Career Record: 157-109/.590 (8th year)
At Illinois: 72-53/.576 (4th year)
Big Ten: 26-36/.419
Series Notes vs. Wisconsin
Series Record: Illinois leads 110-82
Series Streak: Wisconsin W-8
Record at Champaign: Illinois leads 68-24
Series Streak at Champaign: Wisconsin W-3
Last Year's Meeting: #5 Wisconsin 68, Illinois 49 // Feb. 15, 2015 at Madison
Groce vs. Wisconsin: 0-5
Coaches vs. Cancer Suits & Sneakers
Coach Groce and his staff will wear Nikes on the sidelines during Sunday night's game vs. Wisconsin. They are joining coaches from across the country who are trading in dress shoes for sneakers as part of the annual Coaches vs. Cancer Suits &?Sneakers Week. Coaches vs. Cancer is a collaboration between the American Cancer Society and National Association of Basketball Coaches. The program empowers coaches, their teams and communities to join the fight against cancer by participating in awareness efforts, advocacy programs and fundraising activities.
Coaches also will wear special gold laces in memory of Lacey Holsworth, an 8-year-old basketball fan who lost her battle with cancer. Her friendship with former Michigan State player Adreian Payne and the Spartans program received national attention during the 2014 season. Laces are available for purchase at Shoe Carnival Stores. Funds raised will go to Coaches vs. Cancer and Princess Lacey's Legacy in the fight against pediatric cancer.
Elite Company
Junior Malcolm Hill leads the Fighting Illini in total points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocked shots on the season. He is one of just three players nationally to lead his team in all of those categories, joined by LSU's Ben Simmons and Florida A&M's Malcolm Bernard.
Big Two
Juniors Kendrick Nunn and Malcolm Hill are leading the charge for the Illini offensive attack, ranking as the highest-scoring duo in the Big Ten, and fifth-highest among the six major conferences so far this season. Here is a ranking of the top scoring duos from each of the power six leagues:
1. 40.8 ppg Buddy Hield (25.9 ppg) & Jordan Woodard (14.9 ppg) Oklahoma
2. 37.4 ppg Grayson Allen (20.3 ppg) & Brandon Ingram (17.1 ppg) Duke
3. 37.1 ppg Stefan Moody (24.3 ppg) & Sebastian Saiz (12.8 ppg) Mississippi
4. 36.9 ppg Ben Bentil (20.0 ppg) & Kris Dunn (16.9 ppg) Providence
5. 36.2 ppg Malcolm Hill (18.3 ppg) & Kendrick Nunn (17.9 ppg) Illinois
6. 35.8 ppg Andrew Andrews (21.3 ppg) & Dejounte Murray (14.5 ppg) Washington
Nunn and Hill, meanwhile, are one of only two duos among the six major conferences where both players are averaging at least 17 ppg:
1. 37.4 ppg Grayson Allen (20.3 ppg) & Brandon Ingram (17.1 ppg) Duke
2. 36.2 ppg Malcolm Hill (18.3 ppg) & Kendrick Nunn (17.9 ppg) Illinois
Illini Trends
• Illinois has started 12 different lineups this season.
• Illinois' turnover rate of 14.3 percent ranks fifth nationally, and the Illini rank 11th in the NCAA in fewest turnovers per game (10.1 avg.).
• Illinois ranks 11th nationally in defensive free throw rate (25.7).
• Illinois has had a 20-point scorer in four of the last five games.
• A different player has been the Illini's leading rebounder in each of the last four games.
• Junior Malcolm Hill has scored in double figures in every game this season and currently ranks third in the Big Ten in scoring with an average of 18.3 points.
• Hill's scoring average is the highest by an Illini since Brian Cook led the Big Ten in scoring in 2003 (20.0 ppg).
• Hill scored his 1,000th career point at Minnesota (Jan. 23), becoming the 47th player in Fighting Illini history to reach the 1,000-point milestone.
• Hill has 14 career games of 20+ points, with 10 this season, including three of the last five games (30 vs. Purdue, 20 at Indiana, 28 at Minnesota).
• Hill averaged 23.8 points (95) on 50 percent shooting (28-56) over the last four games prior to Ohio State.
• Hill ranks 17th in the NCAA in made free throws (118) and 28th nationally in free throw attempts (145), standing second behind Wisconsin's Nigel Hayes among Big Ten players in each category.
• Hill has seven games this season with at least nine free throw attempts. Over the last five games, he has gotten to the line 53 times – averaging 10.6 attempts per game.
• Hill leads the Illini in assists on the season with an average of 3.4 apg, after entering the year with a career average of 1.0 assists.
• Junior Kendrick Nunn has scored in double figures in all 15 games he has played in, currently averaging 17.9 points.
• Nunn's scoring average would rank fourth in the Big Ten, but he is not listed among the conference statistical leaders because he has yet to play in 75 percent of Illinois' games. Nunn has played in 71 percent of games on the season.
• Nunn has five games of 20+ points this season, including three times in Big Ten play (23 vs. Michigan, 22 vs. Purdue, 24 vs. Ohio State).
• Nunn's 24 points on Thursday night vs. Ohio State marked his highest total in the last 11 games, since scoring a career-high 28 vs. Yale (Dec. 9).
• Nunn has drained 46 three-pointers in his 15 games, after totaling 54 treys in 33 games last year. His current average of 3.1 made threes per game would rank third in the Big Ten.
• Nunn's average of 3.07 three-pointers is challenging for the Illini season school record. The current mark is 3.00 set by Cory Bradford in 2000 (96 made in 32 games).
• Freshman Jalen Coleman-Lands has made 47 three-pointers through 21 games. He is on pace to contend with the Illinois record by a true freshman of 69 treys, set by D.J. Richardson in 2010.
• Coleman-Lands is fifth on the team in scoring, averaging 9.0 points. The last Illini to average double figures as a freshman was Richardson in 2010 (10.5 ppg).
• Coleman-Lands has scored in double figures in five of eight Big Ten games, and is the Illini's third-leading scorer in conference play (9.8 ppg).
• Coleman-Lands tied his career-high with six rebounds Thursday vs. Ohio State, after combining for a total of seven rebounds over the previous five games.
• Redshirt freshman Michael Finke grabbed 16 boards in the win at Minnesota last weekend, the highest rebounding total by an Illini in the last four seasons (Meyers Leonard, 16 reb vs. Cornell, 12/19/11).
• Finke is second on the Illini in rebounding in Big Ten play, averaging 5.5 rebounds, improving on his all-games average of 4.0 rpg.
• Despite playing the "5" for much of the season, Finke ranks fourth on the team with 27 assists. He set a career high with four assists at Minnesota (Jan. 23).
• Junior Maverick Morgan has averaged 11.0 points (22) and 6.0 rebounds (12) while shooting 55.6 percent (10-18) over the last two games.
• Junior Jaylon Tate has an assist-to-turnover ratio of 3.44 in conference play, ranking third in the Big Ten among primary ballhandlers.
Battling Through Adversity
Six different Illini players have combined to miss a total of 61 games due to injuries and other circumstances so far this season. The only contest where Illinois has had its full roster available (not counting Tracy Abrams) for the entirety of the game was the 72-58 victory over UAB on Nov. 27.
With the list of available players changing from one game to the next, Coach John Groce has used 12 different starting lineups.
On five occasions the Illini have had as few as eight scholarship players available, including each of the first three games to open Big Ten play.
Taking Care of the Rock
Illinois has been one of the best teams in the country under Coach John Groce in taking care of the basketball. Last year's team set a school record for fewest turnovers, averaging just 9.9 per game. That broke the previous school mark of 10.4 per game set by Groce's 2014 squad.
This year the Illini are on pace to challenge the school record again this year, currently averaging 10.1 turnovers. Illinois ranks third in the Big Ten and 11th nationally in fewest turnovers. And Illinois ranks second in the conference with a +3.1 turnover margin (24th in NCAA).
3-Point Improvement
The Illini have increased their production from behind the arc in recent weeks. Illinois has made an average of 8.9 threes per game over the last 15 games (133), a vast improvement over the average of 6.5 made treys through the first six games (39). The Illini have hit at least nine treys 10 times during this stretch, including eight of the last 11 contests.
Newcomers Playing Prominent Role
Illinois has seven newcomers who have all factored into the rotation this season in graduate transfers Khalid Lewis and Mike Thorne Jr., junior transfer Alex Austin, redshirt freshman Michael Finke and true freshmen Jalen Coleman-Lands, Aaron Jordan and D.J. Williams. Together they have accounted for 51.8 percent of the team's minutes played, the highest number in the conference. Illinois is one of only two Big Ten teams with more than half of its minutes coming from newcomers (Nebraska):
Percentage of Minutes Played by Newcomers
1. ILLINOIS 51.8%
2. Nebraska 51.4%
3. Rutgers 48.0%
4. Ohio State 44.6%
5. Maryland 44.3%
Complete Illinois-Wisconsin Game Notes (PDF)
