| Illinois Probable Starters (from last game) |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
Note |
| G |
1 |
Trent Frazier |
6-2 |
175 |
Jr. |
9.5 |
2.1 |
2.0 |
186 career made threes |
| G |
10 |
Andres Feliz |
6-2 |
195 |
Sr. |
11.2 |
4.8 |
2.8 |
Double-figure pts in 6 straight |
| G |
0 |
Alan Griffin |
6-5 |
195 |
So. |
8.6 |
4.7 |
0.5 |
40.7% 3FG on season (35-86) |
| G |
20 |
Da'Monte Williams |
6-3 |
210 |
Jr. |
2.4 |
3.7 |
1.2 |
4-6 3FG last 3 games |
| C |
21 |
Kofi Cockburn |
7-0 |
290 |
Fr. |
13.6 |
9.0 |
0.7 |
10 double-doubles |
| Off the Bench |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
Note |
| F |
2 |
Kipper Nichols |
6-6 |
220 |
r-Sr. |
3.6 |
2.0 |
0.6 |
110 career games played |
| F |
4 |
Zach Griffith |
6-6 |
210 |
Jr. |
0.8 |
0.5 |
0.1 |
Academic All-B1G |
| G |
5 |
Tevian Jones |
6-7 |
205 |
So. |
1.0 |
0.8 |
0.1 |
6 pts. last game at RUT |
| G |
11 |
Ayo Dosunmu |
6-5 |
185 |
So. |
15.8 |
4.3 |
3.3 |
Naismith Mid-Season 30 |
| F |
13 |
Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk |
6-8 |
235 |
Fr. |
1.2 |
1.1 |
0.7 |
6.4 min. per game |
| F |
15 |
Giorgi Bezhanishvili |
6-9 |
235 |
So. |
7.7 |
4.9 |
1.9 |
16 pts at PSU 3/10/19 |
| G |
32 |
Tyler Underwood |
6-2 |
180 |
Gr. |
0.7 |
0.2 |
0.2 |
2-6 from three |
| C |
34 |
Jermaine Hamlin |
6-10 |
235 |
Fr. |
1.0 |
0.9 |
0.1 |
6-8 FG |
| F |
35 |
Samson Oladimeji |
6-4 |
210 |
Sr. |
0.3 |
0.4 |
0.0 |
2-time Academic All-B1G |
| Sitting Out 2019-20 Season (NCAA Transfers) |
| G/F |
3 |
Jacob Grandison |
6-6 |
200 |
Jr. |
13.9* |
5.0* |
2.9* |
'18-19 stats from Holy Cross |
| G |
22 |
Austin Hutcherson |
6-6 |
175 |
Jr. |
20.0* |
5.6* |
3.2* |
'18-19 stats from Wesleyan |
Career Record: 151-75 (.668), 7th year
At Illinois: 42-48 (.467), 3rd year
Big Ten: 19-33 (.365)
Series Notes vs. Penn State
Record: Illinois leads 28-19
Streak: Penn State W-6
Record at University Park: Illinois leads 11-0
Streak at University Park: Penn State W-3
Last Year's Meetings: PSU 83, ILL 76 (2/23/29 @ILL) & PSU 72, ILL 56 (3/10/19 @PSU)
Underwood vs. Penn State: 0-3
Opening Tips
• Illinois heads back East for the second part of its two-game road trip, facing No. 9 Penn State on Tuesday (5:30 p.m. CT). It is an All-Access broadcast on FS1, featuring both head coaches mic'd up and bringing viewers into team huddles and the locker rooms.
• Following seven consecutive wins, the Illini are now looking to snap a four-game losing streak.
• Illinois also is looking to end a six-game skid against Penn State. Illinois' last victory over the Nittany Lions was Jan. 31, 2015 in Champaign. The Illini's last win at the Jordan Center, meanwhile, came on Feb. 9, 2014.
• Illinois has dropped 18 straight against Top 25 opponents in true road games. Illinois beat No. 13 Maryland last season at Madison Square Garden, but the Illini's last victory on a ranked team's home court was a 66-63 win at No. 24 Iowa on March 8, 2014, on a Jon Ekey three with :00.5 left.
• Illinois' last road win over a Top-10 team was an 85-73 victory at No. 10 Gonzaga on Dec. 8, 2012. The Illini's last conference road win against a Top-10 team, meanwhile, was a 71-67 OT victory at No. 9 Purdue on Dec. 30, 2008.
• Illinois concludes five-straight Quad 1 games on Tuesday, a stretch dating back to Feb. 2 at Iowa.
• Four of Illinois' remaining six regular season games are either Quad 1 (3) or Quad 2 (1).
• Illinois has won three Big Ten road games, tied with Michigan State and Wisconsin for third-most in the league behind Penn State and Maryland (4 apiece).
• Illinois is second in the Big Ten in scoring defense during league play, allowing 63.6 ppg.
• The Illini rank fourth in field goal percentage defense (.407) and third in 3-point percentage defense (.314) in conference games.
• The Illini head to Penn State looking for their sixth Quad 1 win of the season. Three of Illinois' five Quad 1 victories have come on the road: at Michigan (26), at Wisconsin (31) and at Purdue (33), with the home wins against Michigan (26) and Rutgers (30).
• The Illini also have two Quad 2 wins – both at home – with the victory against Purdue (33) just missing Quad 1 status (top 30).
• Illinois was ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 for five straight weeks from Jan. 13-Feb. 10. It marked Illinois' longest streak since appearing in eight straight AP polls from Nov. 26, 2012-Jan. 14, 2013.
• Illinois (+8.0) trails just Penn State and West Virginia for the largest turnaround so far this season among schools from the six major conferences.
• Illinois has surpassed last year's win total by four games and last seasons's B1G win total by one game.
• Illinois is averaging just 10.2 turnovers over the last 13 games, tallying single digits seven times.
• Illinois ranks fourth in the NCAA in rebound margin (+8.7), trailing Houston, UC Irvine and Gonzaga.
• Illinois has outrebounded its opponent in 18 of 25 games, and 10 times by double digits.
• Illinois ranks sixth nationally in offensive rebound rate (36.3%) and is averaging 12.2 second-chance ppg.
• The Illini are 15-1 this season, and 35-3 in the Underwood era, when shooting better than the opponent.
• Illinois has made 39 more free throws than its opponents have attempted on the season, and are currently outscoring foes by an average of 5.6 points per game at the foul line.
• Illinois is No. 17 in the nation in defensive free throw rate at 23.1% (FTA/FGA), a complete contrast from last season when the Illini defense ranked 338th out of 353 teams in that same category (42.4%).
Player Items
• Sophomore Ayo Dosunmu leads the team and is sixth in the Big Ten in scoring at 15.8 ppg. He has reached double digits in 20 of the 24 games he's played in, with five 20-point performances.
• Dosunmu has scored in double figures in 14 of his last 15 games, including a career-long active streak of nine straight contests.
• Dosunmu is averaging 17.0 points (153), 4.7 rebounds (42) and 4.2 assists (38) over his last nine games.
• Kofi Cockburn has 10 double-doubles, setting the Illinois freshman season record and ranking fifth among all freshmen nationally.
• Cockburn ranks 58th in the NCAA in rebounding – and No. 4 among freshmen – averaging 9.0 rpg.
• Cockburn is 19th nationally in offensive rebound percentage (14.9).
• Cockburn is averaging 3.9 offensive rebounds over the last nine games (35).
• Cockburn is 39th nationally in fouls drawn per 40 minutes (6.4) and 57th in free throw rate (58.7).
• Cockburn has scored in double figures in 19 of 25 games, with five 20-point outings.
• Cockburn made 80.5% from the foul line over an eight-game stretch (33-41) before missing all four free throw attempts Saturday at Rutgers.
• Senior Andres Feliz is averaging 14.3 points (86) and 5.8 rebounds (35) over the last six games while shooting 50% from the field (31-62) and 90.9% from the foul line (20-22).
• Feliz carries an active career-long streak by scoring in double digits in six straight games.
• Sophomore Alan Griffin is averaging 10.7 points (32) and 7.3 rebounds (22) over the last three games while shooting 53.8% from 3-point range (7-13) and making an average of 2.3 treys.
SFC Sellouts
Momentum on the court is carrying over to the Illini fan base. Illinois has played in front of sellout crowds in each of the last three home games against Minnesota, Maryland and Michigan State. Two additional games have sold out: March 1 vs. Indiana and March 8 vs. Iowa (Senior Night). The Illini-Hoosiers matchup will be Stripe State Farm Center, with odd-numbered sections and Illinois students asked to wear orange, and even-numbered sections requested to wear blue.
Tickets are still available for the remaining home game, Feb. 24 vs. Nebraska, and can be purchased through FightingIllini.com or by phone at 1-866-ILLINI-1.
Last Time Out
Playing for the first time this season without leading scorer and playmaker Ayo Dosunmu, the Illini battled for the first 26 minutes before running out of steam, dropping a 72-57 decision at Rutgers as the Scarlet Knights remained undefeated (17-0) on their homecourt.
There were two changes in the starting lineup, with Andres Feliz moving from his usual 6th-man role in place of Dosunmu, and Alan Griffin earning his first start of the season, and second of his career.
The Illini went on a 10-1 run early in the game to take a 14-10 lead, and later cut a five-point deficit to just two at the half. The second half started off much the same way as the first half was played, with the teams exchanging baskets.
A 3-pointer by Andres Feliz pulled the Illini within 43-42 with 14 minutes left. But Rutgers then went on the first sizable run for either team, scoring 11 unanswered to extend its lead to 54-42.
Illinois cut that deficit nearly in half, drawing to 54-47. The Knights answered with another run, this time 9-2 to push it back to 63-49 at the 3:00 mark. That made it a 20-7 advantage for Rutgers in an 11-minute stretch which decided the game.
Illinois had trouble shooting against Rutgers once again, finishing 31.1% from the field (19-61) and 28.6% from 3-point land (8-28) while equaling its season high with 28 attempts from long distance. Rutgers, meanwhile, made 49.1% on the afternoon (27-55) and 46.7% from three (7-15). Illinois had only 11 turnovers, but the hosts took advantage, converting those into 19 points.
Griffin led the team in scoring for the third time this season, finishing with 14 points. Kofi Cockburn recorded his 10th double-double of the season with 10 and 10, and Andres Feliz reached double digits for the sixth straight game with 10 points.
» Complete Illinois-Penn State Game Notes (PDF)
