| Illinois Probable Starters (from last game) |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
Note |
| G |
10 |
Andres Feliz |
6-2 |
185 |
Jr. |
14.5 |
4.0 |
4.0 |
.522 FG% |
| G |
11 |
Ayo Dosunmu |
6-5 |
185 |
Fr. |
21.5 |
3.5 |
2.5 |
25 pts vs. G'Town |
| G |
23 |
Aaron Jordan |
6-5 |
210 |
Sr. |
10.0 |
5.0 |
1.0 |
.455 3FG% |
| F |
2 |
Kipper Nichols |
6-6 |
220 |
r-Jr. |
13.0 |
3.5 |
2.5 |
.579 FG% (11-19) |
| F |
15 |
Giorgi Bezhanishvili |
6-9 |
235 |
Fr. |
9.5 |
7.5 |
3.0 |
9 OFF REB |
| Off the Bench |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
Note |
| G |
0 |
Alan Griffin |
6-5 |
180 |
Fr. |
3.0 |
2.0 |
0.0 |
Father played 9 yrs in NBA |
| G |
1 |
Trent Frazier |
6-1 |
170 |
So. |
10.0 |
1.0 |
7.0 |
10 pts, CH 7 ast vs UE |
| G |
3 |
Drew Cayce |
6-1 |
175 |
r-Jr. |
0.0 |
1.0 |
0.0 |
Walkon in third year |
| F |
4 |
Zach Griffith |
6-6 |
210 |
So. |
0.0 |
0.0 |
1.0 |
Walkon is former manager |
| G |
5 |
Tevian Jones |
6-7 |
205 |
Fr. |
5.0 |
3.5 |
0.0 |
.500 FG% |
| C |
12 |
Adonis De La Rosa |
7-0 |
260 |
Gr. |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
Grad transfer from Kent St. |
| G |
20 |
Da'Monte Williams |
6-3 |
200 |
So. |
9.5 |
1.5 |
2.5 |
11 pts, 4 stls vs. G'Town |
| F |
22 |
Anthony Higgs |
6-8 |
235 |
Fr. |
- |
- |
- |
Won 2 HS state titles in MD |
| G |
32 |
Tyler Underwood |
6-2 |
180 |
r-Jr. |
0.0 |
0.5 |
0.0 |
Son of Coach Underwood |
| C |
34 |
Samba Kane |
7-0 |
220 |
Fr. |
- |
- |
- |
Native of Dakar, Senegal |
| G |
35 |
Samson Oladimeji |
6-4 |
200 |
Jr. |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
Third-year walkon |
Career Record: 124-46/.729 (6th year)
At Illinois: 15-19 (2nd year)
Series Notes vs. Gonzaga
Record: Illinois leads 5-1
Streak: Illinois W-3
Record at Neutral Sites: Illinois leads 2-1
Streak at Neutral Sites: Illinois W-1
Last Meeting: #13 Illinois 85, No. 10 Gonzaga 74 // Dec. 8, 2012 at Spokane
Underwood vs. Gonzaga: First meeting
Illini in Maui
Illinois is making its fifth appearance in the Maui Jim Maui Invitational, and its first under Head Coach Brad Underwood. The Illini own an all-time record of 9-3 at the Maui Invite, and won their first title in their last trip to the island in 2012. Illinois also owns a runner-up finish (2000) and pair of third-place finishes (1987 and 2007). Here are Illinois' all-time results at the Maui Invitational:
Nov. 27, 1987 Illinois 73, Baylor 50
Nov. 28, 1987 Villanova 78, Illinois 76
Nov. 29, 1987 Illinois 81, #7 Kansas 75 (third place)
Nov. 20, 2000 #8 Illinois 74, UNLV 69
Nov. 21, 2000 #8 Illinois 90, #6 Maryland 80
Nov. 22, 2000 #1 Arizona 79, #8 Illinois 76 (second place)
Nov. 19, 2007 Illinois 77, Arizona State 54
Nov. 20, 2007 #13 Duke 79, Illinois 66
Nov. 21, 2007 Illinois 65, Oklahoma State 49 (third place)
Nov. 19, 2012 Illinois 94, USC 64
Nov. 20, 2012 Illinois 84, Chaminade 61
Nov. 21, 2012 Illinois 78, Butler 61 (champions)
Coach Underwood is leading a program for the second time at the Maui Invitational. He guided Oklahoma State to a third-place finish in 2016.
Big Opportunity
Illinois heads into Monday night's match-up against No. 3 Gonzaga looking for its first victory over a Top-5 opponent since 2013, when the Illini defeated No. 1 Indiana in Champaign, 74-72, on Tyler Griffey's layup at the buzzer (Feb. 7, 2013).
It has been 13 years since Illinois last defeated a Top-5 team away from home, a 72-57 victory by the top-ranked Illini over No. 4 Louisville in the 2005 Final Four in St. Louis (April 2, 2005), as the Orange and Blue tied the then-NCAA record for wins in a season with its 37th victory to advance to the national title game.
Illini-Gonzaga Series History
Illinois and Gonzaga are meeting for the seventh time, with the Illini victorious in five of the previous six match-ups. The teams last played on Dec. 8, 2012, as the 13th-ranked Illini defeated the No. 10 Bulldogs 85-75 in Spokane behind Brandon Paul's season-high 35 points.
That was the final game of a four-year series between the programs that featured neutral-site games at Chicago's United Center and Seattle's Key Arena followed by a home-and-home. The teams met in 2004 at the Wooden Tradition in Indianapolis, where the Illini showed their first flash of what was to come that season, leading by as many as 38 in a blowout win. The series began with the 2001-02 season opener as the reigning Big Ten Champs won by 20 at home.
Ayo Arrives
Coach Underwood made a big splash on the recruiting trail in his first year on the job with the signing of five-star Chicago guard Ayo Dosunmu. The highest-ranked Illini recruit since Dee Brown in 2002, Dosunmu arrived in Champaign after winning back-to-back state titles at Morgan Park High School followed by a gold medal with Team USA at the FIBA U19 Americas Championship. He is making an immediate freshman impact that reminds many of Brown, one of the most beloved players in school history.
Dosunmu currently leads the team in scoring, 3-point shooting, steals and minutes played. He is averaging 21.5 points after putting 18 in the opener vs. Evansville followed by a game-high 25 vs. Georgetown. Dosunmu is shooting 58.6 percent from the field (17-29) and a 71.4 percent clip from 3-point land (5-7). Dosunmu also has totaled five steals through two games.
Pressure D
Through two games the Illini defense ranks second in the nation in turnover rate, forcing turnovers on 29.7 percent of opponent possessions. The Illini steal rate of 14.9 percent, meanwhile, ranks third nationally.
Illinois forced Evansville into 26 turnovers in the opener, then rattled Georgetown for 22 turnovers.
The Illini ranked fourth in country in defensive turnover rate last season at 23.2 percent.
Notes from the Last Time Out: Illini Fall at Home to Georgetown in Gavitt Tipoff Games (Nov. 13)
• The back-and-forth game featured nine lead changes and eight ties.
• Illinois totaled 27 points within the first seven seconds of possessions.
• Illinois had 13 steals on the night and forced 22 Georgetown turnovers, converting those into 21 points.
• The Illini were without the services of sophomore guard Trent Frazier (concussion).
• Freshman Ayo Dosunmu poured in a game-high 25 points, including 3-of-4 from beyond the arc. Through his first two college games, he is now averaging 21.5 points.
• Freshman Giorgi Bezhanishvili reached double figures for the first time with 12 points.
• Sophomore Da'Monte Williams tied a career-high in scoring with 11 points and also with four steals.
• Junior guard Andres Feliz got his first Illini start and filled the stat sheet with 13 points, five rebounds, team-five assists and three steals.
• For the second consecutive game, a total of five Illini scored in double-figures: Dosunmu (25), Feliz and junior Kipper Nichols (13 each), Bezhanishvili (12) and Williams (11).
• Two Illini saw their first action for the Orange and Blue: graduate transfer Adonis De La Rosa (six minutes) and freshman Alan Griffin (10 minutes, 3 points).
