Head Coach John Groce
Career Record: 148-99/.599 (8th year)
At Illinois: 63-43/.594 (4th year)
Big Ten: 24-30/.444
Series Notes vs. Providence
All-Time Series Record:Â Â Â Providence leads 2-0
Series Streak:Â Â Â Providence W-2
Record in Providence:Â Â Â First meeting
Last Meeting:Â Â Â Providence 70, Illinois 51Â (Dec. 9, 2003 at Madison Square Garden)
Groce vs. Providence:Â Â Â First meeting
Illini Head to Providence for Inaugural Gavitt Tipoff Games
The Fighting Illini will play their first road game of the season on Wednesday, traveling to Providence to take on the Friars in the first edition of the Gavitt Tipoff Games. The games are an annual event during college basketball's opening week, featuring eight match-ups between the Big Ten and Big East. They are named in honor of basketball visionary Dave Gavitt, former Providence head coach and founder of the Big East Conference.
Tested Early and Often
Illinois is the only program in the nation that opens the season with three straight games against teams that participated in the 2015 NCAA Tournament. North Florida (Atlantic Sun) and North Dakota State (Summit) earned automatic bids while Providence (Big East) was an at-large selection.
Thorne Huge in Debut
Center Mike Thorne Jr. has made an immediate impact for the Illini, stringing together back-to-back dominant performances over the weekend. He had 25 points and 14 rebounds in the opener vs. North Florida, the top performances by a Big Ten player in both categories so far on the young season. He then had 21 points and eight boards vs. North Dakota State.
Thorne is the first Illini player to open his career with consecutive 20-point games since Brandon Paul did it as a freshman in 2009 (22 points vs. SIU Edwardsville, Nov. 13 & 20 points vs. Northern Illinois, Nov. 17).
He is the first Illini center, meanwhile, to record back-to-back 20-point outings since current Portland Trailblazer Meyers Leonard in 2012 (21 points at Ohio State, Feb. 21 & 22 points vs. Iowa, Feb. 26).
Thorne currently leads the Big Ten in scoring with an average of 23.0 points while ranking fourth in rebounding at 11.0 rpg.
Hill Doing It All
Coach John Groce joked in the press conference after Sunday's win over North Dakota State that he's currently asking junior guard Malcolm Hill "to be the butcher, the baker, and the candlestick maker." With veteran guards Tracy Abrams, Kendrick Nunn and Jaylon Tate sidelined, Groce is demanding a lot from Hill. He has played four different positions and guarded all five positions as an Illini. He is now seeing more time at the point following Tate's injury in the opener.
Hill leads the Big Ten in minutes played, averaging 36.5 mpg. He is the only player in the conference ranked in the top 10 in scoring, rebounds and assists, currently averaging 16.5 ppg (10th in B1G), 7.0 rpg (9th) and 5.0 apg (8th).
Coming Back Under Groce
Illinois fought back from a 14-point deficit early in the second half to defeat North Dakota State on Sunday. It marked the 10th time under Coach John Groce that the Illini won a game despite trailing by double figures, and the first time since erasing a 17-point first-half deficit at Boston U. in the first round of the 2014 NIT.
Frontcourt Production
Illinois' four traditional frontcourt players (4s Leron Black and Michael Finke and 5s Mike Thorne Jr. and Maverick Morgan) combined for 40 points and 18 rebounds and made 17-of-23 from 2-point range (73.9 percent) in the win over North Dakota State.
Austin Provides Spark
The Illini added transfer Alex Austin last season as a transfer following two years at Eastern Illinois. He earned a reputation for his strong defense in practice while sitting out, and with the amount of injuries in the Illini backcourt has played a key role so far this season. Austin played 21 minutes in the opener vs. North Florida and was in the starting lineup against North Dakota State, logging 25 minutes. He became the first walkon to start for the Illini since Jeff Jordan against Indiana on Jan. 9, 2010.
Playing in the Capital
Illinois has relocated its first four regular season home games to the Springfield Prairie Capital Convention Center (PCCC) while the current phase of State Farm Center renovations continue on campus. Illinois will cover its four games at the state capital in two trips, staying in Springfield from Nov. 12-15 and Nov. 20-23. The Illini got their first glimpse of the PCCC on Nov. 8 when they defeated sister school UIS in an exhibition game.
The Traveling Illini
Illinois is in a unique situation for a high-major conference team, playing every November game away from home before making its State Farm Center debut on Dec. 2. By the end of college basketball's opening month, the Illini will have traveled 3,926 miles and spent 12 nights in hotels.
Game 2 Recap: Illini 80, North Dakota State 74 (Nov. 15)
Behind strong play at both ends of the court in the second half, the Illini roared back from a double-digit deficit to defeat North Dakota State on Sunday at the Springfield Prairie Capital Convention Center.
Illinois fell behind 21-9 at the outset and trailed by 11 points at halftime. The Bison then opened their biggest lead of the game at 14 points after opening the second half with their eighth 3-point bucket of the day.
The Illini began to chip away, pulling to within five, but NDSU pushed their lead back to 10 points with under 10 minutes remaining. That's when the Illini caught fire, outscoring the Bison 20-to-5 over the next five minutes to grab a 64-59 lead with 4:52 left. NDSU made it a one-possession game just once more as the Illini closed out the 6-point win.
The Orange and Blue outscored the Bison 52-to-35 in the second half. The Illini shot better than 55 percent after the break, while holding NDSU to less than 37 percent accuracy.
Leading the way once again was Mike Thorne Jr., who netted 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting, to go along with a game-high eight rebounds. Freshman Jalen Coleman-Lands caught fire with 12 of his 15 points coming in the second half, while Malcolm Hill overcame a slow start to finish with 13 points and game-high five assists. Maverick Morgan did a great job in the post as well when subbing in for Thorne. He tied his career high with 10 points on 5-of-7 shooting and snagged five boards in just 16 minutes.
                       Â
Game 1 Recap: North Florida 93, Illini 81 (Nov. 13)
Record-setting shooting by North Florida handed Illinois its first loss in a season opener since 1998. The Ospreys drained 17 three-pointers – equaling the most ever by an Illini opponent – and shot 52 percent from the field en route to the win over the Illini at the Springfield Prairie Capital Convention Center.
Already playing without Kendrick Nunn and Leron Black, the Illini were dealt another blow when starting point guard Jaylon Tate suffered an open dislocation in his right pinky finger late in the first half. That shortened the UI rotation to nine players – seven of whom were playing their first game in an Illini uniform.
North Florida jumped out to a quick 11-4 lead and continued to knock down shots, forcing the Illini to play from behind throughout the night. Illinois made its biggest charge in the latter part of the second half, going on a 12-3 run to pull within nine points at 76-67 with 6:26 remaining. But the Ospreys answered with another 3-pointer, pushing the lead back to double digits, where it remained until the final buzzer.
Mike Thorne Jr. and Malcolm Hill both recorded double-doubles for the Illini. Thorne tallied 25 points and grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds, six of them coming on the offensive end. Hill, meanwhile, tallied 20 points and a career-high 10 boards while also dishing out five assists. Freshman Aaron Jordan also reached double figures in his collegiate debut, scoring 14 points and knocking down three triples.
The Illini grabbed 12 offensive rebounds as a team, resulting in a 16-to-4 edge in second-chance points. But the damage was done from behind the arc, as the Ospreys drained 12 more threes than the Orange and Blue.
Notes from the Opener
• Of the 10 players who took the court against North Florida, seven made their Illini debut.
• Aaron Jordan and D.J. Williams started their first collegiate game, marking the first time the Illini had a pair of true freshmen in the starting lineup for a season opener since Tracy Abrams and Nnanna Egwu on Nov. 11, 2011.
• Mike Thorne Jr.'s 25 points marked the highest point total by an Illini in a season opener since Deon Thomas also scored 25 in a win over Dayton to open the 1992-93 season.
• Thorne's 14 rebounds was the highest total by an Illini in a season opener since Shaun Pruitt grabbed 17 boards in a victory over Northeastern to start the 2007-08 season.
• Thorne's 14 boards were the most by an Illini in any game since Jon Ekey had 15 rebounds vs. Valparaiso on Nov. 13, 2013.
• Thorne (25 pts) and Malcolm Hill (20) became the first Illini duo to reach 20 points in the same game since Feb. 7, 2013, when D.J. Richardson (23) and Brandon Paul (21) combined for 44 points in the win over No. 1 Indiana.
• Hill recorded his first double-double, adding a career-best 10 rebounds to the fifth 20-point game of his career.
• Illinois suffered its first loss in the month of November under coach John Groce, falling to 21-1 in college basketball's opening month. The defeat also snapped the Illini's 32-game winning streak overall in November games, which was the nation's longest streak entering the season.
• Illinois also dropped its first game under Groce when scoring at least 80 points, moving to 17-1 in the Groce era when scoring 80+ points.
Illini Captains
Following a vote of the players and coaches, senior Tracy Abrams and juniors Malcolm Hill, Kendrick Nunn and Jaylon Tate will serve as Fighting Illini team captains for the 2015-16 season.
