Thursday, January 21, 2016 The Daily Illini | www.DailyIllini.com2

11/08/15 VS. UI-SPRINGFIELD (EXHIBITION) PRAIRIE CAPITAL CONVENTION CENTER (W 104-69)11/13/15 VS. NORTH FLORIDA PRAIRIE CAPITAL CONVENTION CENTER (L 93-81)11/15/15 VS. NORTH DAKOTA STATE PRAIRIE CAPITAL CONVENTION CENTER (W 80-74)11/18/15 AT PROVIDENCE PROVIDENCE, R.I. (L 60-59)11/21/15 VS. CHATTANOOGA PRAIRIE CAPITAL CONVENTION CENTER (L 81-77)11/23/15 VS CHICAGO STATE PRAIRIE CAPITAL CONVENTION CENTER (W 82-79)11/27/15 VS. UAB NICEVILLE, FLA. (W 72-58)11/28/15 VS. IOWA STATE AT NICEVILLE, FLA. (L 84-73)12/02/15 VS. NOTRE DAME STATE FARM CENTER (L 84-79)12/05/15 VS. WESTERN CAROLINA STATE FARM CENTER (W 80-68)12/09/15 VS. YALE STATE FARM CENTER (W 69-65)12/12/15 AT UIC UNITED CENTER (W 83-79)12/19/15 VS. SOUTH DAKOTA STATE FARM CENTER (W 91-79)12/23/15 AT MISSOURI ST. LOUIS, MO. (W 68-63)12/30/15 VS. MICHIGAN* STATE FARM CENTER (L 78-68)01/03/16 AT OHIO STATE* COLUMBUS, OHIO (L 75-73)01/07/16 AT MICHIGAN STATE* EAST LANSING, MICH (L 79-54)01/10/16 VS. PURDUE* STATE FARM CENTER (W 84-70)01/16/16 VS. NEBRASKA* STATE FARM CENTER (L 78-67)01/19/16 AT INDIANA* BLOOMINGTON, IND. (L 103-69)01/23/16 AT MINNESOTA* MINNEAPOLIS, MINN. 7:30 PM CT01/28/16 VS. OHIO STATE* STATE FARM CENTER 8:00 PM CT 01/31/16 VS. WISCONSIN* STATE FARM CENTER 6:30 PM CT02/03/16 AT RUTGERS* PISCATAWAY, N.J. 5:30 PM CT02/07/16 VS. IOWA* STATE FARM CENTER 12:00 PM CT02/13/16 AT NORTHWESTERN* EVANSTON, ILL. 7:00 PM CT02/16/16 VS RUTGERS* STATE FARM CENTER 8:00 PM CT02/21/16 AT WISCONSIN* MADISON, WIS TBD02/25/16 VS. INDIANA* STATE FARM CENTER 8:00 PM CT02/28/16 VS. MINNESOTA* STATE FARM CENTER TBD03/03/16 AT MARYLAND* COLLEGE PARK, M.D. 6:00 PM CT03/06/16 AT PENN STATE* UNIVERSITY PARK, PENN. 11:00 PM CT03/09/16 BIG TEN TOURNAMENT STARTS INDIANAPOLIS, IND. TBD03/15/15 NCAA TOURNAMENT BEGINS DAYTON, OHIO TBD

2015-16 MEN’S BASKETBALL SCHEDULE

Points per game Kendrick Nunn 18.2Malcolm Hill 17.8Mike Thorne Jr. 12.

Rebounds per game Mike Thorne Jr. 8.5 Malcolm Hill 5.6Kendrick Nunn 5.4

Assists per game Malcolm Hill 3.5Khalid Lewis 2.9Jaylon Tate 2.9

Steals per game Kendrick Nunn 1.3Malcolm Hill 1.2Khalid Lewis 0.8Jalen Coleman-Lands 0.6

Blocks Malcolm Hill 14Mike Thorne Jr. 5

Shooting percentageMaverick Morgan 57.8%Michael Finke 47.3%Mike Thorne Jr. 49.6%

Indiana 6-0 16-3

Iowa 5-0 14-3

Maryland 6-1 17-2

Purdue 4-2 16-3

Ohio State 4-2 12-7

Michigan 3-2 13-5

Michigan State 3-3 16-3

Northwestern 3-4 15-5

Nebraska 3-3 11-8

Penn State 2-4 11-8

Wisconsin 2-4 10-9

Illinois 1-5 9-10

Minnesota 0-6 6-12

Rutgers 0-6 6-13

DATE GAME LOCATION TIME/RESULT STATS BIG TEN STANDINGS CONFERENCE OVERALL

*These standards are accurate as of press time.

The Daily Illini | www.DailyIllini.com Thursday, January 21, 20163

MinnesotaHead Coach: Richard PitinoRecord: 6-12, 0-6 Big TenAnalysis: It has defi nitely been a rough

season for the Golden Gophers. They were unable to pick up any momentum in the non-conference season, going 6-6, and haven’t been able to win a game since. The Golden Gophers are looking at missing the NCAA Tournament and the NIT for the second year in a row.

NebraskaHead Coach: Tim MilesRecord: 11-8, 3-3 Big TenAnalysis: Nebraska has been the defi nition

of middle-of-the-pack in the Big Ten this season. The Cornhuskers do not have any bad losses, but do not have any marquee wins either. Junior guard Andrew White III leads the team with 17.5 points per game.

Michigan StateHead Coach: Tom IzzoRecord: 16-3, 3-3 Big TenAnalysis: Michigan State worked its way

up to the No. 1 ranking early in the season, but after its best player and potential Player of the Year winner Denzel Valentine got injured, the Spartans have not been the same team. Back-to-back losses to conference foes Iowa and Wisconsin dropped the Spartans out of the top 10.

IllinoisHead Coach: John GroceRecord: 9-10, 1-5 Big TenAnalysis: The Illini have been plagued by

injuries all season, playing most of their games this season with only two of their fi ve projected starters. Flashes of high level play have kept Illini fans interested, but fl ashes are all the team has been able to produce.

IowaHead Coach: Fran McCafferyRecord: 14-3, 5-0 Big TenAnalysis: Much like their football team,

Iowa basketball has burst onto the Big Ten scene this year, picking up a season sweep against top 5 ranked Michigan St., and also beating top Big Ten teams Purdue and Michigan. Iowa is ranked No. 9 after beating Michigan.

MichiganHead Coach: John BeileinRecord: 13-5, 3-2 Big TenAnalysis: Michigan has fallen victim to

their own strength of schedule so far this season. Four of the Wolverines’ fi ve losses, including both of their Big Ten losses, have come against ranked teams. The Wolverines are led by senior Caris LeVert.

IndianaHead Coach: Tom CreanRecord: 16-3, 6-0 Big TenAnalysis: Indiana showed some signs of

inconsistency on the defensive end early in the season, picking up losses to Wake Forest and UNLV at the Maui Invitational, as well as a loss against Duke at Cameron Indoor. Since then, Indiana has tightened it up on the defensive end, and is continuing to play strongly offensively behind point guard Yogi Ferrell.

Round upCompiled by Cole Henke, Assistant sports editor

Here’s an updated look at how teams are faring across the Big Ten this season.

MarylandHead Coach: Mark TurgeonRecord: 17-2, 6-1 Big TenAnalysis: Melo Trimble showed he was a

top player in the Big Ten last year when he carried the Terrapins to the NCAA tournament. This year he has been even better, and with the addition of freshman forward Diamond Stone and a balanced scoring attack, the Terrapins have held a top-10 ranking all season.

NorthwesternHead Coach: Chris CollinsRecord: 15-5, 3-4 Big TenAnalysis: This is one of the strongest teams

the Wildcats have ever had, and early in the season it seemed almost certain that this would be the fi rst Northwestern team to ever make the NCAA Tournament. The Wildcats have been road warriors this year, going 4-0 on the road.

Ohio StateHead Coach: Thad MattaRecord: 12-7, 4-2 Big TenAnalysis: Ohio State has been the defi nition

of inconsistent this season. The Buckeyes picked up a big win against Kentucky early in the season, but since then, they’ve been run out of the gym by both Indiana and Maryland, leaving them in the middle of the pack in the Big Ten.

WisconsinHead Coach: Greg Gard (Interim)Record: 10-9, 2-4 Big TenAnalysis: Everybody expected a drop

off for Wisconsin following its National Championship appearance last year. What wasn’t expected were losses to both Western Illinois and Milwaukee at home, and head coach Bo Ryan retiring right before right before Big Ten play. The Badgers have kept fi ghting, though, almost upsetting Maryland if not for Melo Trimble’s buzzer-beater heroics.

PurdueHead Coach: Matt PainterRecord: 16-3, 4-2 Big TenAnalysis: Purdue’s big men have been

carrying the team to victory all season. Senior A.J. Hammons and sophomore Isaac Haas — with help from freshman Caleb Swanigan — form the most formidable front court the Big Ten has to offer, and Purdue’s slow pace and post game has been working well so far.

Penn StateHead Coach: Pat ChambersRecord: 11-8, 2-4 Big TenAnalysis: The Nittany Lions have struggled

when it comes to Big Ten play in past seasons, and this one has been no different. So far this season, the Nittany Lions’ biggest win was against Northwestern in Evanston.

RutgersHead Coach: Eddie JordanRecord: 6-13, 0-6 Big TenAnalysis:Rutgers still has not adjusted to

life in the Big Ten. Life has been rough for the Scarlet Knights — they sit in last place in the Big Ten, the same place they fi nished last year.

*These standards are accurate as of press time.

Thursday, January 21, 2016 The Daily Illini | www.DailyIllini.com4

BY JOEY FIGUEROA STAFF REPORTER

The Illinois men’s basketball team may have experienced the harsh ups and downs of an entire season in its recent span of three games in 10 days.

An impressive 84-70 victory over Pur-due’s top-ranked defense was sandwiched between a blowout defeat to Michigan State that head coach John Groce called embarassing and a home loss to Nebraska that had Groce questioning his team’s effort.

“I don’t like losing, period,” Groce said following the Nebraska defeat. “I’m not a big fan of it.”

Unfortunately for Groce and the Illini, losing has become the norm to start off Big Ten play — Illinois has dropped five of its first six conference matchup. And while Groce does his best to avoid making any excuses, injuries and illnesses continue to block this Illini squad from reaching its full potential.

A rash of injuries dominated headlines during the preseason and non-conference schedule, and a variety of unforeseen cir-cumstances have kept Illinois from gath-ering any sort of roster continuity during Big Ten play.

Point guard Khalid Lewis had just been hitting his stride as a playmaker on the offensive end — he tallied 18 assists in Illi-nois’ final three non-conference contests — before coming down with a case of the mumps that forced him out of the lineup for the first two conference games.

Once Lewis was cleared to play against Michigan State, junior guard Kendrick Nunn exited the lineup for the birth of his son, Kason Lee Nunn.

The “current rendition,” as Groce has called it, of the Illinois roster — sans big men Mike Thorne Jr. and Leron Black — has just two conference games at full strength to its credit thus far. Groce rec-ognizes that more experience as a com-plete group will be crucial moving forward.

“Our current rendition has been back together for some continuity, for rotations, for what we call, for what we run,” Groce said. “That’s a big deal. That gives you a chance to keep getting better. Guys are getting used to playing with certain guys, there’s a connection there thats getting better.”

Black is deep into rehab for his knee inju-ry and remains out indefinitely. Until he is able to practice, Groce does not expect the

big man to see any more game action this season. The current rendition of the Illini is obviously a much smaller team with-out Black, which has led to a major differ-ence in two key categories: rebounding and three-point shooting.

With freshman forward Michael Fin-ke and junior center Maverick Morgan as essentially Illinois’ only big men, oppo-nents have taken advantage on the boards. Through six games, the Illini are dead last in the Big Ten in rebounding. They have been outrebounded in every conference game thus far.

“Rebounding was the biggest thing for us,” Finke said after being outrebounded by 21 against Nebraska. “We couldn’t find guys and couldn’t hit them, it’s just inex-cusable. We’ve just got to keep grinding with that and try to get lower and hit them.”

Although Thorne Jr. returned against Indiana, Groce has placed a larger empha-sis on getting back on defense rather than crashing the offensive boards.

“All you have to do is pick up the stat sheet and see who our two best guys are in rebounds per minutes played — they’re in street clothes right now,” Groce said. “It is what it is. We’ve got to figure some-

thing else out to be better with our defen-sive rebounding collectively, and we’ve got to be great at something else.”

Without many options in the paint, Illi-nois has turned to a perimeter-orientated offense that can sometimes live and die by the three. Its 23 three-point attempts per game is the highest rate since Groce’s first year with the program.

Although the Illini are shooting at a respectable 36 percent clip from down-town, Groce wants better shot selection. The Illini launched 20 threes in the first half against Nebraska, and Groce claimed that about nine of those attempts were poor decisions.

Groce said he is prepared to play the rest of the season without Black and has emphasized his “TNT” mantra of playing tough and together — which he hopes his players buy into sooner than later.

“We know what we’re capable of and we showed it against Purdue,” Finke said. “We’ve just got to go out there and play with a chip on our shoulders and prove to people what we can do.”

jfiguer2@dailyillini.com @joeyfigueroa3

Illinois moves on with ‘current rendition of roster’AUSTIN YATTONI THE DAILY ILLINI

Illini players (from left) Leron Black, Mike Thorne Jr., Kipper Nichols and Tracy Abrams, along with graduate manager James Haring (in suit) watch the action during Illinois’ 78-68 loss to Michigan at State Farm Center on Dec. 30.

BY ALEX ROUXILLINI HOOPS COLUMNIST

Khalid Lewis was in the process of committing to play his senior season of college basketball at Illinois last August when he noticed strange headlines in the local Champaign papers.

A mumps outbreak was spreading on his future University’s campus in the form of a virus that Lewis knew virtually noth-ing about. Typically, between 400 and 500 people are diagnosed with mumps each year in the United States, meaning Lewis was hardly alone in his ignorance of the disease.

Just over four months later at the end of December, Lewis was quarantined in his campus apartment, having contracted the mumps himself.

“My body just didn’t want to do any-thing,” Lewis said of his five-day quar-antine period. “My body was real weak. I probably was in bed like 95 percent of the time.”

Lewis sat out the first two games of Illi-nois’ Big Ten schedule as he recovered from the disease. The red-shirt senior from Trenton, New Jersey, will only play this season for the Illini as a graduate transfer, and unusual circumstances led to his commitment to Illi-nois in the first place.

Lewis started his career playing one season at Del-aware before transfer-ring to La Salle, where he would sit out one season and play two. He averaged 6 points and 2.2 assists per game for the Explorers as a junior before graduating academically and electing to play his final year of eligi-bility elsewhere.

When Illinois senior Tracy Abrams suf-fered an Achilles injury at the end of July that would cost him the 2015-16 season — his second consecutive season-ending injury — junior Jaylon Tate was the only healthy point guard remaining on the Illi-ni roster. Head coach John Groce was in desperate need of another floor general and found Lewis, who would be eligible to join the team and play right away.

Lewis’ commitment to Illinois was announced Aug. 8, just 12 days after Abrams tore his Achilles.

“We feel blessed to have gotten him as quickly as we did when we recruited him,” Groce said. “He’s been a godsend.”

Lewis’ joined the Illini to split point guard duties with Tate, but his respon-sibilities on the court expanded almost immediately. Tate dislocated his right pin-ky finger in the Illini’s first game of the season and went on to miss the next four as he recovered. Lewis took over as the

only true point guard on the Illinois roster until Tate returned on Nov. 27 and contin-ues to play a majority of the Illini’s point guard minutes.

Lewis’ stats aren’t spectacular; he’s aver-aging 3.8 points and 2.9 assists in 22.6 min-utes per game. But Groce shudders to think what this injury-riddled season might look like without the steadying presence he says Lewis brings to the floor. The 23-year-old almost never breaks composure, always keeping a fixed gaze focused up court when handling the ball.

“That’s his New Jersey style,” teammate Malcolm Hill said of Lewis. “That Jersey swagger. I guess that’s what you call it: just cool, calm and collected. That’s how he is.”

When fellow graduate transfer Mike Thorne Jr. went down with a torn menis-cus Nov. 28 against Iowa State, Lewis became the team’s only active senior. Hill said Lewis hasn’t been afraid to make his voice heard as the team’s elder statesman.

“I’ve always seen myself as a leader, so I try to be as vocal as I can,” Lewis said. “Like I said, I’m an older guy. I try to stay

poised so the rest of my team will stay poised. If they see me rattled, then everybody else could get rattled.”

While it was impossi-ble for Lewis to have any impact in the two games he sat out with mumps — both losses to Michigan and Ohio State — he said he gained a different per-spective on the game while watching his team strug-gle on TV. And when the isolation period that Lew-

is called “emotionally draining” was over, Groce noticed a difference upon his return.

“I think (the mumps) mentally kind of grabbed him, made him realize, man, the game gets taken away from you, makes you appreciate it a little bit more,” Groce said. “He’s come back with a lot of vigor, a lot of energy, a lot of effort.”

Lewis scored eight points in his first game back in a loss at Michigan State and played 26 minutes in a win against No. 20 Purdue, his handles unaffected by the Boil-ermakers’ full-court man pressure. Before Illinois’ loss to Nebraska, assistant coach Mark Morris reminded Lewis to make the most of what remains of his lone season with the Illini.

“You’ve got seven games left in this building (State Farm Center),” Morris told him.

“Wow,” Lewis realized, pondering the twilight of his college career. “Time flew by.”

roux2@dailyillini.com @aroux94

The Daily Illini | www.DailyIllini.com Thursday, January 21, 20165

Lewis has provided steady hand in lone season

AUSTIN YATTONI THE DAILY ILLINIIllinois guard Khalid Lewis takes a jump shot during the game against Yale at the State Farm Center on Dec. 9. Lewis has returned to the Illini following being quarantined for mumps.

“I try to stay poised so the rest of my team will stay poised.”

KHALID LEWISSENIOR POINT GUARD

BY ELI SCHWADRONSTAFF WRITER

Jalen Coleman-Lands took one baseline dribble before two Purdue defenders halted his path to the basket. With his back turned to the hoop, the freshman guard delivered a perfectly timed bounce pass to a cutting Kendrick Nunn, who collected the rock and took flight from well outside the restricted area.

Bang.Nunn’s upward flight trajectory

culminated in a poster dunk on Purdue’s 6-foot-9 star freshman, Caleb Swanigan. All hell broke loose in State Farm Center, and the Illini took a 57-48 lead over the No. 20 Boilermakers with 11:45 remaining in their Jan. 10 matchup.

Illinois (9-10) went on to beat Purdue, and Nunn finished with 22 points on 8-of-12 shooting to go with five rebounds. It was another special performance in the shooting guard’s stellar junior season, in which he’s averaging 18.5 points and 5.4 rebounds per game, while shooting 48 percent from the floor and 41 percent from 3-point range.

But the Purdue game – which marked Illinois’ first win versus a ranked opponent since a 64-57 win over Maryland in early 2015 – was far from the biggest news in Nunn’s life that week.

Nunn’s son, Kason Lee, was born three days earlier on Jan. 7, right around the time the Illini tipped off against Michigan State. Nunn missed the game to be with his new family.

“It’s been a long week for me – just staying up. I probably haven’t gotten as much sleep for the past week, but I’m tough. When I get on the floor, I do what I have to do,” Nunn said after beating Purdue. “I’m proud of my son’s birth and glad we came out today and got the win.”

Illinois came back to Earth in a 78-67 loss to Nebraska on Jan. 16. Following Tuesday’s loss to Indiana, the Illini now sit third-to-last in Big Ten play with a conference record of 1-5.

But Nunn’s partner-in-crime, Malcolm Hill, isn’t concerned with the slow start or any outsiders’ perspectives.

“To be honest, I don’t really pay attention to what people can say – whether that’s people giving up on us or anything,” Hill said. “The people that are gonna be with us … we just know that our inner circle is going to give us full support no matter what happens. We can’t control what happened in the past, but we can control what happens in the future.”

Hill is putting up nearly identical numbers to Nunn. Through 19 games — and 19 starts — the do-it-all swingman is

averaging 18.2 points, 5.6 rebounds and a team-high 3.5 assists per game. Nunn and Hill typically clock in at 30 to 38 minutes per game each, and in addition to jumpstarting the offense, they’re often tasked with guarding opposing teams’ best players.

They also complement each other. With Nunn out of the lineup in a 25-point loss to the Spartans, Hill struggled to find his shot and finished with 10 points – his lowest output of the season. Upon Nunn’s return the next game, Hill got to the free throw line seven times and tripled his point total, dropping 30 on

9-for-15 shooting.Hill said the team has been going hard

in practice, determined to step up for the remainder of the conference schedule.

“Practice has been like hell – I’m not going to sugarcoat it,” Hill said. “I think the key is, even though practice was tough, we can’t lose our minds. We have to focus on the gameplan.”

With 12 games remaining before the Big Ten tournament, Illinois is looking to recapture the type of execution it showed against Purdue.

schwadr2@dailyillini.com

Thursday, January 21, 2016 The Daily Illini | www.DailyIllini.com6

Nunn, Hill trying to lead the Illini

AUSTIN YATTONI THE DAILY ILLINIIllinois’ Kendrick Nunn takes a layup over a Michigan defender during the game against Michigan at the State Farm Center on Dec. 30. Nunn is currently out due to injury.

“We can’t control what happened in the past,

but we can control what happens in the future.”

MALCOLM HILLJUNIOR GUARD

The Daily Illini | www.DailyIllini.com Thursday, January 21, 20167

W P G U 107.

1

L I S T E N L I V E 2 4 / 7

· W P G U . C O M ·

At Illinois, it’s reasonable to expect the men’s basketball team to make the NCAA tournament.

Barring extreme circumstances and an occasional rebuilding season, that expecta-tion was solidifi ed and instilled into multi-ple generations of Illini hoops fans over the course of nearly three decades. From 1981-2013, Illinois missed the NCAAs in back-to-back years only once and fell short of the tourney just eight total times.

Expectations have reluctantly been tem-pered recently under John Groce, as the Illini look poised to miss the NCAA tourna-ment for the third consecutive season. That level of futility at Illinois hasn’t been reached since the 1970s.

Groce made the tournament in his fi rst season in Champaign and should be forgiven for missing it with a makeshift team in his second. Fans began to grow restless when Groce also missed the tournament in his third season following to a complete team collapse down the stretch.

In this season — Groce’s fourth — injuries have forced tournament hopes to be reset.

Remember those aforementioned extreme circumstances capable of skewing pro-gram expectations? This season certain-ly fi ts that criteria. We knew three months before the season when senior point guard Tracy Abrams tore his Achilles that Illinois wouldn’t be at full strength.

Since then, we’ve seen leading scorer Ken-drick Nunn, leading rebounder Mike Thorne Jr., sophomore forward Leron Black and junior point guard Jaylon Tate all miss mul-

tiple games with injuries.Add in an unusual November schedule due

to arena renovations and you have a season that is an outlier, and one where reasonable expectations go to die.

Six games into the Big Ten season, Illinois sits at 9-10 overall, 1-5 in conference play, and is coming off the program’s worst loss in 20 years in a 103-69 drubbing at Indiana. The NCAA tournament is a pipe dream and even a third straight NIT appearance is look-ing unlikely with Thorne and Black still side-lined indefi nitely with meniscus injuries.

So what is there to look for from the Illini as they navigate the rest of their Big Ten schedule?

Besides keeping an eye on the status of Black and Thorne, it’s important to look beyond the scope of this season while watch-ing what awaits this team. Even if fans have already written off this season as lost and given up — the players and coaches certainly haven’t — the overall trajectory of the pro-gram could still be at stake.

Four years ago, Bruce Weber was coach-ing his fi nal games at Illinois, soon to be fi red following a nine-year stint in Cham-paign. The 2011-12 Illini lost 12 of their last 14 games, completely cracking under the weight of trying to salvage a slipping sea-son with their coach on the hot seat. One of the lowlights of the whole saga was NBA-bound sophomore Meyers Leonard sobbing on the bench in the midst of a blowout loss at Nebraska.

The heat has certainly turned up on Groce in the past calendar year, but he’s nowhere near as close to losing his job as Weber was in his fi nal Illini campaign.

Even this year’s depleted roster has the talent to compete with almost any team remaining on its schedule, but Illinois is also more than capable of playing down to com-petition. It isn’t hard to envision another pro-

longed conference losing streak if things start to snowball.

I’ve been looking for cracks in this team’s resolve — sagging shoulders, press confer-ence comments, deviation from game plans, etc. — that could signify an impending melt-down. There had been occasional instanc-es of all three until the Indiana game, when everything caved in.

That should serve as the biggest red fl ag of all.

If Illinois turns it around and plays a bit above its talent level these last two months while showing little trace of the team we saw against the Hoosiers, then it will be easier to argue that the program is positioned for a bounce-back season under Groce in 2016-17.

Whatever your feelings toward Groce’s full body of work at Illinois, it’s okay to con-cede that it’s unfair to truly evaluate his live-lihood during a season where so much hap-pened beyond his control.

But when the things he can control — game plans, substitution patterns, the ability to connect with his players — go by the way-side, then there is little left to defend.

Groce recently brought in 3-star recruit Javon Pickett as the fi rst member of his 2017 class and hopes to assemble a group of regional and talented 2017 prospects who could truly get the program back on track. If the season crumbles, Groce’s sales pitch and job security will get a lot weaker.

The Big Ten tournament offers a Big Dance ticket to the champion, so there’s always an incentive for Illinois to keep fi ght-ing until the end. But the Illini appear to be approaching a cliff.

He just can’t afford to let them go over the edge.

Alex is a senior in AHS.roux2@dailyillini.com@aroux94

Looking to avoid Illini hoops disaster in diffi cult seasonALEX ROUX

Illini hoops columnist

AUSTIN YATTONI THE DAILY ILLINIIllinois’ head coach John Groce watches his team as Nebraska goes on a 17-2 run to go up by 10 points late in the fi rst half. The Illini lost 78-67 to the Huskers at State Farm Center on Saturday.

Thursday, January 21, 2016 The Daily Illini | www.DailyIllini.com8

Start planning your summer now at harpercollege.edu/summer

SUMMER SESSIONS START MAY 23 AND JUNE 6.