| Illinois Probable Starters (from the previous game) |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
Note |
| G |
1 |
Jaylon Tate |
6-3 |
170 |
Sr. |
5.1 |
2.0 |
4.4 |
1.9 A/TO |
| G |
13 |
Tracy Abrams |
6-2 |
185 |
Gr. |
10.4 |
2.6 |
2.9 |
57.1% 3FG |
| G |
21 |
Malcolm Hill |
6-6 |
225 |
Sr. |
18.3 |
7.3 |
1.4 |
45.2% 3FG |
| F |
43 |
Michael Finke |
6-10 |
230 |
r-So. |
11.0 |
6.7 |
0.4 |
3.1 OREB/G |
| C |
22 |
Maverick Morgan |
6-10 |
245 |
Sr. |
8.0 |
2.4 |
0.7 |
63.2% FG |
| Off the Bench |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
Note |
| G |
0 |
D.J. Williams |
6-7 |
210 |
So. |
3.5 |
1.5 |
0.7 |
3 BLK |
| G |
3 |
Te'Jon Lucas |
6-0 |
170 |
Fr. |
4.3 |
0.8 |
2.0 |
10-14 FG |
| G |
5 |
Jalen Coleman-Lands |
6-3 |
190 |
So. |
6.9 |
2.0 |
1.3 |
2.0 3FG/G |
| F |
12 |
Leron Black |
6-7 |
220 |
r-So. |
10.3 |
8.0 |
0.3 |
50.0% FG |
| G |
14 |
Samson Oladimeji |
6-5 |
195 |
Fr. |
0.0 |
1.0 |
0.0 |
2 G |
| G |
23 |
Aaron Jordan |
6-5 |
190 |
So. |
2.6 |
0.9 |
0.3 |
5-11 3FG |
| C |
33 |
Mike Thorne Jr. |
6-11 |
280 |
Gr. |
6.1 |
4.9 |
0.2 |
61.3% FG |
| G |
41 |
Clayton Jones |
6-0 |
170 |
r-Jr. |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
3 G |
| G |
44 |
Alex Austin |
6-4 |
190 |
r-Sr. |
0.7 |
2.0 |
0.0 |
3 OREB |
| Sitting Out |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
Note |
| F |
2 |
Kipper Nichols |
6-6 |
225 |
r-Fr. |
- |
- |
- |
Out fall semester (transfer) |
| G |
10 |
Drew Cayce |
6-1 |
165 |
So. |
- |
- |
- |
Sitting out season (transfer) |
| F |
45 |
Cameron Liss |
6-6 |
220 |
Jr. |
0.6* |
0.0* |
0.2* |
Redshirting season |
Head Coach John Groce
Career Record: 166-120/.580 (9th year)
At Illinois: 81-64/.559 (5th year)
Illinois Series Notes vs. N.C. State
All-Time Series Record: Illinois leads 3-0
Series Streak: Illinois W-3
Record at Champaign: First meeting
Series Streak at Champaign: N/A
Last Meeting: #12 Illinois 85, North Carolina State 76 (Dec. 30, 1995 at Honolulu)
Groce vs. North Carolina State: First meeting
Renovated State Farm Center Dedication Set for Tuesday
The $170 million-renovation effort of State Farm Center began in March of 2014 and wrapped up this fall. In addition to new locker rooms and team areas for both men's and women's basketball, the newly renovated facility features many improved fan amenities. They include air conditioning, new seats, new restrooms and permanent concessions on the upper concourse, LED lighting, a new sound system, a larger center-hung videoboard and façade LED ribbon board display, improved WiFi access, three new hospitality club spaces, four levels of premium seating, historical recognition displays in the upper concourse for all 21 varsity athletic teams, and the Mannie Jackson Illinois Basketball Hall of Fame located inside the new grand west lobby.
Tuesday's celebration will include a video tribute, on-court recognition of State Farm and other donors for their support that made the renovations possible, and giveaway items. All fans who enter the building with a paid ticket will receive a special co-branded State Farm Center/Illinois basketball keepsake, compliments of State Farm. Fans will receive either one of 5,000 tote bags or one of 9,000 keychains. Additionally, the first 5,000 fans to enter the arena will receive scratch-off cards to see if they win one of 2,000 State Farm Center replicas.
Illinois-N.C. State Notes
• Tuesday marks the first time that the Fighting Illini and Wolfpack will meet in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, and just the fourth time overall. Illinois has won all three previous match-ups, most recently an 85-76 victory in the consolation final of the Rainbow Classic in Honolulu on Dec. 30, 1995.
• The Illini also defeated N.C. State, 74-72, in the semifinal round of the Gator Bowl Tournament in Jacksonville, Fla. on Dec. 28, 1971. The first meeting between the programs came in the 1951 NCAA Tournament quarterfinal, an 84-70 UI victory at Madison Square Garden on March 22, 1951.
• Illinois head coach John Groce earned his first coaching position in the Division I ranks at N.C. State, serving four years as an assistant on Herb Sendek's staff in Raleigh from 1997-2000.
• Illinois has one North Carolina player on its roster in sixth-year center and Fayetteville native Mike Thorne Jr. Thorne won a North Carolina Class 1A state championship at Trinity Christian in 2011 and attended Charlotte for four seasons before joining the Fighting Illini as a graduate transfer.
ACC/Big Ten Challenge Notes
• Illinois is 7-10 all-time in the Challenge. The Illini's seven victories are tied for the fourth-most wins by any Big Ten team in the event (ranking excludes Maryland).
• Illinois is 4-3 at home in the Challenge, and is playing a Challenge game at State Farm Center for the second straight season after hosting Notre Dame last year.
• Illinois and North Carolina State are meeting for the first time in the Challenge.
• The Big Ten has held the Commissioners Cup for seven consecutive seasons. The Big Ten won three straight Challenges from 2009-11, the leagues split the event in 2012 and 2013, and the Big Ten was victorious each of the last two years. The event began with 10 straight victories by the ACC from 1999-2008.
Illinois By the Numbers in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge
Record: 7-10
Current streak: L-3
At home: 4-3
On the road: 3-4
At neutral sites: 0-3
When ranked: 5-5
When unranked: 2-5
When playing a ranked opponent: 3-6
When playing an unranked opponent: 4-4
When both teams are ranked: 2-5
When neither team is ranked: 1-4
Longest winning streak: 4 (2009-12)
Longest losing streak: 3, three times (1999-2001, 2006-08 & 2013-15)
Largest winning margin: 27 points (2002)
Largest losing margin: 13 points (2001)
Closest margin: 1 point (2000)
Opening Tip
• Tuesday's match-up with N.C. State is the Illini's lone home appearance in a current four-game stretch. Illinois looks to get back on the winning track at State Farm Center after having its streak of 35 straight November home victories snapped by Winthrop last Monday.
Illini Team Trends
• The Illini rank fourth in the Big Ten and 56th in the NCAA in 3-point field goal percentage at 38.8 percent. Illinois' 62 made threes ranks 17th nationally.
• Illinois has been strong on the offensive boards so far this season, grabbing 16 of its own misses in each of the last two games. The Illini have recorded double digits on the offensive glass in four games on the year, and are currently averaging 10.6 o-boards per game. Last year Illinois was last in the Big Ten with 7.6 offensive rebounds per contest.
• After shooting better than 50 percent from the field in three of its first five games and entering the NIT Season Tip-Off ranked 36th nationally in field goal percentage (.505), the Illini combined for just 36 percent accuracy during its two games in Brooklyn. Illinois aims to regain its shooting touch at home on Tuesday.
• Illinois has done an outstanding job taking care of the basketball under Coach John Groce, with each of the last three seasons ranking as the fewest average turnovers in school history (2015-9.9, 2014-10.4, 2016-10.5). It is a sharp contrast to see Illinois currently averaging 14.7 turnovers through seven games this year and is an area where the Illini look to regain the form of recent teams in the Groce era.
Illini Player Trends
• Wooden Award and Naismith Trophy preseason candidate Malcolm Hill ranks sixth in the Big Ten in scoring (18.3 ppg).
• Hill was selected to the NIT Season Tip-Off All-Tournament Team after scoring a game-high 18 points in his most recent outing vs. Florida State.
• Hill's career-high 40 points vs. Northern Kentucky (Nov. 13) is tied for the No. 3 scoring performance in the NCAA so far this season.
• Hill has scored in double figures in five of seven games.
• Hill is currently shooting 45.2 percent from 3-point range (19-42) after never topping 39 percent in any of his first three seasons and entering his senior year as a 35 percent career 3-point shooter.
• Hill has made 19 threes in seven games after making 37 treys in 34 games last season.
• Hill continues to be effective getting to the line. He ranks 43rd in the NCAA with 33 made free throws. His 41 attempts, meanwhile, rank 51st nationally. Last season Hill went 193 of 235 from the line, ranking as the second-highest single-season totals for free throws made and attempted in school history.
• Hill's rebounding numbers also have improved. After leading the Illini on the glass last season, he is doing so once again with a career-best average of 7.3 rpg, ranking 10th in the Big Ten.
• After missing the last two years, sixth-year senior Tracy Abrams has scored in double figures in four games, ranking third on the team in scoring (10.4 ppg).
• Abrams is shooting 57.1 percent from 3-point range (12-21) after entering his final season as a 27 percent career 3-point shooter.
• Sophomore Michael Finke has scored in double figures in five of seven games and ranks second on the team in scoring (11.0 ppg).
• Finke has made at least 50 percent of his shot attempts in five games.
• Finke is averaging 3.1 offensive boards, ranking fifth in the Big Ten.
• Sophomore Leron Black combined for 20 rebounds over the last two games at Brooklyn, grabbing a game-high nine boards vs. West Virginia followed by a game-high 11 boards vs. Florida State.
• Black recorded his second career double-double vs. Florida State with 15 points to go with his 11 boards.
• Freshman Te'Jon Lucas averaged 17.0 mpg in Brooklyn and had his best game to date vs. Florida State, scoring a season-high 10 points with four assists.
• Senior Maverick Morgan is shooting 63.2 percent from the field (24-38).
• Senior Mike Thorne Jr. has been the team's leading rebounder in eight of 15 career appearances with the Illini.
