Head Coach John Groce
Career Record: 158-110/.590 (8th year)
At Illinois: 73-54/.575 (4th year)
Big Ten: 27-37/.422
Series Notes vs. Iowa
Series Record: Illinois leads 82-70
Series Streak: Iowa W-1
Record at Champaign: Illinois leads 61-15
Series Streak at Champaign: Iowa W-1
Last Year's Meeting: Iowa 68, Illinois 60 // Feb. 25, 2015 at Iowa City
Groce vs. Iowa: 1-3
Opening Tips
• The Illini are looking to win consecutive Big Ten games since closing out last year's home schedule with back-to-back victories over Northwestern (86-60, Feb. 25) and Nebraska (69-57, March 4).
• Illinois faces its fifth Top-25 opponent of the season on Sunday in No. 5 Iowa. The Illini are 1-3 versus ranked teams this year with the win coming in their most recent match-up at home against a ranked foe, an 84-70 victory over No. 20 Purdue on Jan. 10. The Illini carry a two-game winning streak over ranked teams at State Farm Center, also defeating No. 11 Maryland 64-57 on Jan. 7, 2015. Illinois' last victory over a Top-5 opponent came during Coach John Groce's first season, when the Illini defeated No. 1 Indiana in Champaign, 74-72, on Tyler Griffey's layup at the buzzer (Feb. 7, 2013).
• Sunday's game features four of the Big Ten's top-10 scorers during conference play. Illinois' Malcolm Hill ranks first (19.6 ppg), Iowa's Jarrod Uthoff is third (18.6 ppg), the Illini's Kendrick Nunn is eighth (16.2 ppg) and the Hawkeyes' Peter Jok is ninth (15.5 ppg). It also is a match-up between two of the NCAA's top-five teams at taking care of the basketball. Illinois ranks third nationally in turnover rate (14.3) with Iowa fourth (14.3).
Hill Named Finalist for Jerry West Award
Illini junior Malcolm Hill has been named 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.
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 Kendrick Nunn and Malcolm Hill 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 ranking of the top scoring duos from each of the power six leagues:
- 40.2 points – Buddy Hield (25.8 ppg) & Jordan Woodard (14.4 ppg), Oklahoma
- 37.6 points – Grayson Allen (20.6 ppg) & Brandon Ingram (17.0 ppg), Duke
- 36.9 points – Ben Bentil (19.7 ppg) & Kris Dunn (17.2 ppg), Providence
- 36.4 points – Malcolm Hill (19.1 ppg) & Kendrick Nunn (17.3 ppg), Illinois
- 36.3 points – Stefan Moody (23.5 ppg) & Sebastian Saiz (12.8 ppg), Mississippi
- 36.1 points – Andrew Andrews (20.6 ppg) & Dejounte Murray (15.5 ppg), Washington
Nunn and Hill, meanwhile, are one of only three duos among the six major conferences where both players are averaging at least 17 ppg:
- 37.6 points – Grayson Allen (20.6 ppg) & Brandon Ingram (17.0 ppg), Duke, ACC
- 36.9 points – Ben Bentil (19.7 ppg) & Kris Dunn (17.2 ppg), Providence, Big East
- 36.4 points – Malcolm Hill (19.1 ppg) & Kendrick Nunn (17.3 ppg), Illinois, Big Ten
Super Bowl Prelude
Illinois is playing its 10th game on Super Bowl Sunday and has a home game for the ninth time. The Illini are 5-4 all-time when playing before the Super Bowl:
- 1/22/89 – #2 Illinois 103, Georgia Tech 92, 2OT (Champaign)
- 1/30/94 – Illinois 88, #11 Indiana 81 (Champaign)
- 1/25/98 – Illinois 64, #16 Michigan 53 (Champaign)
- 1/30/00 – #9 Michigan State 91, Illinois 66 (East Lansing)
- 2/3/02 – Michigan State 67, #12 Illinois 61 (Champaign)
- 2/6/05 – #1 Illinois 60, Indiana 47 (Champaign)
- 2/1/09 – #19 Illinois 62, Iowa 54 (Champaign)
- 2/5/12 – Northwestern 74, Illinois 70 (Champaign)
- 2/3/13 – Wisconsin 74, Illinois 68 (Champaign)
Last Time Out: Illini 110, Rutgers 101, 3OT (Feb. 3)
Illinois won its second straight road game, fighting back from an early double-digit deficit to defeat Rutgers in triple overtime on Wednesday night at The RAC.
The Illini found themselves down 24-12 less than nine minutes into the contest, but closed to within one before entering the locker room down three. The lead then changed hands eight times during the second half, including five times during the final four minutes of regulation. Malcolm Hill hit a pull-up jumper with 10 seconds left to put the Illini up one, but Corey Sanders was fouled with 3.3 remaining and hit the first of two free throws to send the game to overtime.
Illinois seemed in control during the first extra session, leading by seven with 29 seconds left. But a turnover and missed free throw surrounding a Rutgers 3-pointer and pair of free throws set up the final possession, when Sanders followed his own missed three by grabbing the rebound and hoisting another three that went through at the buzzer, forcing a second OT.
Neither team could pull away in the second overtime, sending it to a third extra period. And that's when Illinois took over for good, scoring nine unanswered points and hitting all 12 of its free throws in the final five minutes to record the win.
Notes from the Win over Rutgers
• 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 the last 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, shattering his old high of 17 points at Providence (Nov. 18).
• 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).
Illini Trends
• Illinois has started 13 different lineups this season.
• Illinois' turnover rate of 14.3 percent ranks third nationally, and the Illini rank 12th in the NCAA in fewest turnovers per game (10.2 avg.).
• Illinois ranks 13th nationally in defensive free throw rate (26.3).
• Illinois has had a 20-point scorer in six of the last seven games.
• A different player has been the Illini's leading rebounder in five of the last six games.
• Junior Malcolm Hill has scored in double figures in every game this season and currently leads the Big Ten in scoring with an average of 19.1 points.
• Hill's scoring 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 44th on the all-time UI list with 1,068 points.
• Hill has 16 career games of 20+ points, with 12 this season, including five of the last seven games (30 vs. Purdue, 20 at Indiana, 28 at Minnesota, 22 vs. Wisconsin, 32 at Rutgers).
• Over the last seven games, Hill is averaging 23.0 points (161), 9.7 made free throws (67) and 7.4 rebounds (52).
• Hill leads the Big Ten and ranks eighth in the NCAA in made free throws (144). He is second in the conference (behind Wisconsin's Nigel Hayes) and 16th nationally in free throw attempts (175).
• Hill has nine games this season with at least nine free throw attempts. Over the last seven games, he has gotten to the line 83 times – averaging 11.9 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.
• Junior Kendrick Nunn has scored in double figures in all 17 games he has played in, averaging 17.3 points.
• Nunn's scoring average would rank fifth in the Big Ten, but he is not listed among the conference statistical leaders because he has yet to play in 75 percent of Illinois' games. Nunn will hit the 75 percent requirement following the Iowa game on Sunday.
• 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's 24 points vs. Ohio State last week marked his highest total in 11 games, since scoring a career-high 28 vs. Yale (Dec. 9).
• Nunn has drained 51 three-pointers in his 17 games, after totaling 54 treys in 33 games last year. His current average of 3.0 made threes per game would rank third in the Big Ten.
• Nunn's average of 3.00 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 53 three-pointers through 23 games. He is on pace to contend with 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 9.4 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 58.8 percent on the season.
• Morgan has come on strong over the last four games, averaging 12.0 points (48) and 5.0 rebounds (20) while shooting 61.1 percent (22-36).
• Junior Jaylon Tate leads the Big Ten with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 3.3 in conference play.
• Redshirt freshman Michael Finke grabbed 16 boards in the win at Minnesota on Jan. 23, the highest rebounding total by an Illini in the last four seasons (Meyers Leonard, 16 reb vs. Cornell, 12/19/11).
• Finke is third on the Illini in rebounding in Big Ten play, averaging 5.2 rebounds, improving on his all-games average of 4.0 rpg.
• Despite playing the "5" for much of the season, Finke ranks fifth on the team with 27 assists. He set a career high with four assists at Minnesota (Jan. 23).
Battling Through Adversity
Seven different Illini players have combined to miss a total of 68 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 during 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 +3.3 turnover margin (19th in NCAA).
Getting it Done at the Line Again
Illinois leads the Big Ten in free show shooting during league play at 77.2 percent, connecting on 166-of-215. 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 17 games (149), 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 13 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).
