# 2015–16 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team

The 2015–16 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team represented the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign in the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Led by fourth year head coach John Groce, the Illini played their home games at State Farm Center and were members of the Big Ten Conference. In November 2015, the Prairie Capital Convention Center in Springfield, Illinois hosted Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball for five games while renovations to the State Farm Center were completed. They finished the season 15–19, 5–13 in Big Ten play to finish in 12th place. The Illini defeated Minnesota and Iowa to advance to the quarterfinals of the Big Ten tournament, where they lost to Purdue.

## Previous season

The Fighting Illini finished the 2014-15 Season with an overall record of 19–14, 9–9 in Big Ten play to finish in a tie for seventh place. They lost in the second round of the Big Ten tournament to Michigan. They were invited to the NIT where they lost in the first round to Alabama.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Ahmad Starks | 3 | G | 5'9" | 170 | RS Senior | Chicago, IL | Graduated & pro for Eco Örebro |
| Aaron Cosby | 11 | G | 6'3" | 205 | RS Junior | Louisville, KY | Graduated & transferred to Western Kentucky |
| Ryan Schmidt | 14 | G | 6'0" | 180 | Senior | Bloomington, IL | Graduated |
| Rayvonte Rice | 24 | G | 6'4" | 230 | RS Senior | Champaign, IL | Graduated & pro for Tezenis Verona |
| Austin Colbert | 31 | F | 6'9" | 200 | Sophomore | Chesapeake, VA | Transferred to Old Dominion |
| Nnanna Egwu | 32 | C | 6'11" | 250 | Senior | Chicago, IL | Graduated & pro for Erie BayHawks |

### Incoming transfer students

Darius Paul was immediately eligible to play during the 15-16 season due to the junior college student transfer exception rules of the NCAA. While overseas on Illinois' preseason European trip, Paul was arrested in Deauville, France on August 14, 2015 and charged with vandalism, public intoxication and resisting arrest. Head coach John Groce later dismissed Paul from the Illinois basketball team on August 21, 2015.
Khalid Lewis and Mike Thorne Jr. are immediately eligible to play during the 15-16 season due to the graduate student transfer exception rules of the NCAA. Kipper Nichols was granted release of his scholarship from Tulane on September 22, 2015. He will join Illinois before the spring 2016 semester, and will be ineligible to play as a redshirt transfer until the spring of 2017.
College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Khalid Lewis PG | Trenton, NJ | Trenton Catholic Academy / Delaware / La Salle | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Aug 8, 2015 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ||||||
| Kipper Nichols SF | Lakewood, OH | St. Edward / Tulane | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 215 lb (98 kg) | Nov 11, 2015 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Darius Paul PF | Gurnee, IL | Warren Township HS / Western Michigan / Lamar State College–Port Arthur | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 225 lb (102 kg) | Nov 12, 2014 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ||||||
| Mike Thorne Jr. C | Fayetteville, NC | Trinity Christian School / Charlotte | 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) | 270 lb (120 kg) | Apr 18, 2015 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ||||||
| 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: ||||||

### 2015 recruiting class

On March 5, 2015 Illinois signee Jalen Coleman-Lands was named one of 26 high school seniors who participated in the Jordan Brand Classic on April 17, 2015, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Coleman-Lands is the second Illini to be selected to play in the Jordan Classic, joining Dee Brown who played for the Red team in 2002.
College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Jalen Coleman-Lands PG/SG | Indianapolis, IN | La Lumiere (IN) | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 160 lb (73 kg) | Sep 23, 2014 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 87 ||||||
| Aaron Jordan SG | Plainfield, IL | Plainfield East (IL) | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 170 lb (77 kg) | Jan 4, 2014 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 85 ||||||
| D. J. Williams SF | Chicago, IL | Simeon (IL) | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 205 lb (93 kg) | Nov 5, 2013 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 88 ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 11 Rivals: 12 247Sports: 10 ESPN: 15 ||||||
| 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 2015 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved March 19, 2015. "2015 Illinois Basketball Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved March 19, 2015. "ESPN Recruiting Nation Basketball". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 19, 2015. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved March 19, 2015. "2015 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved March 19, 2015. "Illinois 2015 Basketball Commits". 247sports.com. Retrieved March 19, 2015. ||||||

## Roster
### Depth chart

| Pos. | Starting 5 | Bench 1 | Bench 2 |
| F/C | Michael Finke | Maverick Morgan | |
| G/F | Malcolm Hill | D.J. Williams | Cameron Liss |
| SG | Kendrick Nunn | Alex Austin | |
| SG | Aaron Jordan | Jalen Coleman-Lands | |
| PG | Jaylon Tate | Khalid Lewis | |
Updated 2015-12-10

## Regular season
### Injuries

Coach Groce announced on July 3 that incoming freshman Jalen Coleman-Lands had suffered a stress fracture and would be held out from basketball activities indefinitely. The injury forced Coleman-Lands to miss the team's European exhibition trip at the beginning of August. However, Coleman-Lands was cleared for basketball activities at the end of September and played in the team's exhibition game against the University of Illinois at Springfield on November 8.
On July 28, Coach Groce announced that redshirt graduate student point guard Tracy Abrams had suffered an Achilles tendon rupture during summer workouts which would cause him to miss the entire 2015-16 season. The injury forced Abrams to use his second medical redshirt so he can return for the 2016-17 season for a sixth year of eligibility.
On October 8, it was announced that sophomore Leron Black would miss 4–6 weeks after having surgery to repair a meniscus tear in his knee. Black returned to the lineup during the win against North Dakota State on November 15, 2015. However, in the game against North Dakota State, Black suffered a contusion on his repaired knee. After sitting out games against Yale and University of Illinois at Chicago, Coach Groce announced on December 17, 2015 that Black would be out indefinitely due to persistent swelling and soreness in his knee.
On October 20, Coach Groce announced that junior Kendrick Nunn would miss about 8 weeks after having surgery to repair a torn ligament in his left thumb.
During the first half of the season opener loss to North Florida, junior point guard Jaylon Tate suffered a dislocated finger that required surgery later that evening.
Both Nunn and Tate returned from injuries during a win against UAB in Niceville, Florida.
During the first half of a loss to Iowa State, graduate transfer Mike Thorne, Jr. suffered a meniscus tear in his left knee. He will be out indefinitely.

## Schedule and results

Source:
| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| European trip |||||||||
| Aug 11, 2015* 1:00 pm | | Waregem | W 68–63 | – | 16 – Black | 14 – Black | 2 – Tied | Sportcentrum de Treffer (417) Waregem, Belgium |
| Aug 12, 2015* | | Netherlands national team | L 54–81 | – | 10 – Tied | 8 – Black | 5 – Tate | Topsportcentrum Rotterdam (1,500) Rotterdam, Netherlands |
| Aug 15, 2015* 1:00 pm | | Bretigny Select | W 95–73 | – | 15 – Black | 10 – Black | 6 – Tate | Ecole Élémentaire Joliot Curie Gymnase (544) Brétigny-sur-Orge, France |
| Aug 17, 2015* 7:45:00 pm | | AMW Select | W 96–77 | – | 21 – Black | 15 – Black | 6 – Tate | Halle Georges Carpentier (310) Paris, France |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| Nov 8, 2015* 2:00 pm | | Illinois-Springfield | W 104–69 | – | 20 – Coleman-Lands | 9 – Thorne | 4 – Tied | Prairie Capital Convention Center (5,833) Springfield, IL |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| Nov 13, 2015* 7:00 pm, BTN+ | | North Florida | L 81–93 | 0–1 | 25 – Thorne | 14 – Thorne | 5 – Hill | Prairie Capital Convention Center (5,186) Springfield, IL |
| Nov 15, 2015* 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | North Dakota State | W 80–74 | 1–1 | 21 – Thorne | 8 – Thorne | 5 – Hill | Prairie Capital Convention Center (5,332) Springfield, IL |
| Nov 18, 2015* 6:00 pm, FS1 | | at Providence Gavitt Tipoff Games | L 59–60 | 1–2 | 17 – Coleman-Lands | 11 – Hill | 4 – Austin | Dunkin' Donuts Center (8,069) Providence, RI |
| Nov 21, 2015* 7:30 pm, BTN | | Chattanooga Emerald Coast Classic | L 77–81 | 1–3 | 25 – Hill | 11 – Thorne | 4 – Lewis | Prairie Capital Convention Center Springfield, IL |
| Nov 23, 2015* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Chicago State Emerald Coast Classic | W 82–79 | 2–3 | 17 – Finke | 9 – Thorne | 7 – Hill | Prairie Capital Convention Center (5,023) Springfield, IL |
| Nov 27, 2015* 8:30 pm, CBSSN | | vs. UAB Emerald Coast Classic semifinals | W 72–58 | 3–3 | 18 – Nunn | 8 – Thorne, Jr. | 6 – Hill | Northwest Florida State College (2,222) Niceville, FL |
| Nov 28, 2015* 6:15:00 pm, CBSSN | | vs. No. 4 Iowa State Emerald Coast Classic championship game | L 73–84 | 3–4 | 20 – Hill | 8 – Black | 5 – Lewis | Northwest Florida State College (2,222) Niceville, FL |
| Dec 2, 2015* 8:15:00 pm, ESPN2 | | Notre Dame ACC–Big Ten Challenge | L 79–84 | 3–5 | 19 – Hill | 7 – Tied | 6 – Tate | State Farm Center (14,953) Champaign, IL |
| Dec 5, 2015* 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Western Carolina | W 80–68 | 4–5 | 27 – Nunn | 6 – Finke | 3 – Tate | State Farm Center (11,455) Champaign, IL |
| Dec 9, 2015* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Yale | W 69–65 | 5–5 | 28 – Nunn | 5 – Hill | 7 – Hill | State Farm Center (11,648) Champaign, IL |
| Dec 12, 2015* 1:00 pm, ESPN3 | | vs. UIC | W 83–79 | 6–5 | 22 – Hill | 5 – Tied | 8 – Lewis | United Center (5,151) Chicago, IL |
| Dec 19, 2015* 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | South Dakota | W 91–79 | 7–5 | 34 – Hill | 11 – Hill | 6 – Lewis | State Farm Center (11,714) Champaign, IL |
| Dec 23, 2015* 6:00 pm, ESPN2 | | vs. Missouri Braggin' Rights | W 68–63 | 8–5 | 21 – Hill | 11 – Nunn | 4 – Lewis | Scottrade Center (14,456) St. Louis, MO |
| Big Ten regular season |||||||||
| Dec 30, 2015 2:00 pm, ESPN2 | | Michigan | L 68–78 | 8–6 (0–1) | 23 – Nunn | 8 – Finke | 4 – Tate | State Farm Center (13,974) Champaign, IL |
| Jan 3, 2016 4:00 pm, BTN | | at Ohio State | L 73–75 | 8–7 (0–2) | 14 – Tied | 7 – Tied | 5 – Tate | Value City Arena (12,798) Columbus, OH |
| Jan 7, 2016 8:00 pm, ESPN | | at No. 5 Michigan State | L 54–79 | 8–8 (0–3) | 15 – Morgan | 7 – Finke | 2 – Tied | Breslin Student Events Center (14,797) East Lansing, MI |
| Jan 10, 2016 5:00 pm, BTN | | No. 20 Purdue | W 84–70 | 9–8 (1–3) | 30 – Hill | 8 – Hill | 3 – Tied | State Farm Center (12,246) Champaign, IL |
| Jan 16, 2016 1:30 pm, BTN | | Nebraska | L 67–78 | 9–9 (1–4) | 17 – Hill | 5 – Nunn | 7 – Hill | State Farm Center (12,510) Champaign, IL |
| Jan 19, 2016 6:00 pm, ESPN | | at Indiana Rivalry | L 69–103 | 9–10 (1–5) | 20 – Hill | 9 – Thorne, Jr. | 5 – Tate | Assembly Hall (17,472) Bloomington, IN |
| Jan 23, 2016 7:30 pm, BTN | | at Minnesota | W 76–71 $^{OT}$ | 10–10 (2–5) | 28 – Hill | 16 – Finke | 6 – Tate | Williams Arena (11,026) Minneapolis, MN |
| Jan 28, 2016 8:00 pm, BTN | | Ohio State | L 63–68 $^{OT}$ | 10–11 (2–6) | 24 – Nunn | 8 – Hill | 3 – Tate | State Farm Center (13,263) Champaign, IL |
| Jan 31, 2016 6:30 pm, BTN | | Wisconsin | L 55–63 | 10–12 (2–7) | 22 – Hill | 4 – Morgan | 2 – Tied | State Farm Center (13,609) Champaign, IL |
| Feb 3, 2016 5:30 pm, BTN | | at Rutgers | W 110–101 $^{3OT}$ | 11–12 (3–7) | 34 – Hill | 14 – Hill | 8 – Lewis | The RAC (4,500) Piscataway, NJ |
| Feb 7, 2016 12:00 pm, BTN | | No. 5 Iowa Rivalry | L 65–77 | 11–13 (3–8) | 17 – Coleman-Lands | 8 – Hill | 4 – Hill | State Farm Center (13,849) Champaign, IL |
| Feb 13, 2016 7:00 pm, BTN | | at Northwestern Rivalry | L 56–58 | 11–14 (3–9) | 13 – Nunn | 13 – Hill | 8 – Hill | Welsh-Ryan Arena (8,117) Evanston, IL |
| Feb 16, 2016 8:00 pm, BTN | | Rutgers | W 82–66 | 12–14 (4–9) | 22 – Hill | 10 – Hill | 8 – Lewis | State Farm Center (11,323) Champaign, IL |
| Feb 21, 2016 6:30 pm, BTN | | at Wisconsin | L 60–69 | 12–15 (4–10) | 20 – Hill | 7 – Hill | 4 – Lewis | Kohl Center (17,287) Madison, WI |
| Feb 25, 2016 8:00 pm, ESPN | | No. 18 Indiana Rivalry | L 47–74 | 12–16 (4–11) | 21 – Coleman-Lands | 4 – Nunn | 2 – Coleman-Lands | State Farm Center (12,857) Champaign, IL |
| Feb 28, 2016 7:00 pm, BTN | | Minnesota | W 84–71 | 13–16 (5–11) | 25 – Nunn | 7 – Hill | 5 – Hill | State Farm Center (12,008) Champaign, IL |
| Mar 3, 2016 6:00 pm, ESPN | | at No. 14 Maryland | L 55–81 | 13–17 (5–12) | 21 – Morgan | 10 – Morgan | 6 – Tate | Xfinity Center (17,950) College Park, MD |
| Mar 6, 2016 11 am, BTN | | at Penn State | L 79–86 $^{2OT}$ | 13–18 (5–13) | 39 – Hill | 13 – Hill | 2 – Williams | Bryce Jordan Center (9,104) University Park, PA |
| Big Ten tournament |||||||||
| Mar 9, 2016 3:30 pm, ESPN2 | (12) | vs. (13) Minnesota First round | W 85–52 | 14–18 | 17 – Finke | 6 – Hill | 4 – Tate | Bankers Life Fieldhouse (16,528) Indianapolis, IN |
| Mar 10, 2016 1:30 pm, BTN | (12) | vs. (5) No. 20 Iowa Second round | W 68–66 | 15–18 | 17 – Coleman-Lands | 7 – Morgan | 5 – Hill | Bankers Life Fieldhouse (15,707) Indianapolis, IN |
| Mar 11, 2016 1:30 pm, ESPN | (12) | vs. (4) No. 13 Purdue Quarterfinals | L 58–89 | 15–19 | 17 – Morgan | 7 – Hill | 2 – Tied | Bankers Life Fieldhouse (18,355) Indianapolis, IN |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. |||||||||