| Illinois Probable Starters (from last game) |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
Note |
| G |
1 |
Trent Frazier |
6-1 |
170 |
So. |
14.8 |
2.6 |
2.9 |
1.8 spg (2nd in B1G) |
| G |
11 |
Ayo Dosunmu |
6-5 |
185 |
Fr. |
14.2 |
4.6 |
2.8 |
21.0 ppg in last 5 |
| G |
20 |
Da'Monte Williams |
6-3 |
200 |
So. |
4.5 |
3.3 |
1.3 |
14 steals |
| F |
2 |
Kipper Nichols |
6-6 |
220 |
r-Jr. |
8.1 |
3.6 |
1.4 |
18 pts vs. Ohio St 12/5 |
| F |
15 |
Giorgi Bezhanishvili |
6-9 |
235 |
Fr. |
11.0 |
4.9 |
1.0 |
13.3 ppg in B!G play |
| Off the Bench |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
Note |
| G |
0 |
Alan Griffin |
6-5 |
180 |
Fr. |
2.7 |
1.9 |
0.4 |
CH 11 pts. vs. Iowa State |
| G |
3 |
Drew Cayce |
6-1 |
175 |
r-Jr. |
0.4 |
0.6 |
0.2 |
Walkon in third year |
| F |
4 |
Zach Griffith |
6-6 |
210 |
So. |
0.0 |
0.7 |
0.3 |
Walkon is former manager |
| G |
5 |
Tevian Jones |
6-7 |
205 |
Fr. |
2.7 |
1.3 |
0.2 |
8 pts, 4 reb vs UE |
| G |
10 |
Andres Feliz |
6-2 |
185 |
Jr. |
6.7 |
2.0 |
2.4 |
19 pts, 7-11 FG vs. UNLV |
| C |
12 |
Adonis De La Rosa |
7-0 |
260 |
Gr. |
3.2 |
2.3 |
0.3 |
Grad transfer from Kent St. |
| F |
22 |
Anthony Higgs |
6-8 |
235 |
Fr. |
- |
- |
- |
Won 2 HS state titles in MD |
| G |
23 |
Aaron Jordan |
6-5 |
210 |
Sr. |
9.1 |
4.7 |
1.6 |
.442 3FG (34-77) |
| G |
32 |
Tyler Underwood |
6-2 |
180 |
r-Jr. |
0.3 |
0.7 |
0.4 |
Son of Coach Underwood |
| C |
34 |
Samba Kane |
7-0 |
220 |
Fr. |
2.3 |
0.9 |
0.1 |
8 pts, 4-5 FG vs. UNLV |
| G |
35 |
Samson Oladimeji |
6-4 |
200 |
Jr. |
0.4 |
0.2 |
0.0 |
Third-year walkon |
Career Record: 128-57/.692 (6th year)
At Illinois: 19-30/.388 (2nd year)
Series Notes vs. Iowa
Record: Illinois leads 85-73
Streak: Iowa W-2
Record in Iowa City: Iowa leads 54-22
Streak in Iowa City: Illinois W-1
Last Year's Meetings: IOWA 104, ILL 97, OT (1/11/18 @ILL) // IOWA 96, ILL 87 (2/28/18 @NYC)
Underwood vs. Iowa: 0-2
Opening Tips
• After earning its first Big Ten win with a dominant performance against Minnesota, Illinois plays three out of its next four games away from home beginning Sunday afternoon at No. 23 Iowa (12 p.m. CT, BTN).
• Sunday's game is a match-up of the Big Ten's two fastest teams in conference play (kenpom), with Illinois leading the league in tempo (72.1 possessions) and Iowa ranked second (70.1 possessions).
• The Illinois-Iowa series has been dominated by the home team historically, but the Illini have competed well in Iowa City in recent years, winning five of their last seven games at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
• Illinois is looking to end a 14-game skid against Top 25 teams, aiming for its first win over a ranked opponent since defeating No. 20 Iowa, 68-66, in the 2016 Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis (March 10, 2016).
• Illinois also looks to snap an 11-game skid on the road against Top 25 teams. The Illini's last road win over a ranked opponent was a 66-63 victory at No. 24 Iowa on March 8, 2014 on a Jon Ekey game-winning 3-pointer.
• Freshman Ayo Dosunmu has been the Illini's leading scorer in each of the last five games, averaging 21 points (105) on 57 percent shooting (49-86) and 48.5 percent from 3-point range (16-33), with four 20-point performances.
• Freshman Giorgi Bezhanishvili is averaging 15.3 points (61) on 61.9 percent shooting (26-42) over the last four games, scoring at least 15 points three times.
• Illinois is the only Big Ten team whose top three leading scorers on the season are all underclassmen.
• Illinois is one of just four Big Ten teams with at least three players averaging 13.0 points or more in conference play (Maryland, Michigan, Nebraska).
• Illinois currently ranks 70th in defensive adjusted efficiency (kenpom), an improvement of 59 spots over last season's final defensive rating.
• In conference games only, the Illini rank fifth in the league in kenpom defensive efficiency (101.7).
• Illinois has either led (eight times), been tied (once), or trailed by two with the ball (once) during the second half in 10 of its 12 losses.
• Illinois has played the No. 7-ranked schedule in the nation (kenpom).
• Illinois is 352nd in luck (kenpom), ranked second-to-last among all Div. I teams ahead of Mercer.
Illini Player Trends
• This is the first time in school history that Illinois has two freshmen (Ayo Dosunmu-2 and Giorgi Bezhanishvili-3) among its top three season-leading scorers.
• Illinois has three underclassmen (So. Trent Frazier-1, Fr. Ayo Dosunmu-2, Fr. Giorgi Bezhanishvili-3) ranking as its top three leading scorers for the first time since the 2008-09 season (So. Demetri McCamey-1, So. Mike Davis-2, So. Mike Tisdale-3).
• Over the last five games freshman Ayo Dosunmu has scored at least 20 points against all but Northwestern (18), becoming the first Illini freshman ever to record four 20-point performances over a five-game stretch.
• Dosunmu's 105 points over the last five games is the highest total by an Illini freshman in 20 years, since Cory Bradford also scored 105 over five-consecutive games as a redshirt freshman from Jan. 30-Feb. 13, 1999.
• Dosunmu is the first Illini freshman, meanwhile, to score in double figures in five straight games since Brian Cook from Jan. 22-Feb. 6, 2000.
• Over the last eight games, freshman Giorgi Bezhanishvili is averaging 12.8 points (102) on 54.7 percent from the field (41-75), reaching double figures five times.
• Sophomore Trent Frazier is averaging 14.0 points (28) on 47.6 percent shooting (10-21) over the last two games, reaching double figures both times.
• Senior Aaron Jordan is shooting 45.3 percent from 3-point range as an upperclassman (78-172) after shooting 33.3 percent from behind the arc his first two seasons (28-84).
• Sophomore Da'Monte Williams is averaging 6.0 points over the last four games (24), after recording a total of six points the previous four contests.
• Junior Andres Feliz has a 2.4 assist/turnover ratio over the last five games (12 a-5 to).
Notes from the Last Time Out: Illini Dominate Minnesota at Home (Jan. 16)
• Illinois led by 23 points at halftime (51-28), marking the Illini's largest halftime lead in a Big Ten game since leading Northwestern 47-24 on Jan. 6, 2011.
• Illinois' 95 points were its most in a regulation Big Ten game since beating Minnesota 96-90 on Jan. 14, 1997.
• Illinois' 27-point win tied its fourth-largest margin ever over Minnesota in the 190-game history of the series.
• The 27-point margin marked Illinois' biggest in league play since defeating Rutgers by 31 last season (91-60 on Jan. 30, 2018).
• Illinois shot 56.1 percent on the night, its best performance in league play since the Rutgers game last year (.569).
• Illinois tallied 52 points in the paint, its most in a game since at least the 2008-09 season.
• Minnesota entered the game ranked third in the Big Ten and 42nd in the nation with a +5.7 rebound margin. But the Illini owned the glass against the Gophers, 39-26.
• The +13 rebound margin marked Illinois' biggest in a league game since outrebounding Nebraska by 17 last season (46-29, Jan. 15, 2018).
• Illinois had 22 fast break points, and 27 points within the first seven seconds of the shot clock.
• Illinois' 26 points off turnovers tied for its second most this season (32 vs. Evansville).
• Sophomore Trent Frazier's 15 points marked his highest point total in the last five games.
• Freshman Ayo Dosunmu scored a game-high 23 points on 9-of-13 shooting against Minnesota, his fourth 20+ point game in the last five games.
• Freshman Giorgi Bezhanishvili scored 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting, his second-highest scoring game of the season (22 at Notre Dame). Bezhanishvili had a +/- of +39 in 29 minutes and added a career-high six offensive rebounds.
• Bezhanishvili's performance marked the first 20-point game by an Illini true freshman frontcourt player since Brian Cook scored 21 his rookie season against Iowa (Feb. 12, 2000).
• After combining for a total three 3-pointers through the Illini's first five league games, senior Aaron Jordan made three treys against the Gophers for nine points.
» Complete Illinois-Iowa Game Notes (PDF)
