| Illinois Probable Starters (from the previous game) |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
Note |
| G |
3 |
Te'Jon Lucas |
6-0 |
170 |
Fr. |
4.2 |
1.3 |
2.6 |
11 pts, 6 ast at NW |
| G |
23 |
Aaron Jordan |
6-5 |
190 |
So. |
1.1 |
1.1 |
0.3 |
6-17 3FG |
| G |
21 |
Malcolm Hill |
6-6 |
225 |
Sr. |
16.9 |
5.8 |
2.8 |
1,665 career points |
| F |
12 |
Leron Black |
6-7 |
220 |
r-So. |
8.5 |
6.3 |
0.4 |
10 rebs vs. MINN |
| C |
22 |
Maverick Morgan |
6-10 |
245 |
Sr. |
10.3 |
4.2 |
0.8 |
Double figs 10 of last 11 |
| Off the Bench |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
Note |
| G |
0 |
D.J. Williams |
6-7 |
210 |
So. |
2.5 |
1.0 |
0.5 |
5 BLK |
| G |
1 |
Jaylon Tate |
6-3 |
170 |
Sr. |
2.7 |
1.4 |
3.1 |
2.4 A/TO |
| F |
2 |
Kipper Nichols |
6-6 |
225 |
r-Fr. |
5.4 |
3.6 |
0.1 |
12.5 ppg, 75% FG in last 2 |
| G |
5 |
Jalen Coleman-Lands |
6-3 |
190 |
So. |
8.1 |
2.5 |
1.2 |
Team-high 50 3FG |
| G |
13 |
Tracy Abrams |
6-2 |
185 |
Gr. |
8.1 |
2.5 |
2.2 |
22 steals |
| C |
33 |
Mike Thorne Jr. |
6-11 |
280 |
Gr. |
5.4 |
3.5 |
0.3 |
56.3% FG |
| G |
35 |
Samson Oladimeji |
6-5 |
195 |
Fr. |
0.5 |
0.8 |
0.0 |
4 G |
| G |
41 |
Clayton Jones |
6-0 |
170 |
r-Jr. |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
6 G |
| F |
43 |
Michael Finke |
6-10 |
230 |
r-So. |
7.0 |
4.2 |
0.4 |
11 points at NW |
| G |
44 |
Alex Austin |
6-4 |
190 |
r-Sr. |
0.6 |
1.0 |
0.0 |
7 G |
| Sitting Out |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
Note |
| G |
10 |
Drew Cayce |
6-1 |
165 |
So. |
- |
- |
- |
Sitting out season (transfer) |
| F |
45 |
Cameron Liss |
6-6 |
220 |
Jr. |
0.6* |
0.0* |
0.2* |
Redshirting season |
Head Coach John Groce
Career Record: 176-128/.579 (9th year)
At Illinois: 91-72/.558 (5th year)
Big Ten: 33-51/.393
Series Notes vs. Penn State
Series Record: Illinois leads 28-15
Series Streak: Penn State W-2
Record at Champaign: Illinois leads 14-5
Series Streak at Champaign: Illinois W-5
Last Meeting: PSU 71, ILL 67 (1/28/17 at University Park)
Groce vs. Penn State: 4-2
Opening Tips
• Following Tuesday's 68-61 win at Northwestern, Illinois returns to Champaign for its final weekend home game this season, hosting Penn State on Saturday afternoon at State Farm Center (1 p.m. CT, BTN).
• Illinois is looking to win consecutive games in conference play for the first time since closing out its 2015 home schedule with victories over Northwestern (86-60, Feb. 25, 2015) and Nebraska (69-57, March 4, 2015).
• Illinois' defense has allowed opponents an average of only 62.0 points on 37.4 percent shooting from the field and 32.3 percent 3-point shooting over the last three games.
• Currently eighth on the Fighting Illini career scoring chart with 1,665 points, senior Malcolm Hill enters Saturday just 25 points away seventh place on the UI's all-time list, and 35 points shy of becoming the seventh Illini ever to reach the 1,700-point marker.
• Senior Maverick Morgan has scored in double figures 13 times in the last 15 games – including a career-high tying five straight heading into Saturday – averaging 12.3 points on 56.8 percent shooting.
• Freshman Kipper Nichols is averaging 9.3 points and 4.3 rebounds while shooting 60.9 percent in 19.3 minutes per game over the last four contests.
Notes from Tuesday's 68-61 Win at Northwestern
• The Fighting Illini won their first road game of the season and snapped a nine-game road skid overall.
• After falling behind 59-56 with 3:31 left, Illinois finished the game on a 12-2 run. And after the Wildcats tied it at 61-61, the Illini scored seven unanswered points over the game's final 1:37.
• The Illini defense held Northwestern to 33.9 percent shooting (19-of-56) and 30.0 percent from downtown (6-of-20), while also forcing 14 turnovers, continuing a trend of solid defense over the last three games.
• Senior Malcolm Hill scored a team-high 14 points, all in the second half, to jump two spots into eighth place on the Illinois career scoring list. Hill finished the game with 1,665 points, moving past Mark Smith (1,653, 1978-81) and Brandon Paul (1,654, 2010-13) on the UI all-time list.
• It was Hill's 19th consecutive game scoring in double figures.
• Hill also added game highs of nine rebounds and three steals in the win.
• Michael Finke also came up big in the second half, scoring all 11 of his points and hitting 3-of-4 from behind the arc after halftime. Finke tied the game with a 3-pointer at the 2:36 mark to start the 12-2 game-ending run for the Illini. He had five points and two steals in the final 2:36 to help seal the victory.
• Te'Jon Lucas set career highs in points (11), rebounds (5) and minutes (33) while running the offense well, also dishing out a game-high six assists.
• Maverick Morgan was the fourth Illini in double-figures, scoring 11 points. It was Morgan's fifth straight game in double-figures – equaling his career-long streak – and 10th time in the last 11 games.
• Jalen Coleman-Lands dished out a career-high five assists, including the go-ahead points with 1:37 left on a feed to Lucas. He also grabbed five rebounds and tallied five points.
• Kipper Nichols added nine points on 3-of-4 shooting with two treys, continuing his strong play off the bench.
A Look Back at the Last Illinois-Penn State Game: PSU 71, ILL 67 (1/28/17 @PSU)
Illinois' furious comeback bid fell just short in a four-point loss at Penn State.
After playing to a one-possession game through the first seven minutes, PSU went on a 13-2 run to open up a 29-14 lead. The hosts later outscored the Illini 14-2 over the final 3:54 to take a 45-25 advantage into the locker room.
The second half was a complete reversal of the first, with the Illini offense and defense taking hold. Illinois went on an early 12-2 run and added another 11-2 spurt to trim a 22-point deficit to five with 4:46 remaining. The Illini then pulled to within three points on two occasions in the final three minutes.
The Illini had the ball down 65-62 before a Penn State steal with 1:17 left put the Orange and Blue in need of a defensive stop. They got it, forcing an off-balance 3-point attempt with the shot clock expiring. But the Lions got the offensive rebound and made two free throws after a UI foul.
A Leron Black dunk with nine seconds left again brought it to within three, but PSU drained four more free throws over the final eight seconds to seal the game.
Illinois shot 53 percent in the second half to outscore the Lions 42-26 over the final 20 minutes, but it was not enough to overcome the UI's 29 percent shooting in an opening stanza controlled by the hosts. Illinois outrebounded PSU 40-27 for the game, including a 16-5 advantage on the offensive glass. The Illini's 16 offensive boards equaled a season high and led to 18 second-chance points.
Malcolm Hill led the way with a game-high 19 points along with a season-high seven assists and six rebounds. Jalen Coleman-Lands scored all 13 of his points in the second half and grabbed a career-high seven boards. Maverick Morgan had 10 points and Kipper Nichols added eight points and six rebounds in 16 minutes.
Improving D
The emphasis on improving defensively has paid dividends. Illinois' defense has held each of its last three opponents to less than 70 points and under 41 percent from the field. Over that three-game stretch, the defense has combined to allow an average of only 62 points on 37.4 percent shooting from the field and 32.3 percent 3-point shooting:
Illini Defense
Opponent FG-A 3FG-A PTS
Wisconsin 24-59 7-23 57
Minnesota 24-64 7-19 68
at Northwestern 19-56 6-20 61
Totals 67-179 20-62 186
Pct./Avg. .374 .323 62.0
In Illinois' previous six conference losses, opponents averaged 78.3 points (470) on 52 percent shooting (166-319), including 39.3 percent from 3-point range (48-122).
Strong Scheduling
Illinois felt it had constructed a competitive non-conference schedule prior to the season. Numbers from the NCAA show that to be the case. Illinois had the fourth-strongest non-conference schedule among Big Ten teams, rated No. 28 nationally.
The Illini now rank No. 6 overall in Strength of Schedule (SOS), having played nine games against top-50 RPI opponents (2-7) and 18 vs. top-100 foes (7-11). Here is the current SOS ranking of all Big Ten teams:
Rk. B1G Team SOS (RPI)
1. Nebraska 2 (87)
2. ILLINOIS 6 (54)
3. Minnesota 13 (22)
4. Michigan State 18 (48)
5. Penn State 19 (79)
6. Ohio State 29 (69)
7. Purdue 41 (20)
8. Iowa 50 (100)
9. Michigan 53 (75)
10. Indiana 58 (76)
11. Maryland 65 (23)
12. Wisconsin 82 (17)
13. Northwestern 116 (42)
14. Rutgers 133 (139)
Illini Team Trends
• The Illini have scored at least 75 points in 12 of their 14 wins.
• The Illini are 10-1 this season when shooting at least 45 percent from the field, and are 13-2 when shooting better than their opponent.
• Illinois has shot at least 50 percent during the second half in 10 of its 14 wins.
• Illinois has shown improvement on the offensive glass, recording double digits in 17 games on the season and averaging 10.5 o-boards per game. Last season Illinois ranked last in the Big Ten with 7.6 offensive rebounds per contest.
• Illinois averaged 14.3 offensive rebounds over a recent four-game stretch prior to the win at Northwestern, grabbing 13 vs. Iowa, equaling its season high with 16 in back-to-back outings vs. Penn State and Wisconsin, and tallying 12 vs. Minnesota.
• Illinois has scored more second-chance points than its opponent in 14 games.
• Illinois is also getting it done on the defensive glass. The Illini rank third in the Big Ten and 82nd nationally in defensive rebounding percentage (.731).
• Illinois is 11-3 when outrebounding the opponent.
Illini Player Trends
• Preseason Wooden Award, Naismith Trophy and Senior CLASS Award candidate Malcolm Hill ranks fifth in the Big Ten in scoring (16.9 ppg).
• Hill has scored in double figures in 23 of 24 games against Div. I opponents, including an active streak of 19 straight.
• Hill has nine outings of 20+ points and two 30-plus point performances on the season.
• Hill ranks eighth on the Illinois career scoring chart (1,665 points). At his current season average, Hill would finish as the Illini's No. 4 all-time leading scorer.
• Hill is shooting 56.5 percent on 2-pointers during Big Ten play (48-85).
• Hill's career-high 40 points vs. Northern Kentucky (Nov. 13) is tied for the No. 12 scoring performance in the NCAA this season.
• Hill has made 40 three-pointers in 24 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 38th in the NCAA with 118 made free throws. His 150 attempts, meanwhile, rank 50th nationally. Hill leads all Big Ten players in each category.
• Hill ranks third all-time at Illinois with 479 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 6.3 fouls per 40 minutes, ranking 82nd nationally.
• Hill has totaled 30 assists over the last seven games (4.3 apg).
• Senior Maverick Morgan is second on the team in scoring, also averaging double figures at 10.3 ppg. In conference games only, Morgan's average increases to 11.8 points.
• Morgan ranks seventh in the Big Ten in field goal shooting at 56.8 percent.
• Sophomore Leron Black ranks third on the team in scoring, averaging 8.5 points. He entered the year as a 4.9 ppg career scorer.
• Black has been the Illini's leading rebounder in nine games and leads the team on the year, averaging 6.3 boards (12th in B1G).
• Black's 10 boards vs. Minnesota last Saturday was his highest rebounding total in the last nine games.
• After missing the last two years due to injury, sixth-year senior Tracy Abrams has scored in double figures in eight games, ranking fourth on the team in scoring (8.1 ppg).
• Abrams is shooting 40.2 percent from 3-point range this season (33-82) after entering his final season as a 27 percent career 3-point shooter.
• Freshman Te'Jon Lucas has totaled 38 assists over the last 10 games (3.8 apg).
• Lucas ranks second in the Big Ten with a 2.7 assist-to-turnover ratio during conference play.
• Sophomore Michael Finke has made 13-of-22 from 3-point range over the last nine games (59.1 percent).
