| Illinois Probable Starters (Based on Previous Game) |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
Note |
| G/F |
20 |
Ty Rodgers |
6-6 |
210 |
So. |
6.0 |
2.0 |
0.0 |
51.6 FG% (48-93) as a freshman |
| G |
0 |
Terrence Shannon Jr. |
6-6 |
225 |
5th |
16.0 |
5.0 |
1.0 |
Unanimous Preseason All-B1G |
| G/F |
3 |
Marcus Domask |
6-6 |
215 |
Gr. |
6.0 |
4.0 |
3.0 |
1,615 career points at SIU |
| G/F |
13 |
Quincy Guerrier |
6-8 |
230 |
Gr. |
4.0 |
1.0 |
0.0 |
1,280 career pts at Syracuse & Oregon |
| F |
33 |
Coleman Hawkins |
6-10 |
230 |
Sr. |
1.0 |
5.0 |
2.0 |
Karl Malone Award Watch List |
| Off the Bench |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
Note |
| G |
2 |
Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn |
6-1 |
185 |
Fr. |
18.0 |
3.0 |
3.0 |
Game-high 18 points in debut vs. EIU |
| G |
4 |
Justin Harmon |
6-4 |
200 |
Gr. |
2.0 |
3.0 |
1.0 |
Utah Valley leading scorer last year |
| G |
5 |
AJ Redd |
6-3 |
170 |
So. |
1.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
Scored first-career point vs. EIU |
| G/F |
10 |
Luke Goode |
6-7 |
205 |
Jr. |
9.0 |
6.0 |
0.0 |
Career highs with 3 3FGM and 6 rebounds vs. EIU |
| G |
11 |
Niccolo Moretti |
6-1 |
170 |
r-Fr. |
2.0 |
3.0 |
3.0 |
Tied team-high with 3 assists vs. EIU |
| G |
22 |
Keaton Kutcher |
6-2 |
200 |
Jr. |
-- |
-- |
-- |
Transfer from South Dakota |
| G |
25 |
Max Williams |
6-2 |
200 |
Sr. |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
Transfer from DePaul |
| F |
35 |
Amani Hansberry |
6-8 |
240 |
Fr. |
7.0 |
8.0 |
2.0 |
Team-high 8 rebounds in debut vs. EIU |
| F/C |
42 |
Dain Dainja |
6-9 |
255 |
r-Jr. |
8.0 |
6.0 |
0.0 |
63.6% FG (131-206) |
| Redshirt |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
Note |
| G |
1 |
Sencire Harris |
6-4 |
170 |
So. |
-- |
-- |
-- |
Plans to redshirt 2023-24 season |
Career Record: 224-106 (.679), 11th year
At Illinois: 115-79 (.591), 7th year
Big Ten: 66-52 (.559)
Series History
All-Time Record vs. Oakland: Illinois leads 3-0
Record in Champaign: Same
Last Meeting: #16 Illinois 74, Oakland 63 (12/8/2010 in Champaign)
Underwood vs. Oakland: First meeting
Opening Tips
- Illinois continues a six-game, season-opening homestand on Friday night, hosting Oakland at State Farm Center (7 p.m. CT, B1G+).
- Illinois is No. 25 in the Associated Press preseason poll, marking the fourth straight year the Illini appear in the preseason rankings (No. 8 entering 2020-21, No. 11 entering 2021-22, and No. 23 entering 2022-23).
- Head Coach Brad Underwood has Illinois ranked by the AP in four straight preseason polls for the first time since the preseason poll began in 1961-62.
- Illinois' 15-man roster features an experienced blend of returning talent and impact transfers, combined with a top-25 freshman class. Eight players, including three starters, are back from the 2022-23 team, with five new players joining the Illini as Division I transfers, and two incoming freshmen.
- Entering the season, Illinois' eight returning players had combined to play 347 games at the NCAA Division I level with 159 combined starts by the group. Likewise, the team's five transfer players opened the year with 304 career games with 198 starts under their belts.
- Illinois is the winningest team in the Big Ten over the last four seasons, registering a 55-25 mark in league play. The Illini finished fifth in 2023, won the regular season championship in 2022, led the conference in wins while adding a B1G Tournament crown in 2021, and finished one game back of the title in 2020.
Oakland Storylines
- Oakland enters Friday's matchup at Illinois coming off of narrow defeat, 79-73, on Monday night in their opener on the road against another Big Ten foe, Ohio State. The Golden Grizzlies led the Buckeyes, 35-34, at halftime and did not relinquish the lead for the final time until the 8:30 mark in the second half.
- Fighting Illini head coach Brad Underwood characterized the Oakland team as "one of the premier offensive teams in college basketball," and "an old, veteran team" that Golden Grizzlies' head coach Greg Kampe has built into a "terrific program" that will provide a solid early-season test.
- Oakland's roster features senior guard Rocket Watts, who played against the Illini during his two seasons at Michigan State from 2019-21. In three career games vs. Illinois, Watts has averaged 14.0 points, 1.6 rebounds and 2.6 assists.
'Now or Never': Shannon, Hawkins Gear up for Last Dance at Illinois
Now or never. Now or never. Now or never.
Those three words would not leave Coleman Hawkins' mind. Locked in on pursuing his dreams and taking his game to the next level, Hawkins submitted his name into the 2023 NBA Draft with the intention of hearing his name called on draft night and becoming a professional basketball player...continue reading
Complete Illinois Game Notes (PDF)
