| Illinois Probable Starters (from the last game) |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
Note |
| G |
11 |
Ayo Dosunmu |
6-5 |
200 |
Jr. |
25.7 |
7.7 |
6.7 |
Preseason All-American |
| G |
1 |
Trent Frazier |
6-2 |
175 |
Sr. |
9.3 |
3.7 |
2.7 |
1,147 career pts (#38 UI) |
| G |
44 |
Adam Miller |
6-3 |
180 |
Fr. |
18.0 |
2.3 |
1.0 |
B1G Co-Frosh of Week |
| G |
20 |
Da'Monte Williams |
6-3 |
215 |
Sr. |
7.3 |
8.0 |
3.3 |
11 pts, 10 reb vs. Ohio |
| C |
21 |
Kofi Cockburn |
7-0 |
285 |
So. |
15.0 |
11.7 |
0.3 |
3 double-doubles |
| Off the Bench |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
Note |
| F |
2 |
Connor Serven |
6-9 |
215 |
Fr. |
1.0 |
0.5 |
0.0 |
First year walkon |
| G/F |
3 |
Jacob Grandison |
6-6 |
205 |
r-Jr. |
4.0 |
5.0 |
1.3 |
10 pts, 8 reb in UI debut |
| F |
4 |
Zach Griffith |
6-6 |
220 |
Sr. |
0.8 |
0.5 |
0.0 |
2x Academic All-B1G |
| G |
5 |
Andre Curbelo |
6-1 |
175 |
Fr. |
9.7 |
3.7 |
2.3 |
18 pts vs Chicago St. |
| G |
10 |
Edgar Padilla Jr. |
6-1 |
165 |
Fr. |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
First year walkon |
| C |
12 |
Brandon Lieb |
7-0 |
210 |
Fr. |
2.0 |
2.5 |
0.5 |
4 pts, 3 reb in debut |
| F |
13 |
Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk |
6-8 |
235 |
r-Fr. |
– |
– |
– |
Played in 9 G last year |
| F |
15 |
Giorgi Bezhanishvili |
6-9 |
245 |
Jr. |
5.0 |
3.7 |
1.3 |
50% FG (7-14) |
| G |
22 |
Austin Hutcherson |
6-6 |
175 |
r-Jr. |
20.0* |
5.6* |
3.2* |
'18-19 stats from Wesleyan |
| G |
32 |
Tyler Underwood |
6-2 |
180 |
Gr. |
– |
– |
– |
Working on 2nd grad. degree |
| F |
33 |
Coleman Hawkins |
6-10 |
215 |
Fr. |
1.7 |
1.7 |
1.0 |
5 pts, 4 reb in debut |
| C |
34 |
Jermaine Hamlin |
6-10 |
235 |
So. |
0.5 |
1.0 |
0.0 |
2 pts, 1 reb vs Chicago St. |
Career Record: 159-76 (.677), 8th year
At Illinois: 50-49 (.505), 4th year
Series Notes vs. Baylor
Record: Illinois leads 3-0
Record at Neutral Sites: Illinois leads 2-0
Last Meeting: ILL 62, BAY 54 (11/28/2014 @Las Vegas)
Underwood vs. Baylor at Illinois / All-Time: First meeting / 0-4
Opening Tips
• After opening the season with three straight wins, No. 5 Illinois heads to Indianapolis for a showdown with No. 2 Baylor on Wednesday night in the Jimmy V Classic (9 p.m. CT, ESPN).
• Illinois' No. 5 ranking is the highest for the program since owning the No. 1 spot in the final poll of 2005.
• Wednesday marks Illinois' first top-5 match-up since the 2005 NCAA Championship game, when the top-ranked Illini fell to No. 2 North Carolina, 75-70 (4/4/2005). Illinois is 10-8 all-time in top-5 match-ups, with its last win a 72-57 victory over No. 4 Louisville in the 2005 Final Four (4/2/2005).
• Illinois is a combined 6-40 all-time against teams ranked No. 1 and No. 2. Its last win came on a Tyler Griffey layup at the buzzer to upset No. 1 Indiana, 74-72, on Feb. 7, 2013.
• Illinois has never beaten a top-2 team away from home. Its highest-ranked win outside of Champaign happened against No. 3 on three separate occasions, most recently on a Nick Anderson 35-footer at the buzzer to stun third-ranked Indiana, 70-67, on March 5, 1989.
• Illinois' last win over a top-5 team was last season's 71-62 victory over No. 5 Michigan (12/11/2019).
• Illinois is currently slated to play a total of six games against top-10 teams, including two within a week: vs. No. 2 Baylor on Wednesday and at No. 6 Duke next Tuesday.
• Ayo Dosunmu is off to a brilliant start to his junior campaign, averaging 25.7 points, 7.7 rebounds and 6.7 assists on 55.8% shooting and 42.9% from 3-point range. Dosunmu has scored 20+ in three straight games for the first time in his career.
• Illinois leads the country in both offensive and defensive rebounding, grabbing 52.2% of its missed shots while allowing opponents to claim just 7.3% of its misses.
• Illinois ranks third nationally in effective field goal percentage (63.7%). That is fueled by strong improvement from behind the arc to start the year, where the Illini currently rank 11th in 3-point shooting (46.9%).
• Illinois is off to a 3-0 start for the first time since the 2017-18 season (6-0).
Jimmy V Classic
The Jimmy V Classic, named for legendary college basketball coach Jim Valvano, annually raises money and awareness for the V Foundation for Cancer Research. The event began in 1995.
Illinois is participating in the Jimmy V Classic for the third time, with prior appearances at New York's Madison Square Garden on Dec. 9, 2003 vs. Providence (L, 70-51) and Dec. 9, 2014 vs. No. 7 Villanova (L, 73-59).
Ace Earns B1G Accolade
Adam Miller is the initial recipient of the Big Ten's Freshman of the Week award, earning the honor after averaging 18 points and setting a school record during the opening week of the season. He shared the honor with Purdue's Zach Edey. Over the first three games, Miller …
• Averaged 18.0 points, scoring in double figures in all three Illini wins.
• Shot 59.4% from the field (19-32), 47.1% (8-17) from 3-point range and 80% (8-10) from the foul line.
• Set the Illini freshman-debut scoring record with 28 points vs. North Carolina A&T (Nov. 25), breaking the previous mark of 22 set by Brandon Paul (Nov. 13, 2009).
• Made 10-of-12 shots against North Carolina A&T, including 6-of-8 from behind the arc. His 83.3 field goal percentage marked the fifth-best shooting performance ever by an Illini freshman, while his 6 treys also ranked fifth on the all-time UI freshman list.
• Tallied 15 points vs. Chicago State (Nov. 26) and had 11 points vs. Ohio (Nov. 27).
Honors Continue to Roll in for Illini Duo
The preseason accolades are plentiful for junior point guard Ayo Dosunmu and sophomore center Kofi Cockburn. The latest came on Tuesday, when both Illini stars were named to the Wooden Award Preseason Top 50 Watch List.
Dosunmu averaged 16.6 points (fifth in B1G), 4.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists last season, earning first-team All-Big Ten recognition from the media. Cockburn, meanwhile, was named 2020 Big Ten Freshman of the Year after averaging 13.3 points, 8.8 rebounds and 1.4 blocks.
After exploring professional opportunities, they both withdrew from the NBA Draft to return to Champaign, and have received the following accolades leading into the season:
Dosunmu Preseason Recognition
Cockburn Preseason Recognition
Illini Debut in Top 10; Now in Top 5
Illinois opened the 2020-21 season at No. 8 in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll.
It marked Illinois' highest preseason ranking since starting off at No. 5 prior to 2004-05. It marked the first time Illinois entered a season ranked, meanwhile, since 2010-11 (No. 13).
Illinois climbed three spots to No. 5 this week, marking the program's highest ranking in any AP poll in more than 15 years, since ending the 2005 season at No. 1.
A league-record seven Big Ten teams appeared in the initial Top 25, with six still ranked this week, including four in the top 10.
» Complete Illinois Game Notes (PDF)
