| Illinois Probable Starters (from the previous game) |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
Note |
| G |
13 |
Tracy Abrams |
6-2 |
185 |
Gr. |
9.9 |
2.8 |
2.6 |
Team-high 20 steals |
| G |
5 |
Jalen Coleman-Lands |
6-3 |
190 |
So. |
9.1 |
2.2 |
1.1 |
Team-high 41 3FG |
| G |
21 |
Malcolm Hill |
6-6 |
225 |
Sr. |
18.2 |
6.2 |
2.3 |
3rd in B1G in scoring |
| F |
12 |
Leron Black |
6-7 |
220 |
r-So. |
10.2 |
6.9 |
0.6 |
14 p, 9 r vs. MD |
| C |
22 |
Maverick Morgan |
6-10 |
245 |
Sr. |
10.1 |
3.9 |
0.7 |
15.0 ppg, 61% FG last 4 |
| Off the Bench |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
Note |
| G |
0 |
D.J. Williams |
6-7 |
210 |
So. |
2.6 |
1.1 |
0.5 |
5 BLK |
| G |
1 |
Jaylon Tate |
6-3 |
170 |
Sr. |
2.8 |
1.5 |
3.5 |
2.2 A/TO |
| F |
2 |
Kipper Nichols |
6-6 |
225 |
r-Fr. |
3.8 |
3.4 |
0.0 |
13 p, 8 r vs. MICH |
| G |
3 |
Te'Jon Lucas |
6-0 |
170 |
Fr. |
3.3 |
0.9 |
2.3 |
60.7% FG |
| G |
23 |
Aaron Jordan |
6-5 |
190 |
So. |
1.4 |
0.9 |
0.3 |
6-14 3FG |
| C |
33 |
Mike Thorne Jr. |
6-11 |
280 |
Gr. |
5.9 |
4.2 |
0.3 |
56.9% FG |
| G |
35 |
Samson Oladimeji |
6-5 |
195 |
Fr. |
0.5 |
0.8 |
0.0 |
4 G |
| G |
41 |
Clayton Jones |
6-0 |
170 |
r-Jr. |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
5 G |
| F |
43 |
Michael Finke |
6-10 |
230 |
r-So. |
7.2 |
4.7 |
0.4 |
1.7 OREB/G |
| G |
44 |
Alex Austin |
6-4 |
190 |
r-Sr. |
0.3 |
1.0 |
0.0 |
6 G |
| Sitting Out |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
Note |
| G |
10 |
Drew Cayce |
6-1 |
165 |
So. |
- |
- |
- |
Sitting out season (transfer) |
| F |
45 |
Cameron Liss |
6-6 |
220 |
Jr. |
0.6* |
0.0* |
0.2* |
Redshirting season |
Head Coach John Groce
Career Record: 174-123/.586 (9th year)
At Illinois: 89-67/.571 (5th year)
Big Ten: 31-46/.403
Series Notes vs. Purdue
Series Record: Purdue leads 99-87
Series Streak: Purdue W-1
Record at West Lafayette: Purdue leads 61-28
Series Streak at West Lafayette: Purdue W-5
Last Year: ILL 84, PUR 70 (1/10/16 at Ill.) | PUR 89, ILL 58 (3/11/16 at Indy)
Groce vs. Purdue: 3-4
Opening Tips
• Illinois returns to action for its third game in six days, traveling to No. 21 Purdue on Tuesday (6 p.m. CT, BTN).
• Illinois is preparing to play back-to-back road games for the only time this season, as a trip to Michigan on Saturday follows Tuesday's contest at Purdue.
• Illinois is looking for its first win against a ranked opponent this season, currently 0-3 vs. the Top 25.
• Illinois also is aiming to snap a seven-game road skid against top-25 opponents. The UI's last victory on a ranked opponent's court was a 66-63 win at No. 24 Iowa on March 8, 2014, on a Jon Ekey 3-pointer with 0.5 seconds left.
• Tuesday is a match-up between two of the higher scoring and top perimeter shooting teams in the Big Ten. Purdue is averaging 82.8 points per game (2nd in B1G), with the Illini at 77.4 ppg (4th). The Boilermakers are shooting 40.4 percent from 3-point range (1st), while the Illini are hitting 38.3 percent behind the arc (3rd). The two teams are also among the best in the conference on the defensive glass, with Purdue grabbing 77.2 percent of its defensive rebounds (2nd) and Illinois collecting 74.8 percent of opponent misses (3rd).
Last Time Out: Maryland 62, Illinois 56 (Jan. 14)
A second-half scoring drought spoiled a great defensive effort against Maryland and proved too much to overcome, as the Illini dropped their first conference home game on Saturday at State Farm Center.
Illinois held Maryland to just 27 first-half points as the Illini defense kept the Terrapins out of the lane, with the visitors launching 13 of their 27 shot attempts from 3-point range, connecting on just three. The Illini shot nearly 50 percent during the opening stanza (13-27), building a lead that reached as many as 11 points at 27-16. Illinois led by five at intermission.
Michael Finke's layup put the Illini ahead 43-39 lead with 13:38 left. But the Illini then went cold from the perimeter, missing 10 consecutive shots with Maryland capitalizing on the other end to the tune of a 14-0 run, putting the Terps on top 53-43 with 7:38 remaining.
Illinois pulled to within four points down the stretch but Maryland made 5-of-6 free throws during the final 46 seconds to secure the road win.
Maverick Morgan led the Illini in scoring for the second straight game, registering 15 points. Leron Black just missed a double-double, finishing with 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting and a game-high nine rebounds. Malcolm Hill, meanwhile, added 11 points and eight boards.
Hill Heating Up
Malcolm Hill is used to carrying the scoring load for the Illini. He was incredibly efficient over a recent five-game stretch prior to Maryland, recording 20 or more points four times and combining to average 19.6 points while shooting 50 percent from the field. Hill also earned 9.4 free throw attempts per game, averaging 7.6 points at the line during that stretch.
Post Production
Along with Hill, Illinois has also received consistent play from senior center Maverick Morgan. Over the last eight games, the senior has scored in double figures seven times, averaging 13.6 points on 63.2 percent shooting along with 5.6 rebounds.
JCL Feeling It
Jalen Coleman-Lands had a record-setting freshman year for the Illini last season, draining 87 treys, the most ever by an Illini rookie. Now in his sophomore season, Coleman-Lands is once again hitting from long distance. He has scored at least 12 points in four of the last seven games, averaging 11.1 points. Of his 26 field goals during this stretch, 20 have come from behind the arc, an average of 2.9 made treys per game.
Hill Nearing Historic Club
Senior Malcolm Hill is 30 points away from scoring 1,600 for his career and 22 rebounds away from grabbing 600 during his tenure. Hill is on pace to achieve both milestones this season, which would make him just the fifth Illini player ever in the 1,600-point/600-rebound club:
Deon Thomas (1991-94) 2,129 points, 846 rebounds
Brian Cook (2000-03) 1,748 points, 815 rebounds
Eddie Johnson (1978-81) 1,692 points, 831 rebounds
Mark Smith (1978-81) 1,653 points, 722 rebounds
Malcolm Hill (2014-) 1,570 points, 578 rebounds
One of the Best
Along with climbing the Illinois all-time scoring list, Malcolm Hill also ranks among the nation's leading active career scorers. Hill's current total of 1,570 points ranks 24th in NCAA Div. I, and fourth when looking at players from the six major conferences. Hill's total of 459 made free throws, meanwhile, ranks sixth nationally and third among major-conference players. In the Big Ten, Hill ranks behind only Wisconsin's Nigel Hayes in each category.
Illini Team Trends
• Illinois ranks fourth in the Big Ten and 93rd in the NCAA in scoring offense, averaging 77.4 ppg. The Illini have scored at least 75 points in 11 of their 12 wins.
• Illinois is 67th nationally in field goal percentage at 47 percent.
• The Illini rank third in the Big Ten and 54th nationally in 3-point field goal percentage at 38.3 percent.
• Illinois has shown improvement on the offensive glass, recording double digits in 12 games on the season and averaging 10.2 o-boards per game. Last season Illinois ranked last in the Big Ten with 7.6 offensive rebounds per contest.
• Illinois is also getting it done on the defensive glass. The Illini rank third in the Big Ten and 34th nationally in defensive rebounding percentage (.748).
• Illinois has shot at least 50 percent during the second half in nine of its 12 wins.
• Illinois is earning its way to the free throw line on offense, ranking 110th in the nation with a 38.0 free throw rate against D1 opponents (FTA/FGA). That is Illinois' highest free throw rate since the 2001-02 season (44.6).
• In conference games only, Illinois' free throw rate of 33.7 ranks third in the Big Ten.
Illini Player Trends
• Preseason Wooden Award, Naismith Trophy and Senior CLASS Award candidate Malcolm Hill ranks third in the Big Ten in scoring (18.2 ppg).
• Hill's current average is the highest by an Illini in the last 14 years, since Brian Cook led the Big Ten in scoring in 2003 (20.0 ppg).
• Hill has scored in double figures in 16 of 17 games against Div. I opponents, with nine outings of 20+ points and two 30-plus point performances.
• Hill has reached double figures in each of the last 12 games, including four straight games scoring 20+ points that ended last Wednesday vs. Michigan (15). He had tied his career-long streak of consecutive 20+ point games, first set last season from Dec. 9-23, 2015.
• Hill ranks 10th on the Illinois career scoring chart (1,570 points). At his current season average, Hill would finish as the Illini's No. 3 all-time leading scorer.
• Hill has seven kenpom game MVP accolades so far this season, tied for the 10th-most by any player nationally and trailing only Iowa's Peter Jok for most by a Big Ten player.
• Hill's career-high 40 points vs. Northern Kentucky (Nov. 13) is tied for the No. 8 scoring performance in the NCAA so far this season.
• Hill has scored in double figures in just the second half of nine games this season.
• Hill has made 33 three-pointers in 18 games after making 37 treys in 34 games last season.
• Hill continues to be one of the nation's best at getting to the line. He ranks 20th in the NCAA with 98 made free throws. His 123 attempts, meanwhile, rank 21st nationally. Hill leads all Big Ten players in each category.
• Hill ranks third all-time at Illinois with 459 career made free throws. Last season he went 193 of 235 from the line, ranking as the second-highest single-season school totals for free throws made and attempted.
• Hill is drawing 6.9 fouls per 40 minutes, ranking 49th nationally.
• Sophomore Leron Black has scored in double figures in seven games, ranking second on the team in scoring (10.2 points). He entered the year as a 4.9 ppg career scorer.
• Black has scored in double figures seven times through 13 games, after totaling seven double-digit scoring performances in 40 career games entering the season.
• Black has been the Illini's leading rebounder in seven games and leads the team on the year, averaging 6.9 boards (8th in B1G).
• After scoring six points or less in five consecutive games, Black has now registered double figures in each of the last two contests, averaging 12.0 points (24) on 55 percent shooting (11-20).
• Senior Maverick Morgan is third on the team in scoring, also averaging double figures at 10.1 ppg. In conference games only, Morgan is the UI's second-leading scorer with an average of 13.0 points.
• Morgan ranks fourth in the Big Ten in field goal shooting at 60.5 percent.
• After missing the last two years due to injury, sixth-year senior Tracy Abrams has scored in double figures in eight games, ranking fourth on the team in scoring (9.9 ppg).
• Abrams ranks fifth in the Big Ten in 3-point field goal percentage, shooting 45.5 percent from behind the arc (30-66) after entering his final season as a 27 percent career 3-point shooter.
• Abrams is shooting 46.3 percent overall, his first season at better than 41 percent from the field.
• Abrams has made at least 50 percent from the field in nine games.
• Freshman Te'Jon Lucas has totaled 16 assists in 59 minutes over the last three games (5.3 apg).
