ILLINOIS (7-3, 1-1 B1G) vs. Old Dominion (3-7, 0-0 C-USA)
Date	Saturday, Dec. 14, 2019 | 5 p.m. CT
Location	Champaign, Ill. | State Farm Center (15,544) | Fan Guide
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Promotions	Kids Club Night
Television	BTN  (Kevin Kugler & Brian Butch)
Live Stream	FoxSports.com & Fox Sports App
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Live Stats	FightingIllini.com
Printable Notes	Illinois | Old Dominion | Big Ten
2019-20 Stats	Illinois | Old Dominion | Big Ten
Underwood Press Conf.	Dec. 13
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Head Coach Brad Underwood

Career Record: 142-69 (.673), 7th year
At Illinois: 33-42 (.440), 3rd year

Series Notes vs. Old Dominion

Record: Illinois leads 1-0
Record at Champaign: First meeting
Last Meeting: Illinois 80, Old Dominion 62 // Nov. 25, 1990 at San Juan, Puerto Rico
Underwood vs. Old Dominion: First meeting

Opening Tips

• Fresh off its first victory over a top-5 team since 2013 with the 71-62 defeat of No. 5 Michigan, the Fighting Illini are back in action Saturday at State Farm Center, hosting Old Dominion (5 p.m. CT, BTN).

• Illinois went 1-for-11 from 3-point range in the win over No. 5 Michigan, becoming just the second team in the last 10 seasons to defeat a top-5 opponent while making only one three. The other was Syracuse, which went 1-for-8 from beyond the arc in its 2018 NCAA Tournament Second Round win over 4th-ranked Michigan State.

• Illinois leads the nation in offensive rebound percentage (42.5%) and rebound margin (+15.7). The Illini have outrebounded nine of 10 opponents, most recently a 44-26 advantage in the Michigan contest.

• Kofi Cockburn recorded his sixth double-double against the Wolverines, posting game highs of 19 points and 10 rebounds while blocking a career-high four shots. With that effort, in just 10 games Cockburn has already equaled the Illinois record for double-doubles by a freshman, first set by Efrem Winters during the 1982-83 season.

• Cockburn is the reigning Big Ten Freshman of the Week, setting a program record with his third weekly freshman award from the league office.

Last Time Out: Illini Take Down #5 Wolverines

Illinois played another great game defensively and used its advantage inside to earn a 71-62 win over No. 5 Michigan at State Farm Center, marking the Orange and Blue's first victory over a top-5 team since 2013.

After the lead exchanged hands throughout the first half, the Illini took a 30-28 lead into the break on a bucket by Kofi Cockburn. 

Illinois played from ahead the rest of the way, going on an early 6-0 spurt after intermission and expanding its lead to as many as 12 points with 3:13 remaining. 

Michigan then reeled off eight unanswered points to pull within four, but a runner by Andres Feliz with 1:20 left stemmed the tide as the Illini finished off the win. 

Illinois' goal was to limit Michigan's 3-point shooting, especially in transition, and it was successful as the Wolverines managed just 3-of-18 on the night.

The Illini got the ball into the lane repeatedly via the post and the dribble drive, racking up an impressive 44 points in the paint. 

Illinois owned the glass, outrebounding the Wolverines 44-to-28. The Illini grabbed 15 boards on the offensive end, which they converted into perhaps the decisive area of the game, a 16-0 advantage in second-chance points. 

Four Illini scored in double figures, led once again by Kofi Cockburn. The freshman center recorded his sixth double-double of the year with game highs of 19 points and 10 boards (six offensive) to go along with a career-high four blocked shots.

Giorgi Bezhanishvili was also effective on the interior, tallying 12 points and eight rebounds. 

Ayo Dosunmu had 14 points and a season-high eight boards while fellow guard Andres Feliz added 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting including the team's only 3-pointer on the night as the Illini earned the victory despite shooting just 1-for-11 from behind the arc.

B1G Start

Illinois' two Big Ten December games to open league play were at No. 3 Maryland and against No. 5 Michigan.

It marked first time Illinois played consecutive games against Top-5 teams since the 2005 NCAA Final Four, when it defeated No. 4 Louisville in the semifinal before falling to No. 2 North Carolina in the championship. 

It was the first time the Illini played back-to-back Big Ten games against Top-5 foes, meanwhile, since the 1987 conference campaign, when Illinois lost a pair of one-possession games at No. 5 Purdue in overtime (Jan. 22, 1987) and at No. 4 Indiana (Jan. 28, 1987).  

Balanced Attack

Illinois is balanced offensively, with five players averaging double figures in scoring, and its top three scorers averaging between 14-16 points per game, led by freshman Kofi Cockburn (15.8 ppg, 6th in Big Ten) and followed by sophomore Ayo Dosunmu (14.9 ppg, 7th in B1G) and senior Andres Feliz (14.2 ppg, 11th in B1G).

The Illini are one of just five teams from within the six major conferences to have three players averaging at least 14 points (through Dec. 12):

Illinois – Dosunmu-15.8 ppg, Cockburn-14.9 ppg, Feliz-14.2 ppg

Oklahoma – Reaves-17.6 ppg, Doolittle-16.0 ppg, Manek-14.0 ppg

Washington – Stewart-17.0 ppg, McDaniels-15.0 ppg, Carter-14.7 ppg

Arkansas – Jones-16.9 ppg, Joe-16.0 ppg, Whitt-14.9 ppg

LSU – Mays-16.0 ppg, Williams-15.4 ppg, Days-14.2 ppg

Tightening Up the D

After giving 81 points and 59.3% shooting on its homecourt in the loss to Miami, the Illini defense has responded by excelling in back-to-back matchups against top-5 Big Ten teams. In those games, the Illini allowed an average of only 60.5 points on 38.4% shooting, including 22.4% from 3-point range.

Team Notables

• Illinois lead the Big Ten and ranks 22nd in the NCAA in scoring, averaging 82.6 points. 

• Illinois leads the Big Ten and ranks 14th in the NCAA in field goal percentage (49.6%). That is fueled by 56.4% on 2-pointers, which is 15th nationally. 

• The Illini have one of the nation's highest scoring offenses despite ranking 299th nationally in 3-point attempts (163).

• Illinois is currently third in the nation in defensive free throw rate (17.8) and 58th in free throw rate (38.7). These are dramatic early-season improvements compared to last year, when the Illini ranked 338th in defensive free throw rate (42.4) and 272nd in free throw rate (29.5).

• Illinois has made 71 more free throws than its opponents have attempted. The Illini are currently outscoring foes by an average of 10.4 points per game at the free throw line. 

• The Illini are 7-1 this season, and 27-3 in the Underwood era, when shooting better than the opponent.

Player Headlines

• Kofi Cockburn ranks 17th in the NCAA in rebounding – and No. 1 among freshmen – averaging 10.6 rpg. And he is fourth nationally in offensive rebounds with 4.3 offensive boards per game. 

• Cockburn is No. 2 in the nation in offensive rebound percentage (20.4%) and ranks 47th in defensive rebound percentage (26.6%).

• Cockburn leads the team in scoring (15.8 ppg), marking the second straight year that a freshman is the UI's leading scorer following Ayo Dosunmu last season. 

• Cockburn has scored in double figures in eight of 10 games, with three 20-point outings. 

• Cockburn is 14th nationally in fouls drawn per 40 minutes (7.3).

• While Cockburn is shooting 66.7% at the foul line this season, he is 23-26 on FT over the last five games. 

• Sophomore Ayo Dosunmu is second on the Illini and seventh in the Big Ten in scoring at 15.9 ppg. He has reached double digits in seven of 10 games with three 20-point outings.

• Dosunmu is averaging 16.6 points, meanwhile, in seven home games (116).

• Dosunmu is shooting 54.3% on twos (50-92).

• Dosunmu has grabbed 13 rebounds over the last two games (6.5 rpg) after totaling 12 boards the previous seven games (1.7 rpg).

• Senior Andres Feliz has netted double figures in eight of 10 games and is third on the team in scoring (11th in Big Ten), averaging 14.2 points.

• Feliz is third in Big Ten in free throws made with 41 and fourth in the league in attempts (55). 

• The 6-foot, 2-inch Feliz is 12th in the Big Ten – and first among B1G guards – in defensive rebounding (5.4 rpg).

• Junior Trent Frazier is averaging 13.0 points (52) while shooting 42.3 percent from 3-point range (11-26) with an average of 2.8 made treys over the last four games.

• After starting the year 0-7 on 3-pointers, Frazier is shooting 46.2% from 3-point range (18-39) over the last eight games. 

• Frazier is closing in on 1,000 career points, just 59 points away from becoming the 50th 1,000-point scorer in school history. 

• Sophomore Giorgi Bezhanishvili averaged 11.5 points (46), 6.5 rebounds (26) and 3.3 assists (13) while shooting 70.8% from the field (17-24) over a four-game stretch prior to Maryland. He returned to recent form against Michigan with 12 points and 8 boards.

• Bezhanishvili is 5-10 from 3-point range through nine games (50%) after going 5-30 from behind the arc as a freshman (16.7%).

• Junior Da'Monte Williams is averaging 5.5 points (33) and 6.2 rebounds (37) over the last six games, compared to 1.5 ppg and 3.0 rpg through the first four contests.

» Complete Illinois-Old Dominion Notes (PDF)