Head Coach John Groce
Career Record: 158-111/.587Â (8th year)Â Â Â
At Illinois: 73-55/.570 (4th year)
Big Ten: 27-38/.415
Series Notes vs. Northwestern
Series Record: Illinois leads 132-39
Series Streak: Illinois W-2
Record at Evanston: Illinois leads 61-25
Series Streak at Evanston: W-1
Groce vs. Northwestern: 3-2
Last Year's Meetings: ILL 72, NU 67 (1/14/15 in Evanston) & ILL 86, NU 60 (2/28/15 in Champaign)
Opening Tip
Following a mid-week bye, Illinois returns to action Saturday night at Northwestern. The Illini carry a two-game road winning streak to Evanston after overtime wins at Minnesota (Jan. 23) and at Rutgers (Feb. 3). The last time Illinois won three straight Big Ten road games was two years ago: at Minnesota (Feb. 19, 2014), at No. 18 Michigan State (March 1, 2014) and at No. 24 Iowa (March 8, 2014).
Stepping Up
While Malcolm Hill and Kendrick Nunn have carried the Illini scoring load most of the season, other options have emerged recently. Jalen Coleman-Lands, Maverick Morgan and D.J. Williams have combined to average 43.5 points on 60 percent shooting over the last two games, a strong improvement over their season-long production.
Hill Named Finalist for Jerry West Award
Illini junior Malcolm Hill is one of 10 finalists for the Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award, presented by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Joining Hill on the list are Buddy Hield (Oklahoma), Caris LeVert (Michigan), Grayson Allen (Duke), Jalen Jones (Texas A&M), Malcolm Brogdon (Virginia), Sheldon McClellan (Miami), Josh Hart (Villanova), AJ English (Iona) and Julian Jacobs (USC). The list will be narrowed to five in March, with the recipient chosen by West and the Hall of Fame's selection committee. The winner of the Jerry West Award will be presented on April 8 at the ESPN College Basketball Awards Show. Â
Elite Company
Junior Malcolm Hill leads the Fighting Illini in total points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocked shots on the season. He is one of just three players nationally to lead his team in all of those categories, joined by LSU's Ben Simmons and Florida A&M's Malcolm Bernard.
Big Two
Juniors Malcolm Hill and Kendrick Nunn are leading the charge for the Illini offensive attack, ranking as the highest-scoring duo in the Big Ten, and fourth-highest among the six major conferences so far this season. Here is a current ranking of the top scoring duos from each of the power six leagues:
-  39.3 points – Buddy Hield (25.7 ppg) & Isaiah Cousins (13.6 ppg), Oklahoma Â
-  37.7 points – Grayson Allen (20.8 ppg) & Brandon Ingram (16.9 ppg), Duke Â
-  37.6 points – Ben Bentil (20.6 ppg) & Kris Dunn (17.0 ppg), Providence
-  35.6 points – Malcolm Hill (18.9 ppg) & Kendrick Nunn (16.7 ppg), Illinois
-  35.6 points – Stefan Moody (23.3 ppg) & Sebastian Saiz (12.3 ppg), Mississippi
-  35.4 points – Andrew Andrews (20.6 ppg) & Dejounte Murray (14.8 ppg), WashingtonÂ
Hill and Nunn, meanwhile, are the third-highest duo among the six major conferences where both players are averaging at least 16 ppg:
-  37.7 points – Grayson Allen (20.8 ppg) & Brandon Ingram (16.9 ppg), DukeÂ
-  37.6 points – Ben Bentil (20.6 ppg) & Kris Dunn (17.0 ppg), Providence
-  35.6 points – Malcolm Hill (18.9 ppg) & Kendrick Nunn (16.7 ppg), Illinois
Illini Trends
• Illinois has started 13 different lineups this season.
• Illinois' turnover rate of 14.2 percent ranks fifth nationally, and the Illini rank 12th in the NCAA in fewest turnovers per game (10.2 avg.).
• Illinois ranks 11th nationally in defensive free throw rate (26.3).
• Illinois has had a 20-point scorer in six of the last eight games.
• A different player has been the Illini's leading rebounder in five of the last seven games.
• Junior Malcolm Hill has scored in double figures in every game this season, and carries an active streak of 29 straight games in double digits overall.
• Hill currently ranks second in the Big Ten in scoring with an average of 18.9 points. His average is the highest by an Illini since Brian Cook led the Big Ten in scoring in 2003 (20.0 ppg).
• Hill scored his 1,000th career point at Minnesota (Jan. 23), becoming the 47th player in Fighting Illini history to reach the 1,000-point milestone. He now ranks 43rd on the all-time UI list with 1,082 points.
• Hill has 16 career games of 20+ points, with 12 this season, including five of the last eight games (30 vs. Purdue, 20 at Indiana, 28 at Minnesota, 22 vs. Wisconsin, 32 at Rutgers).
• Over the last eight games, Hill is averaging 21.9 points (175), 8.8 made free throws (70) and 7.5 rebounds (60).
• Hill leads the Big Ten and ranks 12th in the NCAA in made free throws (147). He is second in the conference (behind Wisconsin's Nigel Hayes) and 22nd nationally in free throw attempts (179).
• Hill has nine games this season with at least nine free throw attempts. Over the last eight games, he has gotten to the line 87 times – averaging 10.9 attempts per game.
• Hill leads the Illini in assists on the season with an average of 3.3 apg, after entering the year with a career average of 1.0 assists. He has combined for 10 assists over the last two games, his best two-game total since combining for 10 vs. Purdue (3) and Nebraska (7), Jan. 10-16.
• Junior Kendrick Nunn has scored in double figures in 17 of the 18 games he has played in, averaging 16.7 points (seventh in Big Ten).
• Nunn has five games of 20+ points this season, including three times in Big Ten play (23 vs. Michigan, 22 vs. Purdue, 24 vs. Ohio State).
• Nunn has drained 51 three-pointers in his 18 games, after totaling 54 treys in 33 games last year. His current average of 2.8 made threes per game ranks fourth in the Big Ten.
• Nunn's average of 2.83 three-pointers is challenging for the Illini season school record. The current mark is 3.00 set by Cory Bradford in 2000 (96 made in 32 games).
• Freshman Jalen Coleman-Lands has made 58 three-pointers through 24 games. He is on pace to break the Illinois record by a true freshman of 69 treys, set by D.J. Richardson in 2010.
• Coleman-Lands is fourth on the team in scoring, averaging 9.8 points. The last Illini to average double figures as a freshman was Richardson in 2010 (10.5 ppg).
• Junior Maverick Morgan ranks fourth in the Big Ten in field goal shooting at 59.1 percent on the season.
• Morgan has come on strong over the last five games, averaging 11.6 points (68) and 5.4 rebounds (27) while shooting 61.4 percent (27-44).
• Redshirt freshman Michael Finke is third on the Illini in rebounding in Big Ten play, averaging 5.1 rebounds, improving on his all-games average of 4.0 rpg.
• Despite playing the "5" for much of the season, Finke ranks fourth on the team with 30 three-point field goals and fifth on the Illini with 27 assists.
• Junior Jaylon Tate leads the Big Ten with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 3.6 in conference play, while senior Khalid Lewis has a 3.7 assist-turnover ratio over the last 12 games (41:11).
Battling Through Adversity
Seven different Illini players have combined to miss a total of 71 games due to injuries and other circumstances so far this season. The only contest where Illinois has had its full roster available (not counting Tracy Abrams) for the entirety of the game was the 72-58 victory over UAB on Nov. 27.
With the list of available players changing from one game to the next, Coach John Groce has used 13 different starting lineups.
On six occasions the Illini have had as few as eight scholarship players available, including four times in Big Ten play (Michigan, at Ohio State, at Michigan State, at Rutgers).
The Illini are currently without three projected starters with Abrams, Black and Thorne all sidelined.
Taking Care of the Rock
Illinois has been one of the best teams in the country under Coach John Groce in taking care of the basketball. Last year's team set a school record for fewest turnovers, averaging just 9.9 per game. That broke the previous school mark of 10.4 per game set by Groce's 2014 squad.
This year the Illini are on pace to challenge the school record again this year, currently averaging 10.2 turnovers. Illinois ranks third in the Big Ten and 12th nationally in fewest turnovers. And Illinois ranks second in the conference with a +3.1 turnover margin (22nd in NCAA).
Getting it Done at the Line Again
Illinois leads the Big Ten in free show shooting during league play at 77.4 percent, connecting on 171-of-221. Illinois led the conference in free throw shooting last year as well, making 81 percent in Big Ten games.
The Illini led the entire NCAA in free throw accuracy last season (all games), setting a school record at 79.4 percent to break the previous UI record by five percentage points.
3-Point Improvement
The Illini have increased their production from behind the arc in recent weeks. Illinois has made an average of 8.7 threes per game over the last 18 games (157), a vast improvement over the average of 6.5 made treys through the first six games (39). The Illini have hit at least nine treys 11 times during this stretch, including nine of the last 14 contests.
Newcomers Playing Prominent Role
Illinois has seven newcomers who have all factored into the rotation this season in graduate transfers Khalid Lewis and Mike Thorne Jr., junior transfer Alex Austin, redshirt freshman Michael Finke and true freshmen Jalen Coleman-Lands, Aaron Jordan and D.J. Williams. Together they have accounted for 51 percent of the team's minutes played, the second-highest number in the conference. Illinois is one of only two Big Ten teams with more than half of its minutes coming from newcomers (Nebraska). The Illini rank fifth in the league, meanwhile, in minutes played by freshmen at 32 percent:
Last Time Out: #5 Iowa 77, Illini 65Â (Feb. 7)
The Illini fell to fifth-ranked Iowa in a Super Bowl Sunday showdown at State Farm Center. A 12-0 run gave the Hawkeyes an early 16-6 lead, and the experienced visitors maintained their advantage the rest of the way. Jalen Coleman-Lands opened the second half with a 3-pointer that brought the Illini to within six points (38-32). But Iowa responded shortly thereafter with eight unanswered to push the lead back to double digits, and Illinois could get no closer than 10 during the game's final 17 minutes.
Second-chance points were a key factor in the outcome. Iowa grabbed 12 offensive rebounds and scored on all but one of those extra opportunities, hitting four 3-pointers, six 2-pointers and a pair of free throws. That amounted to a staggering 26 second-chance points. The Illini, meanwhile, converted only six points from its seven offensive boards.
Coleman-Lands led the Illini in scoring for the third time in his rookie campaign, registering 17 points while hitting five 3-pointers. Malcolm Hill had an efficient 14 points on just nine shots and grabbed a team-high eight rebounds. Maverick Morgan continued his strong play with 10 points and seven boards and freshman D.J. Williams provided a spark off the bench, finishing with season highs of eight points and four rebounds in 15 minutes.
