ILLINOIS (11-5, 3-2) vs. Rutgers (12-3, 3-1)
Date	Saturday, Jan. 11, 2020 | 11 a.m. CT
Location	Champaign, Ill. | State Farm Center (15,544) | Fan Guide
Tickets	Buy Online | Promotions | Virtual Seating Map
Promotions	B1G Weekend Pack (4 Games for $109)
Television	BTN (Jeff Levering & Jess Settles)
Live Stream	FoxSports.com & Fox Sports App
Radio	Fighting Illini Sports Network | Audio | TuneIn  | XM 384, Streaming 974
Live Stats	FightingIllini.com
Printable Notes	Illinois | Rutgers | Big Ten
2019-20 Stats	Illinois | Rutgers | Big Ten
Pregame Press Conf.	Coach Underwood (Jan. 10)
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Social Media	@IlliniMBB | #Illini | @IlliniMBB | Facebook | YouTube

Head Coach Brad Underwood

Career Record: 146-71 (.673), 7th year
At Illinois: 37-44 (.457), 3rd year
Big Ten: 14-29 (.326)

Series Notes vs. Rutgers

Record: Illinois leads 7-1
Streak: Illinois W-3
Record at Champaign: Illinois leads 4-0
Streak at Champaign: Illinois W-3
Last Year's Meeting: Illinois 99, Rutgers 94 (OT)  //  2/9/19 at Champaign
Underwood vs. Rutgers: 3-0

Opening Tips

• Illinois concludes its stretch of four games in less than 10 days across three cities, hosting Rutgers on Saturday at State Farm Center (11 a.m. CT, BTN). 

• The Scarlet Knights come to Champaign in second place in the Big Ten at 3-1, a half game ahead of the fourth-place Illini (3-2). Illinois is 9-1 at State Farm Center this season.

• Illinois and Rutgers own two of the four road victories thus far in Big Ten play. The Illini are coming off a win at Wisconsin on Wednesday, while Rutgers won at Nebraska on Jan. 3.

• Illinois leads the Big Ten in scoring defense during league play, allowing 60.8 ppg. The Illini rank third in field goal percentage defense (.376) and second in 3-point percentage defense (.243) in conference games. 

• Illinois is one victory away from equaling last season's win total.

• Illinois is No. 29 nationally in kenpom (adjusted efficiency margin), its highest ranking since Dec. 9, 2014 (22).

• Illinois is above .500 in Big Ten play for the first time since March 6, 2015 (9-8). Illinois is above .500 after five league games, meanwhile, for the first time since the 2012 conference campaign (4-1). 

• The last time the Illini were two games better than .500 in the Big Ten was Feb. 14, 2015 (7-5). 

• After managing just 3-of-28 from 3-point range for a season low 10.7% at Michigan State, the Illini have responded to shoot 40% from behind the arc over the last two games (14-35), making seven treys apiece in the wins over Purdue and Wisconsin. 

• Illinois' defense has allowed an average of just 60.8 points on 39% shooting and 28.5% from 3-point range over the last eight games, helping the Illini to a 5-3 record during that stretch. 

• Illinois is averaging just 9.3 turnovers over the last four games (37), finishing in single digits in three of those four contests. The Illini set a season best with just seven turnovers Wednesday at Wisconsin.  

• Illinois ranks third in the NCAA in rebound margin (+10.8).

• Illinois has outrebounded its opponent in 11 of 16 games, and nine times by double digits.

• Illinois ranks fourth nationally in offensive rebound percentage (38.4%) and is scoring 12.9 second-chance points per game.  

• Illinois ranks third in the Big Ten in kenpom defensive efficiency during conference play (92.4).

• Illinois is No. 9 in the nation in defensive free throw rate at 21.7% (FTA/FGA), a complete contrast from last season when the Illini defense ranked 338th out of 353 teams in that same category (42.4%).

• Illinois' win at Wisconsin on Wednesday snapped a 15-game skid against the Badgers and was the UI's first victory at Kohl Center in 10 years. 

• In its victory over Purdue last Sunday Illinois allowed just 37 points – marking PU's lowest output since 1949 – on 25% shooting, the lowest field goal percentage in Boilermaker history.

• Illinois' 71-62 victory over No. 5 Michigan on Jan. 11 marked its first win over a top-5 team since toppling No. 1 Indiana on Feb. 7, 2013. The Illini have now recorded three victories over opponents ranked in the top 15 dating back to last January.

• Illinois is shooting 54.1% on 2-pointers (363-671), which ranks 37th nationally. 

• The Illini are 11-1 this season, and 31-3 in the Underwood era, when shooting better than the opponent.

• Illinois has made 45 more free throws than its opponents have attempted on the season, consistently winning the battle at the free throw line.

• The Illini are currently outscoring foes by an average of 6.5 points per game at the free throw line.  

• An underclassman has been the Illini's leading scorer in 14 of 16 games on the season.

Last Time Out: Illini Snap Skid to Badgers with Victory at Kohl 

• Illinois snapped a 15-game losing streak to Wisconsin, the longest ever by an Illinois opponent.

• Illinois snapped an eight-game losing streak at Kohl Center, which spanned 10 years (last win: 63-56 at No. 11 Wisconsin, Feb. 9, 2010).

• Illinois is the only Big Ten school to sweep Wisconsin during the regular season in football and men's basketball in 2019-20. 

• Illinois' 71 points were its most against Wisconsin in the last 29 match-ups spanning nearly 15 years (75-65 win at Wisconsin, Jan. 25, 2005). 

• Illinois won a one-point game in Madison for the first time since Jan. 7, 1984 (63-62, OT).

• Illinois' 71 points were the second-most by an opponent against Wisconsin this season. Rutgers beat the Badgers, 72-65, on Dec. 11.

• Illinois' 49.1% shooting was the highest field goal percentage allowed by Wisconsin's defense this season. The Illini shot 61.5% in the second half (16-26), making 5-of-7 threes (71.4%).

• Illinois is just the third Big Ten team to shoot 49%+ overall and 43%+ from three at Kohl Center in the last five years (Michigan, Feb. 11, 2018 & Ohio State, Dec. 2, 2017).

• The game had 13 lead changes, most in an Illini game since Feb. 14, 2016 (14 in a 58-56 loss at Northwestern).

• Trailing by seven points at 63-56 – equaling it largest deficit of the game – Illinois outscored the Badgers 15-7 over the final 4:41. Illinois scored on six of its final eight possessions.

• Sophomore Ayo Dosunmu had a stellar game, leading the Illini in scoring for the sixth time this season with 18 points. Dosunmu also tied his season high with six assists and added five boards in a season-high 37 minutes. 

• Dosunmu came up big down the stretch, scoring or assisting on Illinois' final 14 points. His stepback three from the top of the key with 46 seconds remaining put the Illini ahead by four.

• Freshman Kofi Cockburn had 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting and led the Illini with six rebounds.  

• Sophomore Alan Griffin reached double figures for the fourth straight game, scoring 12 on 4-of-5 shooting despite being limited by foul trouble to 18 minutes.

• Griffin hit back-to-back treys that brought the Illini from down six to a 63-all tie at the 3:22 mark. 

Griffin Brings Big Boost off the Bench

Sophomore Alan Griffin is providing energy and effectiveness as a reserve, seeing his playing time, role and production all increasing in recent weeks. Entering the Old Dominion game on Dec. 14, Griffin was averaging 6.6 points and 3.6 rebounds in 14.6 minutes.

But over the last six games, Griffin has averaged 14.3 points and 5.3 rebounds on 68.2% shooting and 50% 3-point shooting while playing 20.2 minutes per contest. Those numbers are even better over the last four games, where he is averaging 15.8 points and 6.5 rebounds on 73.3% from the field and 55.6% from three. 

The result has moved him up to fourth on the team in both scoring (9.7 ppg) and rebounding (4.3 rpg) on the season.

Player Items

• Sophomore Alan Griffin ranks fifth in the nation in offensive rating by kenpom (135.6), and first nationally among players who use at least 20% of possessions. 

• Kofi Cockburn ranks 58th in the NCAA in rebounding – and No. 4 among freshmen – averaging 9.1 rpg. 

• Cockburn is 22nd nationally in offensive rebound percentage (15.6).

• Cockburn is 14th nationally in fouls drawn per 40 minutes (7.0).

• Cockburn has scored in double figures in 13 of 16 games, with four 20-point outings. 

• After an uncharacteristic 2-for-10 shooting effort at Michigan State, Cockburn is 12-19 from the field over the last two games (63.2%). 

• Cockburn is shooting 71.7% at the foul line over the last 11 games (43-60), after opening the year at 50% through the first five games (17-34).

• Cockburn has totaled 12 blocked shots in the last seven games (1.7 bpg) after recording 10 blocks through his first nine games (1.1 bpg).

• Sophomore Ayo Dosunmu leads the team and is seventh in the Big Ten in scoring at 15.3 ppg. He has reached double digits in 12 of 16 games with four 20-point performances.

• Dosunmu is averaging 5.9 rebounds over the last eight games (47), after collecting 1.7 rpg the previous seven games (12).

• Dosunmu dished out a season-high six assists in Wednesday's win at Wisconsin, surpassing his assist total over the previous four games combined (5). 

• Junior Trent Frazier is 15 points away from becoming the 50th 1,000-point scorer in school history.

• Frazier and senior Andres Feliz have combined for 21 assists with only two turnovers over the last four games. 

» Complete Illinois-Rutgers Game Notes (PDF)