College basketball
Illinois fires
coach Groce
Athletic director Josh Whitman announced his decision Saturday afternoon, two days after the Illini were bounced from the Big Ten tournament with a 20-point loss to Michigan.
Illinois lost its last two games — including to last-place Rutgers — to finish 18-14. The disappointing season defined much of the Groce era.
“Under his leadership, regrettably, we were not able to sustain the level of competitive excellence that we expect at the University of Illinois,” Whitman said in a statement. Assistant Jamall Walker will serve as interim head coach.
The Illini ultimately underperformed and most likely are headed for their fourth straight season without an NCAA Tournament appearance — their longest drought since the late 1970s.
Groce, who went 95-75 overall and 37-53 in the Big Ten at Illinois, never finished better than seventh in the conference. His only NCAA Tournament experience came in his first season after he was hired from Ohio University.
The Illini played in two NIT tournaments under Groce and likely are headed there again.
Last season Illinois was plagued by injuries and also saw four players arrested and two — Darius Paul and Kendrick Nunn — kicked off the team.
But the Illini this season had experience, were injury-free, stayed trouble-free off the court and had a standout player in senior wing Malcolm Hill.
Yet, they still couldn't get over the hump.
Despite a four-game winning streak near the end of the regular season, Illinois didn't do enough to find consistent success.
Groce had recruited a top-15 class for next season. His replacement will need to work on securing those commitments headlined by Jeremiah Tilmon, listed as a five-star recruit by some services.
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