Nov. 28, 2005
Champaign, Ill. -
Illinois Men's Basketball Game Notes vs. North Carolina in PDF Format
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FIGHTING ILLINI BASKETBALL
Game #6: #15ap/#14 Illinois (5-0) at North Carolina (3-0)
7th Annual Big Ten/ACC Challenge
Nov. 29, 2005 • 8 p.m. CT / 9 p.m. ET • ESPN
Chapel Hill, N.C • Dean Smith Center (21,750)
On the Air
Television
ESPN: Dan Shulman, play-by-play; Dick Vitale, expert analyst; Doris Burke sideline reporter.
Radio
Illini Sports Network - 50 stations: Brian Barnhart, play-by-play; Stephen Bardo, expert analyst; and, Loren Tate, pregame/halftime/postgame interviews.
Probable Starters
#15/14 ILLINOIS (5-0, 0-0)
F - 42 Brian Randle (So.-r, 6-8, 215, 7.6 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 1.6 apg)
F - 40 James Augustine (Sr., 6-10, 235, 15.4 ppg, 8.8 rpg. 2.2 apg)
C - 55 Shaun Pruitt (So., 6-10, 240, 7.2 ppg, 6.4 rpg)
G - 33 Rich McBride (Jr., 6-3, 205, 10.8 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 3.6 apg)
G - 11 Dee Brown (Sr., 6-0, 185, 14.2 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 4.0 apg)
Off The Bench ...
G - 2 Chris Hicks (So., 6-2, 190, 2.0 ppg, 0.0 rpg)
G - 3 Chester Frazier (Fr., 6-2, 190, 2.0 ppg, 2.4, rpg, 2.8 apg)
G - 25 Calvin Brock (Fr.-r, 6-4, 185, 1.5 ppg, 1.3 rpg)
G - 31 Jamar Smith (Fr., 6-3, 175, 8.6 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 1.8 apg)
F - 34 C.J. Jackson (Fr., 6-8, 265, intends to redshirt)
F - 41 Warren Carter (Jr., 6-9, 210, 6.4 ppg, 3.6 rpg)
C - 44 Marcus Arnold (Jr.-r, 6-8, 245, 3.0 ppg, 2.2 rpg)
Illinois Head Coach Bruce Weber
Overall Record: 171-63/.731 (8th year)
At Illinois: 68-9/.883 (3rd year)
Big Ten: 28-4/.875
Vs. North Carolina: 0-2
Assistant Coaches: Wayne McClain (5th year), Jay Price (3rd year), Tracy Webster (2nd year)
Assistant to the Head Coach: Gary Nottingham (3rd year)
Trainer: Al Martindale (23rd year at Illinois)
North Carolina Head Coach: Roy Williams
Overall Record: 473-116/.803 (18th year)
At North Carolina: 55-15/.786 (3rd year)
All-time Vs. Illinois: 4-2
Assistant Coaches: Joe Holladay, Steve Robinson, Jerod Haase
Series Notes: North Carolina
North Carolina owns a 4-2 edge in the series over Illinois. While Tuesday is just the seventh meeting all-time between the Illini and the Tarheels, this will mark the fourth straight year that the two schools have met, which will include three of the four most recent Big Ten/ACC Challenge match-ups.
The last time the programs played was on April 4, 2005 at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis to decide the national championship. No. 2 North Carolina defeated No. 1 Illinois 75-70 to win the title.
Title Game "Rematch"
Illinois and North Carolina meet on Tuesday for the first time since playing for the 2005 NCAA Championship. But on closer look, this year's teams are vastly different from the squads that met on the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis last April. Only four players on this year's Illini team played in last year's title game (James Augustine, Dee Brown, Warren Carter and Rich McBride), and the total is just three players on this year's UNC team (David Noel, Reyshawn Terry and Quintin Thomas). Each team has just one player on its roster that scored in the championship game. Dee Brown scored 12 points for the Illini, while David Noel had one point for UNC. In all, Illinois returns just 17 percent of its points, 18 percent of its rebounds and 27 percent of its minutes from last year's game, while North Carolina returns just one percent of its points, 12 percent of its rebounds and 12 percent of its minutes from the championship game.
Big Ten/ACC Challenge Schedule
Below are the match-ups for this year's Big Ten/ACC Challenge (all times listed are Central):
Monday, Nov. 28
Virginia Tech at Ohio State, 6:30 pm, ESPN2
Tuesday, Nov. 29
Wisconsin at Wake Forest, 6 pm, ESPN
Purdue at Florida State, 6:30 pm, ESPN2
Clemson at Penn State, 7 pm, ESPNU
Illinois at North Carolina, 8 pm, ESPN
Miami at Michigan, 8:30 pm, ESPN2
Wednesday, Nov. 30
Georgia Tech at Michigan State, 6 pm, ESPN
Minnesota at Maryland, 6:30 pm, ESPN2
Northwestern at Virginia, 7 pm, ESPNU
Duke at Indiana, 8 pm, ESPN
N.C. State at Iowa, 8:30 pm, ESPN2
Illinois in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge
The Big Ten/ACC Challenge is now in its seventh
year of existence ...Illinois is 2-4 all-time in the
Challenge, earning its first win of the annual
event in 2002 over North Carolina and adding to its total with a victory over then-No. 1 Wake Forest last season ...This marks just the second time in seven years that Illinois will play a Challenge game on its opponents' home court. The first time came in 2001, when Illinois lost at Maryland ...Illinois' opponent in the Challenge has twice gone on to win the NCAA Championship (Duke in 2000-01 and Maryland in 2001-02) ...Illinois has been ranked in the Top 25 all seven years of the Challenge ...This is the first year that Illinois' opponent in the Challenge has not been ranked ...Illinois has twice played a No. 1-ranked team in the Challenge. Illinois fell to No. 1 Duke at Greensboro, N.C. in 2000 and defeated No. 1 Wake Forest last year at the Assembly Hall.
Here is a look back at Illinois' games in the Challenge:
• Nov. 30, 1999
#17 Duke 72, #16 Illinois 69
United Center, Chicago
No. 16 Illinois shot just 34 percent from the field in dropping a three-point decision to No. 17 Duke at the United Center. Duke's Chris Carrawell led all scorers with 21 points while Frank Williams and Cory Bradford led the
Illini with 14 each.
• Nov. 28, 2000
#1 Duke 78, #9 Illinois 77
Greensboro (N.C.) Coliseum
Turnovers cost the No. 9 Fighting Illini a chance at knocking off No. 1 Duke as Illinois committed 26 turnovers in a one-point loss to the Blue Devils at Greensboro, N.C. Illinois controlled the glass, outrebounding Duke 42-27. Frank Williams led the Illini with 19 points while Jason Williams led Duke with a game-high 23 points and Mike Dunleavy added 21.
• Nov. 27, 2001
#5 Maryland 76, #2 Illinois 63
Cole Fieldhouse; College Park, Md.
No. 5 Maryland won its 80th consecutive home game against non-conference opponents in the final season at Cole Field House, handing No. 2 Illinois its first loss of the season. Juan Dixon led all scorers with 25 points while Chris Wilcox scored 19. Blandon Ferguson scored 11 points off the bench to lead the Illini.
• Dec. 3, 2002
#25 Illinois 92, #12 North Carolina 65
Assembly Hall; Champaign, Ill.
No. 25 Illinois won its first Big Ten/ACC Challenge game with a 27-point rout of No. 12 North Carolina at the Assembly Hall. Brian Cook and Sean Harrington dominated the game for the Illini. Cook scored a game-high 22 points with eight rebounds and five assists. Harrington came off the bench to nail six 3-pointers and finish with 20 points and five steals. Sean May led UNC with 21 points.
• Dec. 2, 2003
#10 North Carolina 88, #11 Illinois 81
Greensboro (N.C.) Coliseum
No. 10 North Carolina outlasted No. 11 Illinois to claim a seven-point victory at the Greensboro Coliseum. Illinois trailed by just one point late, 79-78, but could not stop Carolina down the stretch. Sean May scored a game-high 23 points while Rashad McCants added 20 for the Tar Heels. Deron Williams led the Illini with 22 points and Roger Powell added 20.
• Dec. 1, 2004
#5 Illinois 91, #1 Wake Forest 73
Assembly Hall; Champaign, Ill.
No. 5 Illinois recorded its second win in school history over a top-ranked opponent, blowing past No. 1 Wake Forest at the Assembly Hall. Roger Powell was one of four Illini in double figures, scoring a game-high 19 points on 8-10 shooting. Dee Brown and Luther Head each scored 16 and Deron Williams dished out 11 assists to go along with eight points. Illinois came out of the game strong and was ahead 54-33 at halftime and led by as many as 32 points in the second half. Eric Williams led Wake Forest with 18 points. Following its victory, Illinois took over the No. 1 ranking in the polls and held that spot for the rest of the season.
Illinois-North Carolina: Past Matchups
This marks the seventh meeting between Illinois and North Carolina, with the Tarheels leading the all-time series 4-2. The first match-up came on Dec. 20, 1951, an 86-66 Illinois victory in Champaign's Huff Gym. Johnny "Red" Kerr led the way with 17 points and 12 rebounds while Bob Peterson added 16 points for the Illini, who went on to advance to the Final Four that season.
The two teams met for the second time in a showdown of Top 10 programs in Chapel Hill on Dec. 20, 1986, as No. 4 North Carolina defeated No. 5 Illinois 90-77. Kenny Smith scored 22 points for the Tar Heels, while Ken Norman led the Illini with 22 points and a game-high 15 rebounds.
The rematch one year later in Champaign again went to the Tar Heels as No. 4 North Carolina defeated the Illini 85-74 on Dec. 19, 1987. J.R. Reid scored 30 points on 12-of-14 shooting to lead the Tar Heels to victory. Kendall Gill had 25 points and eight assists for the Illini while Nick Anderson added 16 points.
Illinois evened the series at two games apiece on Dec. 3, 2002 in the fourth annual Big Ten/ACC Challenge. No. 25 Illinois handed No. 12 UNC its first loss of the season, outscoring the Tar Heels 28-8 over the final eight minutes to turn a seven-point game into a lopsided 92-65 victory. Brian Cook scored a game-high 22 points, but it was Sean Harrington's shooting off the bench that sparked the Illini. Harrington nailed 6-of-8 three-pointers en route to 20 points.
The two teams again in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge the following season, with No. 10 North Carolina defeating No. 11 Illinois 88-81 at the Greensboro Coliseum on Dec. 2, 2003. Sean May had 23 points and 14 rebounds to lead UNC, while Deron Williams scored 22 points and Roger Powell added 20 points on 8-of-10 shooting for the Illini.
The most recent meeting between the two teams came last season on April 4 at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis. In the first match-up of the nation's top-two ranked teams playing for the NCAA Championship in 30 years, No. 2 North Carolina defeated the top-ranked Illini 75-70. Sean May scored a game-high 26 points to lead the Tarheels, while Luther Head scored 21 points for Illinois.
Roy Williams Faces Illini For Seventh Time in Last Eight Seasons
While Illinois coach Bruce Weber is going up against North Carolina and coach Roy Williams for the third time, Williams is facing the Fighting Illini for the seventh time in the last eight seasons. That streak includes the 2003 Big Ten/ACC Challenge, and of course last year's NCAA Championship game. In addition to the Illinois-UNC games of the past two years, While Williams was at Kansas his Jayhawks played the Illini in four consecutive seasons, which included back-to-back NCAA Regional Semifinal showdowns. Illinois defeated Kansas 84-70 at Chicago's United Center in 1999 and 80-64 in the 2001 Sweet Sixteen at the Alamodome in San Antontio. Kansas defeated Illinois 65-55 at Kansas City's Kemper Arena in 1998 and 73-69 in the 2002 Sweet Sixteen in Madison, Wis.
Augustine Named MVP of South Padre Island Invitational
Senior James Augustine was named Most Valuable Player of the South Padre Island Invitational. Augustine averaged 14.8 points and 7.5 rebounds over the course of the four-game tournament, while shooting 65 percent from the field. He tied his season-high with 18 points on 7-9 shooting in the championship game vs. Rutgers, and recorded his second double-double of the season and 18th of his career vs. Wichita State with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Augustine also tied his career high in assists with four against the Shockers.
Brown and McBride Named to South Padre Island All-Tournament Team
In addition to James Augustine bringing home the MVP trophy from South Padre Island, guards Dee Brown and Rich McBride were named to the All-Tournament Team. Brown averaged 13 points, 4.3 rebounds, 4.5 steals and 2.0 steals during the tournament. He best game came against Texas-Pan American where he scored a season-high 20 points while tying his career high with seven rebounds, along with tallying four assists and four steals.
McBride was Illinois' best perimeter defender during the tournament while also averaging 9.8 ppg. In the four games, he dished out a combined 14 assists while turning the ball over just three times.
Augustine Joins 1,000-Point Club
Senior James Augustine became the 40th player in Illinois history to record 1,000 career points when he scored his 1,000th point against Rutgers on Saturday. He joins Dee Brown as current UI players to join the 1,000-point club. Brown scored his 1,000th point last season against Cincinnati (Dec. 31, 2004). Brown currently ranks 14th in school history with 1,413 career points, while Augustine ranks 39th with 1,012 career points.
Last Time Out: Rutgers
Illinois claimed its third straight in-season tournament title, winning the South Padre Island Invitational with a 77-57 victory over Rutgers in the championship game on Saturday night. The Illini led 38-26 at halftime and shot 65 percent in the second half to blow the game open. Four starters scored in double figures led by tournament MVP James Augustine, who tied his season high with 18 points. Brian Randle scored a career-high 16 points on 6-8 shooting. The Illini shot 51 percent for the game and dominated Rutgers on the glass by a 38-26 advantage, which included a season-high 13 offensive boards.
*For complete set of Illinois men's basketball game notes, click on .pdf link at top of this page.
