The Illinois junior duo of Kendrick Nunn and Malcolm Hill rank first and third in the Big Ten in scoring as of Jan. 13. Nunn, who has missed six games this season, is averaging a league-best 18.8 points per game, but doesn't yet appear in the official conference stats as he has not played in 75 percent of Illinois' games. (Nunn has played in 11 of 17 games, 65 percent.) Hill ranks third in the conference with an 18.1 ppg average, behind Nunn and Iowa's Jarrod Uthoff (18.6 ppg).
The Illini juniors are not only the highest-scoring duo in the Big Ten, but rank third-highest among the six major conferences so far this season (through games of Jan. 12):
1. 41.8 points – Buddy Hield (26.6 ppg) & Jordan Woodard (15.2 ppg), Oklahoma
2. 37.0 points – Ben Bentil (19.1 ppg) & Kris Dunn (17.9 ppg), Providence
T3. 36.9 points – Kendrick Nunn (18.8 ppg) & Malcolm Hill (18.1 ppg), Illinois
T3. 36.9 points – Grayson Allen (20.5 ppg) & Brandon Ingram (16.4 ppg), Duke
The Fighting Illini (9-8, 1-3) are coming off an 84-70 win over No. 20/18 Purdue where Hill (30) and Nunn (22) combined for 52 points. Illinois returns to action Saturday, Jan. 16, when Nebraska comes to State Farm Center for a 1:30 p.m. CT tip on Big Ten Network. Tickets are available online or by calling 1-866-ILLINI-1.
