Game 9: ILLINOIS (6-2, 0-0) at #3/4 Maryland (9-0, 0-0)
Date	Saturday, Dec. 7, 2019 | 4 p.m. CT (5 p.m. ET)
Location	College Park, Md. | Xfinity Center
Tickets	Buy Online
Television	ESPN2 (Jason Benetti & Dan Dakich)
Watch Online	WatchESPN.com
Radio	Fighting Illini Sports Network | Audio | TuneIn | Sirius/XM 380 (stream 970)
Live Stats	StatBroadcast
Printable Notes	Illinois | Maryland | Big Ten
2019-20 Stats	Illinois | Maryland | Big Ten
Shop	Online Store | Auctions | Publications
Social Media	@IlliniMBB | #Illini | @IlliniMBB | Facebook | YouTube

Head Coach Brad Underwood

Career Record: 141-68 (.675), 7th year
At Illinois: 32-41 (.438), 3rd year
Big Ten: 11-27 (.289)

Series Notes vs. Maryland

Record: Maryland leads 9-6
Streak: Illinois W-1
Record at College Park: Maryland leads 4-1
Last Year's Meeting: Illinois 78, #13 Maryland 67 // Jan. 26, 2019 at New York City
Underwood vs. Maryland at Illinois/All-Time: 1-1 / 1-2

Opening Tips

• A charter member of the conference, Illinois opens its 115th season of Big Ten basketball on Saturday, facing No. 3 Maryland in College Park. (4 p.m. CT, ESPN2). Illinois is 67-47 all-time in Big Ten openers.

• Illinois is starting Big Ten play on the road for the fourth straight season. The Illini are 23-29 all-time when beginning conference play on the road.

• Illinois is looking to win its league opener for the first time since the 2013-14 season, an 83-80 overtime home win over Indiana (Dec. 31, 2013). Illinois is looking to start 1-0 in the Big Ten when opening on the road, meanwhile, for the first time since the 2010-11 season, an 87-77 win at Iowa (Dec. 29, 2010).

• The Illini head to College Park looking to snap a 14-game skid against ranked opponents in true road games. The Illini's last victory on a Top 25 team's home court was a 66-63 win at No. 24 Iowa on March 8, 2014, courtesy of a Jon Ekey 3-pointer with :00.5 left. 

• It has been more than 30 years since Illinois last defeated a Top-5 team on the road, a 70-67 win by the Flyin' Illini at No. 3 Indiana on March 5, 1989, thanks to a Nick Anderson 35-footer at the buzzer.

• The Illini begin Big Ten play against No. 3 Maryland and No. 4 Michigan. It marks the first time Illinois will play consecutive games against Top 5 opponents 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 is the first time the Illini play back-to-back Big Ten games against Top 5 foes 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 on (Jan. 28, 1987).  

Balanced Attack

Illinois is balanced offensively, with all five starters averaging double figures in scoring, and its top three scorers averaging between 14.8 and 16.3 points per game, led by freshman Kofi Cockburn (16.3 ppg) and followed by sophomore Ayo Dosunmu (15.8 ppg) and senior Andres Feliz (14.8 ppg).

The Illini are one of just six teams from within the six major conferences to have three players averaging at least 14 points (through Dec. 5):

  • Illinois » Dosunmu-16.3 ppg, Cockburn-15.8 ppg, Feliz-14.8 ppg
  • Indiana » Green-15.8 ppg, Jackson-Davis-15.5 ppg, Smith-14.3 ppg
  • Oklahoma » Reaves-17.6 ppg, Doolittle-16.0 ppg, Manek-14.0 ppg
  • Washington » Stewart-16.5 ppg, McDaniels-15.0 ppg, Carter-14.6 ppg
  • Arkansas » Jones-18.1 ppg, Joe-15.8 ppg, Whitt-14.6 ppg
  • LSU » Mays-16.3 ppg, Williams-15.4 ppg, Days-14.0 ppg

Team Notables

• Illinois leads the nation in offensive rebound percentage (45.1%) and rebound margin (+17.4).

• Illinois ranks third in the nation in scoring, averaging 87.1 points. 

• Illinois is eighth in the NCAA in field goal percentage (51.2%). That is fueled by 56.1% on 2-pointers, which is 23rd nationally. 

• The Illini have one of the nation's highest scoring offenses despite ranking 309th nationally in 3-point attempts (138).

• Illinois is currently seventh in the nation in defensive free throw rate (18.9) and 31st in free throw rate (40.9). 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 63 more free throws (152) than its opponents have attempted (89). The Illini are currently outscoring foes by an average of 11.6 points per game at the free throw line. 

• The Illini are 6-0 this season, and 26-2 in the Underwood era, when shooting better than the opponent.

• Illinois shot better than 60% from the field in five consecutive halves, beginning with the second half vs. The Citadel on Nov. 20 through the second half vs. Lindenwood on Nov. 26.

Player Headlines

• Kofi Cockburn is tied for eighth in the NCAA with five double-doubles.

• Cockburn ranks 11th in the NCAA in rebounding – and No. 1 among freshmen – averaging 11.0 rpg. And he is eighth nationally in offensive rebounds with 4.3 offensive boards per game. 

• Cockburn leads the nation in offensive rebound percentage (20.9%) and ranks 15th in defensive rebound percentage (29.6%).

• Cockburn leads the team in scoring (16.3 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 seven of eight games, with three 20-point outings. 

• Cockburn is 13th nationally in fouls drawn per 40 minutes (7.7).

• Cockburn is third in the Big Ten and ranks 56th in the NCAA in free throw attempts (50).

• While Cockburn is shooting 64% at the foul line this season, he is 15-16 on FT over the last three games. 

• Sophomore Ayo Dosunmu is second on the Illini and seventh in the Big Ten in scoring at 15.8 ppg. He has reached double digits in six of eight games with three 20-point outings.

• Dosunmu is averaging 17.0 points, meanwhile, in six home games (102).

• Dosunmu is shooting 58.6% on twos (41-70).

• Dosunmu has collected six steals the last two games after totaling four steals through the first six games.

• Senior Andres Feliz has netted double figures in six of eight games and is third on the team in scoring (12th in Big Ten), averaging 14.8 points.

• Feliz is third in Big Ten in free throws made with 38 and fourth in the league in attempts (48). He ranks fifth in the conference in free throw shooting at 79.2%.

• The 6-foot, 2-inch Feliz is ninth in the Big Ten – and first among B1G guards – in defensive rebounding (5.9 rpg).

• Feliz has tallied 25 assists with only 10 turnovers the last five games (2.5 ratio), a vast improvement over the 9 assists with 12 turnovers through his first three games.

• Sophomore Giorgi Bezhanishvili is averaging 11.5 points (46), 6.5 rebounds (26) and 3.3 assists (13) while shooting 70.8% from the field (17-24) the last four games.

• Bezhanishvili is 5-8 from 3-point range through eight games (62.5%) after going 5-30 from behind the arc as a freshman (16.7%).

• Junior Trent Frazier is averaging 15.5 points (31) while shooting 56.3 percent from 3-point range (9-16) with an average of 4.5 made treys over the last two games.

• After starting the year 0-7 on 3-pointers, Frazier is shooting 55.2% from 3-point range (16-29) over the last six games. 

• Frazier now ranks fourth in the Big Ten in 3-point shooting at 44.4% on the season (16-36).

• Frazier is averaging 3.8 assists (15) over the last four games.

• Junior Da'Monte Williams is averaging 7.5 points (30) and 6.3 rebounds (25) over the last four games, compared to 1.5 ppg and 3.0 rpg through the first four contests.

• Sophomore Alan Griffin is averaging 13.5 points (27) while shooting 45.5 percent from 3-point range (5-11) in his last two games.

• Griffin has collected 13 of his 28 rebounds on the offensive end.

» Complete Illinois-Maryland Notes (PDF)