| Illinois Probable Starters (from last game) |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
Note |
| G |
1 |
Trent Frazier |
6-1 |
170 |
So. |
14.3 |
2.5 |
2.6 |
69 3FG made (3rd in B1G) |
| G |
11 |
Ayo Dosunmu |
6-5 |
185 |
Fr. |
14.3 |
4.0 |
3.2 |
19 games double-fig. pts. |
| G |
20 |
Da'Monte Williams |
6-3 |
200 |
So. |
3.7 |
3.5 |
1.1 |
11 pts, 4-4 FG vs. PU in '18 |
| G |
23 |
Aaron Jordan |
6-5 |
210 |
Sr. |
8.3 |
4.5 |
1.5 |
.412 3FG (49-119) |
| F |
15 |
Giorgi Bezhanishvili |
6-9 |
235 |
Fr. |
12.3 |
5.2 |
0.9 |
1st double-double vs. PSU |
| Off the Bench |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
Note |
| G |
0 |
Alan Griffin |
6-5 |
180 |
Fr. |
2.9 |
1.6 |
0.3 |
Son of NBA vet Adrian |
| F |
2 |
Kipper Nichols |
6-6 |
220 |
r-Jr. |
6.1 |
2.9 |
1.2 |
18 pts vs. NEB 2/2/18 |
| 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 |
0.8 |
0.3 |
Walkon is former manager |
| G |
5 |
Tevian Jones |
6-7 |
205 |
Fr. |
3.4 |
1.5 |
0.3 |
18 pts in win vs. Maryland |
| G |
10 |
Andres Feliz |
6-2 |
185 |
Jr. |
7.7 |
2.5 |
2.0 |
10.4 ppg in last eight |
| C |
12 |
Adonis De La Rosa |
7-0 |
260 |
Gr. |
2.6 |
1.9 |
0.3 |
Grad transfer from Kent St. |
| F |
22 |
Anthony Higgs |
6-8 |
235 |
Fr. |
- |
- |
- |
Won 2 HS state titles in MD |
| G |
32 |
Tyler Underwood |
6-2 |
180 |
r-Jr. |
0.2 |
0.5 |
0.3 |
Son of Coach Underwood |
| C |
34 |
Samba Kane |
7-0 |
220 |
Fr. |
1.9 |
0.6 |
0.1 |
9 blocked shots |
| G |
35 |
Samson Oladimeji |
6-4 |
200 |
Jr. |
0.3 |
0.4 |
0.1 |
Third-year walkon |
Career Record: 133-62/.682 (6th year)
At Illinois: 24-35/.407 (2nd year)
Series Notes vs. Purdue
Record: Purdue leads 101-87
Streak: Purdue W-3
Record in West Lafayette: Purdue leads 62-28
Streak in West Lafayette: Purdue W-6
Last Year's Meeting: #9 PUR 93, ILL 86 (2/22/18 @ILL)
Underwood vs. Purdue: 0-1
Illini Items
• Illinois is on the road for the third time in four games, facing No. 14 Purdue on Wednesday (7:30 p.m. CT, BTN).
• The Illini are looking to snap a six-game skid in West Lafayette spanning 10+ years. Illinois' last victory at Mackey Arena was a 71-67 overtime win in the opener of the 2009 Big Ten campaign (Dec. 30, 2008).
• Illinois has beaten two ranked teams this season, defeating No. 13 Maryland at Madison Square Garden (Jan. 26) and No. 9 Michigan State at home (Feb. 5). The Illini are now aiming to snap a 13-game skid on the road against ranked foes. The Illini's last road win over a Top 25 opponent came on March 8, 2014 at No. 24 Iowa. Illinois' last road victory over a team ranked in the top 15, meanwhile, came on Dec. 8, 2012 at No. 10 Gonzaga.
• The Illini have won four of their last six games, are 5-3 in the last eight, and 6-5 over the last 11 after starting Big Ten play 0-5.
• Illinois has improved 49 spots in Ken Pomeroy's efficiency rankings in 2019 (from 113th on Jan. 1 to current ranking of 64th), the biggest jump of any team from the six major conferences.
• The Big Ten is rated the best conference in the nation this season by Kenpom, with all 14 teams currently in the top 78, including 11 in the top 50. It is the first season since 2013 that the conference is ranked No. 1, and the first time since 2011 (when it was only an 11-team league) that every team is ranked in the top 100.
• Illinois has played the No. 5-ranked schedule in the nation according to Ken Pomeroy's ratings, while the Illini's average opponent NET rank is No. 4 nationally.
• Illinois has played a combined five games against Quad-3 and Quad-4 opponents, the fewest of any team in the country.
• The Illini are one of 41 teams nationally with at least three Quad-1 wins.
• Illinois checks in at 34th in T-Rank since Jan. 11 (6-5 record).
• Illinois is 8-3 when allowing less than one point per possession (losses are Florida Atlantic, at Northwestern, at Wisconsin).
• Illinois has either led (10 times) or been tied (twice), during the second half in 12 of its losses.
• Illinois games average 71.8 possessions, ranked 33rd nationally (kenpom). Illinois and Iowa (86th) are the only Big Ten teams in the top 150 in tempo.
Player Trends
• For the first time in school history, Illinois has a pair of freshmen serving as its top-two leading scorers during conference play in Ayo Dosunmu (15.2 ppg) and Giorgi Bezhanishvili (14.0 ppg).
• 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).
• Illinois is the only Big Ten team whose top three leading scorers on the season are all underclassmen.
• Illinois is the only Big Ten team with three players averaging at least 13 points during league play (Ayo Dosunmu-15.2 ppg, Giorgi Bezhanishvili-14.0 ppg, Trent Frazier-13.0 ppg).
• Sophomore Trent Frazier averaged 17.6 points over a five-game stretch from Jan. 30-Feb. 14 (88). His double-figure scoring streak was broken Feb. 18 at Wisconsin (8).
• Frazier was shooting 50 percent from 3-point range over a seven-game stretch from Jan. 26-Feb. 18 (23-46), averaging 3.3 makes, before making just 1-of-9 treys Saturday against Penn State.
• Frazier recorded a season-high 30 points Jan. 30 at Minnesota. It marked his fourth 25+ point game of the season and came within two of his career high.
• Freshman Ayo Dosunmu has been the Illini's leading scorer in 11 of the last 15 games, averaging 16.6 points (249) with six 20-point outings while shooting 53.5 percent on twos (68-127) during that stretch.
• Dosunmu has scored in double figures in each of the last six games, averaging 15.8 points (95).
• Dosunmu's active 6-game double-figure scoring streak equals his longest of the season – first set from Dec. 29 through Jan. 20 – and is the longest by an Illini freshman since Cory Bradford in 1999 (15 games).
• Dosunmu recorded at least 20 points four times in five games from Dec. 29-Jan. 16, becoming the first Illini freshman ever to record four 20-point performances over a five-game stretch.
• Fellow freshman Giorgi Bezhanishvili is averaging 14.9 points (179) on 56.1 percent shooting (74-132) over the last 12 games, scoring in double figures nine times with three 20-point performances.
• Bezhanishvili has scored in double figures in each of the last five games – his longest streak of the season – averaging 18.0 points (90) over that stretch.
• Bezhanishvili is averaging 18.6 points through Illinois' seven Big Ten home games (130) on 58 percent shooting (51-88).
• Bezhanisvhili is averaging 2.3 blocked shots over the last four games, tallying nine during that stretch after totaling eight through the first 23 games.
• Bezhanisvhili is also averaging 7.0 rebounds over the last four games (28).
• Senior Aaron Jordan is shooting 43.5 percent from 3-point range as an upperclassman (93-214) after shooting 33.3 percent from behind the arc his first two seasons (28-84).
• Jordan is shooting 57.1 percent from behind the arc over the last four games (8-14).
• Jordan is averaging 10.5 points over the last two games (21).
• Jordan is second on the team in rebounding at 4.5 rpg after ranking fifth on the Illini in rebounding last year (3.1 rpg).
• Junior Andres Feliz has scored at least eight points in seven of the last eight games – with four double-digit performances – averaging 10.4 points over that stretch (83).
• Sophomore Da'Monte Williams is averaging 5.5 rebounds over the last two games (11).
• Freshman Alan Griffin has logged 34 minutes over the last three games (11.3 mpg) after combining for a total of 24 minutes over the previous six games (4.0 mpg).
Pressure D
The Illini defense ranks 13th in the nation in turnover rate, forcing turnovers on 23.1 percent of opponent possessions on the season. Opponents are averaging 16.8 turnovers against the Illini, with the Illini "D" leading the Big Ten and ranking 14th in the NCAA in forced turnovers per game. Illinois leads the league and is 42nd nationally in steals, meanwhile, averaging 7.8 spg.
Illinois is currently averaging 17.7 points off turnovers, outscoring foes by 3.6 points per game in that category. The high opponent turnover rate has led the Illini to a +3.5 turnover margin, leading the conference and ranking 22nd in the NCAA.
» Complete Illinois-Purdue Game Notes (PDF)
