Dec. 18, 2014
By Lexi Shurilla, fightingillini.com staff writer | @SusanAlexisS
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The Illini returned to State Farm Center to face the Hampton Pirates after playing five out of their last six games away from home. Kendrick Nunn found his range behind the arc to score a new season-high and helped Illinois fend off the Pirates, 73-55.
Nunn and Done
This season you can hardly recognize sophomores
Kendrick Nunn,
Jaylon Tate and
Malcolm Hill because of their transformations in the offseason. They improved their strength during the offseason and it has shown throughout the first 11 games this year.
After entering the starting lineup for the first time this season against Oregon last Saturday, Nunn truly found his stride against the Pirates. He had 10 points in the first half, including a three-pointer at the buzzer leading Illinois to a 37-25 advantage at the break.
Nunn could not be contained as he continued his long-range shooting spree and drained another pair of threes just minutes into the second half. He poured in a game-high 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting and 4-of-6 from behind the arc. Nunn leads the Illini in threes this season at 16-of-34 (47.1 percent).
"He's unflappable," Groce said of Nunn. "He's been in so many big games in his career, so many big moments and big stages. He's come off the bench for two years since high school, most guys of his talent level wouldn't do that. He came off the bench for USA basketball, both times where they won a gold medal. He started the last two years of high school. I think he's very adaptable, maybe as adaptable mentally and physically as anybody I've coached because of his past experiences.
"He's played well offensively all year. He's very aggressive and tonight he took advantage of those opportunities. He's always aggressive, that's just kind of who he is. He likes to swing."
Fellow Simeon grad Tate also has impressed Groce this year. The Illini were able to get to the foul line frequently against Hampton, which is yet another option they can use as a weapon. Illinois was 22-of-26 (84.6 percent) from the free-throw line - a plus-20 advantage over the Pirates - with Tate finishing a career-best 8-of-8 from the charity stripe.
"Jaylon has a gift," Groce said. "Obviously he's fast and quick and has good speed. I thought tonight he made good decisions. He had a great pulse for the game at both ends of the floor, and he really contributed at both ends tonight.
"He put pressure on them and got to the paint and made good decisions. He can see more contact this year because he's physically stronger. Last year he was a little bit light, so I think that's really helped his game."
Grinding Out Teams
Something that Illinois has continued to show is its ability to tire out teams and as a result, grind out wins.
The first half featured several runs, beginning with a 7-0 spurt by the Illini to start the game. Midway through the first, UI used a 15-3 run to jump ahead 27-11. After Hampton's 10-0 run made it a six-point game, the Orange and Blue finished the first half on a 10-4 run. In the end though, Illinois led from start to finish for the second time this season.
"I thought we did a lot of really, really good things defensively," Groce said. "We held them to 35 percent in both halves. I was excited to see us have a defensive impact consistently throughout the course of the 40 minutes. I thought we shared the ball, I thought our communication was good and I thought we were really linked up."
After having a quiet first half, senior Rayvonte Rice seemed like he was on a mission to score in the second period, tallying 10 points in the half and finishing with 12 points for the game. Rice has reached double figures in every game this season and every non-conference game of his Illinois career (26).
Illinois increased its lead to 20 with just over seven minutes to play and eventually nabbed its largest lead with 4:28 remaining in the contest, stretching the margin to 26 points before finishing win No. 8 with an 18-point cushion.
Groce said that while his team still has a long way to go, he really believes that they've got a high ceiling.
"At the defensive end, our team took a step in the right direction tonight with the field goal percentage in both halves being the same," Groce said. "That was great. I thought we were really good down the stretch defensively.
"We're just going to keep growing and improving. As long as they have that growth mindset, I think we'll be a team that continues to improve."
