Dec. 23--For Illinois coach John Groce and his staff, this season has been the most mentally taxing.
And he thought last season was tough when the Illini dealt with the season-ending injury to Tracy Abrams as well as mid-season interruptions when leading scorer Rayvonte Rice and Aaron Cosby were out with injuries.
Now, that seems like nothing.
"You have to adapt all the time," Groce said of dealing with a roster that has had seven players injured since the preseason. "Last year, that would have been most challenging. This has been a little bit more, more random, more frequency with it. (Figuring out) who's ready and who can play, that makes it challenging. But it's just reality. You have to figure it out and improvise. I'm proud of the mindset (players have) had. They've embraced that. I see us as a team that's getting better."
That would be good timing for the Illini.
Illinois (7-5) plays its last non-conference game of the season against Missouri on Wednesday in St. Louis in the annual Braggin' Rights series game. They will be without forwards Leron Black (out indefinitely with a knee injury) and Mike Thorne, Jr., (likely out for the season with a knee injury) and, of course, they don't have Abrams, who is missing a second-straight season with an Achilles' injury.
But are the Illini somehow in a groove?
They have won four straight games, beating Western Carolina, Yale, Illinois-Chicago and South Dakota. And while they have had 10 starting lineups in 12 games, Groce said they team finally is settling into some rotations, which was impossible previously while the Illini almost constantly were losing a player or adding a player back to the fold.
Junior guard Malcolm Hill, who earned Big Ten player of the week honors after scoring 34 points to beat South Dakota, appears to be hitting stride.
"We have had more continuity," Groce said. "(What has) allowed us to grow is that we've had stability."
The Illini bring a two-game winning streak against the Tigers into the Scottrade Center, where they have won both games on their final possessions.
Only four available Illini players (Hill, Kendrick Nunn, Maverick Morgan and Jaylon Tate) ever have played in the series. Missouri (5-5), which enters the game with consecutive losses, starts two freshmen and a sophomore. So youth abounds.
Groce doesn't expect that the change the tenor of the rivalry game.
"You throw everything out the window," Groce said. "It's a heavyweight boxing match. We expect the game to be very physical, very hard fought. That's what makes it fun."
The Illini need it to set a tone for the Big Ten season.
Sryan@tribpub.com
