| Illinois Starters (from last game) |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
Note |
| G |
3 |
Te'Jon Lucas |
6-1 |
180 |
So. |
5.9 |
2.3 |
3.3 |
16 steals |
| G |
13 |
Mark Smith |
6-4 |
225 |
Fr. |
8.3 |
1.7 |
1.5 |
.816 FT% (31-38) |
| G |
24 |
Mark Alstork |
6-5 |
190 |
Gr. |
6.6 |
4.4 |
2.5 |
.816 FT% (31-38) |
| F |
12 |
Leron Black |
6-7 |
230 |
r-Jr. |
14.8 |
5.9 |
1.3 |
19.0 ppg, 8.7 rpg in last 3 |
| F |
43 |
Michael Finke |
6-10 |
235 |
r-Jr. |
11.5 |
5.8 |
1.1 |
Team-high 35 Off. Rebs. |
| Off the Bench |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
Note |
| G |
1 |
Trent Frazier |
6-1 |
170 |
Fr. |
9.5 |
1.6 |
2.3 |
17.0 ppg over last 5 |
| F |
2 |
Kipper Nichols |
6-6 |
225 |
r-So. |
8.6 |
4.9 |
0.6 |
.455 3FG% (10-22) |
| F |
4 |
Matic Vesel |
6-10 |
215 |
Fr. |
0.4 |
1.4 |
0.4 |
First career pts. vs.Longwood |
| 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. |
0.7 |
1.7 |
0.1 |
Native of Nigeria |
| G |
20 |
Da'Monte Williams |
6-3 |
190 |
Fr. |
4.6 |
2.9 |
1.0 |
Late 3 sealed GC win |
| G |
23 |
Aaron Jordan |
6-5 |
210 |
Jr. |
10.9 |
3.7 |
0.5 |
3rd in NCAA in 3FG% (.596) |
| 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: 119-32/.788 (5th year)
At Illinois: 10-5 (1st year)
Big Ten: 0-2
Series Notes vs. Minnesota
Record: Illinois leads 122-66
Streak: Minnesota W-1
Record at Minneapolis: Minnesota leads 46-45
Streak at Minneapolis: Illinois W-1
Last Year's Meeting: Minnesota 68, Illinois 59 // Feb. 4, 2017 at Champaign
Underwood vs. Minnesota: First meeting
Opening Tip
• Illinois enters a stretch with four of its next five games on the road, beginning with Wednesday's visit to Minnesota (8 p.m., BTN).
• Illinois is covering this week's Minnesota and Michigan games in one trip, staying in Minneapolis until Friday before traveling to Ann Arbor.
• Overall, Illinois' conference schedule starts with five of its first seven games on the road.
• Illinois has won 12 of its last 15 games at Williams Arena dating back to 2000. The Fighting Illini have recorded 45 wins all-time at Minnesota, the UI's second-most road victories against a Big Ten opponent (62 at Northwestern).
• After missing the Longwood game Dec. 13 with an injury, junior Leron Black is averaging 19 points and 8.7 rebounds over the last three games while shooting 53.7 percent from the field.
• Freshman Trent Frazier has excelled over the last five games, averaging 17 points and 2.8 steals while shooting 44 percent from 3-point range, making an average of 2.2 treys per game.
Oh So Close
Illinois has dropped five games this season, but has been in contention to win every single one of those contests. The Illini led during the second half of all five 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:
• 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
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 45.8 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 37.4 percent.
Illinois Team Headlines
• Illinois' bench has outscored the opposition in 13 of 15 games on the season, including each of the last seven. Illini reserves are averaging 33.2 points, with the Illinois bench outscoring the opponent bench by an average of 13.8 points per game.
• Illinois ranks 16th in the NCAA in made free throws (259) and 21st nationally in free throw attempts (352).
• Illinois ranks fifth in the country with an offensive rebounding rate of 38.1 percent.
• Illinois ranks second in the Big Ten and 14th in the NCAA in offensive rebounds (14.1 rpg). Illinois has grabbed 14 or more offensive rebounds in nine 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 (19.2 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 eighth nationally in turnover rate, forcing turnovers on 24.7 percent of opponent possessions.
• Illinois ranks 24th nationally in turnover margin (+4.3), while scoring 22.3 points per game off turnovers.
• Illinois ranks second in the Big Ten and 43rd in the NCAA in steals (8.1 spg). Illinois has collected eight or more steals in eight games. Last year the Illini tallied at least eight steals in only six games.
• Illinois is averaging 9.1 steals over the last seven games (64).
• Illinois ranks 44th in kenpom's adjusted defensive efficiency (96.6).
• 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 73.3 possessions.
• Illinois has scored at least 77 points in seven of its 10 wins.
• 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.
• Illinois has made 39 three-pointers over the last five games (7.8 avg.) after combining for a total of 13 treys the previous three games (4.3 avg.).
• 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.
Big Scoring Jump for Jordan
Junior guard Aaron Jordan is the Illini's third-leading scorer with an average of 10.9 points. This comes one year after he averaged just 1.0 ppg as a sophomore. His scoring improvement is the biggest of any player in the Big Ten this season:
1. Aaron Jordan, Illinois +9.9
2. Keita Bates-Diop, Ohio State +9.0
3. C.J. Jackson, Ohio State +8.0
4. Jordan Murphy, Minnesota +7.8
5. Juwan Morgan, Indiana +7.6
Illini Player Trends
• Junior Leron Black has increased his scoring average by 6.7 points this season, currently leading the Illini at 14.8 ppg (14th in Big Ten) after averaging 8.1 ppg last year.
• Black averaged 16.3 points (49) over a recent three-game stretch before suffering an injury during the first half Dec. 9 at UNLV. After sitting out the Longwood game Dec. 13, Black has now averaged 19.0 points (57) and 8.7 rebounds (26) over the last three games.
• Black has scored in double figures in 12 of his 14 games, which included a career-long streak of seven straight that ended at UNLV.
• Black has made at least 50 percent from the field in 11 games and is shooting 54.1 percent on the year (79th in NCAA), compared to 45.3 percent from the field last year.
• Black has made 81.6 percent of his free throws this season (eighth in Big Ten) after entering the year as a 70 percent career shooter at the line.
• Black has 18 assists in 14 games after finishing last year with 13 assists in 31 games.
• Freshman Trent Frazier has been the Illini's leading scorer over the last five games, averaging 17.0 points (85) with 2.8 steals (14) while shooting 44 percent from 3-point range (11-25).
• Frazier has scored in double figures in six of the last seven games overall and is now fourth on the team in scoring on the season at 9.5 ppg.
• Junior Michael Finke is second on the team in scoring at 11.5 ppg. He averaged 6.9 points last season.
• Finke also ranks second on the Illini in rebounding at 5.8 rpg while leading the team with 34 offensive boards (ninth in B1G).
• Finke has scored in double figures in four of the last six games, averaging 12.0 points (72) and 6.5 rebounds (39), including 3.2 offensive boards (19).
• Junior Aaron Jordan is third on the team in scoring, averaging 10.9 points. He averaged 1.0 points last year as a sophomore, with his 9.9-point scoring increase the most of any Big Ten player.
• Jordan leads the Big Ten and ranks third in the nation in 3-point shooting (min. 2 made/game) at 59.6 percent (31-52). 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 made 26 of his last 40 attempts from 3-point range (65 percent), dating back to the second half vs. Marshall on Nov. 19.
• Jordan ranks 13th nationally in kenpom offensive rating at 135.8.
• Jordan has scored in double figures in seven of the last 11 games, and nine of 15 games on the season after entering the year with two games in double digits through his first 55 career games.
• Jordan is tied for 12th in the Big Ten, averaging 2.1 made threes.
• Jordan had a streak of 17 straight made free throws snapped in the second half Dec. 13 vs. Longwood.
• Sophomore Kipper Nichols averaged 7.4 rebounds (37) over a recent five-game stretch before missing the Longwood game on Dec. 13 due to injury.
• Te'Jon Lucas is shooting 51.6 percent on 2-pointers this season (33-64) while Trent Frazier is shooting 50.7 percent on 2s (34-67).
• Senior Mark Alstork is averaging 7.5 rebounds over the last two games (15).
• Alstork averaged 15.5 points in two Big Ten games the first weekend of December with 14 at Northwestern and a season-high tying 17 vs. Maryland. He went 9-17 from the field (52.9 percent) and a perfect 10-10 from the free throw line during those two games.
