| Illinois Probable Starters (from last game) |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
Note |
| G |
11 |
Ayo Dosunmu |
6-5 |
185 |
So. |
15.8 |
4.1 |
3.4 |
21.0 ppg in 2 gms vs. MSU |
| G |
1 |
Trent Frazier |
6-2 |
175 |
Jr. |
9.8 |
2.0 |
1.9 |
45.9 3FG% last 6 gms |
| G |
20 |
Da'Monte Williams |
6-3 |
210 |
Jr. |
2.3 |
3.9 |
1.2 |
Started last 15 games |
| F |
15 |
Giorgi Bezhanishvili |
6-9 |
235 |
So. |
8.0 |
5.0 |
2.0 |
16 pts vs. MSU 2/5/19 |
| C |
21 |
Kofi Cockburn |
7-0 |
290 |
Fr. |
13.8 |
9.0 |
0.7 |
7x B1G Frosh of Week |
| Off the Bench |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
Note |
| G |
0 |
Alan Griffin |
6-5 |
195 |
So. |
8.3 |
4.5 |
0.5 |
17 p, 9 r at MSU 1/2/20 |
| F |
2 |
Kipper Nichols |
6-6 |
220 |
r-Sr. |
3.8 |
2.2 |
0.7 |
27 pts vs. MSU 1/22/18 |
| F |
4 |
Zach Griffith |
6-6 |
210 |
Jr. |
0.8 |
0.5 |
0.1 |
Academic All-B1G |
| G |
5 |
Tevian Jones |
6-7 |
205 |
So. |
0.3 |
0.5 |
0.1 |
18 pts vs. MD 1/26/19 |
| G |
10 |
Andres Feliz |
6-2 |
195 |
Sr. |
11.1 |
4.9 |
2.9 |
15.3 ppg last 4 games |
| F |
13 |
Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk |
6-8 |
235 |
Fr. |
1.2 |
1.1 |
0.7 |
6.4 min. per game |
| G |
32 |
Tyler Underwood |
6-2 |
180 |
Gr. |
0.8 |
0.3 |
0.3 |
2-5 from three |
| C |
34 |
Jermaine Hamlin |
6-10 |
235 |
Fr. |
1.2 |
1.0 |
0.1 |
6-8 FG |
| F |
35 |
Samson Oladimeji |
6-4 |
210 |
Sr. |
0.3 |
0.4 |
0.0 |
2-time Academic All-B1G |
| Sitting Out 2019-20 Season (NCAA Transfers) |
| G/F |
3 |
Jacob Grandison |
6-6 |
200 |
Jr. |
13.9* |
5.0* |
2.9* |
'18-19 stats from Holy Cross |
| G |
22 |
Austin Hutcherson |
6-6 |
175 |
Jr. |
20.0* |
5.6* |
3.2* |
'18-19 stats from Wesleyan |
Career Record: 151-73 (.674), 7th year
At Illinois: 42-46 (.477), 3rd year
Big Ten: 19-31 (.380)
Series Notes vs. Michigan State
Record: Michigan State leads 62-60
Streak: Michigan State W-1
Last Meeting: #14 MSU 76, ILL 56 (Jan. 2 at East Lansing)
Record at Champaign: Illinois leads 39-20
Streak at Champaign: Illinois W-1
Last Meeting at Champaign: ILL 79, #5 MSU 74 (Feb. 2, 2019)
Underwood vs. Michigan State: 1-3
Opening Tips
• No. 22 Illinois wraps up its two-game homestand on Tuesday night, hosting Michigan State at State Farm Center (8 p.m. CT, ESPN).
• Tuesday is an Orange Out, with everyone attending encouraged to wear orange. The first 1,000 fans arriving through State Farm Center's main west entrance will receive a free "Orange Out" t-shirt thanks to Gameday Spirit Fanstore. Orange "House of Paign" t-shirts also will be available for purchase inside the arena for just $15. And the first 10,000 fans entering the building will receive LED batons courtesy of Coca-Cola.
• Illinois will play in front of a sellout crowd for the third straight home game. Three of the last four games at State Farm Center are sold out, with Feb. 24 vs. Nebraska the only remaining date with tickets available.
• The Illini are looking for their fifth Quad 1 win of the season. Three of Illinois' four Quad 1 victories have come on the road: at Purdue (26), at Michigan (32) and at Wisconsin (33), with the home win vs. Purdue (26).
• The Illini have three Quad 2 wins – all at home – with two of those just missing Quad 1 status (top 30) in Rutgers (31) and Michigan (32).
• Illinois is aiming for its first 9-4 league record since 2010.
• Illinois is ranked for the fifth straight week in the Associated Press poll, checking in at No. 22. This is Illinois' longest streak since appearing in eight straight AP polls from Nov. 26, 2012-Jan. 14, 2013.
• Illinois trails only West Virginia for the largest turnaround so far this season among schools from the six major conferences (+9.0), and is tied for ninth across all of Div. I for most improved teams.
• Illinois has surpassed last year's win total by four games and last seasons's B1G win total by one game.
• Illinois leads the Big Ten in scoring defense during league play, allowing 62.3 ppg. The Illini rank fourth in field goal percentage defense (.394) and second in 3-point percentage defense (.298) in conference games.
• Illinois is in a current stretch of five-straight Quad 1 games that began Feb. 2 at Iowa.
• Six of Illinois' remaining eight regular season games are either Quad 1 (5) or Quad 2 (1).
• Illinois' defense has allowed an average of just 62.0 points on 38.9% shooting and 32.2% from 3-point range over the last 15 games, helping the Illini to a 10-5 record during that stretch.
• Illinois is averaging just 9.8 turnovers over the last 11 games, tallying single digits in seven of those contests while going 8-3.
• Illinois ranks third in the NCAA in rebound margin (+9.2), trailing Houston and UC Irvine.
• Illinois has outrebounded its opponent in 17 of 23 games, and 10 times by double digits.
• Illinois ranks seventh nationally in offensive rebound rate (36.4%) and is averaging 12.0 second-chance ppg.
• The Illini are 15-1 this season, and 35-3 in the Underwood era, when shooting better than the opponent.
• Illinois has made 34 more free throws than its opponents have attempted on the season, and are currently outscoring foes by an average of 5.5 points per game at the foul line.
• Illinois is No. 18 in the nation in defensive free throw rate at 23.1% (FTA/FGA), a complete contrast from last season when the Illini defense ranked 338th out of 353 teams in that same category (42.4%).
Player Items
• Sophomore Ayo Dosunmu leads the team and is sixth in the Big Ten in scoring at 15.8 ppg. He has reached double digits in 19 of 23 games, with five 20-point performances.
• Dosunmu has scored in double figures in 13 of the last 14 games, including a career-long active streak of eight straight contests.
• Dosunmu is averaging 17.0 points (136) and 4.5 assists (36) over the last eight games.
• Kofi Cockburn has nine double-doubles, setting the Illinois freshman season record and ranking fourth among all freshmen nationally behind Memphis' Precious Achiuwa (12), Duke's Vernon Carey (11) and Arizona's Zeke Nnaji (11).
• Cockburn ranks 59th in the NCAA in rebounding – and No. 4 among freshmen – averaging 9.0 rpg.
• Cockburn is 22nd nationally in offensive rebound percentage (14.8).
• Cockburn is averaging 3.4 offensive rebounds over the last seven games (24).
• Cockburn is 35th nationally in fouls drawn per 40 minutes (6.4) and 56th in free throw rate (59.0).
• Cockburn has scored in double figures in 17 of 23 games, with five 20-point outings.
• Cockburn is shooting 80% from the foul line over the last seven games, making 28-of-35. And he is 74.7% at the line over the last 18 games (71-95).
• Junior Trent Frazier is averaging 12.3 points (74) and shooting 45.9% from 3-point range (17-37) while averaging 2.8 made threes over the last six games, scoring in double figures five times.
• Frazier has made at least two 3-pointers in five of the last six games.
• Senior Andres Feliz is averaging 15.3 points (61) and 6.5 rebounds (26) over the last four games while shooting 51.1% from the field (23-45) and 92.9% from the foul line (13-14).
• Feliz has scored in double figures in five of the last six contests.
• Sophomore Alan Griffin is averaging 7.5 points (15) and 7.0 rebounds (14) over the last two games while shooting 41.7% from 3-point range (5-12) and making an average of 2.5 treys.
Marked Improvement
Illinois equaled its win total from all of last season (12) on Jan. 11, and needed just nine conference games to match its win total from last year's campaign (7). The Illini are one of the most improved teams in the country this season, tied for ninth nationally through Feb. 9 with a +9.0 improvement. That also ranks second among teams from the six major conferences, trailing only West Virginia:
1. Western Carolina, +12.5
2. Little Rock, +11.0
3. UNC Asheville, +10.5
T4. Stephen F. Austin, +10.0
T4. Tulane, +10.0
T4. Northern Iowa, +10.0
T7. New Hampshire, +9.5
T7. West Virginia, +9.5
T9. Illinois, +9.0
T9. Richmond, +9.0
T9. Stetson, +9.0
T9. Charlotte, +9.0
Last Time Out
Illinois dropped its first conference home game of the season, falling 75-66 to No. 9 Maryland in the first-ever Friday night Big Ten game held at State Farm Center.
The Illini fed off the energy of the sold out crowd right out of the gate, going on a 13-0 run to build a 17-7 lead just five minutes in. Illinois made five of its first seven 3-point shots and built its lead to as many as 14 points on two occasions, the latter at 31-17 with nine minutes left in the half.
But Maryland then surged to the break, outscoring the Illini 23-11 the rest of the way to head into intermission trailing by just two (42-40).
After the Illini opened the second half with a pair of free throws, the Terrapins went on a 13-0 run of their own to take a 53-44 lead. Illinois could not buy a basket, missing 17 of its first 18 attempts during the first nearly 11 minutes of the second half.
But the Orange and Blue kept guarding to stay within striking distance. An Ayo Dosunmu layup followed by consecutive Alan Griffin 3-pointers pulled the Illini within 56-55 with eight minutes to go.
A critical Illini turnover in the backcourt after a defensive rebound led to a Darryl Morsell open trey to put the Terps up four, and after a Kofi Cockburn free throw, Eric Ayala hit another three to give Maryland a six-point lead. The Illini could get no closer than five over the last five minutes as the Terrapins closed out the win to snap the UI's seven-game home win streak.
The Illini struggled around the basket and on free throws, two uncharacteristic areas. Illinois managed just 35.9 percent on 2-pointers (14-39) and 58.3% at the foul line (14-24). Illinois grabbed 14 offensive rebounds and held a 17-to-4 advantage in second-chance points. But Maryland negated that by pushing in transition off its defensive boards, leading to a 21-to-3 edge in fast-break points.
Ayo Dosunmu led the Illini with 16 points while Andres Feliz added 12.
» Complete Illinois-Michigan State Game Notes (PDF)
