| 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. |
3.9 |
1.2 |
2.3 |
Started last 3 gms |
| G |
13 |
Tracy Abrams |
6-2 |
185 |
Gr. |
8.6 |
2.7 |
2.3 |
Team high 22 steals |
| G |
21 |
Malcolm Hill |
6-6 |
225 |
Sr. |
17.2 |
5.7 |
2.7 |
1,638 career points |
| F |
12 |
Leron Black |
6-7 |
220 |
r-So. |
9.1 |
6.4 |
0.4 |
15 rebs vs. OSU |
| C |
22 |
Maverick Morgan |
6-10 |
245 |
Sr. |
10.2 |
3.9 |
0.8 |
Double figs 8 of last 9 |
| 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 |
1.5 |
3.2 |
2.3 A/TO |
| F |
2 |
Kipper Nichols |
6-6 |
225 |
r-Fr. |
4.0 |
3.4 |
0.0 |
8 pts, 6 rebs at PSU |
| G |
5 |
Jalen Coleman-Lands |
6-3 |
190 |
So. |
8.6 |
2.4 |
1.0 |
Team high 49 3FG |
| G |
23 |
Aaron Jordan |
6-5 |
190 |
So. |
1.2 |
1.1 |
0.3 |
6-16 3FG |
| C |
33 |
Mike Thorne Jr. |
6-11 |
280 |
Gr. |
5.4 |
3.7 |
0.3 |
55.3% 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 |
4.5 |
0.3 |
1.7 OREB/G |
| 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: 175-127/.579 (9th year)
At Illinois: 90-71/.559 (5th year)
Big Ten: 32-50/.390
Series Notes vs. Minnesota
Series Record: Illinois leads 122-65
Series Streak: Illinois W-3
Record at Champaign: Illinois leads 71-18
Series Streak at Champaign: Illinois W-1
Last Year: ILL 76, MINN 71, OT (1/23/16) | ILL 84, MINN 71 (2/28/16) | ILL 85, MINN 52 (3/9/16)
Groce vs. Minnesota: 6-2
Opening Tip
Senior Malcolm Hill is only two rebounds away from becoming just the fifth Illini player in school history – and the 12th active Div. I player – in the career 1,600-point/600-rebound club.
Cubs Trophy Tour Visiting State Farm Center
The Chicago Cubs World Series trophy will be at State Farm Center on Saturday. The Commissioner's Trophy will be displayed inside the Mannie Jackson Illinois Basketball Hall of Fame from 1:30-3 p.m. Illini basketball ticket holders for the game against Minnesota who want to have their photo taken with the trophy will que at the Upper Southwest Entrance to SFC, with doors opening at 1:30 p.m. The first 500 fans with game tickets will receive a wristband to ensure their ability to see and take photos with the trophy. Additional fans will be accommodated if time permits.
The trophy will also be presented on-court during the second media time out of the first half.
Age is Just a Number
Chicago native Tracy Abrams will celebrate his 25th birthday on Monday. The sixth-year point guard is back on the court this season to complete his eligibility after overcoming injuries that sidelined him for the entirety of back-to-back seasons. During his recovery, Abrams earned bachelor's and master's degrees and is now working on his second master's. Abrams is older than five Chicago Cubs who played in Game 7 of the World Series and helped his hometown clinch a world championship:
Player – Birth Date
Tracy Abrams – Feb. 6, 1992
Willson Contreras – May 13, 1992
Javier Baez – Dec. 1, 1992
Kyle Schwarber – March 5, 1993
Addison Russell – Jan. 23, 1994
Albert Almora Jr. – April 16, 1994
Note: Kris Bryant (born Jan. 4, 1992) is one month older than Abrams
Coaches Powering Forward for Autism
Feb. 3-5 is the fourth annual Coaches Powering Forward for Autism Weekend in college basketball. John Groce and the Illini staff will join hundreds of coaches from across the country by wearing blue Autism Speaks puzzle piece pins on their suits. Towson head coach Pat Skerry and TCU assistant coach Tom Herrion both have sons on the autism spectrum, and in 2014 they started a nationwide campaign among the coaching fraternity to raise awareness about the disorder. Illinois strength and conditioning coach Adam Fletcher spent three years on Skerry's staff at Towson and also will wear a blue bow tie recognizing Skerry's son, Owen.
Last Time Out: #10 Wisconsin 57, Illini 43 (Jan. 31)
Wisconsin's strong start put the Illini in an early hole, and cold shooting kept the Orange and Blue from being able to get over the hump in a loss to the 10th-ranked Badgers on Tuesday at State Farm Center.
Wisconsin scored on its first four possessions en route to an early 16-2 lead. UW led 26-10 when the Illini defense tightened up, holding the Badgers to just two field goals over a 10-minute stretch before the visitors ended the half on a tip-in just before the buzzer.
The Illini cut the deficit to single digits on four occasions in the second half, pulling within 42-36 on a Jaylon Tate steal and layup with 10:55 remaining. Illinois then had consecutive possessions with 3-pointers in the air that would have cut it to three, but neither fell, and the Badgers responded with a 9-1 run to put the game out of reach.
Illinois entered the night shooting an impressive 50 percent over 12 games at State Farm Center, but managed only 27.6 percent from the field. Wisconsin shot just 40.7 percent itself, including 30.4 percent in the second half. But the Badgers' strong start and 19 offensive rebounds leading to 12 second-chance points proved to be the difference.
Seniors Malcolm Hill and Maverick Morgan led the Illini with 10 points apiece.
Hill Nearing Historic Club
Senior Malcolm Hill scored his 1,600th career point in last week's win over Iowa. Hill is just two rebounds away, meanwhile, from grabbing 600 during his tenure, on pace to become just the fifth Illini player ever in the 1,600-point/600-rebound club:
Deon Thomas (1991-94) – 2,129 points 846 rebounds
Brian Cook (2000-03) – 1,748 points 815 rebounds
Eddie Johnson (1978-81) – 1,692 points 831 rebounds
Mark Smith (1978-81) – 1,653 points 722 rebounds
Malcolm Hill (2014-) – 1,638 points 598 rebounds
Strong Scheduling
Illinois felt it had constructed a competitive non-conference schedule prior to the season. Numbers from the NCAA are showing 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. 9 overall in Strength of Schedule (SOS), having played seven games against top-50 RPI opponents (1-6) and 15 vs. top-100 foes (5-10). Here is the current SOS ranking of all Big Ten teams.
