| Illinois Probable Starters (from the previous game) |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
Note |
| G |
13 |
Tracy Abrams |
6-2 |
185 |
Gr. |
10.6 |
2.8 |
3.1 |
4 pts from 1,000 in career |
| G |
5 |
Jalen Coleman-Lands |
6-3 |
190 |
So. |
8.0 |
1.9 |
1.1 |
20 3FG |
| G |
21 |
Malcolm Hill |
6-6 |
225 |
Sr. |
19.8 |
6.7 |
2.0 |
32 pts in IUPUI win |
| F |
12 |
Leron Black |
6-7 |
220 |
r-So. |
13.3 |
8.2 |
0.8 |
16.0 pts / 9.0 reb in last 4 |
| C |
33 |
Mike Thorne Jr. |
6-11 |
280 |
Gr. |
6.1 |
4.1 |
0.3 |
59.1% FG |
| Off the Bench |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
Note |
| G |
0 |
D.J. Williams |
6-7 |
210 |
So. |
3.3 |
1.1 |
0.6 |
3 BLK |
| G |
1 |
Jaylon Tate |
6-3 |
170 |
Sr. |
4.1 |
1.7 |
3.7 |
1.9 A/TO |
| G |
3 |
Te'Jon Lucas |
6-0 |
170 |
Fr. |
3.3 |
0.8 |
1.6 |
70.6% FG |
| C |
22 |
Maverick Morgan |
6-10 |
245 |
Sr. |
7.3 |
2.6 |
0.6 |
56.9% FG |
| G |
23 |
Aaron Jordan |
6-5 |
190 |
So. |
1.8 |
0.9 |
0.3 |
5-12 3FG |
| G |
35 |
Samson Oladimeji |
6-5 |
195 |
Fr. |
0.0 |
1.0 |
0.0 |
2 G |
| G |
41 |
Clayton Jones |
6-0 |
170 |
r-Jr. |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
3 G |
| F |
43 |
Michael Finke |
6-10 |
230 |
r-So. |
8.1 |
5.2 |
0.3 |
2.2 OREB/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: 169-120/.585 (9th year)
At Illinois: 84-64/.568?(5th year)
Series Notes vs. Central Michigan
All-Time Series Record: First meeting
Groce vs. CMU All-Time: 2-2
Broadcast Information
Saturday's game vs. Central Michigan will be streamed live via BTN Plus. BTN Plus programming consists of non-televised games produced by students at Big Ten universities and is available through either a monthly or annual subscription. Fans can purchase a BTN Plus subscription by visiting BTN2GO.com.
Opening Tips
• Illinois plays its final non-conference home game on Saturday, hosting Central Michigan. It will be three weeks before the Illini return to State Farm Center, for the Big Ten home opener vs. Ohio State on New Year's Day.
• The only two players in the nation who have recorded six kenpom game MVP accolades so far this season are Illinois' Malcolm Hill and Central Michigan's Marcus Keene.
• Illinois has shot at least 50 percent in five of its seven home games.
• The Illini have shot at least 50 percent during the second half in all seven victories.
• Leron Black is averaging 16.0 points (64) and 9.0 rebounds (36) over the last four games.
• Malcolm Hill is averaging 22.0 points over the last four games (88).
• Tracy Abrams is four points away from becoming the 49th player in Illini history with 1,000 career points.
• Malcolm Hill (1,441 career pts) is eight points away from entering the top 15 on the Illini all-time scoring list.
Notes from the Last Time Out: Illini 85, IUPUI 77 (Dec. 6)
• Illinois shot 55 percent for the game and 60 percent in the second half, good for its second-highest field goal percentage in a half this season. The Illini set a season-best mark in the second half against NC State with a 67.9 field goal percentage.
• It marked the eighth time in 10 games where the Fighting Illini shot better in the second half compared to the first half.
• Illinois shot 60.6 percent on 2-pointers, making 20-of-33. It was the second-best performance inside the arc by the Illini, behind the 19-for-22 (86.4 percent) effort on twos in the opener vs. Southeast Missouri.
• Malcolm Hill scored a game-high 32 points in the win. It was Hill's second 30-plus point performance of the season and sixth of his career, and also marked the 25th time in his career he scored 20 or more points in a game.
• Leron Black had 16 points, his fourth-straight game scoring 15-plus points, and led the team with nine rebounds. He also made a career-high eight free throws in nine attempts.
• Tracy Abrams tied his season high with six assists, his third six-plus assist game of the season, and set a season high with four steals, one short of his career high.
Illini Team Trends
• Illinois ranks fourth in the Big Ten and 73rd in the NCAA in scoring offense, averaging 79.6 ppg. The Illini have scored at least 79 points in six of its seven wins.
• Illinois has won six of its seven games by at least 14 points, with Tuesday's eight-point victory over IUPUI the first by single digits this season.
• The Illini rank third in the Big Ten and 41st nationally in 3-point field goal percentage at 39.4 percent. Illinois' 82 made threes ranks 57th in the NCAA.
• Illinois has been strong on the offensive glass so far this season, recording double digits in six games – including four of the last five – and averaging 10.3 o-boards per game. Last season Illinois ranked last in the Big Ten with 7.6 offensive rebounds per contest.
• The Illini have shot better from the field in the second half compared to the first in eight of 10 games.
• Illinois has shot at least 50 percent during the second half in all seven of its wins.
• Illinois is shooting 51 percent in six games at State Farm Center (214-420), compared to just 38 percent in three games away from home (63-166).
• 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 turnovers through 10 games this year.
Illini Player Trends
• Wooden Award and Naismith Trophy candidate Malcolm Hill ranks second in the Big Ten in scoring (19.8 ppg).
• Hill has scored in double figures in eight of nine games against D1 opponents, with five outings of 20+ points and two 30-plus point performances.
• Hill has reached double figures in each of the last four games, averaging 22.0 points (88).
• Hill ranks 19th in the nation by kenpom with an offensive rating of 118.9 (28 percent possessions used).
• Hill's career-high 40 points vs. Northern Kentucky (Nov. 13) is tied for the No. 4 scoring performance in the NCAA so far this season.
• Hill has scored in double figures in just the second half of six games this season, including three of the last four. He scored 23 of his 32 IUPUI after intermission.
• Hill is currently shooting 46.2 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 24 threes in 10 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 19th in the NCAA with 56 made free throws. His 69 attempts, meanwhile, rank 21st nationally.
• Hill now ranks fourth all-time at Illinois with 417 career made free throws. Last season he went 193 of 235 from the line, ranking as the second-highest single-season totals for free throws made and attempted.
• Hill is drawing 7.2 fouls per 40 minutes, ranking 58th nationally.
• After missing the last two years due to injury, sixth-year senior Tracy Abrams has scored in double figures in five games, ranking third on the team in scoring (10.6 ppg).
• Abrams ranks second in the Big Ten in 3-point field goal percentage, shooting 58.1 percent from 3-point range (18-31) after entering his final season as a 27 percent career 3-point shooter.
• Abrams is shooting 52.9 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 seven of 10 games.
• Abrams also leads the Illini with a 2.2 assist-to-turnover ratio, his first season with a ratio greater than 2:1.
• Abrams has combined for 10 assists over the last two games.
• Sophomore Leron Black has scored in double figures in five of his six games, ranking second on the team in scoring (13.3 points).
• Black has reached double figures in each of the last four games, averaging 16.0 points (64).
• Black has been the Illini's leading rebounder in four of the last five games and leads the team on the season, averaging 8.2 boards.
• Black is averaging 9.0 rebounds over the last five games (45).
• Black tied his career high in scoring last Saturday vs. VCU with 18 points, and recorded his second career double-double vs. Florida State (Nov. 25) with 15 points and 11 boards.
• Sophomore Jalen Coleman-Lands is averaging 10.7 points (32) on 50 percent shooting (12-24 FG) over the last three games.
• Senior Mike Thorne Jr. is shooting 71.4 percent from the field over the last seven games (20-28).
