| Illinois Probable Starters (from last game) |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
Note |
| G |
1 |
Trent Frazier |
6-1 |
170 |
So. |
14.0 |
2.5 |
2.6 |
19 pts in 2018 win vs. IU |
| G |
11 |
Ayo Dosunmu |
6-5 |
185 |
Fr. |
14.0 |
3.9 |
3.2 |
20 pts at IU 1/3/19 |
| G |
20 |
Da'Monte Williams |
6-3 |
200 |
So. |
3.8 |
3.4 |
1.2 |
24 steals on season |
| G |
23 |
Aaron Jordan |
6-5 |
210 |
Sr. |
8.1 |
4.8 |
1.4 |
.405 3FG% (51-126) |
| F |
15 |
Giorgi Bezhanishvili |
6-9 |
235 |
Fr. |
11.9 |
5.2 |
0.8 |
.558 FG% in B1G play |
| Off the Bench |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
Note |
| G |
0 |
Alan Griffin |
6-5 |
180 |
Fr. |
3.1 |
1.7 |
0.3 |
Son of NBA vet Adrian |
| F |
2 |
Kipper Nichols |
6-6 |
220 |
r-Jr. |
6.0 |
2.9 |
1.2 |
SH 4 O-REB at PUR 2/27/19 |
| 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 former manager |
| G |
5 |
Tevian Jones |
6-7 |
205 |
Fr. |
3.5 |
1.4 |
0.2 |
18 pts. vs. MD 1/26/19 |
| G |
10 |
Andres Feliz |
6-2 |
185 |
Jr. |
8.3 |
2.6 |
2.1 |
CH 26 pts, 16-17 FT vs. NW |
| C |
12 |
Adonis De La Rosa |
7-0 |
260 |
Gr. |
2.5 |
1.8 |
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. |
1.8 |
0.6 |
0.1 |
9 blocks in 79 mins. |
| G |
35 |
Samson Oladimeji |
6-4 |
200 |
Jr. |
0.3 |
0.4 |
0.1 |
Walkon in third year |
Career Record: 134-63/.680 (6th year)
At Illinois: 25-36/.410 (2nd year)
Series Notes vs. Indiana
Record: Indiana leads 92-87
Streak: Indiana W-2
Record in Champaign: Illinois leads 52-33
Streak in Champaign: Illinois W-1
Last Meeting: #21 IND 73, ILL 65 (Jan. 3 @IND)
Underwood vs. Indiana: 1-2
Opening Tips
• Illinois plays its final home game of the season on Thursday night, hosting Indiana (7 p.m. CT, FS1). It will be Senior Night at State Farm Center, with the program recognizing four managers and players Aaron Jordan, Adonis De La Rosa and Drew Cayce in a pregame ceremony.
• Illinois is looking to even the season series with Indiana after the Hoosiers won Jan. 3 in Bloomington. The Illini have split with four of the five teams it has played twice so far in league play: Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern and Ohio State. Wisconsin is the lone UI opponent to sweep home and road games.
• Ayo Dosunmu is vying to become the first-ever true freshman to lead the Illini in scoring. The only other rookie to finish as the Illini's season-leading scorer was Cory Bradford as a redshirt freshman in 1999.
• The Illini have won five of their last eight games, are 6-4 in the last 10, and 7-6 over the last 13 after starting Big Ten play 0-5.
• Illinois is one of 19 teams from the six major conferences to improve its win total in league play by at least three games this season compared to last year.
• With one victory this week, Illinois would double its conference win total over last season and secure its biggest jump in 10 years. In 2009 the Illini won 11 league games after winning five in 2008.
• Illinois currently has a seed range of 7 through 12 for next week's Big Ten Tournament (through Tuesday's games played). The Illini could secure a first-round (Wednesday) bye with a victory over Indiana.
Senior Night
Illinois will honor four senior managers and three student-athletes on the State Farm Center court during a Senior Night pregame ceremony approximately 20 minutes before tip-off of Thursday's game vs. Indiana.
Drew Cayce is in his third year with the Illini, joining the program as a preferred walk-on after spending his freshman year at Creighton. He is a leader on the scout team, bringing energy and a competitive fire to practice every day. The Libertyville native appeared in nine games last season, scoring four points, and has played in five games this year, recording his first career basket in the Big Ten home victory over Minnesota. Cayce will graduate in May with a degree in communication.
Adonis De La Rosa joined the program this year as a graduate transfer from Kent State. He has battled back from a torn ACL to play in 22 games this season, averaging 2.5 points and 1.8 rebounds while providing a physical presence in the paint for the Illini. The Bronx product recorded his season high at Northwestern with 12 points, and grabbed a season-best seven rebounds against Iowa State in the Maui Invitational. De La Rosa is pursuing a master's in recreation, sport and tourism.
Aaron Jordan is a tireless worker who has improved every season, embodying the 'every day guys' culture of the Fighting Illini program. He is currently the team's fifth-leading scorer, averaging 8.1 points, and second-leading rebounder with 4.8 boards per contest. He has scored 613 career points while approaching 300 rebounds (292). The Plainfield native has also made 123 treys and ranks ninth in the UI record books for career 3-point accuracy at 40.3 percent. A three-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree, Jordan graduated in December with a degree in media and cinema studies and is now pursuing a master's in recreation, sport and tourism.
The Fighting Illini senior managers are co-head managers Patrick Althoff (Bloomington) and Josh Larson (Tolono), along with Blake Woodard (Tuscola) and Aaron Fordyce (Dunlap).
Illini Items
• Illinois has improved 50 spots in Ken Pomeroy's efficiency rankings in 2019 (from 113th on Jan. 1 to current ranking of 63rd), the biggest jump of any team from the six major conferences.
• Illinois has played the No. 6-ranked schedule in the nation according to kenpom ratings, while the Illini's average opponent NET rank is No. 4 nationally.
• The Big Ten is rated the best conference in the nation this season by Kenpom, with all 14 teams currently in the top 75, 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 a combined six games against Quad-3 and Quad-4 opponents, tied for the fewest of any team in the country.
• Illinois is one of 47 teams nationally with at least three Quad-1 wins.
• Illinois checks in at 33rd in T-Rank since Jan. 11 (7-6 record).
• There is only one team below .500 with a higher kenpom rating than the 63rd-ranked Illini (Penn State, 43rd).
• Illinois is 8-3 when allowing less than one point per possession (losses are Florida Atlantic, at Northwestern, at Wisconsin).
• Illinois has either led (11 times) or been tied (twice), during the second half in 13 of its losses.
Pressure D
The Illini defense ranks 18th in the nation in turnover rate, forcing turnovers on 22.7 percent of opponent possessions on the season. Opponents are averaging 16.4 turnovers against the Illini, with the Illini "D" leading the Big Ten and ranking 17th in the NCAA in forced turnovers per game. Illinois leads the league and is 46th nationally in steals, meanwhile, averaging 7.7 spg.
Illinois is currently averaging 17.0 points off turnovers, outscoring foes by 3.1 points per game in that category. The high opponent turnover rate has led the Illini to a +3.4 turnover margin, ranking second in the conference and 29th in the NCAA.
Fab Frosh
Coach Brad Underwood has a pair of freshmen excelling in the lineup once again with Ayo Dosunmu and Giorgi Bezhanishvili grabbing headlines one year after Trent Frazier's outstanding season as a newcomer.
Dosunmu is ahead of Frazier by one point for the team lead in scoring this season, with his current average of 14.0 points ranking fourth on the Illini's all-time scoring list for freshmen, and second among true freshmen. Bezhanishvili, meanwhile, is eighth on that list at 11.9 ppg. Dosunmu has already recorded seven 20-point games, tied for second on the UI all-time freshman list, with Bezhanishvili in sixth place with four 20-point performances:
Illini Freshman Scoring Average
1. 15.9-Kiwane Garris, 1994
2. 15.4-Cory Bradford, 1999
3. 15.1-Deon Thomas, 1991
4. 14.0-Ayo Dosunmu, 2019
5. 12.5-Trent Frazier, 2018
6. 12.4-Efrem Winters, 1983
7. 12.0-Dee Brown, 2003
8. 11.9-Giorgi Bezhanishvili, 2019
Illini Freshman 20-Point Games
1. 8-Cory Bradford, 1999
T2. 7-Ayo Dosunmu, 2019
T2. 7-Kiwane Garris, 1994
4. 6-Deon Thomas, 1991
5. 5-Trent Frazier, 2018
6. 4-Giorgi Bezhanishvili, 2019
