| PROBABLE STARTERS (Based on previous game) |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
Note |
| G |
32 |
Kasparas Jakucionis |
6-6 |
205 |
Fr. |
10.2 |
6.0 |
6.6 |
NCAA's No. 2-ranked freshman in ast/game |
| G |
4 |
Kylan Boswell |
6-2 |
205 |
Jr. |
9.0 |
3.4 |
2.4 |
Season-highs 17p/7r/3a vs. #8 Alabama |
| G |
22 |
Tre White |
6-7 |
210 |
Jr. |
7.4 |
5.6 |
0.8 |
Season-high 11 rebounds vs. UMES |
| F |
3 |
Ben Humrichous |
6-9 |
225 |
Gr. |
11.8 |
3.6 |
1.2 |
.412 3FG%, fourth in B1G |
| C |
13 |
Tomislav Ivisic |
7-1 |
255 |
So. |
15.4 |
8.2 |
0.8 |
Scored in double figures in all 5 games |
| OFF THE BENCH |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
Note |
| F |
0 |
Carey Booth |
6-10 |
215 |
So. |
2.6 |
1.8 |
0.2 |
3 of 4 field goals are 3-pointers |
| G |
2 |
Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn |
6-1 |
185 |
So. |
7.4 |
2.2 |
0.0 |
Career-high 21 points vs. EIU |
| G |
5 |
AJ Redd |
6-3 |
170 |
Jr. |
0.7 |
0.7 |
0.0 |
Former team manager turned walkon |
| F |
7 |
Will Riley |
6-8 |
195 |
Fr. |
18.0 |
6.0 |
2.0 |
No. 4 freshman scorer in NCAA (2nd in B1G) |
| F |
15 |
Jake Davis |
6-6 |
205 |
So. |
1.7 |
2.0 |
0.0 |
Season-high 4 rebounds vs. UMES |
| F |
21 |
Morez Johnson Jr. |
6-9 |
255 |
Fr. |
4.8 |
7.2 |
0.2 |
NFirst double-double (10p/13r) vs. UMES |
| G |
24 |
Keaton Kutcher |
6-2 |
195 |
r-Jr. |
0.7 |
0.3 |
0.3 |
Scored first Illinois points vs. SIUE |
| REDSHIRT (Averages from 2023-24 season) |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
Note |
| G/F |
20 |
Ty Rodgers |
6-6 |
210 |
Jr. |
6.2 |
5.3 |
2.0 |
Started all 38 games last season |
| F |
31 |
Jason Jakstys |
6-10 |
210 |
Fr. |
-- |
-- |
-- |
Third-Team All-State |
Career Record: 256-116 (.688), 12th year
At Illinois: 147-89 (.623), 8th year
Big Ten: 80-58 (.580)
Series History vs. Little Rock
All-Time Record / Streak: Illinois leads 3-0 / Illinois W 3
Record in Champaign: Same
Last Meeting: #11 Illinois 75, Little Rock 49 (12/5/2005)
Underwood vs. Little Rock: First meeting
Opening Tips
-
No. 25 Illinois (4-1) continues a stretch of what will be four games in nine days across three different cities, hosting Little Rock Monday night at State Farm Center (8 p.m. CT/BTN).
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This is Illinois' lone 1-day prep of the regular season, following Saturday afternoon's 87-40 win over UMES.
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Illinois has won all four of its home games thus far by outscoring opponents by an average of 34 points. Overall, the Illini carry a nine-game non-conference home winning streak.
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Brad Underwood is one victory away from tying J. Craig Ruby (1923-36) for fifth place on the Illinois all-time coaching wins list. Calling Monday's game for Big Ten Network is Bruce Weber, who ranks third on that list with 210 wins during his nine seasons in Champaign (2004-12).
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Up next, Illinois will head to Kansas City to face No. 20 Arkansas in the Thanksgiving Hoops Showcase. It will air nationally on CBS at 3 p.m., after the Chicago Bears-Detroit Lions NFL game.
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Following the 2024 Elite Eight appearance and Big Ten Tournament Championship, Illinois has a dramatically different roster this season. The program returns just one rotation player – last year's ninth-leading scorer Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn – and returns just 2.9% of its minutes, 2.2% of its points, and 2.0% of its rebounds overall.
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Newcomers to the Illini roster have accounted for 90.7% of the team's scoring so far (401 of 442 total points), with UI freshmen accounting for 37.3% of those points (165).
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Illinois entered the AP poll on Nov. 18 at No. 25, and remained ranked No. 20 in the Coaches poll. Head Coach Brad Underwood now has the Fighting Illini program ranked for a sixth consecutive season.
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Illinois leads the Big Ten and ranks among the top teams nationally in: 3-pointers per game (9th in NCAA, 11.6), 3-point attempts per game (1st, 35.0), total rebounds per game (2nd, 49.0), offensive rebounds per game (18th, 15.0) defensive rebounds per game (3rd, 34.0), and rebound margin (7th, +14.8).
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KenPom.com ranks the Illini 28th in adjusted efficiency rating (+18.96), with the Orange and Blue coming in at No. 34 in offensive efficiency (114.6) and No. 29 in defense efficiency (95.6).
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According to KenPom, the Illini rank eighth nationally, fourth among Power Conference programs, and first in the Big Ten with a 3-point attempt rate (3-point attempts/total field goal attempts) of 53.5%. The Illini boast the second-best offensive efficiency rating (114.6) among the top-30 programs in 3-point attempt percentage.
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Illinois is the winningest team in the Big Ten over the last five seasons, registering a 69-31 (.690) mark in league play. And when including the conference tournament, the Illini have a league-best 75 wins during this time span. The Illini won the 2024 Big Ten Tournament championship as the #2 seed, captured the regular season championship in 2022, and led the conference in wins while adding a B1G Tournament crown in 2021.
Illinois–Little Rock Storylines
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Monday's contest is the fourth meeting in the series between Illinois and Little Rock.
-
The Fighting Illini are 3-0 all-time vs. Little Rock, with all three victories coming at State Farm Center.
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Head coach Lou Henson's No. 7-ranked Flyin' Illini defeated Little Rock 107-88 in the first matchup in the series, Dec. 10, 1988. Henson and the Illini beat the Trojans again, 83-72, on Dec. 15, 1990. In the most recent meeting in the series, head coach Bruce Weber led the No. 11 Illini to a 75-49 win on Dec. 5, 2005.
-
The Illinois men's basketball program is a combined 35-1 all-time against the current 11-team membership of the Ohio Valley Conference, including wins this season vs. Eastern Illinois (112-67) and SIUE (90-58).
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Illinois head coach Brad Underwood is 9-0 in his career vs. OVC programs, but has never faced Little Rock.
-
Last season, the Illini opened up their run to the Elite Eight with a victory over OVC champion Morehead State (85-69) in Round 1 of the NCAA Tournament. Morehead State had earned the automatic bid after beating Little Rock in the OVC Tournament title game.
Complete Illinois Game Notes (PDF)
