| 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. |
5.0 |
1.5 |
2.8 |
10.8 ppg, 4.5 apg last 4 |
| G |
13 |
Tracy Abrams |
6-2 |
185 |
Gr. |
7.9 |
2.6 |
2.1 |
1,111 career pts |
| G |
21 |
Malcolm Hill |
6-6 |
225 |
Sr. |
17.0 |
5.6 |
2.9 |
1,718 career pts |
| F |
12 |
Leron Black |
6-7 |
220 |
r-So. |
8.3 |
6.1 |
0.4 |
11 pts, 8 rebs Tue. vs. NW |
| C |
22 |
Maverick Morgan |
6-10 |
245 |
Sr. |
10.0 |
4.4 |
0.7 |
9 pts, 10 rebs. Tue. vs. 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. |
5.3 |
3.3 |
0.1 |
3 blocks Tue. vs. NW |
| G |
5 |
Jalen Coleman-Lands |
6-3 |
190 |
So. |
8.1 |
2.4 |
1.1 |
Team-high 56 3FG |
| G |
23 |
Aaron Jordan |
6-5 |
190 |
So. |
1.0 |
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. |
0.4 |
0.6 |
0.0 |
5 G |
| G |
41 |
Clayton Jones |
6-0 |
170 |
r-Jr. |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
7 G |
| F |
43 |
Michael Finke |
6-10 |
230 |
r-So. |
7.1 |
4.3 |
0.3 |
50% 3FG in B1G play |
| G |
44 |
Alex Austin |
6-4 |
190 |
r-Sr. |
0.5 |
0.9 |
0.0 |
8 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: 178-129/.580 (9th year)
At Illinois: 93-73/.560?(5th year)
Big Ten: 35-52/.402
Series Notes vs. Nebraska
Series Record: Illinois leads 12-6
Series Streak: Nebraska W-1
Record at Lincoln: Tied, 3-3
Series Streak at Lincoln: Nebraska W-2
Last Year's Meeting: Nebraska 78, Illinois 67 (1/16/16 at Champaign)
Groce vs. Nebraska: 4-3
Opening Tips
• Winners of three of its last four games, Illinois returns to action Sunday night at Nebraska (6:30 p.m., BTN).
• Illinois has surpassed last year's win totals overall (15) and in the Big Ten (5).
• Illinois is looking to win three straight games in conference play for the first time since winning four in a row from Jan. 31-Feb. 12, 2015 (Penn State, Rutgers, at Michigan State, Michigan).
• The Illini also carry a two-game road winning streak to Lincoln following victories at Northwestern and at Iowa. The last time Illinois won three straight Big Ten road games was Feb. 19-March 8, 2014 (at Minnesota, at Michigan State, at Iowa).
• In its wins over Iowa and Northwestern, Illinois' defense held the opposition to an average of 58.0 points (116) on 35.5 percent shooting from the field (39-110) and 28.2 percent from 3-point range (11-39).
• Currently tied for sixth on the Fighting Illini career scoring chart with 1,718 points, senior Malcolm Hill enters Sunday 17 points away fifth place on the UI's all-time list.
• Freshman point guard Te'Jon Lucas is averaging 10.8 points (43), 4.5 assists (18) and 3.5 rebounds (14) in 31.0 minutes (124) over the last four games.
Notes from Tuesday's 66-50 Win over Northwestern
• Illinois nearly led wire-to-wire, trailing just once in the game (3-2) and leading for the final 37:42.
• Illinois held Northwestern to its season low in nearly every offensive category: points (50), second-half points (18), field goal percentage (.322), field goals made (18) and assists (5).
• The Wildcats' previous season-low field goal percentage was also against Illinois (.339) on Feb. 7.
• Northwestern's 18 second-half points were the fewest allowed in a half by the Illini this season. The previous low was 21 in the first half by VCU on Dec. 3.
• Illinois held Northwestern without a field goal for 9:16 during the second half (10:27-1:11), and to just five total baskets on 18.5 percent shooting after intermission (5-27).
• The 16-point win tied the Illini's largest victory margin in a Big Ten game this year (16 vs. Michigan, 1/11/17).
• Illinois' +12 rebound margin (42-30) was its most since +13 at Penn State (40-27) on Jan. 28.
• Illinois recorded home and road sweeps over both Northwestern and Iowa for the first time since 2005.
• Malcolm Hill led the Illini in scoring with 18 points. That gives him 1,718 career points, moving him into a tie for sixth place on the UI all-time scoring list with Demetri McCamey (2008-11).
• It was Hill's 22nd consecutive game scoring in double figures.
• Leron Black had 11 points, scoring in double-figures for the first time in seven games (10 pts vs. Iowa, Jan. 25). Black scored nine of his 11 in the first half.
• Maverick Morgan pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds, his fourth double-digit rebound game of the season. Morgan also scored nine points, falling one shy of a double-double.
• Kipper Nichols had a career-high three blocked shots, the most by an Illini this season.
• Tracy Abrams tallied eight points, his highest scoring performance in the last 13 games. He also had five rebounds, his most in Big Ten play.
Lock Down D
The emphasis on improving defensively has paid dividends in recent weeks. Illinois' defense has held five of its last six opponents to less than 70 points and below 41 percent from the field, with only Penn State on Jan. 28 exceeding those numbers. Over that six-game stretch, the defense has combined to allow an average of only 64.2 points on 39.7 percent shooting from the field and 32.5 percent 3-point shooting.
During Illinois' first nine conference games, opponents averaged 74.8 points (673) on 49.2 percent shooting (246-500), including 37.2 percent from 3-point range (67-180).
Illini Team Trends
• The Illini have scored at least 70 points in 13 of their 16 wins, including four of six Big Ten wins.
• The Illini are 11-2 this season when shooting at least 45 percent from the field, and are 15-2 when shooting better than their opponent.
• Illinois has shot at least 50 percent during the second half in 11 of its 16 wins.
• Illinois is shooting 39.2 percent from 3-point land over the last four games (31-79), averaging 7.8 made threes per game.
• Illinois has held the opponent below 70 points in seven of the last nine games, including five of the last six.
• Illinois has shown improvement on the offensive glass, recording double digits in 18 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 is also getting it done on the defensive glass. The Illini rank third in the Big Ten and 63rd nationally in defensive rebounding percentage (.735).
• Illinois is 13-3 when outrebounding the opponent.
• Illinois' bench has outscored opposing reverses in five of the last six games.
Illini Player Trends
• Preseason Wooden Award, Naismith Trophy and Senior CLASS Award candidate Malcolm Hill ranks fifth in the Big Ten in scoring (17.0 ppg).
• Hill has scored in double figures in 26 of 27 games against Div. I opponents, including an active streak of 22 straight.
• Hill has 10 outings of 20+ points and two 30-plus point performances on the season.
• Hill has been the Illini's leading scorer in each of the last four games, seven times in the last nine games, and 17 times on the season.
• Hill's 21 points on Saturday last Iowa was his first 20-point game since Jan. 7 (21 at Indiana).
• Hill is shooting 51.4 percent from the field over the last three games (19-37).
• Hill is tied for sixth on the Illinois career scoring chart (1,718 points). At his current season average, Hill is on pace to 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 62 consecutive starts. Overall, Hill has started 106 of the last 107 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 (62-108).
• Hill has made 44 three-pointers this season 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 72nd in the NCAA with 129 made free throws. His 163 attempts, meanwhile, rank 85th 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'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 10.8 points.
• Morgan ranks eighth in the Big Ten in field goal shooting at 55.7 percent (113-203).
• Morgan has scored in double figures 13 times in the last 18 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 16 offensive rebounds over the last five games (3.2 avg).
• Morgan is averaging 8.5 rebounds over the last two games (17).
• Sophomore Leron Black is third on the team in scoring, averaging 8.3 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 6.1 boards (12th in B1G).
• Sophomore Jalen Coleman-Lands is the Illini's fourth-leading scorer at 8.1 ppg. He has registered double figures 10 times on the season, including back-to-back 12-point performances vs. Penn State and at Iowa before he was limited to two minutes on Tuesday vs. Northwestern.
• 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 2.0 made threes ranks 11th in the Big Ten.
• Coleman-Lands' career total of 143 three-pointers leads all sophomores from the six major conferences.
• 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 39.4 percent from 3-point range this season (37-94) after entering his final season as a 27 percent career 3-point shooter.
• Freshman Te'Jon Lucas is averaging 3.8 assists over the last 13 games (50).
• Lucas ranks third in the Big Ten with a 2.4 assist-to-turnover ratio during conference play.
• Lucas ranks fifth in the Big Ten in steals during conference action (1.4 spg).
• Lucas has shot 26 free throws over the last three games (8.7 attempts per game).
• Sophomore Michael Finke is the Big Ten's top 3-pointer shooter in league play, connecting on 50 percent from behind the arc (20-40).
• Finke is averaging 8.0 points (40) on 57.1 percent shooting from the field (16-28) and 46.7 percent from 3-point range over the last five games.
• Freshman Kipper Nichols has played double digit minutes in each of the last 13 games.
• Nichols averaged 8.6 points on 57.1 percent shooting over a recent five-game stretch from Jan. 31-Feb. 11.
Hill Joins Historic UI Club
Senior Malcolm Hill scored his 1,700th career point at Iowa last Saturday 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-) – 1,718 points 625 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:
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. 35 nationally. The Illini now rank No. 6 overall and second in the B1G in Strength of Schedule (SOS), having played 10 games against top-50 RPI opponents (3-7) and 17 vs. top-100 foes (6-11).
