Game 30: Illinois (17-12, 7-9) vs. Michigan State (18-11, 10-6)
Date	Wednesday, March 1, 2017 | 8 p.m.
Location	Champaign, Ill. | State Farm Center (15,544) | Fan Guide
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Television	BTN (Kevin Kugler & Jon Crispin)
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Head Coach John Groce

Career Record: 179-129/.581 (9th year)
At Illinois: 94-73/.563?(5th year)
Big Ten: 36-52/.409

Series Notes vs. Michigan State

Series Record: Michigan State leads 59-58
Series Streak: Michigan State W-2
Record at Champaign: Illinois leads 37-19
Series Streak at Champaign: Michigan State W-2
Last Year's Meeting: ? #5 MSU 79, ILL 54  //  1/7/16 at East Lansing
Groce vs. Michigan State: 2-4

Opening Tips

• Winners of three straight games and four of its last five, Illinois returns home for Senior Night at State Farm Center on Wednesday, hosting Michigan State (8 p.m., BTN).

• Illinois is looking to win four 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).

• During its current three-game winning streak, Illinois' defense has held the opposition to an average of 57.7 points (173) on 36.1 percent shooting from the field (60-166) and 27.8 percent from 3-point range (15-54).

• Illinois is shooting 41.9 percent from 3-point land over the last five games (44-105), averaging 8.8 made threes per game during this 4-1 stretch. 

• Illinois has won consecutive Big Ten games by at least 16 points each for the first time since Feb. 17-21, 2013 (79-59 vs. Purdue, 62-41 at Northwestern).

• Currently in fifth on the Fighting Illini career scoring chart with 1,737 points, senior Malcolm Hill enters Wednesday 11 points away from fourth place on the UI's all-time list (Brian Cook, 1748 pts, 2000-03).

• Malcolm Hill is the only player from the six major conferences to lead his team in TOTAL points, rebounds, assists and steals this season. 

Senior Night

Illinois will honor six Fighting Illini seniors on Wednesday during a pre-game ceremony 15 minutes prior to tip-off. Playing in their final game at State Farm Center are Tracy Abrams, Alex Austin, Malcolm Hill, Maverick Morgan, Jaylon Tate and Mike Thorne Jr.

Malcolm Hill has had a stellar collegiate career, becoming just the third Illini ever to reach milestones of 1,700 career points and 600 career assists, Hill is closing in on fourth place on the UI's all-time scoring list and could climb to high as third. He leads the team in total points, rebounds, assists and steals for the second straight season and currently ranks fifth in the Big Ten in scoring at 17.0 points per game. Hill will graduate in May with a bachelor's degree in media and cinema studies. 

Tracy Abrams has persevered through consecutive season-ending injuries to return to the court as a sixth-year senior. Abrams is averaging 8.1 points and shooting a career-best 41.4 percent from 3-point range this season. He ranks 38th on the Illini all-time scoring list with 1,124 points. Abrams has already received two degrees from Illinois, a bachelor's in communication and a master's in recreation, sport and tourism. He is scheduled to earn a second master's in education policy, organization and leadership in August.

Maverick Morgan has improved every year and is playing the best basketball of his career as a senior. He is second on the Illini in scoring, averaging 10.0 points to go along with 4.3 rebounds per game. Morgan ranks eighth in the Big Ten in field goal shooting at 56.1 percent, and currently stands seventh on the Illini list for career field-goal percentage at 55.1 percent. Morgan will graduate in May with a bachelor's degree in advertising.

Jaylon Tate has been a valuable point guard for the Illini for four straight seasons. He leads the Illini in assists this year, averaging 3.0 per game, and has tallied more than 300 assists in 119 career appearances. He also owns a career 2.3 assist-to-turnover ratio. Tate will graduate in May with a bachelor's degree in communication.

Mike Thorne Jr. is in his second year with the Illini as a graduate transfer. He averaged 12.9 points and 8.5 rebounds last season before being sidelined by a knee injury. The sixth-year center is now averaging 5.4 points and 3.5 rebounds in the post. Thorne earned a master's degree from Illinois in education policy, organization and leadership and is on pace to receive a second master's in recreation, sport and tourism in May.

Alex Austin is in his third year with the Illini program. The former walk-on transfer from Eastern Illinois received a scholarship for the 2016 spring semester. Austin appeared in 32 games with six starts last season, averaging nearly 10 minutes per game. He has played in eight games as a senior. Austin earned his bachelor's degree in communication in December and is now enrolled in the master's program in recreation, sport and tourism.

Notes from Sunday's 73-57 Win at Nebraska

• The win was the Illini's third in a row, and fourth in their last five games.

• Illinois has now won three straight road games for the first time since Feb. 19-March 8, 2014.

• Illinois continued to play strong defense, holding the Huskers to 37.5-percent shooting from the field, 26.7 percent on 3s and their second-lowest point total of the season.

• Illinois' 12 steals against Nebraska were a season high. Malcolm Hill led the way with three steals, tying his season high. 

• The Illini scored 21 points off of Nebraska's 18 turnovers. 

• The Illini drained 13 three-pointers on 26 attempts (50 percent), their second-highest total of the season and most against a D1 opponent (16 vs. McKendree on Nov. 15).

• The Illini hit 8-of-13 from downtown in the second half alone to break the game open (61.5 percent). 

• Malcolm Hill moved into fifth place on the Illinois career scoring list, finishing the night with 1,737 points to move past Cory Bradford (1,735 from 1999-2002). 

• Hill led all scorers with 19 points, his 23rd straight game scoring in double-figures. It also was his fifth straight game and 18th time this season as the UI's high scorer.  

• Tracy Abrams had a stellar all-around game, hitting 4-of-5 from three-point range to score in double figures for the first time in 14 games, finishing with 13 points, a season high-tying 6 assists, 4 rebounds and two steals.

• Maverick Morgan scored 12 points on 6-of-9 shooting, his 15th double-digit scoring game of the season. He scored 10 of his 12 points in the first half.

• After rolling his ankle just two minutes in to the action against Northwestern on Tuesday and missing the remainder of the game, Jalen Coleman-Lands returned to the court at Nebraska and played 22 minutes, scoring nine points on a trio of 3-pointers. 

Lock Down D

The emphasis on improving defensively has paid dividends in recent weeks. Illinois' defense has held six of its last seven 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 seven-game stretch, the defense has combined to allow an average of only 61.7 points on 39.4 percent shooting from the field and 31.8 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 14 of their 17 wins, including five of seven Big Ten wins.

• The Illini are 12-2 this season when shooting at least 45 percent from the field, and are 16-2 when shooting better than their opponent.

• Illinois has shot at least 50 percent during the second half in 12 of its 17 wins, most recently connecting on 59.1 percent (13-22) in the second half of Sunday night's win at Nebraska.

• Illinois has held the opponent below 70 points in eight of the last 10 games, including six of the last seven.

• Illinois has shown improvement on the offensive glass, recording double digits in 18 games on the season and averaging 10.1 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 (.733).

• Illinois is 13-3 when outrebounding the opponent.

• Illinois' bench has outscored opposing reserves in six of the last seven 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 27 of 28 games against Div. I opponents, including an active streak of 23 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 five games, eight times in the last 10 games, and 18 times on the season.

• Hill is shooting 52.1 percent from the field over the last four games (25-48).

• Hill is the only Illini to start every game this season. He also started every game last year, carrying an active streak of 63 consecutive starts. Overall, Hill has started 107 of the last 108 games dating back to his first career start as a freshman at Penn State on Feb. 9, 2014.

• Hill is shooting 56.6 percent on 2-pointers during Big Ten play (64-113).

• Hill has made 48 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 74th in the NCAA with 132 made free throws. His 167 attempts, meanwhile, rank 89th nationally. Hill ranks third among Big Ten players in each category.

• Hill ranks third all-time at Illinois with 493 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 6.0 fouls per 40 minutes, ranking 106th 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 10.9 points.

• Morgan ranks eighth in the Big Ten in field goal shooting at 56.1 percent (119-212). 

• Morgan has scored in double figures 14 times in the last 19 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 18 offensive rebounds over the last six games (3.0 avg).

• Sophomore Leron Black is third on the team in scoring, averaging 8.2 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).

• Black is averaging 9.0 points (18) and 6.5 rebounds (13) over the last two games.

• Sophomore Jalen Coleman-Lands is the Illini's fourth-leading scorer at 8.1 ppg.

• After setting an Illini freshman record with 87 three-pointers last season, Coleman-Lands again leads the Illini with 59 treys this year. His average of 2.0 made threes ranks 11th in the Big Ten.

• Coleman-Lands' career total of 146 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 (8.1 ppg).

• Abrams is shooting 41.4 percent from 3-point range this season (41-99) after entering his final season as a 27 percent career 3-point shooter.

• Abrams has made six 3-pointers over the last two games after totaling six treys through the first 14 B1G games.

• Abrams is averaging 10.5 points (21) and 4.5 rebounds (9) over the last two games.

• Freshman point guard Te'Jon Lucas is averaging 10.0 points (50), 4.2 assists (21) and 3.6 rebounds (18) in 31.0 minutes (155) over the last five games.

• Lucas is averaging 3.8 assists over the last 14 games (53).

• Lucas ranks fourth 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 (1.5 spg).

• Lucas has shot 34 free throws over the last four games (8.5 attempts per game).

• Sophomore Michael Finke ranks second in the Big Ten in 3-point shooting during league play, connecting on 47.6 percent from behind the arc (20-42).

• Freshman Kipper Nichols has played double digit minutes in each of the last 14 games.

• Nichols averaged 8.6 points on 57.1 percent shooting over a recent five-game stretch from Jan. 31-Feb. 11.

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 14 games, those classes have combined for at least half the minutes played 12 times, including eight of the last nine contests. The only exception in the recent streak was the Northwestern game on Feb. 21, in which Jalen Coleman-Lands suffered an ankle injury after just two minutes.

Hill Joins Historic UI Club

Senior Malcolm Hill scored his 1,700th career point at Iowa on Feb. 18 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-) – 1,737 points, 628 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. 37 nationally.

The Illini now rank No. 13 overall and third in the B1G in Strength of Schedule (SOS), having played 12 games against top-50 RPI opponents (4-8) and 21 vs. top-100 foes (9-12). Here is the current SOS ranking of all Big Ten teams:

Rk. B1G Team SOS (RPI)

1. Nebraska 2 (87)
2. Minnesota 12 (16) 
3. ILLINOIS 13 (57) 
4. Michigan State 14 (42)
5. Penn State 19 (81) 

One of the Best

Along with climbing the Illinois all-time scoring list, Malcolm Hill also ranks among the nation's leading active career scorers. Hill's current total of 1,737 points ranks 27th in NCAA Div. I, and fifth when looking at players from the six major conferences. Hill's total of 493 made free throws, meanwhile, ranks eighth nationally and fourth among major-conference players. 

» Complete Illinois-MSU Game Notes (PDF)