| Illinois Starters (from last game) |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
Note |
| G |
1 |
Trent Frazier |
6-1 |
170 |
Fr. |
11.0 |
1.8 |
2.6 |
16.8 ppg over last 9 |
| G |
20 |
Da'Monte Williams |
6-3 |
190 |
Fr. |
4.5 |
3.4 |
1.2 |
Late 3 sealed GC win |
| G |
24 |
Mark Alstork |
6-5 |
190 |
Gr. |
6.1 |
4.1 |
2.4 |
.795 FT% (35-44) |
| F |
12 |
Leron Black |
6-7 |
230 |
r-Jr. |
14.4 |
5.7 |
1.1 |
15 double-figure games |
| F |
43 |
Michael Finke |
6-10 |
235 |
r-Jr. |
10.6 |
5.6 |
1.2 |
Team-high 46 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 |
4.8 |
0.6 |
13 straight made FT |
| 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. |
2.2 |
2.4 |
0.2 |
7.3 ppg, 14-18 FG in last 4 |
| G |
13 |
Mark Smith |
6-4 |
225 |
Fr. |
7.5 |
1.6 |
1.6 |
.821 FT% (32-39) |
| G |
23 |
Aaron Jordan |
6-5 |
210 |
Jr. |
9.8 |
3.3 |
0.8 |
2nd in B1G in 3FG% (.522) |
| 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: 119-36/.768 (5th year)
At Illinois: 10-9 (1st year)
Big Ten: 0-6
Series Notes vs. Wisconsin
Record: Illinois leads 110-85
Streak: Wisconsin W-11
Record in Madison: Wisconsin leads 56-39
Streak in Madison: Wisconsin W-6
Last Season's Meeting: #10 Wisconsin 57, Illinois 43 // Jan. 31, 2017 at Champaign
Underwood vs. Wisconsin: First meeting
Opening Tips
• Illinois concludes its stretch of four out of five games on the road with a visit to Wisconsin on Friday night (8 p.m., FS1). Overall, Illinois' Big Ten schedule starts with five of its first seven games away from home.
• Illinois is looking to halt the longest Wisconsin win streak (11) in series history. The Illini last beat the Badgers on Jan. 2, 2011 (69-61 in Champagin). Illinois' last victory in Madison, meanwhile, came on Feb. 9, 2010 (63-56).
• Illinois has led during the second half in eight of its nine losses, including five times in six Big Ten games.
• While still in search of its first Big Ten win, the Illini's scoring differential in regulation is only 21 points through six conference games, a margin of just 3.5 points per game.
• Freshman Trent Frazier has scored in double figures in eight of the last nine games, averaging 16.8 points (151) and 2.2 steals (20) while shooting 44.9 percent from 3-point range (22-49) over that stretch.
• After being slowed by an illness at Michigan on Jan. 6, junior Leron Black has bounced back to average 15.5 points (31) on 70 percent shooting (14-20) over the last two games in a total of just 41 minutes (20.5 mpg).
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 48.1 percent of minutes played. Illinois stands as the only team in the conference above the 40 percent threshold. The Illini rank second in the Big Ten, meanwhile, in percentage of points scored by newcomers at 39.7 percent.
Oh So Close
Illinois has dropped nine 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 eight of its nine losses. In four of those games, Illinois either led or was tied in the final minute. And in three more, the Illini trailed by just one possession down the stretch. Three of Illinois' Big Ten games have gone to overtime, with a fourth decided at the buzzer. 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
• Iowa – Made 3-pointer at the buzzer, sending the game into OT … Led for first 17 minutes of second half
• At Nebraska – Led by two with eight seconds remaining … Also led for four minutes earlier in second half
Fantastic Freshman
Freshman Trent Frazier has emerged over the last 11 games for the Illini. With his increased production, Frazier now ranks among the top freshmen in the Big Ten conference in a number of categories:
Frazier Stat Rank among B1G Freshmen (B1G Frosh Leader)
» Points – 5th 11.0 ppg (Geo Baker, RUT, 11.7 ppg)
» Assists – 2nd 2.6 apg (Geo Baker, RUT, 3.5 apg)
» Steals – 2nd 1.7 spg (Jamari Wheeler, PSU, 2.0 spg)
» 3-pointers – 3rd 1.4/gm (Brad Davison, WIS, 1.8 avg.)
Frontcourt Grads
Redshirt juniors Michael Finke and Leron Black have completed coursework in their undergraduate degree program of communication. They are now both enrolled in grad school for the 2018 spring semester, which began this week. Finke is pursuing a master's degree in recreation, sport and tourism while Black is in the master's program in education policy, organization and leadership.
Big Scoring Jump for Jordan
Junior guard Aaron Jordan is the Illini's fourth-leading scorer with an average of 9.8 points. This comes one year after he averaged just 1.0 ppg as a sophomore. His scoring improvement ranks second in the Big Ten this season:
1. Keita Bates-Diop, Ohio State +10.1
2. Aaron Jordan, Illinois +8.8
3. Juwan Morgan, Indiana +7.9
4. C.J. Jackson, Ohio State +7.7
Illinois Team Headlines
• Illinois' bench has outscored the opposition in 16 of 19 games on the season. That included a 10-game streak that ended Monday at Nebraska. Illini reserves are averaging 32.6 points, with the Illinois bench outscoring the opponent bench by an average of 14.2 points per game.
• Illinois ranks third in the country with an offensive rebounding rate of 37.8 percent.
• Illinois leads the Big Ten and ranks sixth in the NCAA in offensive rebounds (14.3 rpg). Illinois has grabbed 14 or more offensive rebounds in 11 games. Last year the Illini tallied at least 14 offensive rebounds in just five of 35 games.
• Illinois also leads the Big Ten and ranks sixth in the NCAA in turnovers forced (18.2 per game). Illinois has forced 17 or more turnovers in 11 games. Last year the Illini defense forced at least 17 turnovers in only five games.
• The Illini rank ninth nationally in turnover rate, forcing turnovers on 23.6 percent of opponent possessions.
• Illinois ranks 32nd nationally in turnover margin (+3.3), while scoring 20.3 points per game off turnovers.
• Illinois ranks 50th in the NCAA in steals (7.7 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 leads the Big Ten and is 60th nationally in adjusted tempo by kenpom, averaging 71.7 possessions.
• Illinois ranks 59th in defensive efficiency by kenpom (97.8)
• In the Illini's 10 wins this season, no opponent has reached 75 points.
• 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 (76th in NCAA), and leads the Big Ten during conference play at 76.7 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.
Illini Player Trends
• Junior Leron Black has increased his scoring average by 6.3 points this season, currently leading the Illini at 14.4 ppg (16th in Big Ten) after averaging 8.1 ppg last year.
• Black has now averaged 15.6 points (109) over the last seven games, scoring in double figures six times and leading the team in scoring three times.
• Black has scored in double figures in 15 of his 18 games on the season, 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 13 games and is shooting 54 percent on the year (70th in NCAA), compared to 45.3 percent from the field last year.
• Black is shooting 61.3 percent in 11 home games this season (65-106).
• Black has made 81 percent of his free throws this season (10th in Big Ten) after entering the year as a 70 percent career shooter at the line.
• Freshman Trent Frazier has been the Illini's leading scorer over the last nine games, averaging 16.8 points (151) with 2.0 steals (20) while shooting 44.8 percent from 3-point range (22-49).
• Frazier ranked eighth on the Illini in scoring through the season's first 10 games at 5.8 ppg. Following the nine-game scoring binge he now ranks second on the team with an average of 11.0 points on the season.
• Frazier has scored in double figures in nine of the last 11 games overall.
• Frazier is the first Illini freshman with three 20-point games since Brandon Paul during the 2009-10 season. Paul is now in his rookie NBA season with the San Antonio Spurs.
• Junior Michael Finke is third on the team in scoring at 10.6 points per game. He averaged 6.9 points last season.
• Finke ranks second on the Illini in rebounding at 5.6 rpg while leading the team with an average of 2.4 offensive boards (8th in B1G).
• Junior Aaron Jordan is the fourth Illini scoring in double figures at 10.3 ppg after averaging 1.0 points last year as a sophomore (+8.8 ppg).
• Jordan ranks second in the Big Ten in 3-point shooting at 52.2 percent (36-69). He entered the year as a 30 percent career shooter from 3-point land.
• Jordan has scored in double figures in 10 of 19 games on the season after entering the year with two games in double digits through his first 55 career games.
• Jordan ranks 14th in the Big Ten by averaging 1.9 made threes. He has totaled 36 treys in 18 games after making 28 triples over his first two seasons.
• With 17 points at Michigan followed by 13 points vs. Iowa, sophomore Kipper Nichols registered double figures in consecutive games for the first time since Nov. 24 and Nov. 28.
• Nichols ranks fifth in the Big Ten in free throw shooting at 84.3 percent (43-51) and carries an active streak of 13 consecutive makes at the line.
• Freshman Greg Eboigbodin leads the Big Ten in field goal shooting during conference play at 78.9 percent (15-19).
• After totaling nine points through the season's first 15 games, Eboigbodin is averaging 7.3 points (29) on 77.8 percent shooting (14-18) over the last four contests.
