The returning members are extremely thin and they are: Tracy Abrams, Nnanna Egwu, Joseph Bertrand, and Mike LaTulip.

First year eligible players include an incoming freshman group consisting of Austin Colbert, Malcolm Hill, Kendrick Nunn, Jaylon Tate, and Maverick Morgan, as well as a pair of former Missouri Valley cagers in Rayvonte Rice and Jon Ekey.

The final potentially eligible roster piece is Ahmad Starks. Currently, it is unknown if he will be able to suit up for the Illini, but most of the reports available are stating it’s possible that Starks is going to receive a hardship waiver from the NCAA, and he will be eligible without having to sit out a year that normal transfers would have to sit.

Fans of Darius Paul and Aaron Cosby are going to have to wait until the 2014-2015 season as they both have to sit out this upcoming season per the NCAA transfer rules. Once Paul becomes eligible, he will have three years remaining at Illinois to follow in his older brother’s footsteps. Cosby will have two years of eligibility remaining.

Dec 16, 2012; Champaign, IL, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini head coach John Groce during the first half against the Eastern Kentucky Colonels at Assembly Hall. Mandatory Credit: Bradley Leeb-USA TODAY Sports

How will Illinois maintain last season’s success?

For Illinois to be successful, their two bigs with college experience, Egwu and Ekey, are going to have to step up and produce.

Nnanna Egwu is going to need to continue to develop into a force in the paint on both ends of the floor, and it will be imperative that he gets the foul troubles that he often found himself in under control.

Egwu is a hard worker, and appears poised to breakout in a big way following last seasons surprisingly solid play. If Egwu doesn’t figure out the foul issues that plagued him a year ago, it’s quite possible Maverick Morgan can step in and spell him, but I doubt Groce will want Morgan logging major minutes in his first college season.

Jon Ekey will fill the role that Tyler Griffey played a season ago, and it’s quite possible he will do it better than Griffey did because Ekey has the ability to block shots, and is not hesitant to go inside and rebound. What Ekey isn’t, though, is a power four that has a lot of inside game. Ekey’s game is tailor made for Groce’s offensive system, as he tends to drift on the perimeter and he absolutely has the ability to drill 3 pointers when left open. I look for him to have a positive impact on this years team for sure.

Illinois is razor thin at the PG spot, with only Abrams returning, and this is what makes the Starks pickup so important. Starks views himself as a PG first, but he has shown the ability to knock down the 3, as he is the Oregon State’s career leader in made 3s.

In an article on ESPN, Starks is quoted as saying, “Obviously, Tracy and I would play a lot together,” Starks said. “That situation could be worked out great. Tracy can play both positions, and I can play both a little bit. I’m more of a point guard. We can both shoot the ball. We can definitely play off each other.”

Besides freshman Jaylon Tate, the only other option that has spent some time bringing the ball up the floor is Rayvonte Rice. He will be able to handle it in a pinch, but he is not the guy Groce is going to want bringing it up all that often. Rice is more of a scorer, and his presence will certainly be helpful. Don’t be surprised if Rice is starting at some point this year, and Bertrand is relegated back to the 6th man energy and offensive scoring punch role that he worked well in last season.

The big unknown for this team is going to be how well the freshmen adapt to the college game and how well they produce. Their development is going to go a long way towards whether or not Illinois remains successful in this transition year.

All in all, it’s certainly shaping up to be one of the more intriguing seasons for Illinois basketball in quite some time. Groce has shown the ability to get the most out of his players, and I would expect nothing less this season despite such a major transition with so many new faces.

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The Illini snapped a two-game losing streak against Northwestern. They might have lost the previous two games against the Wildcats, but won the last game in Evanston.

Injuries were the questions for Northwestern coming into Sunday’s game. The Wildcats knew that they would be without Jared Swopshire (knee). Swopshire was Northwestern’s leading rebounder with 6.7 rebounds per game. In the first game against Illinois, he had six rebounds along with 12 points.

The other player that was listed as probable for the Wildcats coming into Sunday was Reggie Hearn. Hearn is Northwestern’s leading scorer with 14.1 points per game this season. In the first game in Champaign, he torched the Illini with 20 points.

Feb 17, 2013; Evanston, IL, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini guard D.J. Richardson (1) goes to the basket against Northwestern Wildcats center Alex Olah (22) during the first half at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

However, Sunday was a completely different game for Hearn and the Wildcats. Hearn led the team with 11 points (only Northwestern player in double-figures). He went 3-of-11 from the field and 0-of-4 from beyond the arc.

The Illinois offense was led by D.J. Richardson and Tracy Abrams.

Richardson led all scorers on Sunday with 18 points in the game. He went 8-of-15 from the field and played 30 minutes. He also grabbed eight rebounds which led the team.

Abrams added 13 points for Illinois off the bench. He played 27 minutes on Sunday and went 5-0f-8 from the field. Although, three of his five made shots came from “three-point land.”

The Fighting Illini also got a nice performance from Brandon Paul on Sunday. Paul only finished with eight points, but finished second on the team with six rebounds.

In the end, defense was the biggest key in Sunday’s win for the Illini. First off, Illinois held Northwestern to a shooting percentage of 25%.

There was a span during Sunday’s game where Illinois went on a combined 26-0 run. They finished the first half on a 10-0 run and then scored the first 16 points of the second half. Northwestern was scoreless in 9:29 total game time from 2:55 (first half) to 13:26 (second half).

The Fighting Illini are playing their absolute best basketball going into their last five regular season games. They are on a four game winning streak after being #1 Indiana, #18 Minnesota, Purdue, and Northwestern. Illinois is showing why they should be a tournament team this season come March.

The Fighting Illini are now 19-8 overall and 6-7 in the Big Ten.

Their next game will be against the Penn State Nittany Lions on February 21st. The Nittany Lions lost to the #4 Michigan Wolverines, 79-71, on Sunday. They are 8-17 overall and 0-13 in the Big Ten.

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The three ball was working in full force for the Fighting Illini in the game. They shot an astonishing 47.8% from beyond the arc. Eleven of their eighteen field goals had been from three-point land.

Tyler Griffey and D.J. Richardson led the charge from beyond the arc, but it was a different Illini that stole the show late in the game. With 0:21 left in the game after an Illinois full timeout, Tracy Abrams hit a dagger from three-point land to put Illinois up, 57-53.

Abrams would then grab a rebound off of a Minnesota miss to give the Fighting Illini the win.

Feb 10, 2013; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini guard Tracy Abrams (13) stops to pass in the first half against the Minnesota Gophers at Williams Arena. Mandatory Credit: Marilyn Indahl-USA TODAY Sports

Illinois finished the game with three players in double-figures. These players were Tyler Griffey, D.J. Richardson, and Brandon Paul.

Griffey led the team with 16 points off the bench. He went 4-of-9 from the field (all three-pointers) and grabbed four rebounds in 10 minutes.

Richardson and Paul added 13 and 10 points respectively. However, Paul had a rough shooting night by going 3-of-10 from the field.

Although he only scored five points, Tracy Abrams came through when in counted for the Illini. He made the three-pointer that gave Illinois the win and also led the team in rebounds (6) and assists (6).

One thing Minnesota did better than Illinois was rebound the basketball.

The Golden Gophers recorded 34 rebounds as a team and had two players pick up ten rebounds a piece. These players were Trevor Mbakwe and Elliot Eliason.

Mbakwe recorded his eighth double-double of the season (13 points and 10 rebounds). However, he turned the ball over four times which was the most of any player in the game for either team. It was Mbakwe who turned the ball over late in the game right before Abrams hit the dagger for the Fighting Illini.

This win could prove to be a big reason in getting Illinois into the NCAA Tournament this year. The Illini have now beaten the #1 and the #18 teams in the nation after going 1-6 in seven conference games.

Illinois proved that they can be successful against non-conference teams, but have struggled in Big Ten conference play (the toughest conference in the NCAA). However, Illinois is 4-4 against ranked opponents this season.

The ranked opponents they have beaten include: #10 Gonzaga, #8 Ohio State, #1 Indiana, and #18 Minnesota. On top of this, they still have to play Michigan and Ohio State again this season.

The Fighting Illini are now 17-8 overall and 4-7 in the Big Ten.

Their next game will be against the Purdue Boilermakers on February 13th. The Boilermakers beat the Illini, 68-61, in their first meeting this year. They are 12-12 overall and 5-6 in the Big Ten.

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