| Illinois Starters (from last game) |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
Note |
| G |
3 |
Te'Jon Lucas |
6-1 |
180 |
So. |
6.7 |
2.3 |
3.5 |
15 steals |
| G |
13 |
Mark Smith |
6-4 |
225 |
Fr. |
8.6 |
1.8 |
1.6 |
STL-area native (Edwardsville) |
| G |
24 |
Mark Alstork |
6-5 |
190 |
Gr. |
7.2 |
3.9 |
2.8 |
.806 FG% (29-36) |
| G |
23 |
Aaron Jordan |
6-5 |
210 |
Jr. |
12.1 |
3.7 |
0.5 |
2nd in NCAA in 3FG% (.600) |
| F |
43 |
Michael Finke |
6-10 |
235 |
r-Jr. |
11.8 |
6.1 |
1.2 |
10.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg vs. MIZ (2g) |
| Off the Bench |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
Note |
| G |
1 |
Trent Frazier |
6-1 |
170 |
Fr. |
8.2 |
1.6 |
2.5 |
16.3 ppg over last 3 |
| F |
2 |
Kipper Nichols |
6-6 |
225 |
r-So. |
9.7 |
5.4 |
0.6 |
.476 3FG% (10-21) |
| F |
4 |
Matic Vesel |
6-10 |
215 |
Fr. |
0.4 |
1.4 |
0.4 |
First career pts. vs.Longwood |
| G |
10 |
Drew Cayce |
6-1 |
175 |
r-So. |
1.0 |
0.8 |
0.0 |
UI walkon |
| F |
11 |
Greg Eboigbodin |
6-9 |
225 |
Fr. |
0.8 |
1.7 |
0.1 |
Native of Nigeria |
| F |
12 |
Leron Black |
6-7 |
230 |
r-Jr. |
13.9 |
5.4 |
1.5 |
17 pts in 2nd half vs. NMSU |
| G |
20 |
Da'Monte Williams |
6-3 |
190 |
Fr. |
4.9 |
3.2 |
0.9 |
Son of UI great Frank Williams |
| G |
35 |
Samson Oladimeji |
6-4 |
200 |
So. |
0.0 |
1.0 |
0.0 |
UI walkon |
| F |
45 |
Cameron Liss |
6-6 |
220 |
r-Jr. |
0.5 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
B1G Distinguished Scholar |
| Sitting Out (*2016-17 Stats listed) |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
Note |
| G |
32 |
Tyler Underwood |
6-1 |
165 |
r-So. |
0.6* |
0.2* |
0.1* |
Sitting out season (transfer) |
| G |
41 |
Clayton Jones |
6-0 |
170 |
r-Sr. |
0.4* |
0.0* |
0.0* |
Recovering from torn ACL |
Career Record: 117-32/.785 (5th year)
At Illinois: 8-5 (1st year)
Series Notes vs. Missouri
All-Time Series Record: Illinois leads 31-16
Record at St. Louis: Illinois leads 24-12
Last Meeting: Illinois 75, Missouri 66 // Dec. 21, 2016 at St. Louis
Series Streak: Illinois W-4
Underwood vs. Missouri: First meeting
Braggin' Rights Notes
• Following a one-week break in the game schedule for fall semester final exams, Illinois returns to action Saturday night in the 37th edition of Braggin' Rights. The Fighting Illini own a 24-12 advantage over Missouri in the annual rivalry game played in downtown St. Louis.
• Illinois won eight consecutive Braggin' Rights from 1983-90 and won nine of the first 10 games in St. Louis. After Missouri won seven of nine games from 1991-99, Illinois won nine in a row from 2000-08, the longest winning streak in the history of the series. Mizzou then won four straight (2009-12), and the Illini now enter this year's contest at Scottrade Center on a four-year winning streak (2013-).
• Illinois has one St. Louis area product on its roster in freshman guard Mark Smith of Edwardsville High School, the 2017 Illinois Mr. Basketball recipient, Belleville News-Democrat Player of the Year and St. Louis Post-Dispatch All-Metro Team selection.
• This marks the ninth straight year that the St. Louis area is represented on the Illini roster. Malcolm Hill of Fairview Heights, Illinois – the UI's No. 3 all-time leading scorer – won four straight Braggin' Rights from 2013-16. Prior to Hill's tenure, Tyler Griffey of Wildwood, Missouri, played in four Braggin' Rights from 2009-12.
• When the Braggin' Rights series began, Lou Henson was in charge of the Fighting Illini. Now Brad Underwood is aiming to become the fourth out of five Illinois head coaches since to win his inaugural Braggin' Rights game, following Lon Kruger in 1996, Bill Self in 2000, and Bruce Weber in 2003.
Braggin' Rights Breakdown
» Full Series History
Braggin' Rights Series (in STL): Illinois leads 24-12
All-Time Series Record: Illinois leads 31-16
Current Streak: Illinois W-4
Illinois when ranked: 13-6
Missouri when ranked: 6-10
When both teams are ranked: Illinois leads 6-3
When neither team is ranked: Illinois leads 7-3
In overtime games: Tied 2-2
At Scottrade Center: Illinois leads 15-8
At The Arena: Illinois led 9-4
Illinois' longest winning streak: 9 (2000-08)
Missouri's longest winning streak: 4, twice (1991-94 & 2009-12)
Illinois' largest winning margin: 32 points (2005)
Missouri's largest winning margin: 18 points (1994)
Closest margin: 1 point, five times (1992, 1993, 2003, 2007 and 2013)
Oh So Close
Illinois has dropped five of its last seven games, but has been in contention to win every single one of those contests. The Illini led during the second half of all five losses. In three of those games, Illinois had the ball with either the lead or in a tie with less than one minute remaining. And in the other two, the Illini trailed by just one possession down the stretch:
• At Wake Forest – Trailed by three with 1:15 remaining … Led with 17 minutes left
• At Northwestern – Tied with 30 seconds left with ball … Also led in OT
• Vs. Maryland – Led by two with 4.6 seconds left with ball … Also led in OT
• At UNLV – Trailed by two with 3 minutes remaining … Led with eight minutes left
• Vs. New Mexico State – Tied with 33 seconds left with ball … Led with seven minutes left
Big Scoring Jump for Jordan
Junior guard Aaron Jordan is the Illini's second-leading scorer with an average of 12.1 points. This comes one year after he averaged just 1.0 ppg as a sophomore. His scoring improvement is the biggest of any player in the Big Ten this season:
Biggest PPG increase 2016-17 » 2017-18 (Big Ten)
1. Aaron Jordan, Illinois 1.0 » 12.1 (+11.1)
2. Jordan Murphy, Minnesota 11.3 » 20.2 (+8.9)
3. Keita Bates-Diop, Ohio State 9.7 » 18.2 (+8.5)
4. Juwan Morgan, Indiana 7.7 » 15.8 (+8.1)
5. Eugene Omoruyi, Rutgers 2.4 » 9.9 (+7.5)
6. C.J. Jackson, Ohio State 5.6 » 13.0 (+7.4)
Illinois Team Headlines
• Illinois ranks sixth in the NCAA in made free throws (234) and ninth nationally in free throw attempts (314).
• Illinois ranks sixth in the country with an offensive rebounding rate of 38.1 percent.
• Illinois ranks second in the Big Ten and 14th in the NCAA in offensive rebounds (14.2 rpg). Illinois has grabbed 14 or more offensive rebounds in eight of 13 games. Last year the Illini tallied at least 14 offensive rebounds in a total of just five games.
• After totaling 35 bench points last time out vs. New Mexico State, Illinois' bench has now outscored the opposition in 11 of 13 games on the season. Illini reserves are averaging 34.3 points, with the Illinois bench outscoring the opponent bench by an average of 13.1 points per game.
• The Illini rank 13th nationally in turnover rate, forcing turnovers on 24.7 percent of opponent possessions.
• Illinois ranks eighth in the NCAA in turnovers forced (19.5 per game). Illinois has forced 17 or more turnovers in 10 of 13 games. Last year the Illini defense forced at least 17 turnovers in only five of 35 games.
• Illinois ranks 21st nationally in turnover margin (+4.6), while scoring 23.0 points per game off turnovers.
• Illinois ranks second in the Big Ten and 50th in the NCAA in steals (8.0 spg). Illinois has collected eight or more steals in seven of 13 games. Last year the Illini tallied at least eight steals in only six games.
• Illinois is averaging 9.4 steals over the last five games (47).
• Illinois ranks fourth in the Big Ten and 49th in the NCAA in scoring (82.5 ppg). The Illini have had eight outings above 80 points and five 90-plus point performances so far this season.
• Illinois has scored at least 77 points in seven of its eight wins.
• Illinois has shot at least 24 free throws in eight of 13 games. Last year the Illini attempted at least 24 free throws in only seven games.
• Illinois has made 28 three-pointers over the last three games (9.3 avg.) after combining for a total of 13 treys the previous three games (4.3 avg.).
• Five different Illini players have had a 20-point game this season.
• Illinois leads the Big Ten and is 35th nationally in adjusted tempo by kenpom, averaging 73.9 possessions.
• Illinois ranks 67th in kenpom's adjusted defensive efficiency (98.6).
Illini Player Trends
• Freshman Trent Frazier has been the Illini's leading scorer over the last three games, averaging 16.3 points (49) with 3.0 steals (9) while shooting 44.4 percent from 3-point range (8-18).
• Frazier has scored in double figures in four of the last five games overall.
• Junior Leron Black has increased his scoring average by 5.8 points this season, currently leading the Illini at 13.9 ppg (18th in Big Ten) after averaging 8.1 ppg last year.
• Black averaged 16.3 points (49) over a recent three-game stretch before suffering an injury during the first half Dec. 9 vs. UNLV.
• Black has scored in double figures in 10 of his 12 games, which included a career-long streak of seven straight that ended at UNLV.
• After missing the Longwood game, Black returned to action vs. New Mexico State, leading the Illini with 17 points and eight boards.
• Black has made at least 50 percent from the field in 10 games and is shooting 54.2 percent on the year (89th in NCAA), compared to 45.3 percent from the field last year.
• Black has made 83.3 percent of his free throws this season (eighth in Big Ten) after entering the year as a 70 percent career shooter at the line.
• Black has 18 assists in 12 games after finishing last year with 13 assists in 31 games.
• Junior Aaron Jordan is second on the team in scoring, averaging 12.1 points. He averaged 1.0 points last year as a sophomore, with his 11.1-point scoring increase the most of any Big Ten player.
• Jordan ranks second in the nation in 3-point shooting (min. 2 made/game) at 60.0 percent (30-50). He entered the year as a 30 percent career shooter from 3-point land.
• Jordan has averaged 13.7 points (41) and 5.0 rebounds (15) over the last three games.
• Jordan has made 25 of his last 38 attempts from 3-point range (65.8 percent), dating back to the second half vs. Marshall on Nov. 19.
• Jordan ranks fourth nationally in kenpom offensive rating at 143.7.
• Jordan has scored in double figures in seven of the last nine games, and nine of 13 games on the season after entering the year with two games in double digits through his first 55 career games.
• Jordan is tied for sixth in the Big Ten with 30 made threes on the season. He has made at least three 3-pointers in five of the last nine games.
• Jordan had a streak of 17 straight made free throws snapped in the second half vs. Longwood.
• Junior Michael Finke is third on the team in scoring at 11.8 ppg. He averaged 6.9 points last season.
• Finke has scored at least 12 points in eight games.
• Over a three-game stretch prior to New Mexico State, Finke averaged 16.0 points (48) on 60.6 percent shooting (20-33).
• Finke has made six of his last 11 three-point attempts going back to the second half vs. UNLV.
• Finke leads the team in rebounding at 6.1 rpg (18th in Big Ten) and with 31 offensive rebounds (ninth in B1G).
• Finke has averaged 7.8 rebounds (31) – including 3.8 offensive boards (15) – over the last four games.
• Sophomore Kipper Nichols is the team's fourth-leading scorer with an average of 9.7 points. That is nearly double his 4.9 scoring average as a freshman.
• Nichols averaged 7.4 rebounds (37) over a recent five-game stretch before missing the Longwood game due to injury. Nichols was then limited to 10 minutes vs. New Mexico State.
• Freshman Mark Smith is fifth on the Illini in scoring at 8.6 points per game.
• Smith led the Illini at UNLV with a game-high 17 points, his second-best performance of the season. The 17 points equaled his total from the previous five games combined.
• Smith scored in double figures in four straight games from Nov. 12 through Nov. 22, becoming the first Illini freshman to do so since Kendrick Nunn in 2014.
• Sophomore Te'Jon Lucas is averaging 6.0 rebounds over the last two games (12), compared to 1.3 rpg over his previous six games (8).
• Trent Frazier is shooting 57.8 percent on 2-pointers this season (26-45), while Te'Jon Lucas is shooting 52.5 percent on 2s (32-61).
• Senior Mark Alstork averaged 15.5 points in two Big Ten games with 14 at Northwestern and a season-high tying 17 vs. Maryland. He went 9-17 from the field (52.9 percent) and a perfect 10-10 from the free throw line during those two games.
