2013–14 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team

The 2013–14 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team represented the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign in the 2013–14 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Led by second year head coach John Groce, the Illini played their home games at State Farm Center and were members of the Big Ten Conference. They finished the season 20–15, 7–11 in Big Ten play to finish in a tie for eighth place. They advanced to the quarterfinals of the Big Ten tournament where they lost to Michigan. They were invited to the National Invitation Tournament where they defeated Boston University in the first round before losing in the second round to Clemson.

2013–14 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball
NIT Second round
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Record	20–15 (7–11 Big Ten)
Head coach	John Groce (2nd season)
Assistant coaches	Dustin Ford (2nd season) Paris Parham (2nd season) Jamall Walker (2nd season)
MVP	Rayvonte Rice
Captains	Tracy Abrams Joseph Bertrand Nnanna Egwu Jon Ekey
Home arena	State Farm Center
Seasons ← 2012–13 2014–15 →

2013–14 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 7 Michigan	15	–	3		.833			28	–	9		.757
No. 12 Wisconsin	12	–	6		.667			30	–	8		.789
No. 11 Michigan State†	12	–	6		.667			29	–	9		.763
Nebraska	11	–	7		.611			19	–	13		.594
No. 22 Ohio State	10	–	8		.556			25	–	10		.714
Iowa	9	–	9		.500			20	–	13		.606
Minnesota	8	–	10		.444			25	–	13		.658
Illinois	7	–	11		.389			20	–	15		.571
Indiana	7	–	11		.389			17	–	15		.531
Penn State	6	–	12		.333			16	–	18		.471
Northwestern	6	–	12		.333			14	–	19		.424
Purdue	5	–	13		.278			15	–	17		.469
† 2014 Big Ten tournament winner Rankings from AP poll

Offseason

Departures

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Notes
Sam McLaurin	0	F	6'8"	230	GS Senior	Havana, FL	Graduated/pro for Korihait (Finland)
D. J. Richardson	1	G	6'3"	195	Senior	Peoria, IL	Graduated/pro for Güssing Knights (Austria)
Brandon Paul	3	G	6'4"	200	Senior	Gurnee, IL	Graduated/pro for BC Nizhny Novgorod (Russia)
Mike Shaw	15	F	6'8"	230	Sophomore	Chicago, IL	Transfer to Bradley
Myke Henry	20	G/F	6'6"	230	Sophomore	Chicago, IL	Transfer to DePaul
Devin Langford	21	G/F	6'7"	200	RS Freshman	Huntsville, AL	Transfer to Kentucky Wesleyan
Ibby Djimde	23	F/C	6'8"	250	Sophomore	Bamako, Mali	Transfer to Southern Illinois
Kevin Berardini	32	G	6'0"	175	RS Junior	Lake Forest, IL	Graduated/transfer to Pace University
Tyler Griffey	42	F	6'8"	235	Senior	Wildwood, MO	Graduated/pro for Swans Gmunden (Austria)

2013 additions

Incoming freshmen

College recruiting information

Name	Hometown	School	Height	Weight	Commit date
Austin Colbert PF	Gladstone, NJ	Gill St. Bernard's School	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Nov 12, 2012
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:    (80)
Malcolm Hill SG	Belleville, IL	Belleville East High School	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	Sep 12, 2011
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:    (86)
Maverick Morgan C	Springboro, OH	Springboro High School	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	Jun 13, 2012
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:    (78)
Kendrick Nunn SG	Chicago, IL	Simeon Career Academy	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Sep 15, 2012
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:    (86)
Jaylon Tate SG	Chicago, IL	Simeon Career Academy	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Oct 4, 2012
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:    (73)
Overall recruit ranking:   Scout: 20    Rivals: 18    247Sports: 14    On3: 24    ESPN: 15
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, On3, 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 2013 Basketball Commitments". Rivals. Retrieved November 13, 2014. "2013 Illinois Basketball Commits". Scout. Retrieved November 13, 2014. "ESPN Recruiting Nation Basketball". ESPN. Retrieved November 13, 2014. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout. Retrieved November 13, 2014. "2013 Team Ranking". Rivals. Retrieved November 13, 2014. "Illinois 2013 Basketball Commits". 247Sports. Retrieved November 13, 2014. "2013–14 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team". On3. Retrieved November 13, 2014.

Incoming transfer students

College recruiting information

Name	Hometown	School	Height	Weight	Commit date
Aaron Cosby[1] PG	Louisville, KY	Northfield-Mt. Hermon / Seton Hall	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Apr 13, 2013
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    (90)
Jon Ekey[2] SF	Independence, MO	William Chrisman HS / Illinois State	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	Apr 16, 2013
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    (82)
Darius Paul[3] PF	Gurnee, IL	Warren Township HS / Western Michigan	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	May 4, 2013
	Recruit ratings: No ratings found
Ahmad Starks[4] PG	Chicago, IL	Whitney Young HS / Oregon State	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)	160 lb (73 kg)	May 28, 2013
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    (88)
Overall recruit ranking:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, On3, 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:

• Jon Ekey was immediately eligible to play during the 13–14 season due to the graduate student transfer exception rules of the NCAA.

Roster

2013–14 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown G 1 Jaylon Tate 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 160 lb (73 kg) Fr Simeon High School Chicago, IL G 2 Joseph Bertrand (C) 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 200 lb (91 kg) RS Sr Sterling High School Sterling, IL G 3 Ahmad Starks  5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Sr Whitney Young High School Chicago, IL G 10 Mike LaTulip (W) 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 165 lb (75 kg) So Prospect High School Arlington Heights, IL G 11 Aaron Cosby  6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Jr Northfield Mount Hermon School/Seton Hall Louisville, KY G 13 Tracy Abrams (C) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Jr Mount Carmel High School Chicago, IL G 21 Malcolm Hill 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Fr Belleville High School-East Belleville, IL C 22 Maverick Morgan 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 250 lb (113 kg) Fr Springboro High School Springboro, OH G 24 Rayvonte Rice 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 235 lb (107 kg) RS Jr Centennial High School/Drake Champaign, IL G 25 Kendrick Nunn 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Fr Simeon High School Chicago, IL F 31 Austin Colbert 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Fr Gill St. Bernard's High School Chesapeake, VA F/C 32 Nnanna Egwu (C) 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 250 lb (113 kg) Jr St. Ignatius High School Chicago, IL F 33 Jon Ekey (C) 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 225 lb (102 kg) GS Chrisman High School/Illinois State Independence, MO F 35 Darius Paul (I)  6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) So Warren Township High School/Western Michigan Gurnee, IL	Head coach John Groce (Taylor) Assistant coach(es) Dustin Ford (Ohio) Paris Parham (Minnesota State) Jamall Walker (Saint Louis) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster

Schedule and results

Source:^[5]

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
Oct 24* 7:00 pm		McKendree	W 101–66	–	16 – Abrams	8 – Bertrand	3 – Abrams, Tate	State Farm Center (13,006) Champaign, IL
Nov 3* 5:00 pm		Northwood	W 83–67	–	14 – LaTulip	9 – Ekey	4 – Rice	State Farm Center (12,988) Champaign, IL
Non-conference season
Nov 8* 7:00 pm, ESPN3		Alabama State	W 80–63	1–0	22 – Rice	10 – Egwu	3 – Abrams	State Farm Center (15,271) Champaign, IL
Nov 10* 5:00 pm, ESPN3		Jacksonville State	W 86–62	2–0	20 – Bertrand	10 – Bertrand	8 – Tate	State Farm Center (13,506) Champaign, IL
Nov 13* 6:30 pm, BTN		Valparaiso	W 64–52	3–0	18 – Rice	15 – Ekey	4 – Abrams	State Farm Center (13,504) Champaign, IL
Nov 17* 5:00 pm		Bradley	W 81–55	4–0	19 – Ekey	8 – Abrams	6 – Tate	State Farm Center (15,849) Champaign, IL
Nov 22* 8:00 pm, BTN		Chicago State	W 77–53	5–0	19 – Ekey	9 – Egwu	5 – Abrams	State Farm Center (15,488) Champaign, IL
Nov 26* 9:45 pm, CBSSN		at UNLV	W 61–59	6–0	25 – Rice	10 – Rice	5 – Tate	Thomas & Mack Center (13,747) Paradise, NV
Nov 29* 7:00 pm, ESPN3		IPFW	W 57–55	7–0	17 – Rice	6 – Rice	3 – Tate	State Farm Center (15,638) Champaign, IL
Dec 3* 7:00 pm, ESPN2		at Georgia Tech ACC–Big Ten Challenge	L 64–67	7–1	24 – Rice	9 – Ekey	5 – Tate	McCamish Pavilion (6,516) Atlanta, GA
Dec 8* 2:00 pm, FSN		vs. Auburn	W 81–62	8–1	22 – Rice	7 – Abrams	5 – Abrams	Philips Arena (2,259) Atlanta, GA
Dec 10* 7:00 pm		Dartmouth	W 72–65	9–1	13 – Rice	5 – Rice	4 – Abrams	State Farm Center (14,651) Champaign, IL
Dec 14* 8:00 pm, ESPN2		vs. No. 15 Oregon	L 64–71	9–2	16 – Abrams, Rice	8 – Ekey	5 – Abrams	Moda Center (10,043) Portland, OR
Dec 21* 4:30 pm, ESPN2		vs. No. 23 Missouri Braggin' Rights	W 65–64	10–2	22 – Abrams	6 – Abrams, Bertrand	2 – Bertrand	Scottrade Center (21,987) St. Louis, MO
Dec 28* 1:00 pm, BTN		vs. UIC	W 74–60	11–2	28 – Rice	7 – Egwu, Rice	4 – Abrams	United Center (13,017) Chicago, IL
Big Ten regular season
Dec 31 2:00 pm, ESPN2		Indiana Rivalry	W 83–80 OT	12–2 (1–0)	29 – Rice	8 – Rice	3 – Abrams	State Farm Center (16,618) Champaign, IL
Jan 4 1:15 pm, BTN		Penn State	W 75–55	13–2 (2–0)	15 – Rice	8 – Ekey, Rice	5 – Abrams	State Farm Center (15,390) Champaign, IL
Jan 8 8:00 pm, BTN	No. 23	at No. 4 Wisconsin	L 70–95	13–3 (2–1)	19 – Rice	10 – Egwu	2 – Tate	Kohl Center (17,003) Madison, WI
Jan 12 8:00 pm, BTN	No. 23	at Northwestern Rivalry	L 43–49	13–4 (2–2)	13 – Abrams	9 – Ekey	5 – Abrams	Welsh-Ryan Arena (8,117) Evanston, IL
Jan 15 8:00 pm, BTN		Purdue	L 58–66	13–5 (2–3)	13 – Abrams	7 – Rice	5 – Abrams	State Farm Center (15,007) Champaign, IL
Jan 18 7:00 pm, BTN		No. 4 Michigan State	L 62–78	13–6 (2–4)	15 – Abrams	5 – Rice	3 – Abrams	State Farm Center (16,618) Champaign, IL
Jan 23 6:00 pm, ESPN		at No. 17 Ohio State	L 55–62	13–7 (2–5)	19 – Bertrand	9 – Egwu	4 – Tate	Value City Arena (16,774) Columbus, OH
Jan 26 2:00 pm, BTN		at Indiana Rivalry	L 46–56	13–8 (2–6)	20 – Rice	5 – Bertrand, Egwu	5 – Tate	Assembly Hall (17,472) Bloomington, IN
Feb 1 6:30 pm, BTN		No. 15 Iowa Rivalry	L 74–81	13–9 (2–7)	20 – Bertrand	9 – Rice	4 – Nunn	State Farm Center (16,618) Champaign, IL
Feb 4 6:30 pm, BTN		Wisconsin	L 63–75	13–10 (2–8)	24 – Rice	9 – Rice	2 – Abrams, Rice	State Farm Center (16,618) Champaign, IL
Feb 9 3:15 pm, BTN		at Penn State	W 60–55	14–10 (3–8)	19 – Nunn	7 – Rice	5 – Abrams	Bryce Jordan Center (7,573) University Park, PA
Feb 12 8:00 pm, BTN		at Nebraska	L 58–67	14–11 (3–9)	23 – Rice	12 – Egwu	3 – Abrams	Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,404) Lincoln, NE
Feb 15 7:00 pm, BTN		No. 22 Ohio State	L 39–48	14–12 (3–10)	13 – Abrams	14 – Egwu	3 – Nunn	State Farm Center (16,618) Champaign, IL
Feb 19 8:00 pm, BTN		at Minnesota	W 62–49	15–12 (4–10)	19 – Nunn	11 – Egwu	6 – Abrams	Williams Arena (12,221) Minneapolis, MN
Feb 26 8:00 pm, BTN		Nebraska	W 60-49	16–12 (5–10)	13 – Nunn	9 – Rice	5 – Abrams	State Farm Center (13,206) Champaign, IL
Mar 1 1:00 pm, ESPN2		at No. 18 Michigan State	W 53-46	17–12 (6–10)	12 – Abrams	6 – Nunn	4 – Abrams, Nunn	Breslin Center (14,797) East Lansing, MI
Mar 4 6:00 pm, ESPN		No. 12 Michigan	L 53-84	17–13 (6–11)	16 – Rice	9 – Rice	3 – Rice	State Farm Center (16,618) Champaign, IL
Mar 8 7:30 pm, BTN		at No. 24 Iowa Rivalry	W 66-63	18–13 (7–11)	15 – Rice	6 – Egwu, Ekey	4 – Nunn	Carver-Hawkeye Arena (15,400) Iowa City, IA
Big Ten tournament
Mar 13 11:00 am, BTN	(9)	vs. (8) Indiana First round	W 64–54	19–13	25 – Abrams	7 – Abrams, Egwu	2 – Abrams, Bertrand, Nunn, Rice	Bankers Life Fieldhouse (18,596) Indianapolis, IN
Mar 14 11:00 am, ESPN	(9)	vs. (1) No. 8 Michigan Quarterfinals	L 63–64	19–14	11 – Abrams, Rice	9 – Egwu	5 – Abrams	Bankers Life Fieldhouse (18,596) Indianapolis, IN
NIT
March 19* 6:00 pm, ESPN2	(2)	at (7) Boston University First round	W 66–62	20–14	28 – Rice	8 – Hill, Rice	3 – Abrams	Agganis Arena (1,327) Boston, MA
March 23* 10:00 am, ESPN	(2)	at (3) Clemson Second round	L 49–50	20–15	15 – Rice	6 – Egwu	3 – Abrams	Littlejohn Coliseum (10,000) Clemson, SC
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time.

Rankings

See also: 2013–14 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings

Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Receiving votes

Poll	Pre	Wk 2	Wk 3	Wk 4	Wk 5	Wk 6	Wk 7	Wk 8	Wk 9	Wk 10	Wk 11	Wk 12	Wk 13	Wk 14	Wk 15	Wk 16	Wk 17	Wk 18	Wk 19	Wk 20	Final
AP[6]	NR	NR	NR	RV	RV	NR	NR	RV	RV	23	RV	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	N/A
Coaches[7]	RV	RV	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	RV	RV	RV	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR

See also

• 2013–14 Illinois Fighting Illini women's basketball team