| Illinois Starters (from last game) |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
Note |
| G |
3 |
Te'Jon Lucas |
6-1 |
180 |
So. |
5.9 |
1.7 |
3.6 |
CH 14 pts at NW |
| G |
13 |
Mark Smith |
6-4 |
225 |
Fr. |
9.1 |
1.7 |
1.5 |
.857 FT% (24-28) |
| G |
24 |
Mark Alstork |
6-5 |
190 |
Gr. |
8.7 |
4.0 |
2.9 |
15.5 ppg last 2 |
| F |
12 |
Leron Black |
6-7 |
230 |
r-Jr. |
14.7 |
5.8 |
1.8 |
.828 FT% (24-29) |
| F |
43 |
Michael Finke |
6-10 |
235 |
r-Jr. |
11.1 |
5.3 |
1.3 |
16 Off. Rebs |
| Off the Bench |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
Note |
| G |
1 |
Trent Frazier |
6-1 |
170 |
Fr. |
6.1 |
1.7 |
2.7 |
11 pts, 7 ast. vs. Maryland |
| F |
2 |
Kipper Nichols |
6-6 |
225 |
r-So. |
10.7 |
5.2 |
0.7 |
Team-high 18 off. rebs. |
| F |
4 |
Matic Vesel |
6-10 |
215 |
Fr. |
0.0 |
1.3 |
0.0 |
Native of Slovenia |
| G |
10 |
Drew Cayce |
6-1 |
175 |
r-So. |
1.3 |
0.3 |
0.0 |
UI walkon |
| F |
11 |
Greg Eboigbodin |
6-9 |
225 |
Fr. |
0.6 |
1.1 |
0.1 |
Native of Nigeria |
| G |
20 |
Da'Monte Williams |
6-3 |
190 |
Fr. |
4.8 |
3.2 |
0.9 |
CH 24 mins. vs. Maryland |
| G |
23 |
Aaron Jordan |
6-5 |
210 |
Jr. |
12.9 |
3.6 |
0.4 |
Leads NCAA in 3FG% (.657) |
| G |
35 |
Samson Oladimeji |
6-4 |
200 |
So. |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
UI walkon |
| F |
45 |
Cameron Liss |
6-6 |
220 |
r-Jr. |
0.7 |
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: 115-30/.793 (5th year)
At Illinois: 6-3 (1st year)
Big Ten: 0-2
Series Notes vs. Austin Peay
Record: Illinois leads 3-1
Streak: Illinois W-3
Record at Champaign: Illinois leads 3-0
Streak at Champaign: Illinois W-3
Last Meeting: Illinois 107, Austin Peay 66 // Nov. 21, 2014 at Champaign
Underwood vs. Austin Peay at Illinois: First meeting
Underwood vs. Austin Peay All-Time: 1-0
Opening Tips
• The Illini return to non-conference play following a pair of Big Ten games last weekend, hosting Austin Peay on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at State Farm Center.
• Illinois has won 11 straight non-conference home games, an active streak that began Nov. 29 of last season.
• Austin Peay head coach Matt Figger worked alongside Illinois head coach Brad Underwood for six seasons while the two were assistants for Frank Martin at Kansas State and South Carolina.
• Illinois is coming off back-to-back overtime games for the first time since Jan. 23 and Jan. 28, 2016.
• Illinois collected 16 steals against Maryland, its highest total in 17 years, since recording 18 steals at Northwestern on Feb. 19, 2000.
• Junior Aaron Jordan leads the NCAA in 3-point shooting at 65.7 percent (23-35). He has made 18 of his last 23 attempts from behind the arc dating back to the second half of the Marshall game, a sizzling 78.3 percent.
• Junior Leron Black carries a career-long active streak of six-straight games scoring in double figures.
• Senior Mark Alstork averaged 15.5 points in Big Ten match-ups with Northwestern and Maryland.
Illini Player Trends
• Junior Leron Black has increased his scoring average by 6.6 points this season, currently leading the Illini at 14.7 ppg (12th in Big Ten) after averaging 8.1 ppg last year.
• Black has scored in double figures in eight of nine games, including a career-long active streak of six straight.
• Black has made at least 50 percent from the field in seven games and is shooting 53.2 percent on the year, compared to 45.3 percent from the field last year.
• Black has made 82.8 percent of his free throws this season (11th in Big Ten) after entering the year as a 70 percent career shooter at the line.
• Black has made a 3-pointer in four of the last five games.
• Black is averaging 6.8 rebounds over the last four games (27), after averaging 3.7 rpg over the previous three games.
• Black has 16 assists in nine games after finishing last year with 13 assists in 31 games.
• Junior Aaron Jordan ranks second on the team in scoring, averaging 12.9 points. He averaged 2.3 points last year as a sophomore.
• Jordan ranks second nationally in kenpom offensive rating at 151.7.
• Jordan has scored in double figures in seven of nine games, including a career-long active streak of five straight.
• Jordan is averaging 14.6 ppg over the last five contests (73).
• Jordan currently leads the NCAA in 3-point shooting at 65.7 percent (23-35) after entering the year as a 30 percent career shooter from 3-point land.
• Jordan has made 18 of his last 23 attempts from 3-point range (78.3 percent), dating back to the second half vs. Marshall on Nov. 19.
• Jordan is a perfect 13-of-13 at the free throw line over the last three games.
• Junior Michael Finke is third on the team in scoring at 11.1 ppg. He averaged 6.9 points last season.
• Finke recorded back-to-back 20-point games for the first time in his career with 20 vs. Augustana (Nov. 22) followed by a season-high 22 vs. N.C. Central (Nov. 24)
• Finke has scored at least 12 points in five games.
• Sophomore Kipper Nichols is the team's fourth-leading scorer with an average of 10.7 points. That is more than double his 4.9 scoring average as a freshman.
• Nichols ranks 56th nationally in kenpom offensive rating at 107.8 (at least 28 percent possessions used).
• Nichols has scored in double figures in three of the last four games, and six times on the season.
• Nichols has been the Illini's leading rebounder in each of the last three games.
• Nichols has already surpassed his free throw totals from last year, currently at 28-35 through nine games after going 13-21 in 21 games last season.
• Freshman Mark Smith is fifth on the Illini in scoring at 9.1 points per game.
• Smith has scored at least 13 points four times.
• 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.
• Senior Mark Alstork is averaging 15.5 points over the last two games, with 14 at Northwestern and a season-high tying 17 vs. Maryland.
• Alstork went 9-17 from the field (52.9 percent) and perfect 10-10 from the free throw line during those two games.
• Alstork has dished out at least three assists in six games and is second on the Illini in assists on the season (2.9 apg).
• Freshman Trent Frazier is shooting 69.7 percent on 2-pointers this season (16-23).
• Sophomore Te'Jon Lucas has grabbed at least one steal in eight of nine games.
Illini Nationally This Season (via Kenpom)
Kenpom ratings only factor games against Div. I opponents; following data does not include Augustana game Nov. 22.
• The UI defense ranks 18th in turnover rate, forcing turnovers on 24.7 percent of opponent possessions.
• 23.7 percent of Illinois' points have been scored at the free throw line, which ranks 37th.
• The Illini have grabbed 34.4 percent of their own misses, ranking 50th in offensive rebound percentage.
• The Illini rank 67th in free throw rate (40.6).
• Illinois ranks 70th in defensive efficiency (98.0).
Game 9 Notes from Maryland
• Illinois fought back from a 22-point deficit (30-52) to take the lead late in regulation as well as overtime. The Illini fell just shy of recording the largest comeback win at home in school history. That mark remains a 21-point come-from-behind victory over Seton Hall on Dec. 9, 2000.
• The Illini lost in overtime despite scoring on all eight possessions of the extra period, totaling 16 points on 5-of-5 shooting from the field and 5-of-6 at the line.
• Illinois shot 72.7 percent from the field during the second half and overtime combined (24-33). That led to season-high 51.4 percent shooting for the game (36-70), the UI's second time above 50 percent this season.
• Illinois forced 25 turnovers, the highest total by a Div. I opponent since forcing Chicago State into 29 on Dec. 10, 2008. It was the most turnovers by Maryland, meanwhile, since Feb. 16, 2013 (26 vs. Duke).
• Illinois collected 16 steals, its highest total since recording 18 at Northwestern on Feb. 19, 2000.
• The Illini tied a season's best with five players scoring in double figures.
• Junior Leron Black led the Illini with 18 points, his second-highest scoring performance this season. Black scored 13 of his 18 after halftime on 6-7 shooting.
• Senior Mark Alstork tied his season high with 17 points. He accounted for nine of Illinois' 16 points during overtime, hitting a pair of free throws to put the Illini ahead 77-75, draining a 3-pointer for an 80-77 lead, making two more free throws for an 82-80 advantage, and finally scoring on a layup to tie the game at 91 with 17 seconds remaining.
• Junior Aaron Jordan had 15 points, scoring in double figures for the fifth straight outing and seventh time in nine games. Entering the season, Jordan had reached double digits twice in 55 games.
• Freshman Trent Frazier came up big, scoring a season-high 11 points while dishing out seven assists in a career-best 28 minutes. His assist total is the most by an Illini this season.
• Junior Kipper Nichols finished with 11 points, six rebounds and a career-high three steals.
