Game 1: ILLINOIS (0-0) vs. Southern (0-0)
Date	Friday, Nov. 10, 2017 | 7 p.m.
Location	Champaign, Ill. | State Farm Center (15,544) | Fan Guide
Tickets	Buy Online | Virtual SFC
Television	None
Live Stream	BTN Plus | Sign-Up
Radio	Fighting Illini Sports Network | Audio | TuneIn
Live Stats	FIGHTINGILLINI.com
Printable Notes	Illinois | Southern | Big Ten
2016-17 Stats	Illinois | Southern | Big Ten
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Social Media	@IlliniMBB | #Illini | @IlliniMBB | Facebook | YouTube

Head Coach Brad Underwood

Career Record: 109-27/.801 (5th year)
At Illinois: 0-0 (1st year)

Series Notes vs. Southern

Record: First meeting
Streak: N/A
Record at Champaign: N/A
Streak at Champaign: N/A
Last Meeting: N/A
Underwood vs. Southern: First meeting

Illini in Season Openers

Illinois opens its 113th season of men's basketball on Friday night, hosting Southern. The Fighting Illini have posted an all-time record of 98-14 (.875) in season openers. 

The Illini are 32-2 all-time (.868) when starting the season at State Farm Center, which includes an active streak of 20 straight wins when opening the year at SFC. 

Underwood Era Begins

First-year head coach Brad Underwood is ushering in a new era of Fighting Illini Basketball. Underwood was hired in March after leading Oklahoma State to a 20-win season and NCAA Tournament appearance. That followed a dominant run at Stephen F. Austin where he led the Lumberjacks to Southland Conference regular season and tournament titles in each of his three seasons, compiling an 89-14 record and leading to three straight NCAA Tournament bids. 

Owning the third-most victories in NCAA history by a head coach through his first four years (109), Underwood is now employing his exciting systems of uptempo and positionless spread offense with pressure and deny defense in Champaign. 

Broadcast Information

Friday's season opener vs. Southern will be streamed live via BTN Plus. BTN Plus programming consists of non-televised games produced by students at Big Ten universities and is available through either a monthly or annual subscription. Fans can purchase a BTN Plus subscription by visiting BTN2GO.com. 

Illini Sign Five-Star Point Guard

The Fighting Illini inked five-star point guard Ayo Dosunmu (EYE-oh dough-SUE-moo) of Chicago Morgan Park High School to a national letter of intent during the fall signing period.

Dosunmu had a dominating junior season for the Mustangs, averaging 22 points, nine assists, seven rebounds and two steals. The first-team all-state selection led Morgan Park to the IHSA state championship in class 3A, despite an injury in the semifinals that kept him out of the title game. He also helped Morgan Park to the Public League Red South title. Dosunmu shined during the summer as well, excelling at the NBPA Top 100 camp and Nike Basketball Academy and on the AAU circuit with the Mac Irvin Fire.

"We feel we are getting the best point guard in the country in Ayo Dosunmu," coach Brad Underwood said. "He possesses a number of traits that have elevated him to elite status. He is a proven winner, a great competitor, comes from a tremendous family, is a high-character young man, and has outstanding work ethic.

"Along with being a perfect fit for our system and style, Ayo embraces the power of Fighting Illini basketball and joining a program with such great history and tradition," Underwood added. "It is extremely important to him to wear the "I" and represent our state." 

Following the commitment of 2017 Illinois Mr. Basketball recipient Mark Smith just six weeks after taking over in Champaign, Underwood has made another statement on the recruiting trail by landing the top 25-ranked Dosunmu, a McDonald's All-America Game candidate and the highest-rated guard to join the Fighting Illini program since Dee Brown signed in November 2001.

Setting the Stage in 2017-18

The Illini return just two starters and five scholarship players from last season's senior-laden team that compiled a 20-15 record and advanced to the NIT Quarterfinals. In fact, Illinois returns just 30 percent of its points, 42 percent of its rebounds and 34 percent of its minutes from the 2016-17 season. The Orange and Blue will need to replace its graduated top-three scorers in Malcolm Hill (17.2 ppg, 5.1 rpg), Maverick Morgan (9.9 ppg, 6.3 rpg) and Tracy Abrams (8.6 ppg), along with Jalen Coleman-Lands (8.0 ppg).

Black and Finke Lead Frontcourt

A pair of fourth-year juniors in forwards Leron Black and Michael Finke are the Illini's top returners. 

Black started the final 27 games last season, ranking fourth on the team in scoring with an average of 8.1 points while leading the Illini in rebounds with 6.3 per contest (14th in Big Ten). The Memphis native recorded three double-doubles on the year – including two during the NIT – and scored in double figures 13 times. Always active around the basket, Black will look to increase his rebounding and scoring production this season. 

Finke was the UI's sixth-leading scorer a year ago at 6.9 points per game. He also led the team in 3-point shooting at 41.1 percent. A tireless worker in the weight room, Finke now carries a muscular 235-pound frame. With his shooting ability and offensive skill set, he has the chance to excel in the pinch post. 

Lucas Emerges at Point 

The Illini's lone true freshman last season, Te'Jon Lucas eventually took over the reigns at the point guard position. He started the final 15 games and ended up leading the team in assists on the season (3.1 apg). Lucas is a tenacious defender who provides energy on the court. He also will be counted on to provide leadership to his teammates.

Nichols and Jordan Bolster UI Depth 

Kipper Nichols had a number of bright spots during his shortened redshirt freshman campaign last season. He averaged 5.3 points and 3.3 rebounds during conference play, breaking out with 13 points in a home win over Michigan and scoring a career-high 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting versus Minnesota. Nichols is a strong, physical player who can guard multiple positions. 

Aaron Jordan had a great offseason and has worked hard to challenge for a spot in the rotation entering his junior season. Jordan has made gains in all areas of strength and conditioning and has the ability to knock down shots and defend. 

Grad Transfer Alstork a Proven Scorer

One Illini who could help replace the loss of scoring production is senior Mark Alstork. The Wright State graduate ranked third in the Horizon League last year, averaging 19.0 points. He netted double figures in 27 of 32 games, with 17 outings of 20-plus points. He also set a school record with 176 free throws while draining 70 three-pointers. While known for his scoring, Alstork will be counted on to help the Illini in all areas and has that ability as he also averaged 4.7 rebounds and 3.5 assists last season for the Raiders. 

Freshman Influx

Added to the mix of returnees is a talented and promising five-player freshman class.

Underwood's first recruit was a big one in Edwardsville's Mark Smith. The first Illinois Mr. Basketball to select the Fighting Illini since 2010, Smith averaged 21.9 points, 8.2 rebounds, 8.4 assists and 2.1 steals as a senior. Formerly a multi-sport athlete, he did not focus solely on basketball until his senior year of high school. Smith is a powerful, skilled player with multi-positional skills and strong work ethic.

The Illini inked one of the top players in the state of Florida in top-100 recruit Trent Frazier. He averaged 27.6 points, 6.3 rebounds and 4.4 assists as a senior. Frazier was an electric scorer in high school, tallying a school-record 52 points in a game and leaving as Wellington High's all-time leading scorer with 1,742 points in three varsity seasons. Frazier has great quickness and deep shooting range.

The third guard in the recruiting class is Da'Monte Williams from Peoria Manual. The son of former Illini All-American Frank Williams, Da'Monte is coming off a torn ACL that abruptly cut short his senior season after three games. He averaged 15.3 points, 5.9 rebounds, 2.3 assists as a junior, leading Manual to a third-place finish in state. Williams has outstanding passing ability and vision and the length and competitiveness to be a strong defender. 

Underwood signed two frontcourt players during the summer.   Greg Eboigbodin is an athletic, 6-9 forward from Nigeria who arrived in the U.S. for high school. He attended University of Detroit Jesuit High, where he first began playing basketball. Eboigbodin improved each year and ended up averaging 13.8 points, 13.4 rebounds and 1.5 blocks while shooting 66 percent from the field as a senior. He has added 25 pounds to his frame since June while continuing to learn and grow each day.

Matic Vesel is a skilled, 6-10 forward from Slovenia. He has played with the Slovenian youth national teams, participating in the FIBA U18 European Championships in 2016 and the FIBA U20 European Championships this past summer. Vesel arrived on campus in August and joined the Illini at the beginning of the fall semester. Vesel has strong fundamentals and the ability to pass and shoot. He will look to add muscle and weight while experiencing strength training for the first time. 

Walkon Depth

Rounding out the roster are five walkons who will push the team in practice every day and participate on scout team to aid in game-plan preparations. 

     » Tyler Underwood has followed his father in joining the Illini program and is sitting out this season as a transfer. Tyler has a thorough understanding of the offense and defense and is a coach on the floor for his teammates in practice while they are learning the systems. 

     » Drew Cayce practiced with the Illini guards while sitting out as a transfer from Creighton and has returned for his second season. Clayton Jones also is in his second year, but he will miss the season recovering from a torn ACL.

     » Cameron Liss has been with the Illini for a total of three seasons but redshirted last year. He works with the frontcourt players along with Samson Oladimeji, who is now in his second year.

» COMPLETE ILLINOIS-SOUTHERN GAME NOTES (PDF)