2013–14 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team

American college basketball season

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

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.

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	High school / college	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
Austin Colbert PF	Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 80
Malcolm Hill SG	Belleville, IL	Belleville East High School	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	Sep 12, 2011
Malcolm Hill SG	Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 86
Maverick Morgan C	Springboro, OH	Springboro High School	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	Jun 13, 2012
Maverick Morgan C	Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 78
Kendrick Nunn SG	Chicago, IL	Simeon Career Academy	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Sep 15, 2012
Kendrick Nunn SG	Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 86
Jaylon Tate SG	Chicago, IL	Simeon Career Academy	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Oct 4, 2012
Jaylon Tate SG	Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 73
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 20 Rivals: 18 247Sports: 14 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 2013 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 13, 2014. "2013 Illinois Basketball Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved November 13, 2014. "ESPN Recruiting Nation Basketball". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 13, 2014. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved November 13, 2014. "2013 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 13, 2014. "Illinois 2013 Basketball Commits". 247sports.com. Retrieved November 13, 2014.

Incoming transfer students

College recruiting information
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Aaron Cosby PG	Louisville, KY	Northfield-Mt. Hermon / Seton Hall	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Apr 13, 2013
Aaron Cosby PG	Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 90
Jon Ekey SF	Independence, MO	William Chrisman HS / Illinois State	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	Apr 16, 2013
Jon Ekey SF	Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 82
Darius Paul PF	Gurnee, IL	Warren Township HS / Western Michigan	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	May 4, 2013
Darius Paul PF	Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A
Ahmad Starks PG	Chicago, IL	Whitney Young HS / Oregon State	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)	160 lb (73 kg)	May 28, 2013
Ahmad Starks PG	Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 88
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:

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:

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	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

**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	NR	NR	NR	RV	RV	NR	NR	RV	RV	23	RV	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	N/A
Coaches	RV	RV	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	RV	RV	RV	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR

References

Powers, Scott (April 13, 2013). "Aaron Cosby to transfer to Illinois". ESPNChicago.com. Retrieved March 17, 2014.
Powers, Scott (April 16, 2013). "Jon Ekey transferring to Illinois". ESPNChicago.com. Retrieved March 17, 2014.
Powers, Scott (May 4, 2013). "Darius Paul headed to Illinois". ESPNChicago.com. Retrieved March 17, 2014.
Powers, Scott (May 28, 2013). "Ahmad Starks heads to Illini". ESPNChicago.com. Retrieved March 17, 2014.
"2013-14 Men's Basketball Schedule".
"AP Top 25". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved November 11, 2013.
"USA Today/ESPN". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved November 11, 2013.

v t e Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball
Venues	Kenney Gym (1906–1925) Huff Hall (1926–1963) State Farm Center (1963–present) Prairie Capital Convention Center (2015)
Rivalries	Indiana Iowa Missouri Northwestern
Culture & lore	Whiz Kids Flyin' Illini Orange Krush Fighting Illini Sports Network Oskee Wow-Wow Illinois Loyalty Chief Illiniwek 1960s slush fund scandal
People	Head coaches NBA draftees Statistical leaders
Seasons	1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
Helms and Premo-Porretta national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics

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