NIT Second Round: #2 Illinois (19-14) vs. #6 Boise State (20-11)
When	Monday, March 20, 2017 | 8 pm CT
Where	Champaign, Ill. | State Farm Center (15,544) | Fan Guide
NIT Info	Tournament Central | Bracket
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INTERIM COACH JAMALL WALKER

• Record as interim coach: 1-0
• Fifth season at Illinois

SERIES NOTES VS. BOISE STATE

Series Record: Illinois leads 1-0
Series Streak: Illinois W-1
Record at Champaign: Illinois leads 1-0
Series Streak at Champaign: Illinois W-1
Last Meeting: Illinois 84, Boise State 77  //  Dec. 5, 2009 at Champaign

Fighting Illini Continue Play in Postseason

• Following an 82-57 home victory over Valparaiso, the Fighting Illini continue their run in the NIT, hosting Boise State in the second round on Monday at State Farm Center (8 p.m., ESPN). 

• Jamall Walker is serving as interim coach during the NIT. Walker has spent the last five seasons as an assistant coach for the Illini (Walker bio on p. 12).

• Illinois will take the court in search of its 20th victory, aiming for the program's 32nd 20-win season all-time.

• Senior Malcolm Hill enters Monday's game on the verge of moving into third place Illinois career scoring list. Hill currently ranks fourth with 1,804 points, just behind Illini all-time great Dee Brown (No. 3, 1,812 pts, 2003-06).

Underwood Hired as Head Coach » Release

University of Illinois Director of Athletics Josh Whitman hired Brad Underwood as the 18th Fighting Illini men's head coach on Saturday.

Underwood arrives at Illinois from Oklahoma State, where he led OSU to a 20-win season and NCAA Tournament appearance. The Cowboys had one of the most exciting and prolific offenses in the country, standing eighth in the NCAA in scoring (85.7 points per game) and leading the nation in adjusted offensive efficiency in the current kenpom rankings.

Oklahoma State finished fifth in the Big 12 with a 9-9 conference record in a season where the Big 12 was rated as the best conference in the nation. Oklahoma State came on strong during the second half of the season, winning 10 of 11 games from Jan. 21-Feb. 25, which included a pair of five-game winning streaks.

Underwood arrived in Stillwater following a dominant run at Stephen F. Austin where he led the Lumberjacks to Southland Conference regular season and tournament titles in each of his three seasons. Underwood compiled an 89-14 record at SFA, tied with Brad Stevens (Butler, 2008-10) for the most wins by a head coach in his first three seasons at an NCAA school.

He led SFA to a 28-6 overall record and NCAA Round of 32 appearance in 2016. The Lumberjacks rolled past No. 3 West Virginia in the first round, 70-56, before narrowly missing a trip to the Sweet 16 with a 76-75 defeat to No. 6 Notre Dame in the second round. The Lumberjacks averaged 80.2 points accompanied by high-pressure defense that forced the highest turnover rate in the country (.259).

Underwood's second SFA team went 29-5 in 2015, also advancing to the NCAA Tournament. The Lumberjacks ranked seventh in the nation in field goal percentage (.487) and led the NCAA in assists (18.7 apg).

His debut season in Nacogdoches in 2014 included a 29-game winning streak and culminated in a 32-3 record and NCAA Round of 32 appearance after a victory over No. 5 seed VCU in the opening round. Underwood earned the Joe B. Hall award, given to the nation's top first-year coach.

Underwood is a 1986 graduate of Kansas State. He played for the legendary Jack Hartman, K-State's all-time winningest coach. Former Illinois head coach Lon Kruger also played and coached for Hartman at Kansas State. Underwood began his college career at Hardin-Simmons, where he later entered the coaching ranks as a graduate assistant. Hardin-Simmons was the first college job for Lou Henson, the Fighting Illini's all-time winningest coach, and whose name permanently adorns the court at State Farm Center.

Illini NIT Notes

• Illinois is making its third NIT appearance in the last four seasons, and seventh appearance all-time.

• The Illini own an all-time record of 9-6 in the NIT.

• Illinois is 6-3 at home, 2-2 on the road, and 1-1 at Madison Square Garden in the NIT.

• Illinois went a combined 3-1 against this year's NIT field after beating Iowa in both Champaign and Iowa City, defeating BYU at the United Center, and falling to Indiana in Bloomington.

• Illinois is participating in postseason play for the 15th time in the last 18 seasons, 21st in the last 25, and 32nd in the last 38 dating back to its first NIT appearance in 1980. 

• Illinois has advanced to the second round of the NIT for the fifth time in seven appearances. 

Illini Individual Single-Game Highs in the NIT

Points: 28, Perry Range vs. Long Island (1982)
Field Goals: 13, Perry Range vs. Long Island (1982)
FG Pct (min 6): .857 (6-7) Mark Smith vs. Murray St. (1980)
3-Pt. Field Goals: 4, D.J. Richardson at Stony Brook (2010) & 4, Malcolm Hill vs. Valpo (2017)
3-Pt FG Pct (min 3): .400 (4-10) D.J. Richardson at Stony Brook (2010)
Free Throws: 11, Kiwane Garris vs. Alabama (1996)
FT Pct (min 8): 1.000 (8-8) Mark Smith vs. UNLV (1980)
Rebounds: 16, Mike Davis vs. Kent State (2010)
Assists: 11, Demetri McCamey at Stony Brook (2010)
Blocked Shots: 4, Mike Tisdale vs. Kent State (2010)
Steals: 5, Perry Range vs. Murray State (1980)

Illini Team Single-Game Highs in the NIT

Points: 126 vs. Long Island (1982)
Field Goals: 53 vs. Long Island (1982)
Field Goal Pct.: .576 (53-92) vs. Long Island (1982)
3-Point Field Goals: 10 at Stony Brook (2010)
3-Pt. Field Goal Pct.: .455 (10-22) at Stony Brook (2010)
Free Throws: 23 vs. Illinois State (1980)
Free Throw Pct.: .840 (21-25) vs. Loyola-Chicago (1980)
Rebounds: 60 vs. Long Island (1982)
Assists: 35 vs. Long Island (1982)
Blocked Shots: 7 vs. Long Island (1982)
Steals: 9 twice; last at Clemson (2014)

    » Illinois' all-time NIT box scores can be found on p. 13-16 on the PDF Game Notes, and current Illini game-by-game NIT stats are on p. 17-18.

Last Time Out: Illini 82, Valparaiso 57  (March 14)

The Illini rolled past Valparaiso in the first round of the NIT at State Farm Center. 

The Illini jumped out to a 16-6 lead five minutes in and never looked back en route to the 25-point victory. Illinois shot nearly 53 percent during the first half to take a 41-24 lead into intermission. And the margin remained 15 or more the rest of the way. 

The Illini finished the game at 48.4 percent shooting and ourebounded Valpo, 43-26. 

Malcolm Hill eclipsed the 1,800 mark for his career with a game-high 25 points. He made 7-of-12 shots, including a career-high tying four 3-pointers. 

Leron Black recorded his second double-double of the season with 13 points on 6-of-9 from the field and a game-high 12 boards. 

Tracy Abrams had an outstanding all-around game with nine points, eight rebounds and five assists without a turnover in 29 minutes.

Hill Named Second-Team All-Big Ten; USBWA All-District V

Malcolm Hill has earned second-team All-Big Ten honors by the league coaches and media, as well as All-District V accolades by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association. Hill has compiled an impressive list of accomplishments in his senior season with the Fighting Illini:

• One of only two players from the six major conferences to lead his team in total points, rebounds, assists and steals on the season

• Third in Big Ten in scoring, averaging 17.0 points

• Scored in double figures in 30 of 33 games

• 12 outings of 20-plus points, highlighted by two 30+ performances

• Big Ten Player of the Week after career-high 40 points vs. Northern Kentucky (Nov. 15)

• Illini's leading scorer in eight of the last 10 games, 11 times in the last 14 games, and 21 times on the season

• Improved 3-pointer shooter, making 57 treys this season compared to 37 last year

• 10th in Big Ten in free throw shooting at 78.8 percent, ranking third in league in makes (152) and attempts (193)

• Ninth in B1G in steals (1.2 spg)

• 13 game MVP awards by Kenpom

• Has played four different positions over the course of the season

• Third player in Illini history – and one of 17 active Div. I players – with 1,800 career points & 600 career rebounds

• Fourth on Illini all-time scoring list with 1,804 points

Hill Joins Historic UI Club

Senior Malcolm Hill scored his 1,800th career point vs. Valparaiso on Tuesday. He collected his 600th rebound vs. Minnesota on Feb. 4. Hill is just the third Illini player ever in the 1,800-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-) – 1,804 points 638 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 1,800 points and 600 rebounds:

Illini Team Trends

• Illinois ranks 46th nationally in defensive efficiency by kenpom (96.7).

• The Illini have scored at least 70 points in 16 of their 19 wins.

• The Illini are 14-3 this season when shooting at least 45 percent from the field, and are 17-2 when shooting better than their opponent.

• Illinois has held the opponent below 72 points in 12 of the last 14 games.

• Illinois ranks third in the Big Ten and 54th nationally in defensive rebounding percentage (.738).

• Illinois is 14-3 when outrebounding the opponent.

Illini Player Trends

• All-Big Ten second team and USBWA All-District honoree Malcolm Hill is one of only two players from the six major conferences to lead his team in TOTAL points, rebounds, assists and steals on the season (Ethan Happ, Wisconsin). 

• Hill ranks third in the Big Ten in scoring (17.0 ppg).

• Hill has scored in double figures in 30 of 32 games against Div. I opponents. His streak of 25 straight in double digits came to an end vs. Michigan in the Big Ten Tournament (4 points).

• Hill is the only Illini to start every game this season. He also started every game last year, carrying an active streak of 67 consecutive starts. Overall, Hill has started 111 of the last 112 games dating back to his first career start as a freshman at Penn State on Feb. 9, 2014.

• Hill shot 54.3 percent on 2-pointers during Big Ten play (70-129).

• Hill continues to be one of the nation's best at getting to the line. He ranks 66th in the NCAA with 152 made free throws. His 193 attempts, meanwhile, rank 70th nationally. Hill ranks third among Big Ten players in each category.

• Hill is drawing 6.0 fouls per 40 minutes, ranking 98th nationally.

• Hill's career-high 40 points vs. Northern Kentucky (Nov. 13) is tied for the No. 30 scoring performance in the NCAA this season.

• Senior Maverick Morgan is second on the team in scoring, also averaging double figures at 10.1 ppg. In conference games only, Morgan's average increased to 11.3 points.

• Morgan ranks ninth in the Big Ten in field goal shooting at 55 percent (138-251). 

• Morgan has scored in double figures 16 times in the last 23 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 then had three straight games scoring in double figures, averaging 14.0 points (42) on 52.8 percent shooting (19-36), before scoring four points in the Big Ten Tournament vs. Michigan.

• Morgan has grabbed 25 offensive rebounds over the last 10 games (2.5 avg).

• After missing the last two years due to injury, sixth-year senior Tracy Abrams has scored in double figures in nine games, ranking third on the team in scoring (8.4 ppg).

• Abrams erupted for his highest scoring performance in the last 21 games against Michigan in the Big Ten Tournament, scoring a game-high 23 points on 9-of-13 shooting. 

• Abrams is shooting 42 percent from 3-point range this season (47-112) after entering his final season as a 27 percent career 3-point shooter.

• Abrams has made 12 three-pointers over the last six games after totaling six treys the previous 14 games.

• Sophomore Jalen Coleman-Lands is the Illini's fifth-leading scorer at 8.0 ppg.

• After setting an Illini freshman record with 87 three-pointers last season, Coleman-Lands again leads the Illini with 66 treys this year. His average of 2.0 made threes ranks 11th in the Big Ten.

• Coleman-Lands' career total of 153 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 recorded his first double-double since Nov. 25 with 13 points and a game-high 12 rebounds in the NIT first-round win over Valparaiso on Tuesday.

• Black has been the Illini's leading rebounder in 11 games and leads the team on the year, averaging 6.2 boards (14th in B1G).

» Complete Illinois-Boise State Game Notes (PDF)