Game 15: Illinois (10-4, 0-1) vs. Ohio State (10-3, 0-0)
Date	Sunday, Jan. 1, 2017 | 6 p.m. CST
Location	Champaign, Ill. | State Farm Center (15,544) | Fan Guide
Tickets	New Year's Offer | Buy Online | Virtual SFC
Television	BTN (Jeff Levering and Shon Morris)
Live Stream	BTN2Go.com
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Printable Notes	Illinois | OSU | Big Ten
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Head Coach John Groce
Career Record: 172-121/.587 (9th year)
At Illinois: 87-65/.572 (5th year)
Big Ten: 29-44/.397

Series Notes vs. Ohio State
Series Record: Illinois leads 104-76
Series Streak: Ohio State W-6
Record at Champaign: Illinois leads 61-27
Series Streak at Champaign: Ohio State W-2
Last Season: OSU 75, ILL 73 (1/3/16 at OSU) // OSU 68, ILL 63, OT (1/28/16 at ILL)
Groce vs. Ohio State: 1-6

Opening Tips

• After seeing its six-game winning streak snapped in the Big Ten opener Tuesday at Maryland, Illinois returns to the court on Sunday night, facing Ohio State in the conference home opener at State Farm Center.

• Illinois' recent win streak was its longest since also recording six straight victories to start the 2014-15 season.

• Senior Malcolm Hill scored his 1,500th career point at Maryland. Hill (1,503 points) enters Sunday's game 30 points away from moving into the top-10 on the Illini all-time scoring chart. Andy Kaufmann (1989-93) ranks 10th on the list with 1,533 points.

• Sunday will mark Illinois' first home game in 22 days. Illinois plays three of its next four games at home, but the Ohio State contest is the Illini's lone home date over a one-month span. Illinois' last home game was  a 92-73 win over Central Michigan Dec. 10, and the UI will next returns to State Farm Center Jan. 11 vs. Michigan.

• The Illini look to snap a six-game skid against Ohio State. Illinois' last victory in the series came on Jan. 5, 2013, a 74-55 victory by the No. 11 Illini over the No. 8 Buckeyes in Champaign. That was John Groce's first meeting as Illinois head coach against Thad Matta's Buckeyes. Groce served four years as an assistant to Matta in Columbus from the 2005 through 2008 seasons.

Last Time Out: Maryland 84, Illini 59  (Dec. 27)

Illinois' six-game winning streak came to an end in College Park on Tuesday following an impressive performance by host Maryland in the Big Ten opener for both programs.

The Terrapins jumped out to an early 15-4 lead and never looked back. Maryland converted 26 of 38 two-pointers en route to 55.9 percent shooting overall, the highest field goal percentage allowed by the Illini defense this season. That made for a tough combination with Illinois shooting just 35.6 percent from the field, its second-lowest output of the year, including a season-low 18.2 percent from 3-point range (4-22).

The Illini competed well on the glass, grabbing 14 offensive rebounds, but only managed to convert those extra opportunities into 11 second-chance points. And turnovers proved costly, as the Terrapins converted 22 points from the UI's 17 miscues.

Malcolm Hill led all scorers for the second-straight contest, recording a game-high 21 points while topping the 1,500-point marker for his career. In addition, Hill grabbed a game-high seven rebounds.

Mike Thorne Jr. also scored in double figures for the first time in eight games, finishing with 10 points.

Post Production

Illinois has received strong play from its center rotation lately, with fives Mike Thorne Jr. and Maverick Morgan combining to average 20.3 points (81) on 64.8 percent shooting (35-54) and 12.5 rebounds (50) over the last four games.

Strong Scheduling

Illinois felt it had constructed a competitive non-conference schedule prior to the season. With Big Ten play now here, numbers from the NCAA are showing that to be the case. Illinois had the second-highest non-conference schedule among Big Ten teams, rated No. 16 nationally. The Illini currently rank No. 10 overall in Strength of Schedule (SOS), having already played five games against top-50 RPI opponents.

Winning Streak Notables

• During its recent six-game winning streak (Nov. 29-Dec. 21), Illinois averaged 79.8 points (479) on 49.4 percent shooting (167-338), including 41.1 percent from 3-point range (46-112).

• The Illini made better than 46 percent from the field in five of those six games, and hit at least 38 percent from behind the arc in all six contests.

• Illinois also tightened its defense, allowing an average of 68.2 points over those six games (409). That was a strong contrast to the 81.7 points per game given up during the UI's previous three-game skid.

• Illinois was not outrebounded, claiming the battle on the glass in five games while equaling VCU. The Illini earned a rebound margin of +6.7 rpg over that stretch (40). 

Illini Team Trends

• Illinois ranks fourth in the Big Ten and 86th in the NCAA in scoring offense, averaging 78.4 ppg. The Illini have scored at least 75 points in nine of its 10 wins.

• Illinois is currently shooting 47 percent from the field, ranking 75th in the NCAA. It is the UI's first season at  47 percent since 2004-05 (.484).

• The Illini rank third in the Big Ten and 65th nationally in 3-point field goal percentage at 38.1 percent. Illinois has made better than 40 percent behind in six games.

• Illinois has been strong on the offensive glass, recording double digits in nine games – including seven of the last nine – and averaging 10.5 o-boards per game. Last season Illinois ranked last in the Big Ten with 7.6 offensive rebounds per contest.

• Illinois is also getting it done on the defensive glass. The Illini rank third in the Big Ten and 51st nationally in defensive rebounding percentage (.744).

• Illinois has shot at least 50 percent during the second half in eight of its 10 wins.

• Illinois is shooting 51.2 percent in eight games at State Farm Center (248-484), compared to 40.8 percent in six games away from home (138-338).

• Illinois is earning its way to the free throw line on offense, ranking 93rd in the nation with a 39.2 free throw rate against D1 opponents (FTA/FGA). That is Illinois' highest free throw rate since the 2001-02 season (44.6).

• 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). So it is uncharacteristic to see Illinois currently averaging 14.2 turnovers through 14 games this year.

Illini Player Trends

• Wooden Award and Naismith Trophy candidate Malcolm Hill ranks second in the Big Ten in scoring (18.6 ppg).

• Hill has scored in double figures in 12 of 13 games against Div. I opponents, with seven outings of 20+ points and two 30-plus point performances.

• Hill has reached double figures in each of the last eight games, including back-to-back 21-point games vs. Missouri and at Maryland. It is the first time he has had consecutive 20-point outings since the first two games of the season (21 vs. Southeast Missouri Nov. 11, career-high 40 vs. Northern Kentucky Nov. 13).

• Hill ranks 11th on the Illinois career scoring chart (1,503 points). At his current season average, Hill would finish as the Illini's No. 3 all-time leading scorer. 

• Hill has seven kenpom game MVP accolades so far this season, tied for the most by any player nationally.

• Hill's career-high 40 points vs. Northern Kentucky (Nov. 13) is tied for the No. 6 scoring performance in the NCAA so far this season.

• Hill has scored in double figures in just the second half of seven games this season.

• Hill is currently shooting 42.3 percent from 3-point range 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 30 threes in 14 games after making 37 treys in 34 games last season.

• Hill continues to be one of the nation's best at getting to the line. He ranks 30th in the NCAA with 67 made free throws (second in B1G). His 76 attempts, meanwhile, also rank 86th nationally (first in B1G).

• Hill ranks fourth all-time at Illinois with 435 career made free throws, two away from third place. Last season he went 193 of 235 from the line, ranking as the second-highest single-season school totals for free throws made and attempted.

• Hill is drawing 6.8 fouls per 40 minutes, ranking 66th nationally.

• After missing the last two years due to injury, sixth-year senior Tracy Abrams has scored in double figures in seven games, ranking second on the team in scoring (11.2 ppg).

• Abrams ranks 10th in the NCAA in 3-point field goal percentage (min. 2 made/game), shooting 52.7 percent from 3-point range (29-55) after entering his final season as a 27 percent career 3-point shooter.

• Abrams has drained at least three treys in six games on the season.

• Abrams is shooting 49.5 percent overall, his first season at better than 41 percent from the field.

• Abrams has made at least 50 percent from the field and 3-point range in eight games.

• Sophomore Leron Black has scored in double figures in six games, ranking third on the team in scoring (11.0 points). He entered the year as a 4.9 ppg career scorer.

• Black has scored in double figures six times through 10 games, after totaling seven double-digit scoring performances in 40 career games entering the season.

• Black has been the Illini's leading rebounder in four games and leads the team on the year, averaging 6.4 boards.

• Senior Maverick Morgan is averaging 8.7 points and ranks eighth in the Big Ten in field goal shooting at 60.5 percent. 

• Morgan attempted just three shots at Maryland. Prior to that, he averaged 14.7 points (44) and 9.3 rebounds (28) over the previous three games while shooting 66.7 percent from the field (18-27).

• Senior Mike Thorne Jr. is shooting 67.3 percent from the field over the last 11 games (35-52).

• Senior Jaylon Tate has tallied 18 assists with only six turnovers in a total of 88 minutes over the last four games.

» Complete Illinois-Ohio State Notes