| Illinois Probable Starters (from last game) |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
Note |
| G |
11 |
Ayo Dosunmu |
6-5 |
185 |
So. |
16.2 |
4.3 |
3.2 |
6th in B1G in scoring |
| G |
1 |
Trent Frazier |
6-2 |
175 |
Jr. |
9.4 |
2.2 |
2.0 |
186 career threes made |
| G |
10 |
Andres Feliz |
6-2 |
195 |
Sr. |
11.0 |
4.9 |
2.8 |
16 games in double figs. |
| G |
20 |
Da'Monte Williams |
6-3 |
210 |
Jr. |
2.3 |
3.7 |
1.3 |
Started last 18 games |
| C |
21 |
Kofi Cockburn |
7-0 |
290 |
Fr. |
13.6 |
8.9 |
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. |
8.6 |
4.7 |
0.4 |
.411 3FG% (37-90) |
| F |
2 |
Kipper Nichols |
6-6 |
220 |
r-Sr. |
3.6 |
2.0 |
0.6 |
18 pts vs. NEB 2/2/1\9 |
| 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. |
1.0 |
0.8 |
0.1 |
6 pts at RUT 2/15/20 |
| F |
13 |
Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk |
6-8 |
235 |
Fr. |
1.2 |
1.1 |
0.7 |
6.4 min. per game |
| F |
15 |
Giorgi Bezhanishvili |
6-9 |
235 |
So. |
7.5 |
4.9 |
1.8 |
1.7 off rebs. per game |
| G |
32 |
Tyler Underwood |
6-2 |
180 |
Gr. |
0.7 |
0.2 |
0.2 |
2-6 from three |
| C |
34 |
Jermaine Hamlin |
6-10 |
235 |
Fr. |
1.0 |
0.9 |
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: 152-75 (.670), 7th year
At Illinois: 43-48 (.473), 3rd year
Big Ten: 20-33 (.377)
Series Notes vs. Nebraska
Record: Illinois leads 15-8
Streak: Illinois W-1
Record at Champaign: Illinois leads 11-2
Streak at Champaign: Illinois W-2
Last Year's Meetings: NEB 75, ILL 60 (12/2/18 @NEB) & ILL 71, NEB 64 (2/2/19 @ILL)
Underwood vs. Nebraska: 2-2
Opening Tips
• Illinois enters a stretch with three games in less than six full days on Monday night, hosting Nebraska at State Farm Center (7 p.m. CT, BTN).
• Illinois is coming off a victory at No. 9 Penn State, its first road win over a top-10 team in conference play since 2008. The Illini now have two top-10 wins on the year, and three in the last two seasons.
• Illinois (+8.5) is tied with West Virginia and Penn State for the largest turnaround so far this season among schools from the six major conferences.
• Illinois is one of 11 teams with at least four Quad 1 road wins, and the lone team in the country with four road wins over teams in the top 40 of the NET.
• Illinois has won four Big Ten road games, tied for most in the league with Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State and Penn State.
• Illinois leads the Big Ten in scoring defense during league play, allowing 63.1 ppg.
• The Illini rank fourth in field goal percentage defense (.404) and third in 3-point percentage defense (.307) in conference games.
• Illinois has surpassed last year's win total by five games and last seasons's B1G win total by two games.
• With one-fourth of the conference schedule left, Illinois has already secured its most Big Ten wins since 2015.
• Illinois is coming off five-straight Quad 1 games (Feb. 2-18), in addition to a stretch with 12 out of 13 Quad 1 (9) or Quad 2 (4) games dating back to the start of 2020.
• The Illini have five Quad 1 win on the season, four of which have come on the road: at Michigan (23), at Penn State (24), at Wisconsin (30) and at Purdue (37). Illinois defeated Michigan (23) at home as well.
• The Illini also have three Quad 2 wins – all at home – over Rutgers (33), Purdue (37) and Minnesota (51).
• Three of Illinois' remaining five regular season games are either Quad 1 (2) or Quad 2 (1).
• Illinois was ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 for five straight weeks from Jan. 13-Feb. 10. It marked Illinois' longest streak since appearing in eight straight AP polls from Nov. 26, 2012-Jan. 14, 2013.
• Illinois is averaging just 10.4 turnovers over the last 14 games, tallying single digits seven times.
• Illinois leads the Big Ten and ranks fifth in the NCAA in rebound margin (+8.6).
• Illinois has outrebounded its opponent in 19 of 26 games, and 10 times by double digits.
• Illinois ranks eighth nationally in offensive rebound rate (36.1%) and is averaging 12.1 second-chance ppg.
• The Illini are 16-1 this season, and 36-3 in the Underwood era, when shooting better than the opponent.
• Illinois has made 37 more free throws than its opponents have attempted on the season, and are currently outscoring foes by an average of 5.4 points per game at the foul line.
• Illinois is No. 17 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%).
SFC Sellouts
Momentum on the court is carrying over to the Illini fan base. Illinois has played in front of sellout crowds in each of the last three home games against Minnesota, Maryland and Michigan State. Two additional games have sold out: March 1 vs. Indiana and March 8 vs. Iowa (Senior Night). The Illini-Hoosiers matchup will be Stripe State Farm Center, with odd-numbered sections and Illinois students asked to wear orange, and even-numbered sections requested to wear blue.
Tickets are still available for Monday's game vs. Nebraska, and can be purchased through FightingIllini.com or by phone at 1-866-ILLINI-1.
Player Items
• Ayo Dosunmu is on pace to become just the second player in school history to lead the team in scoring in back-to-back seasons as a freshman and sophomore. The first was Cory Bradford in 1999 and 2000.
• Dosunmu leads the team and is sixth in the Big Ten in scoring at 16.2 ppg. He has reached double digits in 21 of the 25 games he's played in, with six 20-point performances.
• Dosunmu has scored in double figures in 15 of his last 16 games, including a career-long active streak of 10 straight contests.
• Dosunmu is averaging 17.7 points (177), 4.6 rebounds (46) and 3.9 assists (39) over his last 10 games.
• Dosunmu is averaging 15.5 points during the second alone in his two most recent games vs. Michigan State (15) and at Penn State (16).
• Kofi Cockburn has 10 double-doubles, setting the Illinois freshman season record and ranking fifth among all freshmen nationally.
• Cockburn ranks 64th in the NCAA in rebounding – and No. 4 among freshmen – averaging 8.9 rpg.
• Cockburn is 20th nationally in offensive rebound percentage (14.8) and is averaging 3.7 offensive rebounds over the last 10 games (37).
• Cockburn is 39th nationally in fouls drawn per 40 minutes (6.3) and 69th in free throw rate (57.7).
• Cockburn has scored in double figures in 20 of 26 games, with five 20-point outings.
• Cockburn made 80.5% from the foul line over an eight-game stretch (33-41) before missing all four free throw attempts Feb. 15 at Rutgers. He bounced back by making 2-of-3 at Penn State.
• Over the last three games, Cockburn is averaging 11.7 points (35) and 8.3 rebounds (25) and shooting 50% (14-28). This follows a two-game stretch where he averaaged just 7.5 points and 5.0 rebounds on 27.3% shooting.
• Senior Andres Feliz is averaging 13.0 points (91) and 6.0 rebounds (42) over the last seven games, which included a career-long streak of six-straight games scoring in double figures from Jan. 25-Feb. 15.
• Sophomore Alan Griffin is averaging 10.3 points (41) and 6.5 rebounds (26) over the last four games while shooting 60% from 3-point range (9-15) and making an average of 2.3 treys.
Last Time Out
Illinois got back to the suffocating defense it showed in January at No. 9 Penn State on Tuesday, earning a hard fought 62-56 win and ending the Nittany Lions' 8-game win streak.
Illinois was locked in for 40 minutes, making star Lamar Stevens work for every scoring opportunity while also limiting PSU's looks from 3-point range. The effort paid off, as the hosts managed just 56 points on 36.2% percent shooting on its homecourt, and made just 4-of-19 from long distance.
The Illini, meanwhile, followed the brilliant play of Ayo Dosunmu, who returned from injury that had sidelined him the previous game at Rutgers. Dosunmu was reinserted into the starting lineup and had another outstanding performance, scoring a game-high 24 points on 9-of-15 shooting.
No play was bigger than his last, as the Illini clung to a two-point lead with 29 seconds remaining and 19 showing on the shot clock. After a timeout, Dosunmu worked the clock down, then crossed over to his left and streaked down the lane, putting up a floater that swished through the net with 16 seconds remaining.
That basket put the Illini up 60-56. And after a PSU miss from three, Trent Frazier closed out the win with two free throws in the closing seconds. Illinois notched its first Big Ten road win over a top-10 team since 2008, and its fourth road win in this year's league race.
In addition to Dosunmu's 24 points, Kofi Cockburn also tallied double digits with 14 points on 6-of-10 FG.
» Complete Illinois-Nebraska Game Notes (PDF)
