#24/RV ILLINOIS (12-5, 4-2) vs. Northwestern (6-10, 1-5)
Date	Saturday, Jan. 18, 2020 | 4 p.m. CT
Location	Champaign, Ill. | State Farm Center (15,544) | Fan Guide
Tickets	Buy Online | Promotions | Virtual Seating Map
Television	BTN (Brandon Gaudin and Andy Katz)
Live Stream	FoxSports.com & Fox Sports App
Radio	Fighting Illini Sports Network | Audio | TuneIn  | XM 372, Streaming 372
Live Stats	FightingIllini.com
Printable Notes	Illinois | Northwestern | Big Ten
2019-20 Stats	Illinois | Northwestern | Big Ten
Pregame Press Conf.	Coach Underwood (Jan. 17)
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Social Media	@IlliniMBB | #Illini | @IlliniMBB | Facebook | YouTube

Head Coach Brad Underwood

Career Record: 147-71 (.674), 7th year
At Illinois: 38-44 (.463), 3rd year
Big Ten: 15-29 (.341)

Series Notes vs. Northwestern

Record: Illinois leads 136-32
Streak: Illinois W-2
Record at Champaign: Illinois leads 69-14
Streak at Champaign: Illinois W-3
Last Year: NU 68, ILL 66 (1/6/19 @NU) // ILL 81, NU 76 (3/3/19 @ILL) // ILL 74, NU 69, OT (3/3/19 @CHI)
Underwood vs. Northwestern: 3-2

Opening Tips

• Owning the Big Ten's longest active winning streak at three games – the Fighting Illini return to action following a week off, hosting Northwestern on Saturday afternoon (4 p.m. CT, BTN).

• Illinois is ranked 24th in this week's Associated Press poll, cracking the Top 25 for the first time in five seasons. The Illini's last appearance in the AP Poll came the week of Dec. 1-7, 2014, also at No. 24. 

• Kofi Cockburn is the reigning Big Ten Freshman of the Week after averaging a double-double of 13.0 points and 11.5 rebounds with 1.5 blocks in wins over Wisconsin and Rutgers. This is already the sixth league rookie accolade in 10 weeks for Cockburn, expanding his record for the most honors by an Illini freshman.

• Illinois is two games above .500 in Big Ten play for the first time since Feb. 14, 2015 (7-5). Illinois is above .500 after six league games, meanwhile, for the first time since the 2012 conference campaign (also 4-2). 

• Illinois leads the Big Ten in scoring defense during league play, allowing 59.2 ppg. The Illini rank second in both field goal percentage defense (.370) and 3-point percentage defense (.262) in conference games.

• Illinois has already equaled last year's win total. The Illini are currently tied with Georgia for the second-largest turnaround (+8.0) among schools from the six major conferences, trailing only West Virginia (+9.0).

• Illinois has just one loss at State Farm Center this year and enters Saturday's game against Northwestern looking to improve to 11-1 at home for the first time since the 2014-15 season.

• The last time the Illini were three games better than .500 in the Big Ten was Jan. 18, 2012 (4-1). 

• Illinois' defense has allowed an average of just 59.7 points on 38.5% shooting and 29.3% from 3-point range over the last nine games, helping the Illini to a 6-3 record during that stretch. 

• Illinois is averaging just 9.0 turnovers over the last five games (45), finishing in single digits in four of those five contests.  

• Illinois leads the Big Ten and ranks second in the NCAA in rebound margin (+10.5).

• Illinois has outrebounded its opponent in 12 of 17 games, and nine times by double digits.

• Illinois ranks fourth nationally in offensive rebound percentage (38.0%) and is scoring 12.9 second-chance points per game.  

• Illinois ranks second in the Big Ten in kenpom defensive efficiency during conference play (90.3).

• Illinois is No. 7 in the nation in defensive free throw rate at 21.2% (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' 28.6% shooting in last Saturday's victory over Rutgers was its worst in a win since at least the 1979-80 season, and was the lowest shooting percentage in a win by any Big Ten team in at least 10 years.

• Illinois' win at Wisconsin on Jan. 8 snapped a 15-game skid against the Badgers and was the UI's first victory at Kohl Center in 10 years. 

• In its Jan. 5 victory over Purdue, 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.

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

• Illinois has made 53 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 6.9 points per game at the foul line.  

• An underclassman has been the Illini's leading scorer in 15 of 17 games on the season.

Cockburn Collects Sixth B1G Freshman of the Week Award

Kofi Cockburn is the reigning Big Ten Freshman of the Week, earning the honor after averaging a double-double of 13.0 points and 11.5 rebounds with 1.5 blocks in a pair of Illini victories.

Cockburn scored 15 points on 6-of-9 from the field and grabbed a team-high 6 rebounds in the win at Wisconsin. He registered those numbers in just 24 minutes limited by fouls as the Illini snapped a 15-game skid to the Badgers and won for the first time in Madison since 2010. He then recorded his seventh double-double with 11 points and game- and career-high tying 17 rebounds in comeback win over Rutgers. Cockburn set the Illinois freshman record for double-doubles, tallying his seventh against the Scarlet Knights just 17 games into the season, while equaling the UI single-game freshman rebound record, a mark he first set on Nov. 20 vs. The Citadel.

This is already the sixth Big Ten Freshman of the Week accolade for Cockburn, just 10 weeks into the 2019-20 season. He expands his school record for the most honors by an Illini, dating back to 2010-11 when the league began honoring a weekly outstanding freshman performer. It is the most Freshman of the Week awards by any Big Ten player, meanwhile, since 2014-15 when Ohio State's D'Angelo Russell was honored seven times during the season.

Taking Care of the Rock

Illinois struggled with turnovers throughout the early portion of the schedule. In fact, the Illini entered Christmas ranked 304th in the NCAA in turnovers, averaging 15.6 turnovers per game.

The Illini have turned things around dramatically since the holiday break, however, averaging just 9.0 turnovers over the last five games (45), posting single-digit turnover numbers in four of those five contests. Guard Trent Frazier has played 148 minutes over the last five games without committing a turnover, while fellow guard Andres Feliz has had just two turnovers in 104 minutes during that five-game stretch. 

  vs. North Carolina A&T – 9 turnovers, W
  at Michgian State – 8 turnovers, L
  vs. Purdue – 13 turnovers, W
  at Wisconsin – 7 turnovers, W
  vs. Rutgers – 8 turnovers, W
  Total – 45 turnovers, 9.0 turnovers per game, 4-1 record

Tightening Up the D

After giving 81 points and 59.3% shooting on its home court in a loss to Miami on Dec. 2, the Illini defense has responded over the last nine games. That stretch has included strong competition, featuring three Big Ten ranked teams and four games away from home. The Illini have allowed an average of 59.7 points on 38.5% shooting, including 29.3% from 3-point range, over the last eight games, compiling a 6-3 record.

Player Items

• Sophomore Alan Griffin ranks ninth in the nation in offensive rating by kenpom (131.4), and second nationally among players who use at least 20% of possessions. 

• Griffin is averaging 13.2 points (66) and 6.8 rebounds (34) while shooting 59% from the field (23-39), 50% from 3-point land (11-22) and 90% from the foul line (9-10) over the last five games, scoring in double figures in four of the five contests. 

• Kofi Cockburn ranks 40th in the NCAA in rebounding – and No. 4 among freshmen – averaging 9.5 rpg. 

• Cockburn is 25th nationally in offensive rebound percentage (15.2).

• Cockburn is 14th nationally in fouls drawn per 40 minutes (6.9).

• Cockburn has scored in double figures in 14 of 17 games, with four 20-point outings.

• Six of Cockburn's seven double-doubles this season have been at State Farm Center. 

• Cockburn is shooting 72.7% at the foul line over the last 12 games (48-66), after opening the year at 50% through the first five games (17-34).

• Cockburn has totaled 14 blocked shots in the last eight games (1.8 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 13 of 17 games with four 20-point performances.

• Dosunmu is averaging 18.0 points over the last two games (36) and totaled 13 points during the final two minutes against Wisconsin (5) and Rutgers (8).

• Dosunmu is averaging 6.0 rebounds over the last nine games (54), after collecting 1.7 rpg the previous seven games (12).

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

• Junior Trent Frazier is 11 points away from becoming the 50th 1,000-point scorer in school history.

• Frazier and senior Andres Feliz have combined for 25 assists with only two turnovers over the last five games.

» Complete Illinois-Northwestern Game Notes (PDF)