2016–17 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team

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2016–17 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball
Illinois Fighting Illini logo.svg
NIT, Quarterfinals
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
2016–17 record20–15 (8–10 Big Ten)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaState Farm Center
Seasons
2016–17 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 15 Purdue 14 – 4   .778 27 – 8   .771
No. 25 Wisconsin 12 – 6   .667 27 – 10   .730
Maryland 12 – 6   .667 24 – 9   .727
Minnesota 11 – 7   .611 24 – 10   .706
No. 23 Michigan † 10 – 8   .556 26 – 12   .684
Northwestern 10 – 8   .556 24 – 12   .667
Michigan State 10 – 8   .556 20 – 15   .571
Iowa 10 – 8   .556 19 – 15   .559
Illinois 8 – 10   .444 20 – 15   .571
Ohio State 7 – 11   .389 17 – 15   .531
Indiana 7 – 11   .389 18 – 16   .529
Penn State 6 – 12   .333 15 – 18   .455
Nebraska 6 – 12   .333 12 – 19   .387
Rutgers 3 – 15   .167 15 – 18   .455
† 2017 Big Ten Tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2016–17 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team represented the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign in the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Led by fifth-year head coach John Groce, the Illini played their home games at State Farm Center as members of the Big Ten Conference. They finished the season 20–15, 8–10 in Big Ten play to finish in ninth place. They lost in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament to Michigan. They received an invitation to the National Invitation Tournament where they defeated Valparaiso and Boise State before losing in the Quarterfinals to UCF.

On March 11, 2017, Illinois fired head coach John Groce.[1][2] Shortly thereafter, the school announced that Assistant coach Jamall Walker will coach the team in the NIT.[3] On March 18, the school hired Brad Underwood as the new head coach.[4]

Previous season[]

The Fighting Illini finished the 2015–16 season with a record of 15–19, 5–13 in Big Ten play to finish in 12th place in conference. The Illini defeated Minnesota and Iowa to advance to the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament where they lost to Purdue.

Offseason[]

Departures[]

Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Notes
Khalid Lewis 3 G 6'3" 185 RS Senior Trenton, NJ Graduated
Mike LaTulip 10 G 6'1" 170 Senior Arlington Heights, IL Graduated and transferred to Wright State
Kendrick Nunn 25 G 6'3" 190 Junior Chicago, IL Dismissed due to domestic battery guilty plea, transferred to Oakland[5]

2016 Recruiting class[]

On September 16, 2015, Te'Jon Lucas of Milwaukee, Wisconsin verbally committed to attend Illinois in the fall of 2016 and signed his National Letter of Intent to finalize his recruitment on November 11, 2015. Lucas attended the NBA Top 100 camp in June 2015, had scholarship offers from California, Memphis, Purdue, and Wisconsin, and he strongly considered both USC and Old Dominion before committing to Illinois.[6][7] Lucas is only the third player from the State of Wisconsin to commit to Illinois, and is the first since 1926.[8]

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Te'Jon Lucas
PG 		Milwaukee, WI Washington (WI) 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Sep 16, 2015 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:4/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports:3/5 stars    ESPN:3/5 stars
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "Illinois 2016 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved 2015-09-18.
  • "2016 Illinois Basketball Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved 2015-09-18.
  • "ESPN Recruiting Nation Basketball". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2015-09-18.
  • "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved 2015-09-18.
  • "2016 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved 2015-09-18.

Incoming transfers[]

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Drew Cayce[9]
PG 		Libertyville, IL La Lumiere (IN) / Creighton 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Jul 21, 2016 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

2017 Recruiting class[]

During Illinois' final home game against Minnesota on February 28, 2016, Da'Monte Williams verbally committed to attend Illinois in the fall of 2017. Williams is the son of former Illinois guard Frank Williams who led the Fighting Illini to three straight NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament appearances, including an Elite Eight appearance in 2001.[10] On November 9, 2016 Trent Frazier signed a national letter of intent after considering Memphis, Georgia, Kansas State and Seton Hall, among others.[11] On April 26, 2017, Mark Smith signed a national letter of intent committing to the University of Illinois.[12]

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Da'Monte Williams
CG 		Peoria, IL Manual (IL) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Feb 29, 2016 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:4/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports:4/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars
Trent Frazier
PG 		West Palm Beach, FL Wellington (FL) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Aug 20, 2016 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:4/5 stars   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports:4/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

On January 16, 2016, three-star shooting guard Javon Pickett of Belleville, Illinois verbally committed to attend Illinois in the fall of 2017.[13] After the firing of John Groce, Pickett asked for and received a release of his letter of intent to Illinois.[14] On November 17, 2016, four-star recruit Jeremiah Tilmon announced that he had signed his letter of intent with Illinois the previous day, after a week of press uncertainty.[15] However, after the coaching change at Illinois, Tilmon requested and received a release of his letter of intent with the school.[16]

Roster[]

2016–17 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 0 D. J. Williams 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) So Simeon Academy Chicago, Illinois
G 1 Jaylon Tate 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Sr Simeon Academy Chicago, Illinois
F 2 Kipper Nichols 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Fr St. Edward High School (OH) Cleveland, Ohio
G 3 Te'Jon Lucas 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Fr Washington High School (WI) Milwaukee, Wisconsin
G 5 Jalen Coleman-Lands 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) So La Lumiere School Indianapolis, Indiana
G 10 Drew Cayce (W) Current redshirt 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 165 lb (75 kg) So La Lumiere School Libertyville, Illinois
F 12 Leron Black 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 220 lb (100 kg) RS So White Station High School Memphis, Tennessee
G 13 Tracy Abrams (C) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) GS Mount Carmel High School Chicago, Illinois
G 21 Malcolm Hill (C) 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Sr Belleville High School-East Fairview Heights, Illinois
C 22 Maverick Morgan 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 245 lb (111 kg) Sr Springboro High School Springboro, Ohio
G 23 Aaron Jordan 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) So Plainfield East High School Plainfield, Illinois
C 33 Mike Thorne Jr. 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 280 lb (127 kg) GS Trinity Christian/UNC-Charlotte Fayetteville, North Carolina
G 35 Samson Oladimeji (W) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Fr William Fremd High School Rolling Meadows, Illinois
G 41 Clayton Jones (W) 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Jr Champaign Central High School Champaign, Illinois
F 43 Michael Finke 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 230 lb (104 kg) RS So Centennial High School (IL) Champaign, Illinois
G 44 Alex Austin (W) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) RS Sr Mount Carmel High School/Eastern Illinois Chicago, Illinois
F 45 Cameron Liss (W) Current redshirt 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) RS Jr Glenbrook North High School Northbrook, Illinois
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster

Schedule and results[]

Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
Oct 30, 2016*
2:00 pm, BTN+ 		Washington U W 82–75 
 20 – Morgan   6 – Hill   5 – Tate  State Farm Center (10,359)
Champaign, IL
Nov 4, 2016*
7:00 pm, BTN+ 		Lewis W 95–51 
 16 – Coleman-Lands   9 – Finke   4 – Tate  State Farm Center (12,753)
Champaign, IL
Non-conference regular season
Nov 11, 2016*
8:00 pm, BTN 		Southeast Missouri State W 81–62  1–0
  21 – Hill   8 – Hill   6 – Tate  State Farm Center (10,790)
Champaign, IL
Nov 13, 2016*
5:00 pm, BTN+ 		Northern Kentucky W 79–64  2–0
  40 – Hill   12 – Hill   3 – Tied  State Farm Center (10,888)
Champaign, IL
Nov 15, 2016*
7:00 pm, BTN 		McKendree W 112–65  3–0
  18 – Tied   10 – Thorne, Jr.   8 – Tate  State Farm Center (10,135)
Champaign, IL
Nov 18, 2016*
7:00 pm, ESPN3 		Detroit
NIT Season Tip-Off 		W 89–69  4–0
  25 – Hill   7 – Thorne, Jr.   6 – Tate  State Farm Center (10,396)
Champaign, IL
Nov 21, 2016*
7:00 pm, ESPN3 		Winthrop
NIT Season Tip-Off 		L 80–84 OT 4–1
  18 – Finke   9 – Hill   6 – Abrams  State Farm Center (9,502)
Champaign, IL
Nov 24, 2016*
2:00 pm, ESPNU 		vs. No. 19 West Virginia
NIT Season Tip-Off semifinals 		L 57–89  4–2
  13 – Finke   9 – Black   4 – Tate  Barclays Center (2,451)
Brooklyn, NY
Nov 25, 2016*
11:30 am, ESPNU 		vs. No. 25 Florida State
NIT Season Tip-Off 3rd place game 		L 61–72  4–3
  18 – Hill   11 – Black   4 – Lucas  Barclays Center (3,713)
Brooklyn, NY
Nov 29, 2016*
8:00 pm, ESPNU 		NC State
ACC–Big Ten Challenge 		W 88–74  5–3
  22 – Hill   9 – Hill   4 – Hill  State Farm Center (13,481)
Champaign, IL
Dec 3, 2016*
2:00 pm, CBSSN 		vs. VCU
Hoophall Miami Invitational 		W 64–46  6–3
  18 – Black   8 – Black   5 – Hill  American Airlines Arena 
Miami, FL
Dec 6, 2016*
7:00 pm, ESPN3 		IUPUI W 85–77  7–3
  32 – Hill   9 – Black   6 – Abrams  State Farm Center (10,536)
Champaign, IL
Dec 10, 2016*
2:00 pm, BTN+ 		Central Michigan W 92–73  8–3
  31 – Abrams   11 – Thorne, Jr.   5 – Tate  State Farm Center (13,045)
Champaign, IL
Dec 17, 2016*
8:30 pm, BTN 		vs. BYU
State Farm Chicago Legends 		W 75–73  9–3
  15 – Abrams   10 – Morgan   5 – Tate  United Center 
Chicago, IL
Dec 21, 2016*
6:00 pm, ESPNU 		vs. Missouri
Braggin' Rights 		W 75–66  10–3
  21 – Hill   11 – Morgan   6 – Tate  Scottrade Center (12,409)
St. Louis, MO
Big Ten regular season
Dec 27, 2016
4:00 pm, ESPN2 		at Maryland L 59–84  10–4
(0–1) 		 21 – Hill   7 – Hill   2 – Tied  Xfinity Center (17,950)
College Park, MD
Jan 1, 2017
6:00 pm, BTN 		Ohio State W 75–70  11–4
(1–1) 		 20 – Hill   15 – Black   3 – Hill  State Farm Center (12,221)
Champaign, IL
Jan 7, 2017
4:00 pm, ESPNU 		at No. 25 Indiana
Rivalry 		L 80–96  11–5
(1–2) 		 21 – Tied   4 – Tied   4 – Lucas  Assembly Hall (16,506)
Bloomington, IN
Jan 11, 2017
8:00 pm, BTN 		Michigan W 85–69  12–5
(2–2) 		 16 – Morgan   8 – Nichols   8 – Lucas  State Farm Center (11,404)
Champaign, IL
Jan 14, 2017
5:00 pm, ESPN2 		Maryland L 56–62  12–6
(2–3) 		 15 – Morgan   4 – Lucas   9 – Black  State Farm Center (14,002)
Champaign, IL
Jan 17, 2017
6:00 pm, BTN 		at No. 21 Purdue L 68–91  12–7
(2–4) 		 15 – Morgan   6 – Black   5 – Hill  Mackey Arena (13,920)
West Lafayette, IN
Jan 21, 2017
1:15 pm, BTN 		at Michigan L 57–66  12–8
(2–5) 		 16 – Hill   5 – Hill   4 – Hill  Crisler Center (12,234)
Ann Arbor, MI
Jan 25, 2017
8:00 pm, BTN 		Iowa
Rivalry 		W 76–64  13–8
(3–5) 		 17 – Finke   7 – Tied   6 – Lucas  State Farm Center (11,787)
Champaign, IL
Jan 28, 2017
3:30 pm, BTN 		at Penn State L 67–71  13–9
(3–6) 		 19 – Hill   7 – Tied   7 – Hill  Bryce Jordan Center (10,202)
University Park, PA
Jan 31, 2017
8:00 pm, BTN 		No. 10 Wisconsin L 43–57  13–10
(3–7) 		 10 – Tied   4 – 4 Tied   2 – 3 Tied  State Farm Center (12,334)
Champaign, IL
Feb 4, 2017
3:30 pm, BTN 		Minnesota L 59-68  13-11
(3-8) 		 16 – Nichols   11 – Morgan   6 – Hill  State Farm Center (15,544)
Champaign, IL
Feb 7, 2017
7:00 pm, BTN 		at Northwestern W 68–61  14–11
(4–8) 		 14 – Hill   9 – Hill   6 – Lucas  Welsh-Ryan Arena (7,614)
Evanston, IL
Feb 11, 2017
1:00 pm, BTN 		Penn State L 70–83  14–12
(4–9) 		 14 – Hill   5 – Finke   7 – Lucas  State Farm Center (13,010)
Champaign, IL
Feb 18, 2017
1:00 pm, BTN 		at Iowa
Rivalry 		W 70–66  15–12
(5–9) 		 21 – Hill   8 – Hill   5 – Finke  Carver–Hawkeye Arena (15,400)
Iowa City, IA
Feb 21, 2017
7:00 pm, BTN 		Northwestern W 66–50  16–12
(6–9) 		 18 – Hill   10 – Morgan   5 – Hill  State Farm Center (11,206)
Champaign, IL
Feb 26, 2017
6:30 pm, BTN 		at Nebraska W 73–57  17–12
(7–9) 		 19 – Hill   5 – Black   6 – Abrams  Pinnacle Bank Arena (14,236)
Lincoln, NE
Mar 1, 2017
8:00 pm, BTN 		Michigan State W 73–70  18–12
(8–9) 		 22 – Hill   7 – Black   4 – Hill  State Farm Center (15,544)
Champaign, IL
Mar 4, 2017
11:00 am, ESPNU 		at Rutgers L 59–62  18–13
(8–10) 		 16 – Morgan   8 – Morgan   7 – Hill  Louis Brown Athletic Center (5,706)
Piscataway, NJ
Big Ten Tournament
Mar 9, 2017
12:00 pm, BTN 		(9) vs. (8) Michigan
Second round 		L 55–75  18–14
  23 – Abrams   7 – Finke   3 – Lucas  Verizon Center (12,189)
Washington, D.C.
NIT
Mar 14, 2017*
6:15 pm, ESPN2 		(2) (7) Valparaiso
First round – Illinois State Bracket 		W 82–57  19–14
  25 – Hill   12 – Black   6 – Lucas  State Farm Center (4,719)
Champaign, IL
Mar 20, 2017*
8:00 pm, ESPN 		(2) (6) Boise State
Second round – Illinois State Bracket 		W 71–56  20–14
  18 – Abrams   10 – Black   7 – Lucas  State Farm Center (5,713)
Champaign, IL
Mar 22, 2017*
6:00 pm, ESPN2 		(2) at (4) UCF
Quarterfinals – Illinois State Bracket 		L 58–68  20–15
  29 – Hill   7 – Black   6 – Lucas  CFE Arena (10,011)
Orlando, FL
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central Time.

References[]

  1. ^ Ryan, Shannon. "Illinois fires men's basketball coach John Groce after five seasons". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 2017-03-13.
  2. ^ "Illinois fires John Groce after 37-53 Big Ten mark in five seasons". CBSSports.com. Retrieved 2017-03-13.
  3. ^ Vainisi, Jim (2017-03-12). "Illinois receives 2 seed, will host Valparaiso in First Round". The Champaign Room. Retrieved 2017-03-17.
  4. ^ Smith, Erick (March 18, 2017). "Illinois hires Oklahoma State's Brad Underwood as new coach". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2017-04-04.
  5. ^ Paul, Tony (June 23, 2016). "Ex-Illinois star Nunn to join Golden Grizzlies". Detroit News. Retrieved June 23, 2016.
  6. ^ Ryan, Shannon (2015-11-11). "Four-star point guard Te'Jon Lucas signs with Illinois". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2015-11-30.
  7. ^ Stewart, Mark (2015-09-16). "Washington basketball star Te'Jon Lucas commits to Illinois". Journal Sentinel. Retrieved 2015-11-30.
  8. ^ Jackson, Marcus (2015-09-16). "Te'Jon Lucas: 'We'll be celebrating'". News Gazette. Retrieved 2015-11-30.
  9. ^ Vainisi, Jim (2016-07-21). "Creighton guard Drew Cayce is transferring to Illinois Basketball as a walk-on". SB Nation. Retrieved 2016-07-27.
  10. ^ "Illinois lands DaMonte Williams, No. 8 shooting guard in 2017 class". ESPN. February 28, 2016. Retrieved 2017-04-04.
  11. ^ Wagner, Jodie; Lichtenstein, Adam (November 9, 2016). "Wellington basketball star Trent Frazier signs with Illinois". The Palm Beach Post. Retrieved 2017-04-04.
  12. ^ Ryan, Shannon (April 26, 2017). "Mark Smith, 2017's Mr. Basketball from Edwardsville, chooses Illinois". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2017-05-08.
  13. ^ Zuvanich, Adam (January 18, 2016). "Belleville East's Pickett pledges to the University of Illinois". St. Louis Post Dispatch. Retrieved January 19, 2016.
  14. ^ "Illini grant releases for Jeremiah Tilmon, Javon Pickett". The Champaign Room. 2017-04-11. Retrieved 2017-04-25.
  15. ^ Ryan, Shannon (November 17, 2016). "Illinois' signing of five-star Jeremiah Tilmon has major implications". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2017-04-04.
  16. ^ "Illinois basketball recruit Jeremiah Tilmon says Illini have granted him his release". Land of 10. 2017-04-11. Retrieved 2017-04-25.
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