 points, handed out four assists and made all 10 of his free-throw attempts.
Smith also came up big and the end of Illinois' win over Missouri Dec. 23. He recorded an assist on James Augustine's layup that gave the Illini a 69-67 lead with under one minute to play and then came up with a steal on Missouri's next possession. Smith finished the game with six points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals.
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.
The Graduate
Nick Smith earned a bachelor's degree in finance this past December, graduating from Illinois' College of Business in three-and-a-half years. Smith is now working on his master's degree in finance.
Head Heating Up
Junior Luther Head has been a consistent scorer this season, ranking fifth on the team with 9.5 points per game. He has scored at least nine points in eight of 12 games, with five games in double figures. Head started the five games prior to the Ohio State game Jan. 7, where he averaged 11.8 points as a starter. He scored a season-high 16 points in his first start of the year vs. Maryland-Eastern Shore, had 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting vs. UIC, and scored 15 points against Illinois State. Head made four-of-five shots, including three three-pointers, and scored 13 points in the win over Iowa Jan. 17. He grabbed a career-high nine rebounds to go along with eight points in the win over Penn State Jan. 21.
McBride Arrives
Freshman sharp-shooter Rich McBride emerged onto the scene Dec. 13 vs. Memphis and has kept up his hot shooting hand. Over the past nine games, he has averaged 6.4 points on over 37 percent shooting from three-point range (16-43). A three-time All-Stater during his high school career in Illinois, McBride sat out the first four games of the season for violating team rules, but has since worked his way into the playing rotation.
He exploded for a career-high 22 points in 29 minutes of play vs. Memphis. McBride nailed 6-of-10 from 3-point range, tying the most 3s by a Big Ten player this season. He also had career highs of five assists and five rebounds vs. Memphis. He has tallied three treys in three of the past six games (Missouri, UIC and Ohio State) .
In 12 games on the season, McBride is averaging 5.0 points and is shooting 32 percent from 3-point land (16-49).
Randle an Early Contributor
Freshman Brian Randle has earned a spot in the starting lineup nine times this season. He is averaging 17.1 minutes per game on the season. In his first game, he responded with eight points and a team-high three steals and had six points and five boards in the second. Against North Carolina, Randle had seven points and five rebounds, and he scored five points with six rebounds vs. Memphis. Against UIC, Randle just missed a double-double with nine points and a career-high 11 rebounds. In the Jan. 7 game vs. Ohio State, Randle reached double figures for the first time with a career-high 10 points.
On the season, he is averaging 4.8 points and 3.4 rebounds, while shooting over 56 percent from the field. Randle is also fourth on the team with 12 steals.
* For complete Illinois Men's Basketball Game Notes, click on .pdf link at the top of this page.
