| 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. |
11.7 |
2.8 |
4.1 |
No. 5 Illini scorer all-time (1,786 pts) |
| G |
11 |
Alfonso Plummer |
6-1 |
180 |
Gr. |
14.8 |
2.5 |
1.1 |
96 threes, third on UI single-season list |
| G |
20 |
Da'Monte Williams |
6-3 |
215 |
Sr. |
4.0 |
5.0 |
2.5 |
Most games played in UI history (158) |
| F |
33 |
Coleman Hawkins |
6-10 |
215 |
So. |
6.0 |
4.3 |
1.5 |
14.0 ppg & 6.0 rpg this postseason |
| C |
21 |
Kofi Cockburn |
7-0 |
285 |
Jr. |
21.0 |
10.7 |
0.8 |
Consensus 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. |
9.9 |
4.0 |
2.4 |
41% on threes (55-134) |
| F |
4 |
Omar Payne |
6-10 |
240 |
Jr. |
1.8 |
1.7 |
0.2 |
61.8% FG (21-34) |
| G |
5 |
Andre Curbelo |
6-1 |
175 |
So. |
7.9 |
3.2 |
3.3 |
8.0 ppg & 4.2 rpg over last 5 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. |
1.7 |
2.2 |
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: 203-92 (.688), 9th year
At Illinois: 94-65 (.591), 5th year
Big Ten: 55-43 (.561)
NCAA Tournament, Career: 4-5 (sixth appearance)
NCAA Tournament at Illinois: 2-1 (second appearance)
NCAA Tournament History
Appearances / Streak: 32 / 2
Record: 42-32 (.5628)
Final Four Appearances / Last: 5 / 2005
Series Notes vs. Houston
Record: Illinois leads 3-2
Last Meeting: #10 Illinois 102, Houston 92 (12/14/1985 at Champaign)
Underwood vs. Houston: First meeting
NCAA Tournament Notes
• Following a 54-53 victory over Chattanooga in the first round, Illinois advances to the NCAA Tournament Second Round and will face 15th-ranked Houston on Sunday.
• While Houston received a 5 seed, the Cougars are currently No. 3 overall in kenpom.
• Illinois has advanced to the Second Round in back-to-back seasons for the first time since doing so seven straight years from 2000-06.
• Illinois is aiming to advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2005, when it went on to play in the national championship game.
• Illinois is making its 32nd all-time appearance in the NCAA Tournament, and second straight.
• Illinois has compiled a 42-32 (.568) record all-time in NCAA Tournament games.
• Illinois' 42 NCAA Tournament wins ranks 22nd among all schools.
• Illinois' 42 NCAA Tournament wins are third most among teams yet to win a national championship, trailing Purdue and Oklahoma (43 each).
• 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 all-time 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' five Final Four appearances are second most among teams yet to win a national title, trailing only Houston (6) and tied with Oklahoma.
• 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 NCAA Tournament seed this year, marking the first time Illinois is playing in consecutive NCAA Tournaments since an eight-year streak from 2000 through 2007.
• Underwood is making his second straight NCAA Tournament appearance with Illinois – leading the Illini to the Second Round in back-to-back seasons – 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 4-5 career record in the NCAA Tournament.
• Illinois is a #4 seed in the NCAA Tournament for the seventh time – its most at any seed number – and first time since 2006.
• Following the First-Round win over Chattanooga, Illinois now owns a record of 8-6 all-time as a #4 seed.
• Illinois improved to 7-0 as a #4 seed when playing its first game of the NCAA Tournament.
• Illinois improved to 6-0 against #13 seeds in the NCAA Tournament, its most wins over any seed.
• Illinois improved to 24-8 when playing its opening game of the NCAA Tournament, and has won its first game in each of the last four Tournaments (2011, 2013, 2021 & 2022).
• Illinois is now 31-15 as a higher (better) seed in the NCAA Tournament.
• Illinois is 1-5 all-time against #5 seeds in the NCAA Tournament.
More Notes from the Win Over Chattanooga | Box Score
• The 54 points was Illinois' fewest scored in an NCAA Tournament win.
• Illinois led for a total of 25 seconds, taking its first lead of the night on a putback by Kofi Cockburn with 45 seconds left, and scoring the game's final points on a pair of Alfonso Plummer free throws with 12 seconds remaining.
• It was Illinois' first one-point win since defeating No. 10 Michigan State 56-55 on Jan. 25 at home.
• Illinois improved to 7-4 this season in games decided by five points or fewer.
• It was Illinois' third NCAA Tournament game decided by one point, with the Illini improving to 2-1:
1987 First Round – 14 Austin Peay 68, 3 Illinois 67
2005 Elite Eight – 1 Illinois 90, 3 Arizona 89 (OT)
2022 First Round – 4 Illinois 54, 13 Chattanooga 53
• Illinois trailed 33-29 at the half, recording its first NCAA Tournament victory when trailing at halftime since the 75-72 first-round win over Long Beach State in 1993 (trailed 33-32 at halftime).
• Illinois trailed by as many as 14 points (20-6), its largest comeback win in an NCAA Tournament game since erasing a 15-point deficit (75-60) with four minutes left in regulation in the 90-89 Elite Eight overtime victory over Arizona in 2005.
• Illinois scored 14 fastbreak points, its most since game three at Marquette (20).
• Illinois' three made 3-pointers were its fewest in a win since also making three (3-15) in the 82-71 win over No. 5 Iowa in the 2021 Big Ten Tournament Semifinal.
• Illinois' 54 points were its fewest in a win since the 54-51 home win over Rutgers on Jan. 11, 2020.
• Kofi Cockburn recorded his first double-double in an NCAA Tournament, posting game highs of 17 points and 13 rebounds.
• It was Cockburn's 17th double-double of the season, ranking ninth nationally and fourth on the Illini single-season list.
• It also was Cockburn's 45th career double-double, most in the NCAA over the last three years.
• Alfonso Plummer scored 13 of his 15 points in the second half, including all three of his 3-pointers and the game-winning free throws with 12 seconds left.
• Coleman Hawkins scored in double figures for the second straight postseason game, netting 10 points on 5-of-8 shooting.
The Nation's Most Dominant Player
Fighting Illini junior center Kofi Cockburn is a leading contender for Player of the Year honors:
• NCAA Consensus First-Team All-American
• Only player in the nation averaging 20+ points (21.0 ppg) and 10+ rebounds (10.7 rpg)
• Only player ranked in the top 20 nationally in both scoring (11th) and rebounding (7th)
• First high-major player since 2018 – and first B1G player since 2004 – to average at least 21 points and 10 boards
• Naismith Trophy Semifinalist (top 10)
• Wooden Award National Ballot (top 15)
• Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Finalist (top 5)
• Third in NCAA with 11 games of 20+ points and 10+ boards
• Ninth in NCAA in double-doubles (17), despite missing five games
• 15th in NCAA in field goal shooting at 59.5%
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).
Complete Illinois Game Notes (PDF)
