2016-17 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS FIGHTING ILLINI BASKETBALL Game #11 // Illinois (7-3) vs. Central Michigan (8-2) Dec. 10, 2016 // 2 p.m. CT // Champaign, Ill. // State Farm Center (15,544) Internet Stream: BTN Plus (BTN2Go.com) – Zach Prelutsky (Play-By-Play), Masaki Sugimoto (Analyst), Cassie Carlson (Reports) Radio: Fighting Illini Sports Network – Brian Barnhart (Play-By-Play), Deon Thomas (Analyst) ILLINOIS 2016-17 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 13 Tracy Abrams 6-2 185 Gr. 10.6 2.8 3.1 58.1% 3FG NOVEMBER (5-3) G 5 Jalen Coleman-Lands 6-3 190 So. 8.0 1.9 1.1 2.0 3FG/G 11 SOUTHEAST MISSOURI W, 81-62 W-1 G 21 Malcolm Hill 6-6 225 Sr. 19.8 6.7 2.0 81.2% FT 13 NORTHERN KENTUCKY W, 79-64 W-2 F 12 Leron Black 6-7 220 r-So. 13.3 8.2 0.8 2.3 OREB/G 15 MCKENDREE W, 112-65 W-3 C 33 Mike Thorne Jr. 6-11 280 Gr. 6.1 4.1 0.3 59.1% FG 18 DETROIT MERCY [1] W, 89-69 W-4 21 WINTHROP [1] L, 80-84 (OT) L-1 OFF THE BENCH 24 vs. #19 West Virginia [2] L, 57-89 L-2 Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. PPG RPG APG Other 25 vs. #25 Florida State [2] L, 61-72 L-3 G 0 D.J. Williams 6-7 210 So. 3.3 1.1 0.6 3 BLK 29 NORTH CAROLINA STATE [3] W, 88-74 W-1 G 1 Jaylon Tate 6-3 170 Sr. 4.1 1.7 3.7 5 STL DECEMBER (2-0) G 3 Te’Jon Lucas 6-0 170 Fr. 3.3 0.8 1.6 70.6% FG 3 vs. VCU [4] W, 64-46 W-2 C 22 Maverick Morgan 6-10 245 Sr. 7.3 2.6 0.6 56.9% FG 6 IUPUI W, 85-77 W-3 G 23 Aaron Jordan 6-5 190 So. 1.8 0.9 0.3 41.7% 3FG 10 CENTRAL MICHIGAN 2 p.m. BTN Plus G 35 Samson Oladimeji 6-4 195 Fr. 0.0 1.0 0.0 2 G 17 vs. BYU [5] 8:30 p.m. BTN G 41 Clayton Jones 6-0 170 r-Jr. 0.0 0.0 0.0 3 G 21 vs. Missouri [6] 6 p.m. ESPNU F 43 Michael Finke 6-10 230 r-So. 8.1 5.2 0.3 2.2 OREB/G 27 at Maryland 4 p.m. ESPN2 G 44 Alex Austin 6-4 190 r-Sr. 0.7 2.0 0.0 3 OREB JANUARY (0-0) 1 OHIO STATE TBD BTN SITTING OUT 7 at Indiana 4 p.m. ESPNU Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. PPG RPG APG Other 11 MICHIGAN 8 p.m. BTN F 2 Kipper Nichols & 6-6 225 r-Fr. – – – – 14 MARYLAND 5 p.m. ESPN2 G 10 Drew Cayce # 6-1 165 So. – – – – 17 at Purdue 6 p.m. BTN F 45 Cameron Liss ^ 6-6 220 Jr. 0.6 0.0 0.2 5 G 21 at Michigan 1:15 p.m. BTN & Nichols is sitting out the fall semester per transfer rules. 25 IOWA 8 p.m. BTN # Cayce is sitting out this year per transfer rules. 28 at Penn State 3:30 p.m. BTN ^ Liss’ 2015-16 stats. He is redshirting this year. 31 WISCONSIN 8 p.m. BTN FEBRUARY (0-0) HEAD COACH JOHN GROCE 4 MINNESOTA 3 p.m. BTN Career Record: 169-120/.585 (9th year) 7 at Northwestern 7 p.m. BTN At Illinois: 84-64/.568 (5th year) 11 PENN STATE 1 p.m. BTN 18 at Iowa 1 p.m. BTN SERIES NOTES VS. CENTRAL MICHIGAN 21 NORTHWESTERN 7 p.m. BTN All-Time Series Record: First meeting 26 at Nebraska 6:30 p.m. BTN Groce vs. CMU All-Time: 2-2 MARCH (0-0) 1 MICHIGAN STATE 8 p.m. BTN Broadcast Information 4 at Rutgers 11 a.m. ESPNU Saturday’s game vs. Central Michigan will be streamed live via BTN Plus. BTN Plus programming consists 8-12 at Big Ten Tournament [7] TBD TBD of non-televised games produced by students at Big Ten universities and is available through either a monthly or annual subscription. Fans can purchase a BTN Plus subscription by visiting BTN2GO.com. All Times Listed are Central BOLD CAPS - State Farm Center; Champaign, Ill. Opening Tips [1] - NIT Season Tip-Off [2] - NIT Season Tip-Off – Barclays Center; Brooklyn • Illinois plays its final non-conference home game on Saturday, hosting Central Michigan. It will be three weeks [3] - ACC/Big Ten Challenge before the Illini return to State Farm Center, for the Big Ten home opener vs. Ohio State on New Year’s Day. [4] - Hoophall Miami Invitational – AmericanAirlines Arena [5] - State Farm Chicago Legends – United Center • The only two players in the nation who have recorded six kenpom game MVP accolades so far this season [6] - Bud Light Braggin’ Rights - Scottrade Center; St. Louis [7] - Verizon Center; Washington D.C. are Illinois’ Malcolm Hill and Central Michigan’s Marcus Keene. • Illinois has shot at least 50 percent in five of its seven home games. ILLINOIS ATHLETICS COMMUNICATION Address: 1700 S. Fourth St., Champaign, IL 61820 • The Illini have shot at least 50 percent during the second half in all seven victories. Office: 217-333-1391 • Leron Black is averaging 16.0 points (64) and 9.0 rebounds (36) over the last four games. Basketball SID: Derrick Burson Email: [email protected] • Malcolm Hill is averaging 22.0 points over the last four games (88). Office: 217-333-0933 // Cell: 217-766-7315 Twitterº: @IlliniMBB • Tracy Abrams is four points away from becoming the 49th player in Illini history with 1,000 career points. Website: FIGHTINGILLINI.com • Malcolm Hill (1,441 career pts) is eight points away from entering the top 15 on the Illini all-time scoring list. 2016-17 ILLINOIS NUMERICAL ROSTER No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Yr. Hometown Notable 0 D.J. Williams G 6-7 210 So. Chicago, Ill. Played double-digit minutes in 11 of the final 12 games last season 1 Jaylon Tate G 6-3 170 Sr. Chicago, Ill. Averaged 2.5 assists with 3.1 assist-to-turnover ratio last year 2 Kipper Nichols F 6-6 225 r-Fr. Cleveland, Ohio Ohio Basketball Coaches Association 2015 Div. I Player of the Year 3 Te’Jon Lucas G 6-0 170 Fr. Milwaukee, Wi. Unanimous first-team Div. 2 all-state pick in Wisconsin 5 Jalen Coleman-Lands G 6-3 190 So. Indianapolis, Ind. Set Illinois freshman record with 87 three-pointers last year 10 Drew Cayce G 6-1 165 So. Libertyville, Ill. Walk-on is sitting out this year after transferring from Creighton. 12 Leron Black F 6-7 220 r-So. Memphis, Tenn. Earned medical redshirt after playing in only seven games last year 13 Tracy Abrams G 6-2 185 Gr. Chicago, Ill. 6th-year guard missed each of the last two seasons 21 Malcolm Hill G 6-6 225 Sr. Fairview Heights, Ill. Naismith Trophy candidate lead team in points, rebounds and assists last year 22 Maverick Morgan C 6-10 245 Sr. Springboro, Ohio Averaged 12.0 points over the final 12 games last season 23 Aaron Jordan G 6-5 190 So. Plainfield, Ill. Made 22 three-pointers as a freshman 33 Mike Thorne Jr. C 6-11 280 Gr. Fayetteville, N.C. 6th-year center was team’s leading rebounder in eight games 35 Samson Oladimeji G 6-4 195 Fr. Rolling Meadows, Ill. Walk-on joined team during fall preseason 41 Clayton Jones G 6-0 170 r-Jr. Champaign, Ill. Champaign native in first year as walk-on 43 Michael Finke F 6-10 230 r-So. Champaign, Ill. Started 16 games last year, averaging 7.5 points 44 Alex Austin G 6-4 190 r-Sr. Chicago, Ill. Walk-on played in 32 games last year, tallying 13 steals 45 Cameron Liss F 6-6 220 Jr. Northbrook, Ill. Walk-on is redshirting this season Head Coach: John Groce (5th year at Illinois, 9th year overall) Players Pronunciation Coaches Pronunciation Assistant Coaches: Dustin Ford (5th year), Paris Parham (5th year), Jamall Walker (5th year) Leron BLACK le-RON John GROCE GROHS Special Assistant to the Head Coach: Darren Hertz (2nd year) Michael FINKE FEEN-kee Paris PARHAM PAR-ham Director of Basketball Operations: James Haring (1st year) TE’JON Lucas TEE-zhohn Graduate Manager: Drew Dunn (1st year) Samson OLADIMEJI oh-la-di-MAY-gee Strength and Conditioning Coach: Adam Fletcher (2nd year) JAYLON Tate JAY-len Athletic Trainer: Paul Schmidt (5th year) Notes from the Last Time Out: Illini 85, IUPUI 77 (Dec. 6) RETURNING FOR THE ILLINI IN 2016-17 • Illinois shot 55 percent for the game and 60 percent in the second half, good for its second-highest field goal percentage in a half this season. The Illini set a season-best mark in the second half against NC State Category 15-16 Returning Lost Return Pct. with a 67.9 field goal percentage. Minutes 6,975 5,252 1,723 75.3% • It marked the eighth time in 10 games where the Fighting Illini shot better in the second half compared Points 2,452 1,891 561 77.1% to the first half.