| Illinois Starters (from last game) |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
Note |
| G |
1 |
Trent Frazier |
6-1 |
170 |
Fr. |
9.6 |
1.7 |
2.5 |
1st Illini start at Mich. |
| G |
13 |
Mark Smith |
6-4 |
225 |
Fr. |
8.1 |
1.6 |
1.5 |
.816 FT% (31-38) |
| G |
24 |
Mark Alstork |
6-5 |
190 |
Gr. |
6.6 |
4.2 |
2.5 |
.829 FT% (34-41) |
| F |
12 |
Leron Black |
6-7 |
230 |
r-Jr. |
14.3 |
5.7 |
1.1 |
13 double-figure games |
| F |
43 |
Michael Finke |
6-10 |
235 |
r-Jr. |
10.6 |
5.4 |
1.2 |
Team-high 39 Off. Rebs. |
| Off the Bench |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
Note |
| F |
2 |
Kipper Nichols |
6-6 |
225 |
r-So. |
8.7 |
4.9 |
0.5 |
17 pts at Michigan |
| G |
3 |
Te'Jon Lucas |
6-1 |
180 |
So. |
5.8 |
2.1 |
3.2 |
Team-high 55 assists |
| F |
4 |
Matic Vesel |
6-10 |
215 |
Fr. |
0.3 |
1.2 |
0.3 |
Native of Slovenia |
| G |
10 |
Drew Cayce |
6-1 |
175 |
r-So. |
1.0 |
0.8 |
0.0 |
UI walkon |
| F |
11 |
Greg Eboigbodin |
6-9 |
225 |
Fr. |
1.9 |
2.1 |
0.1 |
19 pts last 2 games |
| G |
20 |
Da'Monte Williams |
6-3 |
190 |
Fr. |
4.5 |
3.4 |
1.1 |
Late 3 sealed GC win |
| G |
23 |
Aaron Jordan |
6-5 |
210 |
Jr. |
9.9 |
3.6 |
0.6 |
Leads B1G in 3FG% (.533) |
| G |
35 |
Samson Oladimeji |
6-4 |
200 |
So. |
0.0 |
1.0 |
0.0 |
UI walkon |
| F |
45 |
Cameron Liss |
6-6 |
220 |
r-Jr. |
0.5 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
B1G Distinguished Scholar |
| Sitting Out (*2016-17 Stats listed) |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
Note |
| G |
32 |
Tyler Underwood |
6-1 |
165 |
r-So. |
0.6* |
0.2* |
0.1* |
Sitting out season (transfer) |
| G |
41 |
Clayton Jones |
6-0 |
170 |
r-Sr. |
0.4* |
0.0* |
0.0* |
Recovering from torn ACL |
Career Record: 119-34/.778 (5th year)
At Illinois: 10-7 (1st year)
Big Ten: 0-4
Series Notes vs. Iowa
Record: Illinois leads 85-71
Streak: Illinois W-3
Record in Champaign: Illinois leads 62-16
Streak in Champaign: Illinois W-1
Last Year's Meetings: ILL 76, IOWA 64 (1/25/17 at ILL) // ILL 70, IOWA 66 (2/18/17 at IOWA)
Underwood vs. Iowa: First meeting
Opening Tip
• Illinois is back in action at State Farm Center, carrying a 9-1 record on its home court into Thursday's match-up with Iowa (7 p.m., FS1). This is the UI's lone home appearance in its first five games of 2018. The Illini just completed a two-game road trip to Minnesota and Michigan, and following the Iowa contest, returns to the road for back-to-back games at Nebraska and Wisconsin.
• Overall, Illinois' Big Ten schedule starts with five of its first seven games on the road.
• Freshman Greg Eboigbodin is coming off an outstanding week, averaging 9.5 points on 90 percent shooting along with 4.5 rebounds over the two-game trip. Eboigbodin had nine points and three rebounds in 15 minutes at Minnesota, then set career highs with 10 points, six rebounds and two blocks in 16 minutes at Michigan.
• Sophomore Kipper Nichols tied his career with 17 points on Saturday at Michigan. It was his highest scoring performance in the last 13 games (17 vs. Marshall, Nov. 19). Nichols added a game-high seven boards against the Wolverines, his sixth time this season leading the Illini in rebounding.
Frontcourt Grads
Redshirt juniors Michael Finke and Leron Black have completed coursework in their undergraduate degree program of communication. The duo are now set to begin grad school with the start of the 2018 spring semester next week. Finke will pursue a master's degree in recreation, sport and tourism while Black will enroll in the master's program in education policy, organization and leadership.
Newcomers Playing Prominent Role
Illinois is undergoing a year of major transformation in its program. In addition to first-year head coach Brad Underwood implementing new offensive and defensive styles of play, the Illini have a number of new players taking on key roles. After losing two-thirds of its minutes from last year's NIT squad, Illinois has newcomers playing the most minutes of any Big Ten team this season with freshmen Mark Smith, Trent Frazier, Da'Monte Williams, Greg Eboigbodin and Matic Vesel, graduate transfer Mark Alstork and walk-on Drew Cayce accounting for a staggering 46.7 percent of minutes played. Illinois stands as the only team in the conference above the 40 percent threshold. The Illini rank third in the Big Ten, meanwhile, in percentage of points scored by newcomers at 39 percent.
Illinois Team Headlines
• After totaling 37 bench points last time out at Michigan, Illinois' bench has now outscored the opposition in 15 of 17 games on the season, including each of the last nine. Illini reserves are averaging 33.5 points, with the Illinois bench outscoring the opponent bench by an average of 14.7 points per game.
• Illinois ranks sixth in the country with an offensive rebounding rate of 37.9 percent.
• Illinois ranks second in the Big Ten and 10th in the NCAA in offensive rebounds (14.2 rpg). Illinois has grabbed 14 or more offensive rebounds in 10 games. Last year the Illini tallied at least 14 offensive rebounds in a total of just five games.
• Illinois ranks sixth in the NCAA in turnovers forced (18.7 per game). Illinois has forced 17 or more turnovers in 10 games. Last year the Illini defense forced at least 17 turnovers in only five of 35 games.
• The Illini rank seventh nationally in turnover rate, forcing turnovers on 24.3 percent of opponent possessions.
• Illinois ranks 26th nationally in turnover margin (+3.9), while scoring 20.8 points per game off turnovers.
• Illinois ranks second in the Big Ten and 43rd in the NCAA in steals (8.0 spg). Illinois has collected eight or more steals in nine games. Last year the Illini tallied at least eight steals in only six games.
• Illinois ranks 47th in kenpom's adjusted defensive efficiency (96.3).
• In the Illini's 10 wins this season, no opponent has reached 75 points.
• Illinois leads the Big Ten and is 46th nationally in adjusted tempo by kenpom, averaging 72.9 possessions.
• Illinois has scored at least 77 points in seven of its 10 wins.
• Illinois is shooting 73.9 percent from the free throw line on the season (79th in NCAA), and leads the Big Ten during conference play at 78.3 percent.
• Illinois has shot at least 24 free throws in nine games. Last year the Illini attempted at least 24 free throws in only seven games.
• The Illini have had seven different players serve as leading scorer in a game this season.
• Five different Illini have recorded a 20-point performance.
• The Illini rotation has nine players averaging at least 16 minutes per game.
Notes from the Last Time Out at Michigan
• Michigan entered the game ranking seventh in the nation for fewest turnovers (9.9 avg.), but the Illini forced the Wolverines into a season-high 15 turnovers.
• Illinois scored 48 of its 69 points in the paint, setting a season high for points in the lane. The Illini's previous best was 42 set twice vs. Marshall (Nov. 19) and Maryland (Dec. 3).
• Illinois shot 57.1 percent from 2-point range (24-42).
• Illinois' four blocked shots were one away from its season high (5 vs. Austin Peay, Dec. 6). All four blocks came in the first half.
• Illinois led during the second half for the sixth time in its seven losses.
• Sophomore Kipper Nichols tied his career with 17 points vs. Michigan. It was his highest scoring performance in 13 games, since originally setting his career high of 17 vs. Marshall (Nov. 19). Nichols added a game-high seven boards, his sixth time this season leading the Illini in rebounding.
• Freshman Greg Eboigbodin scored a career-high 10 points on 5-of-5 shooting in 16 minutes of action. He added a career-high six rebounds and tied a career-high with two blocked shots. Eboigbodin had two blocks in his first three minutes on the court after recording two blocks in his first 94 minutes this season.
• Coming off the bench for the first time this season, sophomore Te'Jon Lucas equaled his season with a team-best six assists. He also scored eight points, his fourth-best scoring game of the season.
• Freshman Trent Frazier scored eight points in his first career start.
Oh So Close
Illinois has dropped seven games this season, but has been in contention to win nearly every single one of those contests. The Illini have led during the second half in six of its losses. In three of those games, Illinois had the ball with either the lead or in a tie with less than one minute remaining. And in the other two, the Illini trailed by just one possession down the stretch. Here's a look at where the Illini stood in each loss during the second half:
• At Wake Forest – Trailed by three with 1:15 remaining … Led with 17 minutes left
• At Northwestern – Tied with 30 seconds left with ball … Also led in OT
• Maryland – Led by two with 4.6 seconds left with ball … Also led in OT
• At UNLV – Trailed by two with 3 minutes remaining … Led with eight minutes left
• Vs. New Mexico State – Tied with 33 seconds left with ball … Led with seven minutes left
• At Minnesota – Trailed by five with four minutes remaining … Trailed by four with 10 minutes left.
• At Michigan – Trailed by five with 11 minutes remaining … Led with 19 minutes left.
Illini Player Trends
• Junior Leron Black has increased his scoring average by 6.2 points this season, currently leading the Illini at 14.3 ppg (16th in Big Ten) after averaging 8.1 ppg last year.
• Black has now averaged 15.6 points (78) and 6.8 rebounds (34) over the last five games, scoring in double figures four times and leading the team in scoring three times.
• Black has scored in double figures in 13 of his 16 games, which included a career-long streak of seven straight that ended at UNLV when he left the game late in the first half with an injury.
• Black has made at least 50 percent from the field in 11 games and is shooting 52.1 percent on the year (96th in NCAA), compared to 45.3 percent from the field last year.
• Black is shooting 60.6 percent in 10 home games this season (57-94).
• Black has made 81.5 percent of his free throws this season (ninth in Big Ten) after entering the year as a 70 percent career shooter at the line.
• Black has 18 assists in 16 games after finishing last year with 13 assists in 31 games.
• Freshman Trent Frazier has been the Illini's leading scorer over the last seven games, averaging 15.0 points (105) with 2.3 steals (16) while shooting 41.2 percent from 3-point range (14-34).
• Frazier has scored in double figures in seven of the last nine games overall, and is now fourth on the team in scoring on the season at 9.6 ppg.
• Junior Michael Finke is second on the team in scoring at 10.6 ppg. He averaged 6.9 points last season.
• Finke also ranks second on the Illini in rebounding at 5.4 rpg while leading the team with an average of 2.3 offensive boards (10th in B1G).
• Junior Aaron Jordan is third on the team in scoring at 9.9 points per game after averaging 1.0 points last year as a sophomore (+8.9 ppg).
• Jordan leads the Big Ten in 3-point shooting at 55.3 percent (32-60). He entered the year as a 30 percent career shooter from 3-point land.
• Jordan averaged 13.7 points (41) and 5.0 rebounds (15) over a recent three-game stretch before attempting just one shot vs. Missouri.
• Jordan has scored in double figures in nine of 17 games on the season after entering the year with two games in double digits through his first 55 career games.
• Jordan is tied for 14th in the Big Ten by averaging 1.9 made threes.
• Freshman Greg Eboigbodin made 10-11 shots week, now leading the Big Ten in field goal shooting during conference play at 90.9 percent.
• Freshman Da'Monte Williams ranks third in the Big Ten in steals during league play (2.0 spg).
