In one of the most poignant scenes from another disappointing Illinois basketball season, teardrops rolled down the cheeks of senior guard Malcolm Hill during a Big Ten Network interview after Wednesday's home victory against Michigan State.

It was real, raw and reflected everything we love about March.

"It means a lot," said Hill, a four-year starter who developed into Mr. Dependable for the Illini. "The last four years have done a lot for me."

Yet the program stands still.

Only three Illinois players have scored more points in their careers than Hill, an example of persistence coach John Groce can point to proudly when critics ask for evidence of progress. But the list after Hill isn't long enough and the bad losses under Groce too easily mounted, the latest Saturday against Rutgers the Big Ten's worst team. Remove emotion from the equation created by Hill's feel-good moment, and the numbers fail to add up to a sixth season for Groce.

The Illini never have finished with a winning Big Ten record or higher than seventh in the conference under Groce, who is 37-53 in the league and 97-74 overall. His overall winning percentage (.562) is lower than the Big Ten winning percentage of predecessor Bruce Weber (.578).

Perhaps the Illini (18-13, 8-10) can change the narrative and save Groce's job by shocking the world with two or three victories in the Big Ten tournament this week in Washington. But it seems hard to fathom an Illinois team that couldn't beat 14th-place Rutgers with a potential NCAA berth at stake can go on that kind of a roll with Purdue looming Friday on the bracket. The Illini open Thursday against Michigan, against which Groce has gone 2-8 during his tenure. As far as bad matchups go, the Wolverines qualify.

If the Illini fail to make the NCAA field as expected neither Jerry Palm of CBS Sports nor Joe Lunardi of ESPN projected them in as of Monday it would mark the first time in nearly four decades the once-proud program has missed four straight tournaments. To reward such futility in today's college sports culture, on a campus where basketball is big enough to approve a $170 million renovation to the State Farm Center, would defy logic.

Groce's players adhered to what a source on the Illinois board of trustees called a preseason edict from the administration to avoid the type of ugly off-the-court incidents that plagued the program last year. But that was a low bar to clear, and on the court, Illinois fell short of finishing among the top five in the Big Ten, as a prominent faction of the board believed Groce needed to do.

Groce supporters cling to a highly rated recruiting class arriving in the fall, but signing a group of blue-chippers to guarantee a couple of more seasons of unfulfilled potential hardly represents a valid reason to keep a coach. This experienced Illinois team, with all but Tracy Abrams signed by Groce, never encountered injuries or disciplinary issues yet enters the Big Ten tournament as the No. 9 seed in a year defined by league parity.

This season marked an opportunity for the Illini but will go down as another one missed. A four-game winning streak at the end of the regular season showed resilience but also made you wonder why it required a crisis for the Illini to reveal the trait.

As Northwestern bathes in the national spotlight under coach Chris Collins and Minnesota enjoys a resurgence under coach Richard Pitino, Illinois confronts an unsettling reality. A fair evaluation says the Illini have fallen further behind in the race to Big Ten supremacy during Groce's five seasons. Bringing Groce back likely would mean extending a contract that expires after 2018-19 no coach can effectively recruit without the cloak of contract security. A contract extension is a reward.

Is Illinois in the business of rewarding mediocrity?

Athletic director Josh Whitman, who has declined all media requests until after the season, surely grapples with this dilemma because Groce remains one of the most genuine coaches in the business, regardless of his record. Anybody who has spent time around the relentlessly optimistic 45-year-old comes away affected positively, the kind of interaction that gave Groce the reputation as an effective recruiter.

Any critical assessment of Groce's job performance at Illinois, like this one, likely comes from professional duty outweighing personal feelings. Groce is as amiable as he is energetic. His personality and perspective make him a terrific dinner guest and interview subject, but those qualities haven't helped Illinois basketball ascend to the next level.

Good guys don't always make great fits for major-college jobs, and five years under Groce has been enough time to suggest Illinois needs to move on. The school can afford Groce's $1.6 million buyout more than it can afford to risk embracing the status quo.

As people go, they don't come any more likable than Groce. As coaches go, Illini basketball can do better.

dhaugh@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @DavidHaugh

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Five years of John Groce long enough to measure progress and it's hard to find - Chicago Tribune