| Illinois Probable Starters (from the last game) |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
Note |
| G |
1 |
Trent Frazier |
6-2 |
175 |
Sr. |
12.1 |
2.8 |
4.1 |
2nd-Team All-B1G; B1G All-Defense Team |
| G |
11 |
Alfonso Plummer |
6-1 |
180 |
Gr. |
14.8 |
2.5 |
1.1 |
Third-Team All-Big Ten |
| G |
20 |
Da'Monte Williams |
6-3 |
215 |
Sr. |
4.1 |
5.0 |
2.6 |
Most games played in UI history (157) |
| F |
33 |
Coleman Hawkins |
6-10 |
215 |
So. |
5.8 |
4.2 |
1.5 |
9.8 ppg & 5.0 rpg over last 5 games |
| C |
21 |
Kofi Cockburn |
7-0 |
285 |
Jr. |
21.1 |
10.6 |
0.8 |
First-Team All-American |
| Off the Bench |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
Note |
| G |
0 |
Brandin Podziemski |
6-5 |
200 |
Fr. |
1.4 |
0.9 |
0.3 |
5 points at Northwestern (1/29) |
| F |
2 |
Connor Serven |
6-9 |
235 |
So. |
0.0 |
0.2 |
0.0 |
Team's lone walkon in second year |
| G/F |
3 |
Jacob Grandison |
6-6 |
210 |
Gr. |
10.3 |
4.0 |
2.4 |
41% on threes (55-134) |
| F |
4 |
Omar Payne |
6-10 |
240 |
Jr. |
1.7 |
1.7 |
0.2 |
60.6% FG (20-33) |
| G |
5 |
Andre Curbelo |
6-1 |
175 |
So. |
8.1 |
3.2 |
3.2 |
9.5 ppg & 7.0 rpg over last 2 games |
| G |
10 |
Luke Goode |
6-7 |
200 |
Fr. |
1.9 |
1.6 |
0.6 |
Career-high 9 points vs MSU (1/25) |
| C |
12 |
Brandon Lieb |
7-0 |
220 |
So. |
0.8 |
0.7 |
0.1 |
Has played in 10 games |
| F |
13 |
Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk |
6-8 |
235 |
r-So. |
1.8 |
2.3 |
0.7 |
Career-high 8 points vs MSU (1/25) |
| G |
15 |
RJ Melendez |
6-7 |
205 |
Fr. |
3.6 |
1.7 |
0.6 |
10.7 ppg over 3-game stretch Feb 8-16 |
| G |
22 |
Austin Hutcherson |
6-6 |
190 |
Gr. |
2.8 |
2.0 |
0.5 |
Out for remainder of season |
Career Record: 202-92 (.687), 9th year
At Illinois: 93-65 (.589), 5th year
Big Ten: 55-43 (.561)
NCAA Tournament, Career: 3-5 (sixth appearance)
NCAA Tournament at Illinois: 1-1 (second appearance)
NCAA Tournament History
Appearances / Streak: 32 / 2
Record: 41-32 (.562)
Final Four Appearances / Last: 5 / 2005
Series Notes vs. Chattanooga
Record: Chattanooga leads 2-0
Last Meeting: Chattanooga 81, Illinois 77 (11/21/2015 at Springfield, Ill.)
Previous NCAA Tournament Meeting: Chattanooga 75, #19 Illinois 63 (3/16/1997 at Charlotte, N.C.)
Underwood vs. Chattanooga: First meeting
NCAA Tournament Notes
• Illinois is making its 32nd all-time appearance in the NCAA Tournament, and second straight.
• Illinois ranks fifth among Big Ten teams and 22nd among all NCAA schools for most Tournament appearances.
• Illinois has compiled a 41-32 (.562) record all-time in NCAA Tournament games.
• Illinois' 41 NCAA Tournament wins ranks 22nd among all schools.
• Since 1975, when the field was increased to 32 teams, Illinois has advanced to the Sweet 16 eight times, the Elite Eight four times, and the Final Four twice.
• Illinois has made five appearances in the NCAA Final Four, finishing as the national runner-up in 2005, placing third in 1949, 1951 and 1952, and tying for third in 1989.
• Illinois enters the weekend aiming to advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2005, when it went on to play in the national championship game.
• Head Coach Brad Underwood has brought Fighting Illini Basketball back to being a national contender. His rebuild of the program brought success in year three of his tenure, leading the Illini to a top-25 finish and what would have been an NCAA Tournament appearance before the 2020 postseason was canceled due to COVID-19. He directed Illinois to a Big Ten Tournament title and #1 seed last year as Illinois played in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2013. Underwood has guided the Illini to a Big Ten Championship and #4 seed this year, marking the first time Illinois will play in consecutive NCAA Tournaments since an eight-year streak from 2000 through 2007.
• Underwood is making his second NCAA Tournament appearance with Illinois, and his sixth trip to the big dance with his third program in nine seasons as a Div. I head coach. He previously led Stephen F. Austin to three consecutive appearances from 2014-2016, advancing to the Round of 32 in 2014 and 2016. He then took Oklahoma State to the Tournament in his lone season in Stillwater in 2017. Underwood owns a 3-5 career record in the NCAA Tournament.
• Illinois has 10 players on its roster with NCAA Tournament experience: Kofi Cockburn, Andre Curbelo, Trent Frazier, Jacob Grandison and Da'Monte Williams (two games apiece in 2021), Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk, Coleman Hawkins, Brandon Lieb and Connor Serven (one game each in 2021), and Omar Payne (one game in 2021 at Florida).
• Kofi Cockburn averaged 19.5 points on 65.2% shooting in last year's NCAA Tournament.
• Andre Curbelo averaged 8.5 points and 6.0 assists and shot 57.1% in last year's NCAA Tournament.
• Illinois has earned a #4 seed in the NCAA Tournament for the seventh time – its most at any seed number – and first time since 2006.
• Illinois owns a record of 7-6 all-time as a #4 seed.
• Illinois is 6-0 as a #4 seed when playing its first game of the NCAA Tournament.
• Illinois is 5-0 against #13 seeds in the NCAA Tournament, its most wins over any seed.
• Illinois is 23-8 when playing its opening game of the NCAA Tournament, and has won its first game in each of the last three Tournaments (2011, 2013 & 2021).
• Illinois is 30-15 as a higher (better) seed in the NCAA Tournament.
• Illinois is playing in Pittsburgh in the NCAA Tournament for the first time.
• Illinois is in the South Region for the second time, and first since 2009 (0-1).
• Illinois played a total of 17 games against 11 teams that made this year's NCAA Tournament, compiling a record of 10-7.
• There are nine Big Ten teams participating in this year's NCAA Tournament: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Purdue, Rutgers and Wisconsin.
• The Big Ten has tied its league record with nine bids for the second straight year, which also is second-most for any conference behind the 2011 Big East (11).
• Illinois' 41 NCAA Tournament wins are third most among teams yet to win a national championship, trailing Oklahoma (43) and Purdue (42).
• Illinois' five Final Four appearances are second most among teams yet to win a national title, trailing only Houston (6) and tied with Oklahoma.
The Nation's Most Dominant Player
Fighting Illini junior center Kofi Cockburn is a leading contender for Player of the Year honors:
• Only player in the nation averaging 20+ points (21.1 ppg) and 10+ rebounds (10.6 rpg)
• Only player ranked in the top 20 nationally in both scoring (12th) and rebounding (8th)
• First high-major player since 2018 – and first B1G player since 2004 – to average at least 21 points and 10 boards
• First-Team All-American by AP, Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Field of 68 and College Hoops Today
• Naismith Trophy Semifinalist (top 10)
• Wooden Award National Ballot (top 15)
• Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Finalist (top 5)
• Unanimous First-Team All-Big Ten
• First-Team NABC All-District 7 and USBWA All-District V
• Third in NCAA with 11 games of 20+ points and 10+ boards
• 13th in NCAA in field goal shooting at 59.8%
• 14th in NCAA in double-doubles (16), despite missing five games
For more information on Cockburn, visit FightingIllini.com/KingKofi
Big Ten Champs
Illinois is the 2022 Big Ten Champion, going 15-5 in league play to share the regular season title with Wisconsin. Illinois has earned the No. 1 seed in the Big Ten Tournament after defeating Wisconsin in the only meeting between the teams, 80-67 on Feb. 2 in Champaign.
This is the 18th Big Ten title in Illinois' 117-year history, and its first since 2005:
1915-1917-1924-1935-1937-1942-1943-1949-1951-1952-1963-1984-1998-2001-2002-2004-2005-2022
This was nearly a back-to-back title run after Illinois led the Big Ten in wins last year while playing the full league schedule. But the Illini were declared runner-up in 2021 after an unbalanced schedule resulted in a .024 win percentage differential (Michigan 14-3, .824 vs. Illinois 16-4, .800, with Illinois defeating Michigan 76-53 in Ann Arbor in their only meeting).
Illinois' 15 Big Ten wins this year tied the second-most in program history behind last year's 16 conference wins. The Illini also won 15 Big Ten games in 1984 and 2005. Coach Brad Underwood now owns the top two, and three of the top seven, all-time winningest Big Ten seasons in Illini history (16 in 2021, 15 in 2022, 13 in 2020).
King Kofi Named AP All-American for Second Time
Illinois junior center Kofi Cockburn has been voted a first-team Associated Press All-American, as announced by the news organization Tuesday.
He is one of three Big Ten players selected to the first team:
Ochai Agbaji, Kansas
Kofi Cockburn, Illinois
Johnny Davis, Wisconsin
Keegan Murray, Iowa
Oscar Tshiebwe, Kentucky
Cockburn is just the second Illinois player ever to earn first-team All-America honors by the AP, following Ayo Dosunmu, who became the first Illini to do so last season.
After garnering second-team All-America honors last year as a sophomore, Cockburn becomes just the third two-time AP All-America selection in school history, joining Dike Eddleman (1948-49) and Dee Brown (2005-06).
Big Run in the Big Ten
Illinois' performance in conference play during the Underwood era has reached historic level of success. The Illini's 44 Big Ten wins since 2020 is the most in program history over a three-year stretch:
1. 44, Brad Underwood – 2020 (13), 2021 (16), 2022 (13)
T2. 39, Bruce Weber – 2004 (13), 2005 (15), 2006 (11)
T2. 39, Bill Self/Bruce Weber – 2003 (11), 2004 (13), 2005 (15)
T2. 39, Lou Henson – 1987 (13), 1988 (12), 1989 (14)
T2. 39, Harry Combes – 1951 (13), 1952 (12), 1953 (14)
The run also ranks among the winningest 3-year stretches of any Big Ten program in conference play:
1. 48, Indiana – 1974 (12), 1975 (18), 1976 (18)
2. 47, Indiana – 1975 (18), 1976 (18), 1977 (11)
T3. 46, Michigan State – 2018 (16), 2019 (16), 2020 (14)
T3. 46, Indiana – 1991 (15), 1992 (14), 1993 (17)
5. 45, Purdue – 2017 (14), 2018 (15), 2019 (16)
T6. 44, Illinois – 2020 (13), 2021 (16), 2022 (15)
T6. 44, Purdue – 1994 (14), 1995 (15), 1996 (15)
Illinois has put together three straight 13+ win Big Ten seasons for the first time in program history.
Underwood owns three of Illinois' top seven all-time winningest Big Ten seasons:
1. 16, 2021 – Brad Underwood
T2. 15, 2022 – Brad Underwood
T2. 15, 2005 – Bruce Weber
T2. 15, 1984 – Lou Henson
T5. 14, 1989 – Lou Henson
T5. 14, 1953 – Harry Combes
T7. 13, 2020 – Brad Underwood
T7. 13, 2004 – Bruce Weber
T7. 13, 2001 – Bill Self
T7. 13, 1998 – Lon Kruger
T7. 13, 1987 – Lou Henson
T7. 13, 1951 – Harry Combes
T7. 13, 1942 – Doug Mills
Complete Illinois Game Notes (PDF)
