| 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. |
21.7 |
6.2 |
5.1 |
26 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 9 apg, 3 spg last 2 G |
| G |
1 |
Trent Frazier |
6-2 |
175 |
Sr. |
10.1 |
3.0 |
2.6 |
14.8 ppg last 5 games |
| G |
44 |
Adam Miller |
6-3 |
180 |
Fr. |
8.6 |
2.5 |
0.7 |
34.6% 3FG (36-104) |
| G/F |
3 |
Jacob Grandison |
6-6 |
205 |
r-Jr. |
3.4 |
2.8 |
1.0 |
Illini 5-0 with him in starting lineup |
| C |
21 |
Kofi Cockburn |
7-0 |
285 |
So. |
17.4 |
10.6 |
0.2 |
14 double-doubles (2nd in NCAA) |
| Off the Bench |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
Note |
| F |
2 |
Connor Serven |
6-9 |
215 |
Fr. |
0.7 |
0.3 |
0.0 |
First year walkon |
| F |
4 |
Zach Griffith |
6-6 |
220 |
Sr. |
0.7 |
0.7 |
0.0 |
2x Academic All-B1G |
| G |
5 |
Andre Curbelo |
6-1 |
175 |
Fr. |
7.8 |
3.1 |
4.4 |
2nd in assists in B1G play (5.1) |
| 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. |
1.3 |
1.7 |
0.3 |
4 pts, 3 reb in debut |
| F |
13 |
Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk |
6-8 |
235 |
r-Fr. |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
Made season debut Jan. 7 |
| F |
15 |
Giorgi Bezhanishvili |
6-9 |
245 |
Jr. |
5.5 |
2.5 |
0.6 |
58.4% FG (45-77) |
| G |
20 |
Da'Monte Williams |
6-3 |
215 |
Sr. |
5.2 |
5.5 |
1.7 |
59% 3FG (23-39) |
| G |
22 |
Austin Hutcherson |
6-6 |
175 |
r-Jr. |
– |
– |
– |
Out for season |
| G |
32 |
Tyler Underwood |
6-2 |
180 |
Gr. |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
Working on 2nd grad. degree |
| F |
33 |
Coleman Hawkins |
6-10 |
215 |
Fr. |
1.5 |
0.9 |
0.4 |
Career-high 5 pts at NEB (Feb. 12) |
| C |
34 |
Jermaine Hamlin |
6-10 |
235 |
So. |
1.2 |
0.6 |
0.0 |
4 pts vs. MINN (Dec. 15) |
Career Record: 170-81 (.677), 8th year
At Illinois: 61-54 (.530), 4th year
Series Notes vs. Northwestern
Record: Illinois leads 139-42
Streak: Illinois W-5
Record at Champaign: Illinois leads 70-14
Streak at Champaign: Illinois W-4
Last Meeting: #12 ILL 81, NU 56 (1/7/22 @NU)
Underwood vs. Northwestern: 5-2
Opening Tips
• Winners of five straight, No. 5 Illinois returns home to face Northwestern on Tuesday night (8 p.m. CT, BTN).
• Illinois is fourth in the current NET rankings, and No. 5 overall (No. 2 seed) in the NCAA Tournament Committee's initial ranking of the top 16 teams.
• Illinois owns a combined 10 victories in Quads 1 and 2, tied for third-most in the NCAA. Illinois' six Quad 1 wins, meanwhile, is also tied for third nationally.
• Illinois checks in at No. 5 in this week's AP rankings. It is the first time the Illini appear in the Top 5 of a February poll since 2005, and just the fourth time in the last 65 seasons (1989, 2001 and 2005).
• Illinois' 10-3 conference record is its best through 13 games since the 2005 Big Ten championship team started 13-0 en route to a 15-1 league record.
• Over the last two Big Ten seasons, Illinois has the best win percentage (.697) and is tied for the most wins (23).
• Leading the Illini is Ayo Dosunmu. Owning numbers of 21.7 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 5.1 assists per game, Dosunmu is solidifying his candidacy for First-Team All-America status and has moved into the National Player of the Year conversation. He is the only player in the NCAA over the last 11 seasons to average at least 20 points, six rebounds and five assists, all while leading Illinois Basketball back among the nation's elite.
• Dosunmu is on pace to become just the second Big Ten player since 1993 to average 20 points, six rebounds and five assists, joining Ohio State's Evan Turner, the National Player of the Year in 2009-10.
• Dosunmu ranks eighth in the NCAA in scoring at 21.7 ppg. That is the highest average by an Illini since Nick Weatherspoon in 1973 (25.0 ppg).
• Dosunmu is coming off a 31-point performance in Friday's win at Nebraska, setting his career scoring high in league play. It was his fourth 30-point game of the season, tied for third-most by an Illini in the last 50 years.
• Kofi Cockburn ranks second in the NCAA with 14 double-doubles this season. He has posted double-doubles in 11 of 13 Big Ten games, averaging 18.9 points and 11.4 rebounds during league play.
• At 17.4 ppg and 10.6 rpg overall, Cockburn is one of just three players from the high-major conferences currently averaging a double-double. He is on pace to become the first Illini player since Nick Weatherspoon in 1973 (25.0 ppg, 12.3 rpg) to average a double-double for an entire season.
• Cockburn is one of seven players nationally averaging at least 17 points and 10 rebounds, and he is the only player in the NCAA averaging 15+ points and 10+ boards while shooting at least 65%.
• Trent Frazier has seen his scoring increase recently, averaging 14.8 points (74) while making an average of 2.8 treys per contest (14) over the last five games.
• Freshman Andre Curbelo ranks second in the Big Ten in assists during league play at 5.1 apg. He is averaging 4.4 assists on the season, currently ranking fifth on the school's all-time freshman assists chart behind legendary Illini point guards Bruce Douglas, Derek Harper, Dee Brown and Deron Williams.
• Illinois has freshmen playing prominent roles for the fourth year in a row under Coach Underwood. Adam Miller has started every game this season and ranks third among all Big Ten freshmen in scoring, averaging 8.6 ppg.
• Da'Monte Williams leads the nation in 3-point shooting (min. 30 attempts), connecting on 23-of-39 for 59%.
• Since scoring a season-low 63 points in the loss to Maryland, Illinois is averaging 77.8 points over the last six games (467).
• Illinois has held nine of its last 10 opponents to less than 44% shooting. Since the loss to Ohio State, Illini foes are shooting a combined 39.3% over the last five games (123-313).
• Illinois is 12-1 this season when holding teams to less than 45% shooting.
Honoring Illini Pioneer Mannie Jackson
Illinois Athletics has partnered with the Advancement of Blacks in Sports (ABIS) in its campaign to celebrate historical figures who have been a voice for racial equity and change in athletics. Illinois is recognizing Mannie Jackson for the impact he has made during his time as a Fighting Illini student-athlete and throughout his professional career.
Jackson broke down barriers at Illinois, when he and former high school teammate Govoner Vaughn became the first African-Americans to earn varsity letters in basketball in 1958. Jackson then became the first minority to serve as team captain, during his senior year in 1960. Jackson earned All-Big Ten honors twice as an Illini before playing three years with the Harlem Globetrotters. After starting a long career at Honeywell, where he became one of the company's senior corporate officers, Jackson became the nation's first African-American owner of a global sports and entertainment brand when he purchased the Globetrotters in 1993.
Jackson won the 2015 Theodore Roosevelt Award by the NCAA, the association's top honor. He served as Chairman of the National Basketball Hall of Fame from 2007-09. He was inducted as a Laureate of The Lincoln Academy and awarded the Order of Lincoln (the State's highest honor) by the Governor of Illinois in 2010 in the area of Sports. Jackson is a 2017 inductee to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and member of the Illinois Athletics Hall of Fame Inaugural Class.
Notes from the Last Time Out
• Illinois won its fifth-straight game, trailing only Ohio State (6) among active Big Ten winning streaks.
• The victory at Nebraska marked Illinois' fourth straight Big Ten road win (Dec. 23-at Penn State, Jan. 7-at Northwestern, Feb. 2-at Indiana), its longest streak since setting a school record with 13 straight Big Ten road wins from Feb. 3, 2004 through Feb. 19, 2005.
• Illinois won its fifth-straight overtime game during the Underwood era.
• Illinois had eight blocked shots, tied for its most in a game this season and the most for the Illini on the road since Feb. 22, 2011 at No. 2 Ohio State (8).
• Ayo Dosunmu had 31 points, his most career points in a Big Ten game.
• Dosunmu combined for 22 points in the second half and overtime , included a personal run of 15 straight points for the Illini from 3:21 remaining in the second half through 4:00 left in OT.
• Dosunmu's 31 points were the second-most of his career (36 at Missouri, Dec. 12) and his fourth 30-point game of the season, the most by an Illini since Malcolm Hill also had four 30-point games in 2015-16.
• Kofi Cockburn had his 14th double-double of the season, finishing with 21 points and 13 rebounds while tying his season high with 4 blocks.
» Complete Illinois Game Notes (PDF)
