| 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. |
4.8 |
1.5 |
2.7 |
CH 12 pts at Iowa |
| G |
13 |
Tracy Abrams |
6-2 |
185 |
Gr. |
7.9 |
2.6 |
2.1 |
24 steals |
| G |
21 |
Malcolm Hill |
6-6 |
225 |
Sr. |
16.9 |
5.7 |
2.8 |
1,700 career points |
| F |
12 |
Leron Black |
6-7 |
220 |
r-So. |
8.1 |
6.0 |
0.4 |
38 O-Rebs |
| C |
22 |
Maverick Morgan |
6-10 |
245 |
Sr. |
10.0 |
4.2 |
0.7 |
11 pts at NW |
| 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. |
2.5 |
1.4 |
3.0 |
2.2 A/TO |
| F |
2 |
Kipper Nichols |
6-6 |
225 |
r-Fr. |
5.2 |
3.3 |
0.1 |
63% FG in last 4 |
| G |
5 |
Jalen Coleman-Lands |
6-3 |
190 |
So. |
8.4 |
2.5 |
1.1 |
Team-high 56 3FG |
| G |
23 |
Aaron Jordan |
6-5 |
190 |
So. |
1.1 |
1.1 |
0.3 |
6-17 3FG |
| 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. |
7.3 |
4.2 |
0.5 |
50% 3FG in B1G |
| 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: 177-129/.578 (9th year)
At Illinois: 92-73/.558 (5th year)
Big Ten: 34-52/.395
Series Notes vs. Northwestern
Series Record: Illinois leads 133-40
Series Streak: Illinois W-1
Record at Champaign: Illinois leads 67-14
Series Streak at Champaign: Illinois W-1
Last Meeting: Illinois 68, Northwestern 61 // Feb. 7, 2017 at Evanston
Groce vs. Northwestern: 4-3
Opening Tips
• After a 70-66 road win over Iowa on Saturday, Illinois returns to State Farm Center Tuesday night, hosting Northwestern (7 p.m., BTN). The Illini and Wildcats are meeting for the second time in two weeks, following the UI's 68-61 win in Evanston on Feb. 7.
• With two weeks left in the regular season, Illinois has equaled last year's overall (15) and B1G (5) win totals.
• 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 is shooting nearly 41 percent from 3-point range over the last three games (25-61), connecting on an average of 8.3 treys per game.
• Senior Malcolm Hill recorded his 1,700th career point on Saturday, becoming just the third Illini ever – and one of 13 active Div. I players – in the 1,700-point/600-rebound club.
• Freshman point guard Te'Jon Lucas has set a career high in scoring in each of his last three outings, averaging 11.3 points over this stretch (34).
• Sophomore Michael Finke is averaging 10.3 points (32) on 57.1 percent shooting (12-21) over the last three games.
Last Time Out: Illini 70, Iowa 66 (Feb. 18)
Illinois won its second straight road game behind a strong second-half effort, defeating the Hawkeyes by four points in Iowa City on Saturday afternoon.
The Illini trailed by only four at halftime despite committing 10 turnovers and shooting 39 percent compared to the hosts at 50 percent. Illinois then took a 40-38 lead early in the second half, scoring nine unanswered over three straight possessions. A four-point Illini lead later became a four-point deficit as the Hawkeyes scored eight straight as part of a 10-2 run to pull ahead 56-52 with less than six minutes remaining.
Illinois responded, reeling off an 8-0 run of its own capped by a Malcolm Hill steal and layup that put the Orange and Blue on top, 60-56. Two more lead changes followed, the final happening in the UI's favor on a Hill driving layup followed by a Jalen Coleman-Lands corner 3-pointer to give the Illini a 65-61 lead. And the Illini made 5-of-8 at the line over the final 28 seconds to clinch the win.
Illinois was able to outscore the Hawkeyes by eight in the second half thanks to 55.2 percent shooting while Iowa made just 31.1 percent.
Malcolm Hill led the Illini with a fantastic all-around game, scoring a game-high 21 points, grabbing eight rebounds, dishing out four assists and collecting two steals. Te'Jon Lucas set a career high with 12 points, Michael Finke had 12 points and a career-best five assists, and Jalen Coleman-Lands added 12 points and a game-high three steals.
Youth Movement
The Fighting Illini freshman and sophomore classes have played a major role during the second half of the season. In fact, over the last 12 games, those classes have combined for at least half the minutes played in all but one game. The minutes have continued to increase recently, with UI underclassmen accounting for an average of 113.3 minutes played over the last four games.
Illini Team Trends
• The Illini have scored at least 70 points in 13 of their 15 wins, including four of five Big Ten wins.
• The Illini are 11-2 this season when shooting at least 45 percent from the field, and are 14-2 when shooting better than their opponent.
• Illinois has shot at least 50 percent during the second half in 11 of its 15 wins.
• Illinois has held the opponent below 70 points in six of the last eight games, including four of the last five.
• Illinois has shown improvement on the offensive glass, recording double digits in 17 games on the season and averaging 10.3 o-boards per game. Last season Illinois ranked last in the Big Ten with 7.6 offensive rebounds per contest.
• 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 77th nationally in defensive rebounding percentage (.731).
• Illinois is 12-3 when outrebounding the opponent.
• Illinois' bench has outscored opposing reverses in each of the last five games.
Illini Player Trends
• Preseason Wooden Award, Naismith Trophy and Senior CLASS Award candidate Malcolm Hill ranks sixth in the Big Ten in scoring (16.9 ppg).
• Hill has scored in double figures in 25 of 26 games against Div. I opponents, including an active streak of 21 straight.
• Hill has 10 outings of 20+ points and two 30-plus point performances on the season.
• Hill's 21 points on Saturday at Iowa was his highest scoring total in the last 11 games.
• Hill is shooting 53.8 percent over the last two games (14-26), making 6-10 vs. Penn State and 8-16 at Iowa.
• Hill ranks seventh on the Illinois career scoring chart (1,700 points). At his current season average, Hill would finish as the Illini's No. 4 all-time leading scorer.
• Hill is the only Illini to start every game this season. He also started every game last year, carrying an active streak of 61 consecutive starts. Overall, Hill has started 105 of the last 106 games dating back to his first career start as a freshman at Penn State on Feb. 9, 2014.
• Hill is shooting 57.4 percent on 2-pointers during Big Ten play (58-101).
• Hill has made 43 three-pointers in 27 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 71st in the NCAA with 122 made free throws. His 155 attempts, meanwhile, rank 84th nationally. Hill ranks third among Big Ten players in each category.
• Hill ranks third all-time at Illinois with 483 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 6.1 fouls per 40 minutes, ranking 93rd nationally.
• Hill is averaging 2.0 steals over the last four games (8).
• Hill's career-high 40 points vs. Northern Kentucky (Nov. 13) is tied for the No. 24 scoring performance in the NCAA this season.
• Senior Maverick Morgan is second on the team in scoring, also averaging double figures at 10.0 ppg. In conference games only, Morgan's average increases to 10.9 points.
• Morgan ranks sixth in the Big Ten in field goal shooting at 56.7 percent (110-194).
• Morgan has scored in double figures 13 times in the last 17 games. During this stretch he twice set a career long with five straight games in double digits, first from Jan. 1-17 and again from Jan. 25-Feb. 7.
• Morgan has grabbed 12 offensive rebounds over the last four games (3.0 avg).
• Sophomore Jalen Coleman-Lands is the Illini's third-leading scorer at 8.4 ppg. He has registered double figures 10 times on the season, including back-to-back 12-point performances vs. Penn State and at Iowa in his most recent outings.
• After setting an Illini freshman record with 87 three-pointers last season, Coleman-Lands again leads the Illini with 56 treys this year. His average of 2.1 made threes ranks eighth in the Big Ten.
• Coleman-Lands' career total of 143 three-pointers leads all sophomores from the six major conferences.
• Sophomore Leron Black is fourth on the team in scoring, averaging 8.1 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 6.0 boards (15th in B1G).
• After missing the last two years due to injury, sixth-year senior Tracy Abrams has scored in double figures in eight games, ranking fifth on the team in scoring (7.9 ppg).
• Abrams is shooting 39.8 percent from 3-point range this season (35-88) after entering his final season as a 27 percent career 3-point shooter.
• Freshman Te'Jon Lucas is averaging 3.9 assists over the last 12 games (47).
• Lucas ranks fifth in the Big Ten with a 2.3 assist-to-turnover ratio during conference play.
• Lucas also ranks fifth in the Big Ten in steals during conference action (1.4 spg).
• Sophomore Michael Finke is the Big Ten's second-best 3-pointer shooter in league play, connecting on 50 percent from behind the arc (19-38).
• Finke is shooting 54.2 percent from the field over the last four games (13-24).
• Freshman Kipper Nichols has played double digit minutes in each of the last 12 games.
• Nichols averaged 8.6 points on 57.1 percent shooting over a recent five-game stretch from Jan. 31-Feb. 11.
• Nichols made six consecutive 3-point attempts from Feb. 4 through Feb. 11.
Hill Joins Historic UI Club
Senior Malcolm Hill scored his 1,700th career point during Saturday's win at Iowa and collected his 600th rebound vs. Minnesota on Feb. 4. Hill is just the third Illini player ever in the 1,700-point/600-rebound club:
Deon Thomas (1991-94) – 2,129 points 846 rebounds
Brian Cook (2000-03) – 1,748 points 815 rebounds
Malcolm Hill (2014-) – 1,700 points 620 rebounds
Hill is one of only 13 active Div. I players – and among five from the six major conferences – with career totals of at least 1,700 points and 600 rebounds.
