Head Coach John Groce
Career Record: 157-110/.588 (8th year)Â Â Â
At Illinois: 72-54/.571 (4th year)
Big Ten: 26-37/.413
Series Notes vs. Rutgers
Series Record: Illinois leads 2-0
Series Streak: Illinois W-2
Record at Piscataway: First meeting
Series Streak at Piscataway: N/A
Last Year's Meeting: Illinois 66, Rutgers 54Â //Â Feb. 3, 2015 at Champaign
Groce vs. Rutgers: 1-0
Opening Tip
Illinois will make its first-ever trip to Piscataway, N.J., facing Rutgers at The RAC on Wednesday night. The Illini and Scarlet Knights played just once last year during Rutgers' inaugural season in the Big Ten, a 66-54 UI victory at State Farm Center. The teams will meet again in less than two weeks, with Rutgers visiting Champaign on Feb. 16 for the return match-up.
Hill Named Finalist for Jerry West Award
On Tuesday, Illini junior Malcolm Hill was named one of 10 finalists for the Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award, presented by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Joining Hill on the list are Buddy Hield (Oklahoma), Caris LeVert (Michigan), Grayson Allen (Duke), Jalen Jones (Texas A&M), Malcolm Brogdon (Virginia), Sheldon McClellan (Miami), Josh Hart (Villanova), AJ English (Iona) and Julian Jacobs (USC). The list will be narrowed to five in March and chosen by West and the Hall of Fame's selection committee. The winner of the Jerry West Award will be presented on April 8 at the ESPN College Basketball Awards Show.
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:
-    40.6 points – Buddy Hield (26.2 ppg) & Jordan Woodard (14.4 ppg), Oklahoma, Big 12  Â
-    37.7 points – Ben Bentil (20.3 ppg) & Kris Dunn (17.4 ppg), Providence, Big East
-    37.4 points – Grayson Allen (20.3 ppg) & Brandon Ingram (17.1 ppg), Duke, ACC   Â
-    36.4 points – Stefan Moody (23.6 ppg) & Sebastian Saiz (12.8 ppg), Mississippi, SEC
-    36.3 points – Malcolm Hill (18.5 ppg) & Kendrick Nunn (17.8 ppg), Illinois, Big Ten
-    35.6 points – Andrew Andrews (21.0 ppg) & Dejounte Murray (14.6 ppg), Washington, Pac-12  Â
Nunn and Hill, meanwhile, are one of only three duos among the six major conferences where both players are averaging at least 17 ppg:
-    37.7 points – Ben Bentil (20.3 ppg) & Kris Dunn (17.4 ppg), Providence, Big East
-    37.4 points – Grayson Allen (20.3 ppg) & Brandon Ingram (17.1 ppg), Duke, ACC  Â
-    36.3 points – Malcolm Hill (18.5 ppg) & Kendrick Nunn (17.8 ppg), Illinois, Big Ten
Illini Trends
• Illinois has started 12 different lineups this season.
• Illinois' turnover rate of 14.4 percent ranks fourth nationally, and the Illini rank 11th in the NCAA in fewest turnovers per game (10.2 avg.).
• Illinois ranks 14th nationally in defensive free throw rate (26.3).
• Illinois has had a 20-point scorer in five of the last six games.
• A different player has been the Illini's leading rebounder in each of the last five games.
• Junior Malcolm Hill has scored in double figures in every game this season and currently ranks second in the Big Ten in scoring with an average of 18.5 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 15 career games of 20+ points, with 11 this season, including four of the last six games (30 vs. Purdue, 20 at Indiana, 28 at Minnesota, 22 vs. Wisconsin).
• Hill ranks 18th in the NCAA in made free throws (127) and 31st nationally in free throw attempts (155), standing second behind Wisconsin's Nigel Hayes among Big Ten players in each category.
• Hill has eight games this season with at least nine free throw attempts. Over the last six games, he has gotten to the line 63 times – averaging 10.5 attempts per game.
• Hill leads the Illini in assists on the season with an average of 3.2 apg, after entering the year with a career average of 1.0 assists.
• Junior Kendrick Nunn has scored in double figures in all 16 games he has played in, averaging 17.8 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 73 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 vs. Ohio State last Thursday marked his highest total in the last 11 games, since scoring a career-high 28 vs. Yale (Dec. 9).
• Nunn has drained 49 three-pointers in his 16 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 3.06 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 22 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 8.7 points. The last Illini to average double figures as a freshman was Richardson in 2010 (10.5 ppg).
• Redshirt freshman Michael Finke grabbed 16 boards in the win at Minnesota on Jan. 23, 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 5.2 rebounds, improving on his all-games average of 4.0 rpg.
• Despite playing the "5" for much of the season, Finke ranks five on the team with 27 assists. He set a career high with four assists at Minnesota (Jan. 23).
• Junior Maverick Morgan has averaged 9.3 points (28) and 5.3 rebounds (16) while shooting 52.2 percent (12-23) over the last three games.
• Junior Jaylon Tate leads the Big Ten with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 3.3 in conference play.
Battling Through Adversity
Six different Illini players have combined to miss a total of 64 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.
The Illini are currently without three projected starters with Abrams, Black and Thorne all sidelined.
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 10.2 turnovers. Illinois ranks third in the Big Ten and 11th nationally in fewest turnovers. And Illinois ranks second in the conference with a +3.0 turnover margin (25th in NCAA).
3-Point Improvement
The Illini have increased their production from behind the arc in recent weeks. Illinois has made an average of 8.7 threes per game over the last 16 games (139), 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 12 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 51.2 percent of the team's minutes played, the second-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). The Illini rank fifth in the league, meanwhile, in minutes played by freshmen at 32.4 percent.
Last Time Out: Wisconsin 63, Illini 55Â (Jan. 31)
Illinois was unable to maintain its lead after a strong start, going cold offensively in a loss to Wisconsin at State Farm Center.
The Illini jumped out to an 18-10 advantage and led for the game's first 15 minutes, before a late 8-2 run by the visitors gave the Badgers a 33-28 edge at halftime. Illinois pulled within one possession three times during the second half before Wisconsin extended its lead to 10 with five minutes remaining. The Illini cut that deficit in half down the stretch, trailing 55-50 with one minute left. A full court press forced Wisconsin to call two separate timeouts before they were able to inbound the ball. Illinois was forced to foul, and the Badgers went a perfect 8-for-8 at the free throw line in the final 57 seconds to close it out.
While the Illini made 6-of-14 from 3-point range, they struggled inside the arc, connecting on just 12-of-36 two-pointers. That offset solid Illini defense, especially in the second half, as the Badgers shot just 6-of-19 and made only one basket in the game's final 10 minutes.
Malcolm Hill led the team in scoring for the 12th time on the season, scoring a game-high 22 points. Kendrick Nunn was the only other Illini in double figures, finishing with 15 points.
