| Illinois Probable Starters (from last game) |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
Note |
| G |
11 |
Ayo Dosunmu |
6-5 |
185 |
So. |
13.8 |
4.0 |
3.3 |
Naismith Trophy Watch List |
| G |
1 |
Trent Frazier |
6-2 |
175 |
Jr. |
13.7 |
2.3 |
2.6 |
Jerry West Award Watch List |
| G |
10 |
Andres Feliz |
6-2 |
195 |
Sr. |
8.3 |
2.9 |
2.2 |
12.1 ppg last 7 gms in '18-19 |
| F |
15 |
Giorgi Bezhanishvili |
6-9 |
235 |
So. |
12.5 |
5.2 |
0.8 |
UI Frosh record 35 pts 2/9/19 |
| C |
21 |
Kofi Cockburn |
7-0 |
290 |
Fr. |
- |
- |
- |
Double-double in exhibition |
| Off the Bench |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
Note |
| G |
0 |
Alan Griffin |
6-5 |
195 |
So. |
2.8 |
1.6 |
0.3 |
22 off. rebounds in '18-19 |
| F |
2 |
Kipper Nichols |
6-6 |
220 |
r-Sr. |
5.7 |
2.8 |
1.1 |
54.4% on 2-pointers last year |
| F |
4 |
Zach Griffith |
6-6 |
210 |
Jr. |
0.0 |
0.6 |
0.2 |
2nd yr walkon is former manager |
| G |
5 |
Tevian Jones |
6-7 |
205 |
So. |
3.6 |
1.5 |
0.3 |
18 pts. vs. Maryland at MSG |
| F |
13 |
Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk |
6-8 |
235 |
Fr. |
- |
- |
- |
Belgian BC Oostende youth team |
| G |
20 |
Da'Monte Williams |
6-3 |
210 |
Jr. |
3.4 |
3.5 |
1.2 |
Started last 17 games last year |
| G |
32 |
Tyler Underwood |
6-2 |
180 |
Gr. |
0.2 |
0.6 |
0.3 |
Son of Coach Underwood |
| C |
34 |
Jermaine Hamlin |
6-10 |
235 |
Fr. |
- |
- |
- |
IBCA All-State pick |
| G |
35 |
Samson Oladimeji |
6-4 |
210 |
Sr. |
0.2 |
0.4 |
0.1 |
4th year walkon |
| Sitting Out 2019-20 Season (NCAA Transfers) |
| G/F |
3 |
Jacob Grandison |
6-6 |
200 |
Jr. |
13.9* |
4.5* |
2.0* |
'18-19 stats from Holy Cross |
| G |
22 |
Austin Hutcherson |
6-6 |
175 |
Jr. |
20.0* |
5.6* |
3.2* |
'18-19 stats from Wesleyan |
Career Record: 135-66 (.672), 7th year
At Illinois: 26-39 (.400), 3rd year
Series Notes vs. Nicholls State
Record: First meeting
Underwood vs. Nicholls State at Illinois: First meeting
Underwood vs. Nicholls State All-Time: 3-0
Opening Tips
• Illinois opens its 115th season of men's basketball on Tuesday night in Champaign, hosting Nicholls State. The Fighting Illini have posted an all-time record of 100-14 (.877) in season openers.
• The Illini are 34-2 all-time (.944) when starting the season at State Farm Center, which includes an active streak of 22 straight wins when opening the year at SFC.
• Nov. 5 is the earliest season opener on the calendar school history.
• This marks the first-ever meeting between Illinois and Nicholls State. Head Coach Brad Underwood faced the Colonels at Stephen F. Austin, however, going 3-0 against the Colonels in Southland conference play from 2014-16.
• Illinois returns 85% of its scoring from last season, the third-highest percentage among teams from the six major conferences (details on p. 2).
• This is a busy start to the season for the Illini. Following Tuesday night's game, the Illini depart on Wednesday for Phoenix. Illinois has a two-game road trip in The Grand Canyon State to wrap up the opening week of the season, beginning at Grand Canyon on Friday night. The 8 p.m. CT game will be televised locally on WCIX49. Illinois then travels to Tucson on Saturday and will face No. 21 Arizona on Sunday night, with the 8 p.m. CT tip-off televised on the Pac-12 Network.
Broadcast Information
Tuesday's season opener vs. Nicholls State will be streamed live via BTN+. Fans can watch the game online at btnplus.com or via the BTN+ app by purchasing a subscription to BTN+, a direct-to-consumer video streaming subscription service offered by the Big Ten Network. Fans that sign up for the "Illinois School Pass" will get all four basketball games for a one month subscription of $9.95 that also includes access to other Illinois events, including live volleyball matches and women's basketball games, as well as football game replays.
A total of four Illinois men's basketball games will be streamed exclusively via BTN+ this season, all in the month of November: Lewis (Nov. 1), Nicholls State (Nov. 5), Hampton (Nov. 23) Lindenwood (Nov. 26).
Returning Scoring Among Nation's Best
Illinois returns its four leading scorers and eight of its top nine scorers from a year ago. In fact, the Illini return 2,045 of the 2,398 points scored during the 2018-19 campaign, an impressive 85.3%. That percentage tops the Big Ten and ranks third nationally among teams from the six major conferences:
1. Colorado 95% Pac-12
2. Notre Dame 86% ACC
3. Illinois 85% Big Ten
4. Maryland 81% Big Ten
5. Oklahoma State 78% Big 12
Dosunmu on Naismith Trophy Watch List
The Atlanta Tipoff club announced Monday the 50 watch list candidates for the 2020 Citizen Naismith Trophy Men's Player of the Year, the top honor in college basketball. The list features Illini sophomore Ayo Dosunmu, one of eight Big Ten players recognized.
Dosunmu had a stellar rookie season with the Fighting Illini, including these highlights:
• Big Ten All-Freshman Team & honorable mention All-Big Ten (coaches & media)
• First true freshman in school history to lead the Illini in scoring for the season (13.8 ppg)
• Recorded the fourth-best scoring average by a freshman in Illini history
• Two-time Big Ten Freshman of the Week (Feb. 11 & Feb. 18)
• 23 games scoring in double figures with seven performances of 20 or more points
• Led team in assists (3.3 apg), second in steals (1.3 spg) and third in rebounds (4.0 rpg)
A list of the midseason 30 team will be released in early February, followed by the 10 national semifinalists and four finalists on March 5, 2020, and March 17, 2020, respectively. The 2020 Citizen Naismith Trophy will be awarded in the hometown of the Atlanta Tipoff Club during the Final Four at the Naismith Awards Brunch on April 5, 2020.
The Naismith Trophy Watch List is the latest preseason accolade for Dosunmu, joining the following:
• Cousy Award Watch List for the nation's top point guard
• Third-team All-America by Sporting News, Athlon Sports and Dick Vitale
• Fourth-team All-America by Blue Ribbon Year Book
• First-team All-Big Ten by Blue Ribbon and Athlon
• Preseason All-Big Ten by the conference's media panel
Last Time Out
Five Illini scored in double figures, led by freshman center Kofi Cockburn's double double, in Illinois' 83-50 exhibition win against Lewis University on Friday night at State Farm Center.
Cockburn had 16 points, 11 rebounds and four blocked shots in his first game action at State Farm Center to lead the Orange and Blue.
Junior Trent Frazier added 13 points, including three 3-pointers, while senior Andres Feliz (12 points, six rebounds), sophomore Giorgi Bezhanishvili (12 points, seven rebounds) and freshman Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk (11 points in just eight minutes), all reached double figures for the Illini
The Illini were slow out of the gate in their first action of the season, falling behind by as many as 12 in the first. But the hosts closed out the half on a 14-2 run to lead 32-29 at the break.
In the second half, Illinois came out firing on all cylinders, outscoring Lewis 51-21 while shooting 58.6 percent from the field after intermission to pull away for the 33-point win.
» Complete Illinois-Nicholls State Notes (PDF)
