Head Coach John Groce
Career Record: 158-112/.585 (8th year)
At Illinois: 73-56/.566 (4th year)
Big Ten: 27-39/.409
Series Notes vs. Rutgers
Series Record: Illinois leads 3-0
Series Streak: Illinois W-3
Record at Champaign: Illinois leads 1-0
Series Streak at Champaign: Illinois W-1
This Year's Meeting: Illinois 110, Rutgers 101 (30T) Feb. 3, 2016 at Piscataway, N.J.
Groce vs. Rutgers: 2-0
Opening Tip
Entering the final third of the conference schedule, Illinois begins a stretch of three out of its next four games at home, hosting Rutgers on Tuesday night at State Farm Center. This is the second meeting between the Fighting Illini and Scarlet Knights in less than two weeks, a rematch of the Orange and Blue's 110-101 triple overtime victory in Piscataway on Feb. 3.
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 39 points on 55.2 percent shooting the last three games, a strong improvement over their production prior to this stretch.
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.
Select Company
Malcolm Hill currently leads the Illini in scoring, rebounding and assists, vying to become just the second Fighting Illini player ever to lead his team in all three categories in the same season. The only other Illini to accomplish the feat (dating back to the start of assists record keeping in 1974) was Rick Schmidt in 1975. During Schmidt's junior season, he led the Illini with averages of 20.2 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists.
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 seventh-highest among the six major conferences this season. Here is a current ranking of the top scoring duos from each of the power six leagues:
- 39.5 points – Buddy Hield (25.6 ppg) & Isaiah Cousins (13.9 ppg), Oklahoma
- 37.8 points – Grayson Allen (20.6 ppg) & Brandon Ingram (17.2 ppg), Duke
- 37.5 points – Ben Bentil (20.4 ppg) & Kris Dunn (17.1 ppg), Providence
- 35.5 points – Jamal Murray (18.8 ppg) & Tyler Ullis (16.7 ppg), Kentucky
- 35.3 points – Andrew Andrews (20.5 ppg) & Dejounte Murray (14.8 ppg), Washington
- 35.2 points – Stefan Moody (23.0 ppg) & Sebastian Saiz (12.2 ppg), Mississippi
- 34.9 points – Malcolm Hill (18.4 ppg) & Kendrick Nunn (16.5 ppg), Illinois
Hill and Nunn, meanwhile, are the fourth-highest duo among the six major conferences where both players are averaging at least 16 ppg.
Illini Trends
• Illinois has started 13 different lineups this season.
• Illinois' turnover rate of 14.4 percent ranks sixth nationally, and the Illini rank 15th in the NCAA in fewest turnovers per game (10.2 avg.).
• Illinois ranks 10th nationally in defensive free throw rate (26.0).
• Junior Malcolm Hill has scored in double figures in all but one game this season. His streak of 29 straight games in double digits was snapped Saturday at Northwestern (7 points).
• Hill currently ranks third in the Big Ten in scoring with an average of 18.4 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 1,089 points.
• Hill has 16 career games of 20+ points, with 12 this season, including five of the last nine games (30 vs. Purdue, 20 at Indiana, 28 at Minnesota, 22 vs. Wisconsin, 32 at Rutgers).
• Hill leads the Big Ten and ranks 17th in the NCAA in made free throws (150). He is second in the conference (behind Wisconsin's Nigel Hayes) and 28th nationally in free throw attempts (183).
• Hill has nine games this season with at least nine free throw attempts. Over the last nine games, he has gotten to the line 91 times – averaging 10.1 attempts per game.
• Hill has grabbed at least eight rebounds in five of the last six games, averaging 9.3 rpg over this stretch (56). He recorded a career-high with 14 rebounds at Rutgers (Feb. 3) and had 13 rebounds Saturday at Northwestern.
• Hill leads the Illini in assists on the season with an average of 3.5 apg (12th in Big Ten), after entering the year with a career average of 1.0 assists.
• Hill is averaging 5.7 assists over the last three games (17), led by a career-high eight dimes Saturday vs. Northwestern.
• Junior Kendrick Nunn has scored in double figures in 18 of the 19 games he has played in, averaging 16.5 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 54 three-pointers in his 19 games, equaling his total of 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 2.84 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 leads all Big Ten freshmen with 62 made three-pointers this season. 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).
• Coleman-Lands has scored in double figures in each of the last three games, averaging 18.3 over this stretch (55) and led by a career-high with 26 points at Rutgers (Feb. 3).
• Coleman-Lands has knocked down 15 treys over the last three games on 44.1 shooting percent from behind the arc (15-34).
• Junior Maverick Morgan ranks third in the Big Ten in field goal shooting at 58.3 percent on the season.
• Morgan has come on strong over the last six games, averaging 11.7 points (70) and 5.7 rebounds (34) while shooting 58.9 percent (33-56).
• Morgan has scored in double figures for times during that stretch, led by a career-high 20 points at Rutgers (Feb. 3). He also has set a season high of seven rebounds three times in those six contests, including each of his last two outings vs. Iowa (Feb. 7) and Saturday at Northwestern.
• Freshman D.J. Williams has shown rapid improvement recently, averaging 6.7 points (20) on 52.9 percent shooting (9-17) over the last three games.
Battling Through Adversity
Seven different Illini players have combined to miss a total of 74 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 15th nationally in fewest turnovers. And Illinois ranks second in the conference with a +3.0 turnover margin (24th in NCAA).
Getting it Done at the Line Again
Illinois leads the Big Ten in free show shooting during league play at 76.4 percent, connecting on 175-of-229. 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 8.8 threes per game over the last 19 games (167), 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 12 times during this stretch, including 10 of the last 15 contests.
Last Time Out: Northwestern 58, Illini 56 (Feb. 13)
The Illini narrowly missed out on a third-straight road win, dropping a two-point decision at Northwestern.
It was a back-and-forth contest dominated by defense and featuring 14 lead changes, most in an Illinois game on the season. The Illini made three straight buckets to grab a 46-42 lead with 8:15 remaining. Tre Demps, who was 1-for-8 from the field up to that point, then caught fire, hitting four straight 3-pointers to ignite a personal 12-3 run for Northwestern and put the Wildcats up by five.
Kendrick Nunn drained a 3-pointer with 43 seconds left to bring the Illini within two, and after a defensive stop, the Orange and Blue had one last chance at the end. Malcolm Hill's step-back jumper with 2.7 seconds to go was negated by a foul on the floor just before the shot. Illinois then inbounded the ball to Hill, but he lost his balance and was unable to get a shot off before the buzzer.
Illinois made 10 three-pointers on 40 percent from behind the arc (10-25), but connected on just 34.4 percent of its two-point attempts (11-32). The Illini outrebounded the Wildcats 40-to-31 and grabbed 14 offensive boards, one shy of its season high. That allowed the Illini to outscore NU 13-to-8 on second-chance points.
Nunn led the Illini with 13 points while Maverick Morgan and Jalen Coleman-Lands added 12 apiece with Morgan equaling his season high of seven rebounds. Playing predominantly at point guard for most of the night, Hill was limited to single figures for the first time on the season, scoring seven points. But he dished out a career-high eight assists and also grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds, one off his career best.
Notes from the Win at Rutgers (Feb. 3)
• The 3OT game was the longest for Illinois in 22 seasons, since a 108-107 triple OT loss to Missouri (Dec. 22, 1993). That also was the last time Illinois played in a game where both teams scored 100+ points.
• The Illini went to overtime for the third time in four games. It marks the first time Illinois has had three or more OT games in a season since playing four in 2007-08.
• Illinois improved to 5-2 in overtime games under Coach John Groce.
• The 110 points were Illinois' most since putting up 114 against Coppin State last season (Nov. 16, 2014).
• The Illini improved to 76-4 all-time when reaching the century mark.
• Malcolm Hill recorded his fifth double-double of the season with 32 points – the second highest scoring output of his career – and a career-high 14 rebounds.
• Hill made a career-high 17 free throws (equaling the third-most ever by an Illini) on a career-best 20 attempts (tying the fifth-most in school history).
• Hill drained all 10 of his free throws in the overtime periods and finished with 16 straight makes after missing three of his first four attempts.
• Jalen Coleman-Lands drained a career-high six 3-pointers while scoring a career-high 26 points.
• Coleman-Lands' 26 points marked the highest scoring total by an Illini freshman in eight seasons, since Demetri McCamey also scored 26 in a 74-67 overtime victory vs. Purdue in the 2008 Big Ten Tournament Quarterfinals (March 8, 2008).
• Maverick Morgan poured in a career-high 20 points by hitting 10-of-13 field goals.
• Kendrick Nunn recorded his second career double-double with 10 points and a career-high 13 rebounds.
• Playing less than an hour away from his hometown of Trenton, N.J., Khalid Lewis produced season highs in points (9) and assists (8) while turning the ball over just once in 46 minutes of play.
• All five Illini starters played career high minutes: Hill (49), Lewis (46), Coleman-Lands (45), Nunn (45) and Morgan (43).
