2015-16 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS FIGHTING ILLINI BASKETBALL 35th Annual Bud Light Braggin’ Rights Presented By State Farm Insurance Game #13 // Illinois (7-5) vs. Missouri (5-5) Dec. 23, 2015 // 6 p.m. CT // St. Louis, Mo. // Scottrade Center (22,000) TV: ESPN2 – Bob Wischusen (Play-By-Play), Dan Dakich (Analyst) // Internet Stream: WatchESPN.com Radio: Fighting Illini Sports Network – Brian Barnhart (Play-By-Play), Jerry Hester (Analyst) // Satellite Radio: Sirius – 84, XM – 84 ILLINOIS 2015-16 SCHEDULE & RESULTS PROBABLE STARTERS (FROM THE PREVIOUS GAME) Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. PPG RPG APG Other DATE OPPONENT TIME/RESULT TV/STREAK G 1 Jaylon Tate 6-3 170 Jr. 2.3 1.1 2.5 2.0 A/TO NOVEMBER (3-4) G 5 Jalen Coleman-Lands 6-3 180 Fr. 8.6 1.5 0.8 42.2% 3FG 13 North Florida 81-93 L-1 G 25 Kendrick Nunn 6-3 190 Jr. 18.4 4.4 2.0 3.1 3FG/G 15 North Dakota State 80-74 W-1 G 21 Malcolm Hill 6-6 220 Jr. 18.5 5.8 4.0 82.9% FT 18 at Providence [1] 59-60 L-1 F 43 Michael Finke 6-10 220 r-Fr. 9.8 3.1 1.2 56.4% FG 21 Chattanooga [2] 77-81 L-2 23 Chicago State [2] 82-79 W-1 27 vs. UAB [3] 72-58 W-2 OFF THE BENCH 28 vs. #4/5 Iowa State [3] 73-84 L-1 Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. PPG RPG APG Other DECEMBER (4-1) G 0 D.J. Williams 6-7 200 Fr. 1.4 1.4 0.4 9.1 MPG 2 NOTRE DAME [4] 79-84 L-2 G 3 Khalid Lewis 6-3 185 Gr. 3.8 1.7 3.2 2.5 A/TO 5 WESTERN CAROLINA 80-68 W-1 F 12 Leron Black 6-7 220 So. 4.4 4.4 0.6 Injured knee 9 YALE 69-65 W-2 C 22 Maverick Morgan 6-10 245 Jr. 5.8 2.3 0.3 62.3% FG 12 vs. UIC [5] 83-79 W-3 G 23 Aaron Jordan 6-5 190 Fr. 5.5 1.0 1.0 38.2% 3FG 19 SOUTH DAKOTA 91-79 W-4 C 33 Mike Thorne Jr. 6-11 270 Gr. 13.4 8.4 0.1 Injured knee 23 vs. Missouri [6] 6 p.m. ESPN2 G 44 Alex Austin 6-4 185 r-Jr. 2.0 2.6 1.3 2.3 DREB/G 30 MICHIGAN 2 p.m. ESPN2 F 45 Cameron Liss 6-6 215 So. 0.0 0.0 0.0 0 G JANUARY (0-0) 3 at Ohio State 4 p.m. BTN SITTING OUT 2015-16 7 at #1/1 Michigan State 8 p.m. ESPN Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. PPG RPG APG 10 #14/13 PURDUE 1/5 p.m. BTN G 10 Mike LaTulip # 6-1 170 Sr. 1.6 0.6 0.0 16 NEBRASKA 1:30 p.m. BTN 19 at Indiana 6 p.m. ESPN G 13 Tracy Abrams % 6-2 185 Gr. 10.7 3.5 3.2 23 at Minnesota 5/6/7/8 p.m. BTN # LaTulip’s stats are from 2014-15. He is redshirting to retain final year as graduate transfer. 28 OHIO STATE 8 p.m. BTN % Abrams’ stats are from 2013-14. He is out for the season after tearing Achilles in July. 31 WISCONSIN 6:30 p.m. BTN FEBRUARY (0-0) HEAD COACH JOHN GROCE 3 at Rutgers 5:30 p.m. BTN Career Record: 154-103/.599 (8th year) 7 IOWA Noon BTN At Illinois: 69-47/.595 (4th year) 13 at Northwestern 7 p.m. BTN Big Ten: 24-30/.444 16 RUTGERS 8 p.m. BTN 21 at Wisconsin TBD TBD SERIES NOTES VS. MISSOURI 25 INDIANA 8 p.m. ESPN/2 All-Time Series Record: Illinois leads 29-16 28 MINNESOTA TBD TBD Record at St. Louis: Illinois leads 22-12 MARCH (0-0) Last Meeting: Illinois 62, Missouri 59 (Dec. 20, 2014 at St. Louis) 3 at #4/4 Maryland 6 p.m. ESPN/2 (Box Score and Game Recap Included on Page 4) 6 at Penn State 11 a.m. BTN Series Streak: Illinois W-2 9-13 at Big Ten Tournament [7] TBD TBD Groce vs. Missouri: 2-1 All Times Listed are Central Braggin’ Rights Notes Bold - Prairie Capital Convention Center; Springfield, Ill. BOLD CAPS - State Farm Center; Champaign, Ill. • Wednesday marks the 35th edition of the Bud Light Braggin’ Rights, with Illinois owning a 22-12 advantage [1] - Inaugural Gavitt Tipoff Games over Missouri in the annual rivalry game played in downtown St. Louis. [2] - Emerald Coast Classic [3] - Emerald Coast Classic - The Arena; Niceville, Fla. [4] - Big Ten/ACC Challenge • Illinois won eight consecutive Braggin’ Rights from 1983-90 and won nine of the first 10 games in St. Louis. [5] - United Center; Chicago After Missouri won seven of nine games from 1991-99, Illinois won nine in a row from 2000-08, the longest [6] - Bud Light Braggin’ Rights - Scottrade Center; St. Louis [7] - Bankers Life Fieldhouse; Indianapolis winning streak in the history of the series. Mizzou then won four straight but the Illini enter this year’s contest on a two-year winning streak, claiming each of the last two on their final possession. ILLINOIS ATHLETICS COMMUNICATION • Illinois has one St. Louis area product on its roster in junior guard Malcolm Hill (Fairview Heights, Ill). Hill 1700 S. Fourth St., Champaign, IL 61820 Address: was the 2013 St. Louis Post-Dispatch All-Metro Player of the Year and is the all-time leading scorer at Belleville Office: 217-333-1391 East High School (2,067 points). Hill is off to fantastic start this season, currently averaging 18.5 points, 5.8 Basketball SID: Derrick Burson rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.5 steals. Email: [email protected] Office: 217-333-0933 // Cell: 217-766-7315 • This marks just the ninth time in Braggin’ Rights history that neither team is ranked in the Top 25. In the Brag- Twitter: @IlliniMBB gin’ Rights series, Illinois is 9-6 when unranked, 12-6 when playing an unranked Missouri, and 5-3 when neither Website: FIGHTINGILLINI.com team is ranked. 2015-16 ILLINOIS NUMERICAL ROSTER No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Yr. Hometown Notable 0 D.J. Williams G 6-7 200 Fr. Chicago, Ill. Top-100 recruit is third Simeon High School product on current Illini roster 1 Jaylon Tate G 6-3 170 Jr. Chicago, Ill. Led team in assists and free throw shooting last season 3 Khalid Lewis G 6-3 185 Gr. Trenton, N.J. Transfer averaged 6.0 points and 2.2 assists last year at La Salle 5 Jalen Coleman-Lands G 6-3 180 Fr. Indianapolis, Ind. Consensus top-40 recruit selected to 2015 Jordan Brand Classic 10 Mike LaTulip G 6-1 175 Sr. Arlington Heights, Ill. Redshirting to retain final year of eligibility as graduate transfer 12 Leron Black F 6-7 220 So. Memphis, Tenn. Averaged 5.0 points and 4.3 rebounds as a freshman 13 Tracy Abrams G 6-2 185 Gr. Chicago, Ill. Sidelined for second straight season after tearing Achilles tendon in July 21 Malcolm Hill G 6-6 220 Jr. Fairview Heights, Ill. Honorable mention All-Big Ten pick averaged 14.4 points last year 22 Maverick Morgan C 6-10 245 Jr. Springboro, Ohio Back-up center averaged 2.5 points as a sophomore 23 Aaron Jordan G 6-5 190 Fr. Plainfield, Ill. Plainfield East’s all-time leading scorer and 3-point shooter 25 Kendrick Nunn G 6-3 190 Jr. Chicago, Ill. Averaged 11.1 points last year and led Illini with 54 three-pointers 33 Mike Thorne Jr. C 6-11 270 Gr. Fayetteville, N.C. Transfer averaged 10.1 points and 7.3 rebounds last year at Charlotte 43 Michael Finke F 6-10 230 r-Fr. Champaign, Ill. Two-time Champaign News-Gazette All-Area Player of the Year 44 Alex Austin G 6-4 185 r-Jr. Chicago, Ill. Eligible transfer averaged 7.0 points as a sophomore at Eastern Illinois 45 Cameron Liss F 6-6 215 So. Northbrook, Ill. Walk-on in second season with Illini Head Coach: John Groce (4th year at Illinois, 8th year overall) Players Pronunciation Coaches Pronunciation Assistant Coaches: Dustin Ford (4th year), Paris Parham (4th year), Jamall Walker (4th year) Leron BLACK le-RON John GROCE GROHS Special Assistant to the Head Coach: Darren Hertz (1st year) Michael FINKE FEEN-kee Paris PARHAM PAR-ham Director of Basketball Operations: Mark Morris (4th year) Mike LATULIP la-TOO-lip Graduate Managers: Walter Offutt (2nd year), James Haring (2nd year) KHALID Lewis kah-LEED JAYLON Tate JAY-len Strength and Conditioning Coach: Adam Fletcher (1st year) Athletic Trainer: Paul Schmidt (4th year with men’s basketball, 10th year at Illinois) Past Braggin’ Rights Games in St. Louis Dec. 22, 1998 #15 Missouri 67, Illinois 62 Dec. 10, 1980 Illinois 84, #14 Missouri 62 Dec. 21, 1999 Missouri 78, #15 Illinois 72 RETURNING FOR THE ILLINI IN 2015-16 Dec. 8, 1981 #13 Missouri 78, Illinois 68 (OT) Dec. 21, 2000 #5 Illinois 86, Missouri 81 (OT) Dec. 28, 1983 #20 Illinois 66, Missouri 60 Dec. 22, 2001 #9 Illinois 72, #8 Missouri 61 Category 14-15 Returning* Lost Return Pct.* Dec. 6, 1984 #7 Illinois 65, Missouri 50 Dec.