No. 13 Illini Visit Wisconsin Saturday

#13 ILLINOIS (21-7, 12-5) at Wisconsin (18-10, 10-7)
Date | Time	Saturday, March 2, 2024 | 12 p.m. CT
Location	Champaign, Ill. | Kohl Center
Tickets	Sold Out | Buy On SeatGeek
TV	BTN (Dave Revsine, LaPhonso Ellis)
Live Stream	FoxSports.com/live/btn | Fox Sports App
Radio	Busey Bank Illini Sports Network | Varsity Network App | SiriusXM 209 or 196, SXM App 958
Live Stats	StatBroadcast
Printable Notes	Illinois | Wisconsin
Pre-Game Media Availability	Coach Underwood (March 1)
2023-24 Stats	Illinois | Minnesota
Record Book	Illinois
Shop	Online Store | Auctions
Social Media	@IlliniMBB | #Illini | @IlliniMBB | Facebook | YouTube

Head Coach Brad Underwood

Career Record: 244-113 (.683), 11th year
At Illinois: 135-86 (.611), 7th year
Big Ten: 78-57 (.578)

Series History

All-Time Record / Streak: Illinois leads 116-89  /  Illinois W-6
Last Meeting: Illinois 61, Wisconsin 51 (1/28/2023 at Madison)
Record at Madison / Streak: Wisconsin leads 58-42  /  Illinois W-3
Underwood vs. Wisconsin: 6-4

Opening Tips

• Illinois travels to Wisconsin for a Saturday matchup (12 p.m. CT, BTN) that opens a stretch of three straight Quad 1 games to close out the 2023-24 regular season.
• Illinois carries a six-game winning streak against Wisconsin, its longest streak over the Badgers since the '80s when the Illini won 16 in a row (Feb. 12, 1981-Jan. 12, 1989).
• Illinois has also won three straight at Kohl Center, just the second team to accomplish that feat (Ohio State, 1998-2000).
• Illinois is No. 13 in the latest AP poll, the team's 14th consecutive week inside the Top 25.
• The Illini are in second place in the Big Ten at 12-5 with three games remaining in the regular season. 
• Illinois would secure a double-bye to the Big Ten Tournament with one win its final three games, or one loss by Michigan State in its remaining three games.
• Illinois has scored at least 80 points in eight straight games, the longest streak since the Flyin' Illini (12) in 1989.
• Terrence Shannon Jr. ranks second in the Big Ten in scoring at 21.9 points per game, the highest scoring average by an Illini in 51 years, since Nick Weatherspoon's 25.0 ppg in 1973.
• Illinois is riding a two-game win streak, with the Illini offense having combined to score 200 points in the two wins with a 105-97 win over Minnesota on Wednesday, following last Saturday's 95-85 victory over Iowa. 
• Illinois' win over Iowa on Feb. 24 marked the program's 1,000th Big Ten victory, pushed the Illini to 20 wins for the fifth year in a row and 37th time in program history, and secured the Orange and Blue's fifth consecutive season with a winning record in Big Ten conference play. 
• Head coach Brad Underwood is just the second coach in Fighting Illini history with five straight 20-win seasons, joining the legendary Lou Henson, who accomplished the feat nine years in a row from 1983 to 1991.
• Coleman Hawkins scored a career-high 30 points in the win over Iowa, joining Marcus Domask (twice) and Terrence Shannon Jr. (four times) as the third Illini player to score 30+ in a game this season, the program's most 30-point scorers in a single campaign in at least the last 50 years.
• Hawkins is the first B1G player to post a 30-point, 5-assist, 5-steal game since MSU's Matteen Cleaves in 1998.
• Illinois is the Big Ten's winningest team in conference play since the start of 2019-20. The Illini are 67-30 (.691) in league games over the last five seasons heading into Saturday's game at Wisconsin.
• Following Illinois' win at Maryland on Feb. 17, the Illini have a Big Ten-leading 27 road wins (27-21, .563) in conference play since the start of 2019-20, which includes a 4-4 road mark this season. 
• Overall, Illinois is 6-5 away from State Farm Center in 2023-24, joining Purdue as the only Big Ten teams with winning records in combined road and neutral games this season.  
• Illinois has been projected as a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament based on the Men's Basketball Committee's release of its top 16 teams on Feb. 17. 
• Through games played Feb. 29, Illinois ranks 16th in NET. The Illini have a combined 9-7 record in Quad 1 (4-5) and Quad 2 (5-2) games, and a perfect 12-0 mark in Quad 3 (7-0) and Quad 4 (5-0) contests. 
• The Illini close the regular season with three straight Quad 1 matchups at Wisconsin (22), vs. No. 2 Purdue (2), and at Iowa (60).    

Illini Team Notables

• Illinois is third in the country in offensive efficiency (125.8), its highest ranking of the Kenpom era, ahead of the 2005 season when the Illini's NCAA runner-up team had the nation's No. 3 offense (122.3).
• Illinois' scoring average of 84.5 points (11th in the NCAA) is the team's highest since 1988-89 Flyin' Illini (86.4 ppg).
• Illinois has topped 85 points in 10 of its last 12 games. The Illini are 14-2 this season when scoring at least 85 points. 
• Illinois ranks second in the Big Ten and 22nd nationally with a scoring margin of +11.7 ppg.
• During the Illini's seven-game home win streak from Nov. 17 through Jan. 11, the Orange and Blue outscored opponents by an average of 23.7 points per contest. 
• Illinois has 21 wins over Top 25 teams since 2019-20, sixth-most nationally. Three of the team's seven losses this season have come against top-10 foes, and all seven have been by single-digit margins.  
• Illinois is among the top 50 nationally in two defensive categories via KenPom, ranking 34th in 2-point field goal percentage defense (.461), and 45th in effective field goal percentage defense (.474).
• Illinois is 13-0 when holding the opposition to less than one point per possession.  
• The Illini lead the Big Ten and rank in the top 30 in the NCAA in total rebounds per game (41.9; sixth in NCAA), defensive rebounds per game (28.8, 11th in NCAA), and offensive rebounds per game (13.0; 24th in the NCAA). The Illini also rank second in the Big Ten in rebounding margin (+9.2; seventh in NCAA).
• The Illini's 41.9 rebounds per game is the team's best single-season mark since 1972-73 (44.4 rpg).  
• The Illini have outrebounded their opponents in 21 of 28 games and are 18-3 when winning the battle on the glass. 
• Illinois is 13-2 this season when it records an offensive rebound rate of at least 35%.
• Illinois enters play this weekend leading the Big Ten in second-chance scoring, converting their offensive rebounds into 15.0 ppg, 1.1 points per game higher than the next closest Big Ten program (Purdue, 13.9). 
• Illinois has pulled down 50+ rebounds in nine games this season, its most since 1979-80. Included in that was a stretch four straight – vs. Valpo, Southern, Western Illinois, and at Rutgers – that was Illinois' longest streak of consecutive games with 50+ rebounds since the 1963-64 season. 
• Illinois averaged 99.0 ppg (297) over a three-game stretch from Dec. 22-Jan. 2 in wins vs. Missouri (97-73), vs. FDU (104-71), and vs. Northwestern (96-66). It marked the first time Illinois had topped 90 points in three consecutive games in 30 seasons, since December 10-18, 1993.  

Illini Player Notables

Marcus Domask

• Domask eclipsed 2,000 points for his Division I career on Feb. 17 vs. Maryland. He scored 1,615 points at Southern Illinois and has tallied 412 as an Illini. Domask is one of 26 active Division I players to reach 2,000 points and is one of four in the Big Ten, joining Boo Buie, Zach Edey, and Jahmir Young. 
• Domask enters Saturday's game one rebound shy of 700 career boards. With his next reboound, Domask will become only the third active NCAA Division I player in the nation with 2,000+ career points, 700+ career rebounds and 400+ career assists, joining Creighton's Baylor Scheierman and Maryland's Jahmir Young. 
• Domask has scored in double figures in 20 of the last 22 games, with two 30+ point performances – a career-high 33 vs. Florida Atlantic at Madison Square Garden and 32 vs. Northwestern. 
• Domask is averaging 17.5 ppg over the last 22 games (385). He is 14th in the Big Ten at 15.5 points per game overall this season after averaging just 8.2 points over his first six games. In conference games only, Domask ranks fourth in the Big Ten at 18.2 points per game. 
• Domask, at 15.5 ppg, and teammate Terrence Shannon Jr., at 21.9 ppg, rank as the top scoring tandem in the Big Ten with a combined 37.4 ppg. The duo ranks just ahead of Purdue's Zach Edey (23.7 ppg) and Lance Jones (13.0 ppg) who average a combined 36.7 ppg. Domask and Jones were teammates for four seasons at Southern Illinois from 2019-20 through 2022-23.  
• Domask is one of the Big Ten's most efficient scorers, ranking ninth with a .458 (153-334) field goal percentage. 
• Domask ranks No. 3 in the Big Ten in free throw shooting at 87.7% (100-114), just ahead of the Illinois program's single-season record of .874 (76-87) set by Alfonso Plummer in 2022. 
• Domask is averaging 4.6 assists over the last 18 games (82), compared to 1.6 apg the first 10 games (16), and ranks 12th in the Big Ten at 3.5 assists per game, and 13th with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.59.  
• Domask was named Big Ten Player of the Week by the Big Ten (Jan. 8) and Associated Press (Jan. 9), and was  also honored as one of five USBWA Oscar Robertson National Players of the Week (Jan. 9), after averaging 29.0 points, 5.5 assists and 4.0 rebounds while shooting 59.4% from the field, 66.7% from 3-point range, and 90% from the free-throw line in matchups vs. Northwestern and at No. 1 Purdue.

Coleman Hawkins

• Hawkins has scored in double figures in 17 of the last 20 games and is averaging 15.2 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.1 blocks and 2.0 steals. 
  Hawkins closed out February by scoring 50 points in his last two games. First, he poured in a career-high 30, while also leading the team with five assists and five steals, in the team's 95-85 victory vs. Iowa (1/24), followed by a 20-point outing in the Illini's 105-97 win vs. Minnesota (2/28). 
• In Illinois' 88-73 road win at Michigan (1/18), Hawkins became first Big Ten player since 2007 (Purdue's Carl Landry) to record a stat line of at least 21 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, six steals and one block.
• Hawkins followed up his six-steal performance at Michigan (1/18) with five more swipes vs. Rutgers (1/21), becoming the first Illini player since Trent Frazier in 2018-19 to record two games with 5+ steals in a single season. His combined 11 steals are the most by an Illini over a two-game stretch in 38 years, since Bruce Douglas combined for 12 steals with seven at Michigan (1/18/86) and five at Michigan State (1/12/86).
• In back-to-back road games at Michigan (1/18) and at Northwestern (1/24), Hawkins recorded two double-doubles of 21 points and 10 rebounds vs. the Wolverines and 22 points and 13 boards vs. the Wildcats, while shooting 54% (14-26) overall, 50% (5-10) from 3-point range, and a perfect 10-for-10 from the free-throw line, while adding eight steals, five assists, three blocks.  
• Hawkins recorded at least one steal in 14 straight games from Dec. 2 at Rutgers to Jan. 27 vs. Indiana, a career-long streak, before finishing without a swipe at Ohio State (1/30) for the first time since the season's first three games. He ranks seventh in the Big Ten at 1.72 steals per game overall. In Big Ten Play, Hawkins ranks fourth in the league at 1.9 swipes per contest. 
• Hawkins also posted a career-long streak of eight consecutive games with a block between Dec. 17 vs. Colgate and Jan. 18 at Michigan. He ranks 12th in the Big Ten at 1.06 blocks per game overall.
• Hawkins is the only player in the Big Ten to rank in the top 15 in the conference in both blocks per game (1.04 bpg, 13th) and steals per game (1.72 spg, seventh). 
• Over the last 20 games, Hawkins, one of the most versatile front court players in the nation, has led the Fighting Illini in 3-pointers made (46) and attempted (108) while ranking second on the team shooting 42.6% from long distance. Hawkins opened the season 2-for-14 (.143) from distance in his first five contests. 
• Hawkins ranks first in the Big Ten in 3-point shooting among players listed 6-foot-10 or taller with 48 triples, more than the next two players - Minnesota F Dawson Garcia (24) and Wisconsin C Steven Crowl (17) - combined.
• Hawkins is averaging 6.1 rebounds per game over his last 14 contests, and ranks 20th in the Big Ten with an overall rebounding average of 5.8 rebounds per game.

Terrence Shannon Jr.

• Shannon has been named to watch lists for the Oscar Robertson Trophy and USBWA All-America Team.
• Shannon has reached double-figures scoring in each of his last 32 games as an Illini. 
• Shannon's scoring average of 21.9 points per game ranks No. 2 in the Big Ten and No. 5 nationally. 
• In his last 11 games since returning to the Illini, Jan. 21 vs. Rutgers, Shannon has averaged 22.1 points and 4.2 rebounds.
• Shannon is closing in on 2,000 career points for his Division I career, entering Saturday's game at Wisconsin 69 points short of the milestone mark. He would join Marcus Domask to become the second Illini to reach the 2,000-point threshold this season, making Illinois the only power conference team this season to feature two 2,000-point scorers. 
• Shannon, reached 1,000 points for his Illini career, in the team's Feb. 28 win vs. Minnesota. Shannon is the 53rd player to score 1,000 points in an Illini uniform, and only the fourth to reach that plateau in two seasons, joining Dave Scholz (1966-69), who scored exactly 1,000 points in his first two season before finishing with 1,459 in his three-year career, Nick Anderson (1987-89), who sat out as a freshman before tallying 1,172 in his only two seasons on the court for the Orange and Blue, and Kenny Battle (1987-89), who scored 1,112 points as an Illini upperclassman following two years at Northern Illinois.
• Shannon scored a career-high 35, and tied his season high with 11 boards for his third double-double of the year and the fifth of his Illini career at Penn State (2/21). His 35 points are the most by an Illini since Kofi Cockburn's 37 vs. Wisconsin (2/2/22), and the most in a road game by an Illini since Ayo Dosunmu's 36 at Missouri (12/12/2020).
• Shannon has four 30-point games this season, tying for third-most in a single season in school history and the most since Ayo Dosunmu in 2020-21. Shannon's five career 30-point games are tied for sixth on the Illini's career charts. 
• At 21.9 points per game, Shannon is on pace for Illinois' 20th single-season scoring average of 20+ points since 1907. 
• Shannon could record the fifth 20-point season by an Illini guard in program history. Other Illini guards to average more than 20.0 points per game are: Jim Dawson (21.7 ppg in 1966-67), Rick Howat (20.6 ppg in 1970-71), Kendall Gill (20.0 ppg in 1989-90), and Ayo Dosunmu (20.1 ppg in 2020-21).  
• Shannon is one of six "Power Conference" players nationally averaging 20+ points while shooting .470 or better from the field joining Purdue's Zach Edey, Alabama's Mark Sears, Washington's Keion Brooks Jr., Cal's Jaylon Tyson, and Tennessee's Dalton Knecht, and one of only 12 NCAA Division I players overall to hit those offensive marks. 
• During a six game stretch between Illinois' road win at Ohio State on Jan. 30, and his career-high 35-point effort at Penn State on Feb. 21, Shannon averaged 27.0 points, shooting 46.5% overall while hitting a team-most 16 three-pointers and 52 free-throws, and adding a team-leading eight blocks. 
• Shannon ranks among the Big Ten leaders in several categories: No. 2 in scoring (21.9 ppg, fifth in NCAA), No. 4 in 3-pointers per game (2.4), No. 6 in field goal percentage (.477), and No. 12 in blocked shots per game (1.1)
• Shannon ranks third in the Big Ten and 28th nationally with 147 free throws. He is six free-throw makes away from reaching the Illini's top-10 single-season charts for the second straight year and would join Malcolm Hill as the only Illini with two of the program's top-10 single-season free-throw totals. 
• Shannon, at 21.9 ppg, and teammate Marcus Domask, at 15.5 ppg, rank as the top scoring tandem in the Big Ten conference at a combined 37.4 ppg, just ahead of Purdue's Zach Edey (23.7 ppg) and Lance Jones (13.0 ppg), who averaged a combined 36.7 ppg. 

Quincy Guerrier

• Guerrier leads one of the nation's most tenacious rebounding teams, ranking 11th in the Big Ten in overall rebounding (6.75 rpg) and 11th in the league in defensive rebounding (5.0 rpg). 
• Guerrier leads the Illini and ranks fourth in the Big Ten with eight double-doubles through 28 games this season with the Illini. He totaled two double-doubles in 71 career games at Oregon, both coming during the 2021-22 season.
• Guerrier has scored at least 10 points in 13 of his last 20 games, averaging 12.0 points per game over that stretch after opening the season with a  6.3 points per game average through his first eight contests at Illinois. 
• Guerrier is 30-of-69 (.435) on threes over the last 20 games, compared to 2-of-20 (.100) over his first eight.  Guerrier's 44% from beyond the arc leads the team during that stretch and his 30 triples are second on the team behind Coleman Hawkins, who has hit 44 three-pointers in the last 20 contest. 
• Guerrier enters play Saturday at Wisconsin with 945 career rebounds, ranking 18th on the NCAA's list of active career leaders, and closing in no 1,000 boards for his collegiate career.   
• In addition to his 945 career rebounds, Guerrier has amassed 1,569 career points at the Division I level and ranks as one of just 15 active players nationally to have recorded 1,500+ points and 900+ rebounds in their careers. 
• Guerrier, who played at Syracuse and Oregon before joining the Illini, is one of only five active players nationally to have accumulated 1,500+ points and 900+ rebounds all at major conference programs, along with Armando Bacot (North Carolina), Emmanuel Miller (TCU/Texas A&M), Hunter Dickinson (Kansas/Michigan), and Zach Edey (Purdue).

Ty Rodgers

• Rodgers has provided the Illini with another excellent rebounder from his point guard position, ranking third on the team, behind Quincy Guerrier and Coleman Hawkins, at 5.3 rebounds per game. 
• Rodgers has been particularly effective on the offensive glass where he has pulled down a team-leading 60 offensive rebounds (11 more than any other Illinii), or a team-high 40.5% of his 149 total rebounds. 
• Rodgers' 2.14 offensive rebounds per game ranks 12th in the Big Ten this season. 
• Rodgers recorded a combined 24 rebounds in back-to-back games, notching 10 boards as part of a double-double effort at Ohio State (1/30), and grabbing a game-high 14 vs. Nebraska (2/4). It matched his best two-game total of the season after he pulled down nine boards vs. Missouri (12/22), followed by a career-high 15 vs. FDU (12/29). 

Luke Goode

• Goode ranks second on the team (behind Terrence Shannon Jr.) with 49 3-pointers on the season, while ranking just behind Coleman Hawkins for second on the team shooting 38.9% from beyond the arc. 
• Goode's 1.8 3-pointers per game rank 17th in the Big Ten. 
• Goode started seven games, from Dec. 29 vs. FDU to Jan. 21  vs. Rutgers, averaging 30.4 minutes per game. Goode set his career high in minutes with 36 each in each game against Michigan State (1/11) at Maryland (1/14).
• Goode scored career-best 16 points at #1 Purdue and tied his career high with four 3-pointers against the Boilers, then two games later vs. Maryland he tallied 13 points including a trio of 3-pointers.

Justin Harmon

• Harmon ranks fifth on the Illini roster in scoring at 6.9 points per game, and has tallied 149 of his 194 total points over the team's last 17 games (8.8 ppg) after averaging just 4.1 points per game over the team's first 11 contests of the season. 
• Illinois is 10-0 in games when Harmon scores at least eight points, and 8-0 when he reaches double figures.
• Harmon shot 5-for-16 (.313) from 3-point range through his first 11 games, but has hit at a clip of 37 percent (17-for-46) over his last 17 contests. 
• Harmon posted a season-high 20 points, hitting 7-of-11 from the field, including 4-of-5 from 3-point range, along with 2-of-2 at the foul line in 30 minutes of action in the Illini's win against Northwestern on Jan. 2.
• Harmon led the Illini in scoring for the first time this season, with 18 points in the 86-63 home win vs. Rutgers (1/21).

Every Day Guys Exclusive:

Read the latest feature stories on the Fighting Illini men's basketball team.  

• Feb. 16: Playing the Right Way: Domask Makes Most of Lone Season at Illinois, Impacts Winning in Final Collegiate Campaign
• Jan. 10: 'I Just Wanted to be Different': Hawkins' Legacy Grows in Fourth Year With Program
• Dec. 7: Harmon Takes Long Road to Illinois in Final Year of Eligibility
• Nov. 30: 'I Owed That Sacrifice to Everybody': Goode Finds, Establishes Role in Third Season at Illinois
• Oct. 26: 'Now or Never': Hawkins, Shannon Gear Up for 'Last Dance' at Illinois
• Oct. 19: Every Day Guys: How Three Words Became Engrained in Illinois' Team Culture, Identity

Complete Illinois Game Notes (PDF)