Head Coach John Groce
Career Record: 150-102/.595 (8th year)Â Â Â
At Illinois: 65-46/.586 (4th year)
Big Ten: 24-30/.444
Series Notes vs. Notre Dame
All-Time Series Record: Illinois leads 27-13
Series Streak: Notre Dame W-1
Record at Champaign: Illinois leads 15-2
Series Streak at Champaign: Illinois W-8
Last Meeting: #22 Notre Dame 68, #11 Illinois 60Â (March 22, 2003 at Indianapolis)
Groce vs. Notre Dame: First meeting
Illini Return Home to State Farm Center
State Farm Center is undergoing a major renovation, which began following the conclusion of the 2014 basketball season, dubbed the Illinois Renaissance. The $169.5-million project covers three years and six phases, and includes a renovated seating bowl; the addition of four levels of premium seating; improved rest rooms and concessions; remodeled locker rooms, video room and team lounge; air conditioning and many other amenities.
The construction schedule is year-round, with the major elements occurring around each Fighting Illini basketball season. The most labor intensive part of the renovation – phase four – began on March 5, immediately following the final home game last season, when much of the lower half of the seating bowl was torn out and rebuilt.
This current phase of the renovation schedule lasted through the end of November, resulting in the relocation of Illinois' first five home games (one exhibition and four regular season) to the Springfield Prairie Capital Convention Center.
The Fighting Illini held their first practice in the newly renovated State Farm Center on Monday. The arena officially opens on Wednesday night when the Illini host Notre Dame in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. There are two more phases to the renovation, with the project scheduled to be fully completed in the fall of 2016.
Lou Henson Court Dedication
Wednesday's game at State Farm Center also marks the dedication of Lou Henson Court, permanently honoring Fighting Illini Basketball's all-time winningest coach.
Lou Henson was hired at Illinois on April 5, 1975. What followed was a legendary 21-year career in charge of the Orange and Blue. He amassed a 423-224 record, highlighted by 12 NCAA Tournament appearances, a total of 15 postseason bids, and eleven 20-win seasons. Illinois basketball was one of the nation's most dominant programs during Henson's tenure, earning a top-5 seed in the NCAA Tournament seven straight years from 1984 through 1990.
Henson's Illini won the 1984 Big Ten Championship and advanced to the Elite Eight. His most successful season came with the Flyin' Illini, who won a then-school record 31 games and advanced to the 1989 NCAA Final Four. Henson ranks fifth all-time among Big Ten coaches in both total wins (423) and conference wins (214).
In all, Henson won 779 games; ranking 16th on the all-time NCAA wins list, and 11th all-time among coaches with at least 10 years spent in Division I. He is one of only four coaches in NCAA history to record 200-plus wins at two DI schools, totaling 423 at Illinois and 289 at New Mexico State. He also stands as one of just 14 coaches to lead two different teams to the Final Four.
Henson was inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame on Nov. 20 in Kansas City.
Big Ten/ACC Challenge Notes
• Illinois is 7-9 all-time in the Challenge. The Illini are tied with Ohio State and Wisconsin for the third-most wins by a Big Ten team in Challenge history (excludes Maryland).
• Illinois is 4-2 at home in the Challenge, and carries a two-game home winning streak in the Challenge into Wednesday's match-up versus Notre Dame.
• Illinois has drawn a home game in the Challenge after back-to-back road games in 2013 and 2014.
• Illinois and Notre Dame are meeting for the first time in the Challenge.
• The Big Ten won last year's Challenge, 8-6, claiming the Commissioners Cup. The Big Ten and ACC split the two previous Challenges in 2012 and 2013, following the Big Ten winning three-straight Challenges from 2009-2011. The Challenge began with 10 straight victories by the ACC from 1999-2008.
Illinois By the Numbers in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge
Record: 7-9
Current streak: L-2
At home: 4-2
On the road: 3-4
At neutral sites: 0-3
When ranked: 5-5
When unranked: 2-4
When playing a ranked opponent: 3-6
When playing an unranked opponent: 4-3
When both teams are ranked: 2-5
When neither team is ranked: 1-3
Longest winning streak: 4 (2009-12)
Longest losing streak: 3, twice (1999-2001 & 2006-08)
Largest winning margin: 27 points (2002)
Largest losing margin: 13 points (2001)
Closest margin: 1 point (2000)
Home Sweet Home
Illinois carries a 36-game winning streak at State Farm Center against non-conference opponents. The Illini last lost at home to a non-Big Ten foe on March 24, 2010, against Dayton in the NIT Quarterfinal. The UI non-conference home winning streak currently ranks third nationally:
   1. Duke 120 (Next: Dec. 2)   Â
   2. Minnesota 47 (Next: Dec. 5)
   3. ILLINOIS 36 (Next: Dec. 2)
   4. Pittsburgh 34 (Next: Dec. 1)
   T5. Iowa State 32 (Next: Dec. 1)
   T5. Arizona 32 (Next: Dec. 9)
   T5. Wichita State 32 (Next: Dec. 9) Â
Illinois' winning streak in regular season non-conference home games, meanwhile, currently stands at 47 in a row. The Illini have gone undefeated at State Farm Center in regular season non-conference games each of the last six seasons, with the last loss to Clemson in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge on Dec. 2, 2008.
Thorne Injury Latest Setback to Illini Lineup
With the exception of fifth-year point guard Tracy Abrams – who is out for the season following a torn Achilles – the Fighting Illini showcased their full lineup for the first time last weekend at the Emerald Coast Classic. The Illini welcomed back Kendrick Nunn, Jaylon Tate and Leron Black during Friday's 14-point win over UAB.
But late in the first half of Saturday's title game vs. Iowa State, fifth-year center Mike Thorne Jr. tore the meniscus in his left knee. Thorne had surgery Monday and is now out indefinitely.
Thorne had made a big impact on the Illini offense as a scoring threat in the paint. He recorded a double-double with 25 points and 14 rebounds in his UI debut vs. North Florida, then had 21 points and eight boards vs. North Dakota State.
After foul trouble limited his production at Providence, Thorne bounced back with another double-double vs. Chattanooga, collecting 18 points and game-high 11 rebounds, followed by 12 points and game-high nine boards vs. Chicago State.
Thorne finished with eight points and a game-high eight boards vs. UAB and put up 10 points and seven boards in just 13 first-half minutes against the 4th-ranked Cyclones.
Thorne leaves the Illini rotation after averaging 13.4 points and 8.4 rebounds through the first seven games.
Hill Doing It All
Coach John Groce joked in a recent press conference that he's asking junior guard Malcolm Hill "to be the butcher, the baker, and the candlestick maker." With Illini back court veterans sidelined early in the season, Groce has demanded a lot from Hill. He has played four different positions and guarded all five positions as an Illini.
Hill has played in 261 of a possible 280 minutes so far this season, leading the Big Ten with an average of 37.3 mpg. His versatility is evident in the fact that he ranks either first or second on the Illini in points (16.7 ppg), rebounds (4.5 rpg), assists (4.3 apg), steals (10) and blocked shots (4).
3-Point Threats
When the Illini coaching staff signed guards Jalen Coleman-Lands and Aaron Jordan, they felt they had signed a pair of shooters that would stack up against any duo in the 2015 recruiting class. And so far the rookies are off to a great start.
Coleman-Lands is shooting 45.5 percent from 3-point range, knocking down 15-of-33 treys. Jordan also checks in with 45.5 percent accuracy, draining 10-of-22 triples. Together they have accounted for 25 of Illinois' 49 treys on the year.
The Traveling Illini
Illinois started the season under unique circumstances for a high-major conference team, playing every November game away from home. By the end of college basketball's opening month, the Illini had traveled 3,926 miles and spent 13 nights in hotels.
Last Time Out: #4 Iowa State 84, Illini 73Â (Nov. 28)
The Illini went toe-to-toe with a top-5 opponent for 33 minutes, but No. 4 Iowa State pulled away over the last seven minutes to claim the title at the Emerald Coast Classic.
The game was tightly contested, featuring 13 ties and eight lead changes. The Illini had their highest first-output of the season, scoring 39 points, to trail by one at the break. The lead continued to change hands early in the second half, with Jaylon Tate scoring a layup to put the Illini ahead for the last time, 58-57. The Illini trailed by just three with seven minutes remaining, but the Cyclones rattled off 10 unanswered points over the next three minutes to put the game out of reach.
Malcolm Hill led the Illini with 20 points on 7-of-14 shooting, including a career-high tying four 3-pointers. Kendrick Nunn continued his strong play, adding 19 points on 7-of-15 from the field and four treys. Mike Thorne Jr. also finished in double figures with 10 points to go along with seven rebounds – all coming in the first half before he left the game with a knee injury. Leron Black stepped up for the Illini frontcourt with eight points and a season-high eight boards.
Following the game, Hill and Nunn were both named to the Emerald Coast Classic All-Tournament Team.
Illini Trends
• Illinois has started a different lineup in six of its first seven games.
• Five different players have been the Illini's leading scorer through the first seven games.
• Illinois is getting 30.3 points per game from its bench, outscoring the opposing bench by an average of 11.6 points. Last season the UI averaged 18.7 points in bench scoring.
• The Illini are averaging 29.4 points in the paint this season, compared to 22.4 points last year.
• Malcolm Hill has scored in double figures in every game this season and currently ranks seventh in the Big Ten in scoring with an average of 16.7 points.
• Hill ranks 18th nationally in percentage of minutes played (.932).
• Hill has made 29-of-64 shots over the last five games (45.3 percent) after hitting 9-of-29 from the field over the season's first two games (31 percent).
• Hill made four treys vs. Iowa State on Saturday, after combining for five 3-pointers over the first six games.
• Hill is averaging 4.3 assists through seven games after entering the season with a career average of 1.0 assists.
• Kendrick Nunn returned to action last weekend at the Emerald Coast Classic, averaging 18.5 points and 4.5 rebounds against UAB and Iowa State.
• Nunn, who led the team in 3-pointers last year, has combined for seven treys over his first two games.
• Leron Black combined for 20 points and 14 rebounds in two games last weekend at the Emerald Coast Classic, after totaling nine points and seven rebounds through his first three games.
• Mike Thorne Jr. has an offensive rating of 108.4, ranking third in the Big Ten and 50th nationally among players with at least 28 percent of possessions used (KenPom).
• Thorne is averaging 13.4 points, a more than three-point increase over last season at Charlotte (10.1 ppg).
• Thorne is third in the Big Ten in rebounding (8.4 rpg) and leads the league with 22 offensive rebounds.
• Thorne has been the Illini's leading rebounder in five of seven games.
• Hill and Thorne have each recorded two double-doubles on the young season.
• Jalen Coleman-Lands has made three or more 3-pointers in three games.
• Khalid Lewis has averaged 3.8 assists over the last four games (15), after averaging 2.0 assists through the first three games (6).
