GAME 16: Illinois (11-4, 1-1) at #25 Indiana (10-5, 0-2)
Date	Saturday, Jan. 7, 2017  |  4 p.m. CT
Location	Bloomington, Ind. | Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall
Television	ESPNU (Clay Matvick and Sean Harrington)
Live Stream	WatchESPN.com
Radio	Fighting Illini Sports Network | TuneIn | Sirius/XM 84
Live Stats	Live Stats
Printable Notes	Illinois | Indiana | Big Ten
Season Stats	Illinois (XML) | Illinois (PDF) | Indiana | Big Ten
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Head Coach John Groce
Career Record: 173-121/.588 (9th year)
At Illinois: 88-65/.575 (5th year)
Big Ten: 30-44/.405

Series Notes vs. Indiana
Series Record: Indiana leads 89-86
Series Streak: Indiana W-3
Record at Bloomington: Indiana leads 54-29
Series Streak at Bloomington: Indiana W-4
Last Year: #25 IND 103, ILL 69 (1/19/16 at IND) | #18 IND 74, ILL 47 (2/25/16 at ILL)
Groce vs. Indiana: 3-5

Opening Tips

• Winners of seven of its last eight games, the Illini return to the court Saturday following a mid-week bye, traveling to No. 25 Indiana (4 p.m. CT, ESPNU).

• Illinois is aiming to win consecutive Big Ten games for the first time since closing out its 2015 home schedule with back-to-back victories over Northwestern (86-60, Feb. 25, 2015) and Nebraska (69-57, March 4, 2015).

• Illinois also looks to snap a six-game road skid against top-25 opponents. The UI's last victory on a ranked opponent's home court was a 66-63 win at No. 24 Iowa on March 8, 2014, on a Jon Ekey 3-pointer with 0.5 seconds left.

• Senior Malcolm Hill (1,523 points) enters Saturday's game 10 points away from moving into the top-10 on the Fighting Illini all-time scoring chart. Andy Kaufmann (1989-93) ranks 10th on the list with 1,533 points.

• The Big Ten's No. 2 scorer this season, Hill has been incredibly efficient over the last three games, recording 20 or more points each time out and combining to average 20.7 points (62) while shooting 52.9 percent overall (18-34) and 41.7 percent from 3-point range (5-12). Hill also is earning nine free throw attempts per game, averaging seven points at the line during this stretch.

Notes from the Last Time Out: Illini 75, Ohio State 70  (Jan. 1)

• Illinois ended the game on a 15-8 run over the final 4:13, turning a 62-60 deficit into a 75-70 victory. The Illini scored on seven of their last eight possessions, accounting for the final 15 points.

• Illinois snapped a six-game losing streak against Ohio State.

• Illinois improved to 10-1 on the season when scoring at least 75 points.

• Leron Black grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds in 27 minutes. His previous career high was 13 vs. Purdue (1/21/15). Black became the third Illini to grab 15+ rebounds in the John Groce era.

• Black's 15 boards vs. OSU equaled his total from the previous four games combined.

• Malcolm Hill was 6-of-12 shooting to finish with 20 points. It was his eighth 20+ point game of the year and ninth time as Illinois' leading scorer in a game this season.

• After combining for five points over the previous two games, Tracy Abrams got back on track offensively, scoring 16 points on 6-of-12 shooting. It equaled the fourth-most points he has scored in his career in a Big Ten game. 

• Michael Finke had 12 points, his most in the last nine games, since scoring 13 vs. West Virginia (11/24/16).

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-strongest non-conference schedule among Big Ten teams, rated No. 15 nationally.

The Illini rank No. 7 overall in Strength of Schedule (SOS), having already played five games against top-50 RPI opponents (2-3) and seven vs. top-100 foes (3-4).

One of the Best

Along with climbing the Illinois all-time scoring list, Malcolm Hill also ranks among the nation's leading active career scorers. Hill's current total of 1,523 points ranks 25th in NCAA Div. I, and fifth when looking at players from the six major conferences. Hill's total of 442 made free throws, meanwhile, ranks sixth nationally and third among major-conference players. In the Big Ten, Hill ranks behind only Wisconsin's Nigel Hayes in each category.

Illini Team Trends

• Illinois ranks fourth in the Big Ten and 91st in the NCAA in scoring offense, averaging 78.1 ppg. The Illini have scored at least 75 points in 10 of their 11 wins.

• Illinois is currently shooting 46.7 percent from the field, ranking 79th in the NCAA and best by a UI team since the 2010-11 season (.468).

• The Illini rank third in the Big Ten and 68th nationally in 3-point field goal percentage at 37.7 percent. Illinois has made better than 40 percent behind in six games.

• Illinois has been strong on the offensive glass, recording double digits in 10 games on the season – including eight of the last 10 – and averaging 10.6 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 43rd nationally in defensive rebounding percentage (.745).

• Illinois has shot at least 50 percent during the second half in eight of its 11 wins.

• Illinois is shooting 50.4 percent in nine games at State Farm Center (274-544), 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 94th in the nation with a 39.1 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 13.9 turnovers through 15 games this year. After seven straight games with double-digit turnovers, the Illini had just nine in the win over Ohio State.

Illini Player Trends

• Wooden Award, Naismith Trophy and Senior CLASS Award candidate Malcolm Hill ranks second in the Big Ten in scoring (18.7 ppg).

• Hill's current average is the highest by an Illini in the last 14 years, since Brian Cook led the Big Ten in scoring in 2003 (20.0 ppg).

• Hill has scored in double figures in 13 of 14 games against Div. I opponents, with eight outings of 20+ points and two 30-plus point performances.

• Hill has reached double figures in each of the last nine games, including three straight games scoring 20+ points. His career-long streak of 20+ point games is four, set last season from Dec. 9-23, 2015.

• Hill ranks 11th on the Illinois career scoring chart (1,523 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 third-most by any player nationally.

• Hill's career-high 40 points vs. Northern Kentucky (Nov. 13) is tied for the No. 8 scoring performance in the NCAA so far this season.

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

• Hill is currently shooting 41.3 percent from 3-point range after entering his senior year as a 35 percent career 3-point shooter.

• Hill has made 31 threes in 15 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 23rd in the NCAA with 81 made free throws. His 103 attempts, meanwhile, rank 25th nationally. Hill leads all Big Ten players in each category.

• Hill ranks third all-time at Illinois with 442 career made free throws. 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 6.9 fouls per 40 minutes, ranking 54th nationally.

• After missing the last two years due to injury, sixth-year senior Tracy Abrams has scored in double figures in eight games, ranking second on the team in scoring (11.5 ppg).

• Abrams ranks fourth in the Big Ten in 3-point field goal percentage, shooting 49.2 percent from behind the arc (30-61) 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 49.6 percent overall, his first season at better than 41 percent from the field.

• Abrams has made at least 50 percent from the field in nine games.

• Sophomore Leron Black has scored in double figures in six games, ranking third on the team in scoring (10.5 points). He entered the year as a 4.9 ppg career scorer.

• Black has scored in double figures six times through 11 games, after totaling seven double-digit scoring performances in 40 career games entering the season.

• Black has been the Illini's leading rebounder in five games and leads the team on the year, averaging 7.2 boards.

• Senior Maverick Morgan is averaging 8.9 points and ranks ninth in the Big Ten in field goal shooting at 58.2 percent. 

• Morgan has scored in double figures in four of the last five games, averaging 12 points (60) on 60 percent shooting (24-40) along with 7.4 rebounds (37).

• Sophomore Michael Finke is shooting 46.2 percent from 3-point range over the last four games (6-13).

• Senior Mike Thorne Jr. is shooting 63.6 percent from the field over the last 12 games (35-55).

• Senior Jaylon Tate has tallied 20 assists with only six turnovers in a total of 102 minutes over the last five games.