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Next Up - at Wisconsin - 2-17-25

Men's Basketball

Fighting Illini Visit #11 Wisconsin Tuesday

PREVIEW

ILLINOIS (17-9, 9-7 B1G) vs. #11 Wisconsin (20-5, 10-4 B1G)
Date | Time Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2025 | 7:30 p.m. CT
Location Madison, Wis. | Kohl Center
Buy Tickets UWBadgers.com
TV FS1 (Brandon Gaudin & LaPhonso Ellis)
Live Stream FoxSports.com/live/fs1 | Fox Sports App
Radio Busey Bank Illini Sports Network | Varsity Network App | SiriusXM 209 or 197, SXM App 959
Live Stats Statbroadcast.com
Printable Notes Illinois | Wisconsin
Pregame Press Conferences Coach Underwood (Feb. 17) 
2024-25 Stats Illinois | Wisconsin
Record Book Illinois
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Social Media @IlliniMBB | #Illini | @IlliniMBB 129943 | Facebook | YouTube
PROBABLE STARTERS 
Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. PPG RPG APG Note
G 32 Kasparas Jakucionis 6-6 205 Fr. 16.0 5.5 5.0 Illini freshman record 10 20-point games
G 4 Kylan Boswell 6-2 205 Jr. 11.1 5.1 3.3 Team-leading 1.55 assist-turnover ratio
F 15 Jake Davis 6-6 205 So. 3.3 1.6 0.3 11 pts (season-high 3 3FG) vs. Northwestern
F 3 Ben Humrichous 6-9 225 Gr. 8.5 4.0 1.0 Team-leading 1.9 3-pointers per game. 
C 13 Tomislav Ivisic 7-1 255 So. 12.7 8.5 2.0 9 double-doubles (3rd in B1G)
OFF THE BENCH
Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. PPG RPG APG Note
F 0 Carey Booth 6-10 215 So. 1.3 1.1 0.1 Five of eight field goals are 3-pointers
G 2 Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn 6-1 185 So. 7.0 1.9 0.4 Made first 2 starts vs. Ohio St., at Rutgers
G 5 AJ Redd 6-3 170 Jr. 0.3 0.7 0.2 Former team manager turned walkon
F 7 Will Riley 6-8 195 Fr. 11.9 3.9 2.2 19.0 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 3.8 apg over last 6 games
F 21 Morez Johnson Jr. 6-9 255 Fr. 7.2 6.6 0.2 2.7 offensive rebounds/game (4th in B1G)
G 22 Tre White 6-7 210 Jr. 9.3 5.3 0.9 82.9% from the free-throw line
G 24 Keaton Kutcher 6-2 195 r-Jr. 0.6 0.2 0.1 First Illini 3-pointer vs. Chicago State
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

Head Coach Brad Underwood

Career Record: 269-124 (.684), 12th year
At Illinois: 160-97 (.623), 8th year
Big Ten: 89-65 (.578)

Series History vs. Wisconsin

All-Time Record / Streak: Illinois leads 119-89 / Illinois W-9
Last Meeting: Illinois 86, #20 Wisconsin 80 (12/10/2024 in Champaign)
Record in Madison / Streak: Wisconsin leads 58-43 / Illinois W-4
Last Meeting in Madison: #13 Illinois 91, Wisconsin 83 (3/2/2024)
Underwood vs. Wisconsin: 9-4

Opening Tips

  • Illinois travels to Madison to face #11 Wisconsin on Tuesday night at Kohl Center (7:30 p.m. CT, FS1).

  • The contest vs. the Badgers is the second game of a six-game span to close the regular season in which the Illini face five Quad 1 matchups against top-25 ranked foes. 

  • Illinois will play three of its next four games away from State Farm Center. After Wisconsin, the Illini step out of Big Ten play for a marquee Saturday night matchup vs. #3 Duke in the SentinelOne Classic at Madison Square Garden. Following the Feb. 25 home game vs. Iowa, the team travels to #12 Michigan for the penultimate game of the regular season schedule.  

  • Brad Underwood has led the Illini to nine consecutive wins over Wisconsin, a streak that began on Jan. 8, 2020. The teams met earlier this season in Champaign, an 86-80 Illini victory over the #20 Badgers.

  • In Illinois' 86-80 home win over Wisconsin on Dec. 10, the Illini were led by a career-high 24 points from Kasparas Jakucionis, while Trey White poured in 23 and Kylan Boswell added 19. Jakucionis' game marked the fourth of his program-record six consecutive 20-point games between Nov. 25 and Dec. 22.   

  • Illinois has won four straight at Kohl Center, the first Big Ten team to accomplish that feat. Illinois has not lost at Wisconsin in six years, since a 64-58 setback on Feb. 18, 2019. 

  • Illinois is aiming to secure double-digit wins in conference play for a sixth straight season, which would be the program's longest streak since doing so for seven years in a row from 2000 through 2006.

  • Illinois is one of the nation's top rebounding teams, leading the NCAA in defensive rebounds per game (30.8 rpg), and ranking second in both total rebounds per game (44.3) and rebound margin (+10.7 rpg). 

  • Illinois is 16-1 this season when scoring 80+ points, including 9-0 in Big Ten play.

  • Illinois is No. 18 in the latest NCAA NET rankings, one of seven Big Ten teams in the top 25.  

  • The Illini are tied for fifth nationally with seven Quad 1 wins. Illinois is slated to play a total of 18 regular-season Quad 1 games, its highest total in the seven-year history of the NET. 

  • The Illini are 7-7 in Quad 1 games and 3-4 vs. top-25 opponents this season. 

  • Illinois is coming off a 79-65 home loss to #11 Michigan State on Saturday in which the team was led in scoring by three freshmen. Kasparas Jakucionis and Morez Johnson Jr. each tallied 17 points, and Will Riley added 13 points off the bench while dishing out a game-high six assists and matching Tomislav Ivisic with a team-high seven rebounds.

Illini Team Notables

  • Illinois leads the Big Ten in six team statistical categories, with the following NCAA rankings: defensive rebounds per game (1st; 30.8), total rebounds per game (2nd in NCAA; 44.3), rebound margin (2nd; 10.7), 3-point attempts per game (6th; 30.3), scoring offense (9th; 84.3), and offensive rebounds per game (23rd; 13.5).

  • Illinois is 16-1 on the season when scoring at least 80 points. The Illini's 17 games with 80+ points are tied for the Big Ten lead with Iowa (17), and tied for eighth nationally. Among teams with at least 15 80-point games, Illinois' .941 win percentage ranks tied for fourth in the nation behind Arkansas State at 15-0 (1.000), Auburn at 18-1 (.947), and Akron at 17-1 (.944). 

  • The Illini secured their 11th home win of the season vs. UCLA (Feb. 11), their sixth straight season with at least 10 home wins at State Farm Center under Brad Underwood. 

  • Since 2019-20, the Illini are 80-17 (.825) at State Farm Center, tied with Purdue for the second-most home wins by a Big Ten team over the last six seasons behind Iowa (81). Nationally, the Illini's 80 home wins rank tied for 17th, overall, and tied for 10th among teams that have played each of the last six seasons in a power conference. 

  • Illinois is a combined 6-5 away from State Farm Center this season, with a 4-4 mark in true road contests. The Illini's win at Minnesota (Feb. 8) snapped a three-game road losing streak. 

  • Illinois is 33-25 (.569) in Big Ten road games since the start of the 2019-20 season, the best mark in the league over the last six seasons. The Illini have finished .500 or better on the road in league play in four of the last five seasons. 

  • Illinois is No. 20 in the latest KenPom rankings with an adjusted efficiency margin of 24.21. The Fighting Illini are on pace for their fourth top-20 rating in the last five seasons under Brad Underwood. 

  • The Illini rank No. 28 in KenPom adjusted defensive efficiency (97.1), on pace for the program's fourth top-30 defensive ranking in the last five seasons. 

  • Illinois is No. 9 nationally in KenPom's effective field goal percentage defense (.450), including a No. 7 ranking in 2-point defense (.441). 

  • According to KenPom, the Illini rank No. 27 nationally, and seventh among Power Conference programs, with a 3-point attempt rate (3-point attempts/total field goal attempts) of 47.1%. Among major conference teams, Illinois ranks first nationally with five games of 15+ made 3-pointers. 

  • Illinois is averaging 84.3 points, the team's highest output since the 1988-89 Flyin' Illini averaged 86.4 ppg. 

  • Eight of Illinois' wins have come by 20+ points, with three of those games coming on the road. The Illini defeated Eastern Illinois, 112-67 (+45); Oakland, 90-58 (+32); UMES, 87-40 (+47); and Little Rock, 92-34 (+58) all within the first month of the season. Illinois then defeated Chicago State, 117-64 (+53); recorded an historic 109-77 (+32) victory at No. 9 Oregon; earned a 91-52 (+39) home win over Penn State; rolled to a 94-69 (+25) victory at Indiana; and posted 95-74 (+21) win at Minnesota. The Illini have led by 25+ points in 10 games this season.  

  • Illinois ranks second in the Big Ten with a scoring margin of +12.7 points. That is on pace for No. 4 in the Illini record book since 1960 behind 2004-05 (+15.9 ppg), 2022-23 (+13.0) and 1988-89 (+12.8). 

  • Illinois is second nationally in rebounding at 44.3 boards per game, on pace for the program's best average in 53 seasons, since (48.0 rpg in 1971-72). The Orange and Blue have outrebounded their opponent in 22 of 26 games this season. 

  • Illinois is 3-4 against Top-25 ranked teams this season with wins over No. 19 Arkansas, No. 20 Wisconsin, and at No. 9 Oregon. The Illini's three ranked wins are tied for 17th most in the nation. The Illini's final five regular-season games feature matchups against four top-25 opponents. 

  • Brad Underwood has led the Illini program to Top-25 rankings in seven consecutive seasons. The Illini are currently receiving votes in both the AP and coaches polls. Illinois has been ranked for a total of nine weeks this season, including a streak of seven-consecutive weeks, and has reached as high as 13th.

  • Illinois has registered 78 wins in league play since the start of the 2019-20 season, one behind Purdue for the most in the conference over the last six seasons. And when including the conference tournament, the Illini's 83 wins during this time span also rank second in the league behind Boilermakers. 

  • 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, and the team's three total championships during that span are tied with Purdue for the most in the Big Ten.  

  • 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.

  • Newcomers to the Illini roster have accounted for 91.7% of the team's scoring so far (2,009 of 2,192 total points), with UI freshmen accounting for 43.9% of those points (882).

  • Illinois' top three scorers, and top three rebounders are all in their first year of collegiate basketball. Freshman G Kasparas Jakucionis ranks first in scoring (16.0 ppg) and third in rebounding (5.5 rpg). Sophomore C Tomislav Ivisic nearly averages a double-double at 12.7 points (second on team) and team-leading 8.5 rebounds. Freshman F Will Riley is the Illini's No. 3 scorer at 11.9 points per game. And Freshman F Morez Johnson Jr. ranks second on the team at 6.6 rebounds per game with a team-leading 70 offensive boards (2.7 per game). 

  • Eight different Illini players have recorded a 20-point game this season, tied for the top mark in the NCAA, and the most by any Big Ten program since at least 2004-05. 

  • Three Illini scored 20+ points vs. Penn State - Ben Humrichous (21), Morez Johnson Jr. (20) and Tre White (20). It marked just the third time in the last 35 seasons that Illinois had a game featuring a trio of 20-point scorers.  

  • Illinois' 32-point road win over #9 Oregon was the largest margin of victory ever by a road team over an AP Top-10 opponent, and the largest road win in Illinois program history against any top-25 opponent. 

  • In their 109-77 win at #9 Oregon, Illinois became the first Big Ten team since Feb. 9, 1989, to record 100+ points in a Top-10 road win (No. 10 Michigan defeated No. 8 Iowa, 108-107).

  • Illinois also posted a dominant 94-69 win at Indiana on Jan. 14. The 25-point margin of victory was the second-largest for a Hoosiers' opponent in Assembly Hall history, while Illinois' 94 points marked the most ever scored by a visiting team in a regulation game at Assembly Hall. 

Illini Player Notables

Kasparas Jakucionis

  • Kasparas Jakucionis has been named to the Oscar Robertson Trophy Midseason Watch List, a Top-10 candidate for the Jerry West Award, a unanimous selection to the five-player Freshman All-America Team by The Athletic, a Midseason All-America third team selection by The Sporting News, a John R. Wooden Award Late Midseason Watch List (top 20) selection, and a Naismith Trophy Men's College Player of the Year Midseason Team selection. 

  • Jakucionis has 10 20-point games this season, setting the Illini all-time record for 20-point games by a freshman previously held by Cory Bradford who had eight 20-point games as a redshirt freshman in 1998-99. 

  • Jakucionis scored 20+ points in six straight games from Nov. 25-Dec. 22, shattering the Illini freshman record for consecutive 20-point games (previous record was two).  

  • Jakucionis became the fourth Big Ten freshman since 1996-97 with at least six-straight 20-point games, and the first to do so since Indiana's Eric Gordon had seven in a row in 2007.

  • At 16.0 points per game, Jakucionis is on pace to become the third Illini freshman in program history to average more than 15.0 points per game and break the program record for scoring average by a freshman.  Kiwane Garris (15.9 in 1993-94), Cory Bradford (15.4 in 1998-99), and Deon Thomas (15.1 in 1990-91) rank 1-3 on that list. 

  • Jakucionis has posted four game this season with 20+ points, 6+ rebounds and 5+ assists, tied for fifth nationally with Auburn fifth-year senior Johni Broome, Purdue junior Braden Smith, and Michigan junior Danny Wolf.

  • Jakucionis has earned two Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors this season.

Tomislav Ivisic

  • Tomislav Ivisic is the No. 6 rebounder in the Big Ten at 8.5 rebounds per game and ranks second in the league at 6.6 defensive rebounds per contest. 

  • Ivisic has led the Illini rebounding effort in 12 of the 23 games in which he has played. 

  • Ivisic, classified as sophomore in his first season of collegiate competition, has recorded nine double-doubles through 22 games, ranking third in the Big Ten, tied for 30th in the NCAA overall, and first among power conference underclassmen. 

  • Ivisic, at 7-1, is one of the nation's top 3-point shooting big men, and has connected on 36 3-pointers this season, fourth on the team behind Ben Humrichous (50), Kasparas Jakucionis (41), and Will Riley (37). Nationally, Ivisic ranks as one of just three 7-footers with at least 30+ 3-pointers made this season, trailing only Stanford senior Maxime Raynaud (46), and his brother Zvonimir Ivisic (41) of Arkansas. 

Ben Humrichous

  • Ben Humrichous leads the fighting Illini with 50 3-pointers on the season and has knocked down at least one 3-pointer in 23 of 26 games this season. 

  • Humrichous leads the team, averaging 1.9 triples per contest.

Kylan Boswell

  • Kylan Boswell recorded the seventh triple-double in Illinois history and fifth of the Underwood era against Chicago State (Dec. 29), tallying 18 points, career-high 10 rebounds, and career-high 10 assists. 

  • Boswell scored in double-figures in 12 of 14 games for the Illini between the Dec. 10 vs. Wisconsin (19 points) and Feb. 2 vs. Ohio State (14), including a career-high 22 points in the Illini win at Indiana on Jan. 14. During that 14-game stretch, Boswell averaged 13.9 points (195), 6.3 rebounds (88), and 4.2 assists (59).

Morez Johnson Jr.

  • Morez Johnson Jr. is also excelling for the Illini. Over his last 16 games, which includes the first starts of his career in each of the Illini's last eight contests, Johnson is averaging 8.9 points (142) and 6.8 rebounds (109). 

  • During that 16-game run, beginning with the Illini's Braggin' Rights win vs. Mizzou on Dec. 22, Johnson has recorded a 20-point, 11-rebound double-double in the win over Penn State (Jan. 8), a 15-point, nine-rebound effort in his second-career start vs. Northwestern on Jan. 26, and 14-point, a 15-rebound double-double in the team's come-from-behind win over Ohio State on Feb. 2, and a 17-point, five-rebound effort vs. #11 Michigan State. 

  • Johnson, at 6.6 rebounds per game, is just short of Deon Thomas (6.8 rpg in 1990-91) for the third-best freshman mark in Illini history. Kofi Cockburn set the record holds the record at 8.8 rpg as a freshman in 2019-20, and Efrem Winters posted an average of 6.9 rpg in 1982-83. 

  • Through 26 games, Johnson has recorded a team-leading 29 total blocks, tied for fourth in the Illini freshman record book with James Griffin (1978-79). Johnson is on pace to finish his freshman season third among Illini freshmen all-time behind only Deon Thomas (54 in 1990-91) and Kofi Cockburn (44 in 2019-20). 

Will Riley

  • Will Riley opened his Illini career by breaking the program's scoring record for a freshman debut with 31 points to go with seven rebounds and three assists in the team's season-opening win vs. Eastern Illinois. 

  • Riley has led the Fighting Illini in scoring seven times, all in a reserve roll, providing a vital scoring threat off the bench. He has scored in double-figures in six straight games heading into Tuesday's matchup at #11 Wisconsin, averaging 18.0 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game, during that run. 

  • Riley posted an historic outing in the team's win at Minnesota (Feb. 8), becoming the only freshman in the nation since at least 1996-97 to record a game with 27+ points, 9+ rebounds, and 7+ assists without a turnover.

  • Riley has earned three B1G Freshman of the Week awards this season.

Tre White

  • After opening the year averaging 7.1 points and 5.0 rebounds in eight games, Tre White found a rhythm on the court for the Illini. Beginning with a 23-point, 8 rebound effort vs. #20 Wisconsin on Dec. 10, White averaged 12.1 points (157) and 6.2 rebounds (80) the team's next 13 games, scoring in double figures seven times.

Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn

  • Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn has continued to make a big impact for the Illini in his sophomore season. Over 13 games between Dec. 22 vs. Missouri and Feb. 5 vs. Rutgers, Gibbs-Lawhorn averaged 10.0 points (130) while shooting 52.2% (48-92) from the field.

  • During that run, Gibbs-Lawhorn made the first start two starts of his collegiate career vs. Ohio State (Feb. 2) and at Rutgers (Feb. 5). Against Ohio State, he was key to the Illini's 87-79 come-from-behind victory, posting 10 points highlighted by a momentum-shifting steal and run-out dunk that capped a 12-2 run to pull the Illini to within one possession after OSU's lead had reached 11 points. 

  • Gibbs-Lawhorn has posted eight double-digit scoring games this season, seven of which came during that key stretch of games for the Illini: 16 vs. Chicago State, 11 at Oregon, 11 vs. USC, 12 at Indiana, 15 vs. Maryland, 15 at Nebraska, and 10 vs. Ohio State.

Jake Davis

  • Jake Davis has made an impact for the Illini off the bench since just before the New Year. After totaling just eight points and seven rebounds in his first his nine games as an Illini, Davis has averaged 4.9 points (72) and 2.1 rebounds (31) over his last 15 games since Dec. 29 vs. Chicago State. 

  • Davis was vital to the Illini's big win at then-No. 9 Oregon on Jan. 2, posting a season-high 12 points and with three rebounds in the road win in Eugene. 

Complete Illinois Game Notes (PDF)

Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn

#2 Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn

G
6' 1"
Sophomore
Keaton Kutcher

#24 Keaton Kutcher

G
6' 2"
Redshirt Junior
test
AJ Redd

#5 AJ Redd

G
6' 3"
Junior
Ty Rodgers

#20 Ty Rodgers

G/F
6' 6"
Junior
Jason Jakstys

#31 Jason Jakstys

F
6' 10"
Freshman
Morez Johnson Jr.

#21 Morez Johnson Jr.

F
6' 9"
Freshman
Jake Davis

#15 Jake Davis

F
6' 6"
Sophomore
Ben Humrichous

#3 Ben Humrichous

F
6' 9"
Graduate Student
Tomislav Ivisic

#13 Tomislav Ivisic

C
7' 1"
Sophomore
Kasparas Jakucionis

#32 Kasparas Jakucionis

G
6' 6"
Freshman
Carey Booth

#0 Carey Booth

F
6' 10"
Sophomore
Kylan Boswell

#4 Kylan Boswell

G
6' 2"
Junior

Players Mentioned

Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn

#2 Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn

6' 1"
Sophomore
G
Keaton Kutcher

#24 Keaton Kutcher

6' 2"
Redshirt Junior
test
G
AJ Redd

#5 AJ Redd

6' 3"
Junior
G
Ty Rodgers

#20 Ty Rodgers

6' 6"
Junior
G/F
Jason Jakstys

#31 Jason Jakstys

6' 10"
Freshman
F
Morez Johnson Jr.

#21 Morez Johnson Jr.

6' 9"
Freshman
F
Jake Davis

#15 Jake Davis

6' 6"
Sophomore
F
Ben Humrichous

#3 Ben Humrichous

6' 9"
Graduate Student
F
Tomislav Ivisic

#13 Tomislav Ivisic

7' 1"
Sophomore
C
Kasparas Jakucionis

#32 Kasparas Jakucionis

6' 6"
Freshman
G
Carey Booth

#0 Carey Booth

6' 10"
Sophomore
F
Kylan Boswell

#4 Kylan Boswell

6' 2"
Junior
G