| Illinois Starters (from last game) |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
Note |
| G |
3 |
Te'Jon Lucas |
6-1 |
180 |
So. |
5.7 |
2.3 |
3.1 |
Team-high 49 assists |
| G |
13 |
Mark Smith |
6-4 |
225 |
Fr. |
8.1 |
1.8 |
1.6 |
.816 FT% (31-38) |
| G |
24 |
Mark Alstork |
6-5 |
190 |
Gr. |
6.7 |
4.3 |
2.6 |
.825 FT% (33-40) |
| F |
12 |
Leron Black |
6-7 |
230 |
r-Jr. |
14.7 |
5.8 |
1.2 |
17.8 ppg, 7.5 rpg in last 4 |
| F |
43 |
Michael Finke |
6-10 |
235 |
r-Jr. |
11.1 |
5.7 |
1.2 |
Team-high 39 Off. Rebs. |
| Off the Bench |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
Note |
| G |
1 |
Trent Frazier |
6-1 |
170 |
Fr. |
9.7 |
1.7 |
2.6 |
16.1 ppg over last 6 |
| F |
2 |
Kipper Nichols |
6-6 |
225 |
r-So. |
8.1 |
4.7 |
0.5 |
.385 3FG% (10-26) |
| 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. |
1.3 |
1.8 |
0.1 |
CH 9 pts at MINN |
| G |
20 |
Da'Monte Williams |
6-3 |
190 |
Fr. |
4.7 |
3.3 |
1.1 |
Late 3 sealed GC win |
| G |
23 |
Aaron Jordan |
6-5 |
210 |
Jr. |
10.6 |
3.7 |
0.5 |
8th in NCAA in 3FG% (.552) |
| 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: 119-33/.783 (5th year)
At Illinois: 10-6 (1st year)
Big Ten: 0-3
Series Notes vs. Michigan
Record: Illinois leads 87-83
Streak: Michigan W-2
Record in Ann Arbor: Michigan leads 51-29
Streak in Ann Arbor: Michigan W-4
Last Season's Meetings:
Illinois 85, Michigan 69 // Jan. 11, 2017 at Champaign
Michigan 66, Illinois 57 // Jan. 21, 2017 at Ann Arbor
Michigan 75, Illinois 55 // March 9, 2017 at Washington D.C.
Underwood vs. Michigan at Illinois: First meeting
Underwood vs. Michigan All-Time: 0-1
Opening Tip
• Illinois continues its stretch of four out of five games on the road to start 2018, facing Michigan in Ann Arbor on Saturday (11 a.m. CT, BTN).
• Overall, Illinois' conference schedule starts with five of its first seven games on the road.
• First-year Illini head coach Brad Underwood faced Michigan last year in the NCAA Tournament during his lone season at Oklahoma State. In one of the most exciting games of the first round, the Wolverines defeated the Cowboys, 92-91, at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
• After missing the Longwood game Dec. 13 with an injury, junior Leron Black is averaging 17.8 points and 7.5 rebounds over the last four games.
• Freshman Trent Frazier has excelled in recent weeks, scoring in double figures in six straight games and averaging 16.2 points and 2.5 steals while shooting 45.2 percent from 3-point range and making an average of 2.3 treys per game.
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
• After totaling 34 bench points last time out vs. Minnesota while the Gophers bench had just four, Illinois' bench has now outscored the opposition in 14 of 16 games on the season, including each of the last eight. Illini reserves are averaging 33.3 points, with the Illinois bench outscoring the opponent bench by an average of 14.8 points per game.
• Illinois ranks seventh in the country with an offensive rebounding rate of 38.1 percent.
• Illinois ranks second in the Big Ten and eighth in the NCAA in offensive rebounds (14.4 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 (18.9 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 24.5 percent of opponent possessions.
• Illinois ranks 23rd nationally in turnover margin (+4.3), while scoring 21.6 points per game off turnovers.
• Illinois ranks second in the Big Ten and 41st in the NCAA in steals (8.1 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 is averaging 9.0 steals over the last eight games (72).
• Illinois ranks 43rd in kenpom's adjusted defensive efficiency (96.4).
• In the Illini's 10 wins this season, no opponent has reached 75 points.
• Illinois leads the Big Ten and is 52nd nationally in adjusted tempo by kenpom, averaging 72.7 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 46 three-pointers over the last six games (7.7 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.
Oh So Close
Illinois has dropped six games this season, but has been in contention to win nearly every single one of those contests. The Illini led during the second half of its first 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
• At Minnesota – Trailed by five with four minutes remaining … Trailed by four with 10 minutes left.
Big Scoring Jump for Jordan
Junior guard Aaron Jordan is the Illini's third-leading scorer with an average of 10.6 points. This comes one year after he averaged just 1.0 ppg as a sophomore. His scoring improvement is tied for the biggest of any player in the Big Ten this season:
T1. Aaron Jordan, Illinois +9.6
T1. Keita Bates-Diop, Ohio State +9.6
3. C.J. Jackson, Ohio State +7.9
T4. Jordan Murphy, Minnesota +7.7
T4. Juwan Morgan, Indiana +7.7
Illini Player Trends
• Junior Leron Black has increased his scoring average by 6.6 points this season, currently leading the Illini at 14.7 ppg (15th 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 17.8 points (71) and 7.5 rebounds (30) over the last four games.
• Black has scored in double figures in 13 of his 15 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 52.8 percent on the year (88th in NCAA), compared to 45.3 percent from the field last year.
• Black has made 82 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 15 games after finishing last year with 13 assists in 31 games.
• Freshman Trent Frazier has been the Illini's leading scorer over the last six games, averaging 16.2 points (97) with 2.5 steals (15) while shooting 45.2 percent from 3-point range (14-31).
• Frazier has scored in double figures in seven of the last eight games overall – including six straight – and is now fourth on the team in scoring on the season at 9.7 ppg.
• Junior Michael Finke is second on the team in scoring at 11.1 ppg. He averaged 6.9 points last season.
• Finke also ranks second on the Illini in rebounding at 5.7 rpg while leading the team with 39 offensive boards (10th in B1G).
• Junior Aaron Jordan is third on the team in scoring, averaging 10.6 points. He averaged 1.0 points last year as a sophomore, with his 9.6-point scoring increase the most of any Big Ten player.
• Jordan leads the Big Ten in 3-point shooting at 55.2 percent (32-58). 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 ranks 37th nationally in kenpom offensive rating at 130.8
• Jordan has scored in double figures in seven of the last 12 games, and nine of 16 games on the season after entering the year with two games in double digits through his first 55 career games.
• Jordan is tied for 13th in the Big Ten by averaging 2.1 made threes.
• 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 51.5 percent on 2-pointers this season (34-66) while Trent Frazier is shooting 50.7 percent on 2s (35-69).
