| Illinois Probable Starters (from last game) |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
Note |
| G |
11 |
Ayo Dosunmu |
6-5 |
185 |
So. |
16.6 |
4.2 |
3.2 |
20.2 ppg, 55.6 FG% last 5 |
| G |
1 |
Trent Frazier |
6-2 |
175 |
Jr. |
9.1 |
2.3 |
2.0 |
191 career threes made |
| G |
10 |
Andres Feliz |
6-2 |
195 |
Sr. |
10.9 |
5.2 |
2.9 |
17 pts at Iowa 2/2/20 |
| G |
20 |
Da'Monte Williams |
6-3 |
210 |
Jr. |
2.6 |
3.7 |
1.3 |
Started last 22 games |
| C |
21 |
Kofi Cockburn |
7-0 |
290 |
Fr. |
13.4 |
8.8 |
0.6 |
12 double-doubles |
| Off the Bench |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
Note |
| G |
0 |
Alan Griffin |
6-5 |
195 |
So. |
9.1 |
4.6 |
0.6 |
.418 3FG% (46-110) |
| F |
2 |
Kipper Nichols |
6-6 |
220 |
r-Sr. |
3.2 |
1.9 |
0.6 |
31 pts vs. Iowa 2/28/18 |
| 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. |
0.9 |
0.8 |
0.1 |
6 pts at RUT 2/15/20 |
| 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. |
6.8 |
4.8 |
1.6 |
1.8 off rebs. per game |
| G |
32 |
Tyler Underwood |
6-2 |
180 |
Gr. |
0.6 |
0.2 |
0.2 |
2-6 from three |
| C |
34 |
Jermaine Hamlin |
6-10 |
235 |
Fr. |
0.9 |
0.8 |
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: 155-76 (.671), 7th year
At Illinois: 46-49 (.484), 3rd year
Big Ten: 23-34 (.404)
Series Notes vs. Iowa
Record: Illinois leads 85-76
Streak: Iowa W-5
Record at Champaign: Illinois leads 62-17
Streak at Champaign: Iowa W-1
Last Meeting: #18 IOWA 72, #19 ILL 65 (Feb. 2 @IOWA)
Underwood vs. Iowa: 0-5
Opening Tips
• No. 23 Illinois concludes the regular season with a home game for the first time since 2011, hosting No. 18 Iowa on Sunday night (6 p.m. CT, BTN).
• It is Senior Night in Champaign, with Andres Feliz, Kipper Nichols, Samson Oladimeji and Tyler Underwood set for their final game at State Farm Center.
• Illinois leads the Big Ten in scoring defense during league play, allowing 63.6 ppg.
• Illinois has secured its highest finish in the Big Ten since at least 2011.
• Illinois currently has 12 Big Ten wins, its most since claiming the 2005 conference title with a 15-1 record.
• Illinois (+9.5) owns the largest turnaround this season among schools from the six major conferences, and is tied for ninth across all of Div. I for most improved teams.
• Illinois is one of 14 teams with at least four Quad 1 road wins, and the lone team in the country with four road wins over teams in the top 35 of the NET.
• Looking ahead to next week's Big Ten Tournament, Illinois can clinch a double-bye with a win on Sunday night. The Illini will be the 4 seed with a win, and either the 5, 6 or 7 seed with a loss.
Senior Night
Illinois will honor five senior managers and four student-athletes on the State Farm Center court during a Senior Night pregame ceremony approximately 20 minutes before tip-off.
• Andres Feliz (Guachupita, Dominican Republic) has played in all 63 games during his two-year Illini career, amassing 602 points, 200 rebounds and 162 assists. He is third on the team in scoring this season, averaging 10.9 points, and at 6'2" is the team's second-leading rebounder with an average of 5.2 boards. Feliz scored a career-high 26 points in last year's home win over Northwestern, and on Thursday at Ohio State equaled his career high with 11 rebounds. Feliz will graduate with a degree in sociology.
• Kipper Nichols (Cleveland, Ohio) is the lone four-year scholarship player in the Fighting Illini program. He has played in 115 career games, recording 696 points and 338 rebounds. Nichols set career highs in both scoring and rebounding as a sophomore, with 31 points against Iowa in the Big Ten Tournament and 11 rebounds vs. Marshall. Nichols will graduate with a degree in advertising.
• Tyler Underwood (Champaign) is in his third year in the Illini program. After sitting out his first year, he has played in 32 games over the last two seasons, totaling 12 points and eight assists. Underwood received a bachelor's degree in sociology last August and is now set to earn a master's in recreation, sport and tourism.
• Samson Oladimeji (Rolling Meadows) is in his fourth year with the Illini after joining the team as a walk-on. He has played in 34 career games, scoring six points. Oladimeji is a three-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree and will graduate with a degree in community health.
The Fighting Illini managers are Derek Anderson (Eureka), Madeline Meinhold (Tuscola), Robby Nardini (Vernon Hills), Macklin Snyder (Fairfield) and head manager Patrick Bittle (Harrisburg).
Player Trends
• First-team All-Big Ten candidate Ayo Dosunmu is averaging 20.2 points (101) and shooting 55.6 percent from the field (40-72) over the last five games after returning to the lineup.
• Dosunmu is averaging 18.1 points (254), 4.4 rebounds (62) and 3.6 assists (51) over his last 14 games.
• During his last 14 appearances, Dosunmu has scored at least 15 points 12 times and has been the Illini's leading scorer nine times.
• Over a six-game stretch prior to Ohio State, freshman Kofi Cockburn averaged 12.8 points (77) and 9.0 rebounds (54) on 56.9% shooting (29-51) scoring in double figures all six times.
• Cockburn is averaging 4.5 blocks over the last two games (9).
• Sophomore Alan Griffin is averaging 11.3 points (90) and 5.5 rebounds (44) over the last eight games while shooting 51.4% from 3-point range (18-35) and making an average of 2.3 treys.
• Griffin ranks fifth nationally in offensive rating by kenpom (129.5), and first among players who use at least 20% of possessions.
• Senior Andres Feliz has scored in double figures in nine of the last 11 games, averaging 12.0 points (132).
Illini Items
• Owning its most league wins since 2005, Illinois is now aiming to finish six games above .500 in Big Ten play for the first time since 2006 (11-5).
• Illinois won five league road games, tied with Maryland for second-most in the Big Ten behind Michigan State (6), and the most by an Illini team since also winning five in 2010.
• During its recent four-game win streak the Illini defense allowed 61.8 points on 40% from the field and 31.4% from 3-point range.
• Illinois has been a team of streaks in 2020. After dropping the first game of the New Year, Illinois went on a seven-game win streak, its longest in league play in 15 years. The Illini then lost four in a row but bounced back with a four-game winning streak, which ended Thursday at Ohio State.
• The Illini have five Quad 1 wins on the season, four of which have come on the road: at Michigan (24), at Wisconsin (26), at Penn State (30) and at Purdue (32). Illinois defeated Michigan (24) at home as well.
• Illinois has played 10 games in the top half of Quad 1, the most of any program in the country.
• Illinois' total of five Quad 1 wins is tied for 21st nationally.
• The Illini also have four Quad 2 wins – all at home – over Rutgers (31), Purdue (32), Minnesota (45) and Indiana (52).
• Illinois is back in the Associated Press poll, ranked No. 23 this week. It is the Illini's first appearance in the Top 25 in March since 2009.
• The Illini spent five-straight weeks ranked 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 leads the Big Ten and ranks eighth in the NCAA in rebound margin (+7.8).
• Illinois ranks third in defensive field goal percentage (.405) and second in defensive 3-point percentage (.309) during Big Ten play.
• Illinois has outrebounded its opponent in 21 of 30 games, and 12 times by double digits.
• Illinois ranks eighth nationally in offensive rebound rate (35.7%) and is averaging 12.1 second-chance ppg.
• Illinois is 12-1 this season when scoring at least 70 points, with the lone loss to Miami, 81-79, on Dec. 2.
• The Illini are 18-2 this season, and 38-4 in the Underwood era, when shooting better than the opponent.
• Illinois' bench has outscored the opposing bench in 12 of 19 Big Ten games.
• Illinois is No. 17 in the nation in defensive free throw rate at 23.8% (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 is seeing a nearly 8.5-point swing in points off free throws this year (+3.7) compared to last year (-4.7).
» Complete Illinois-Iowa Game Notes (PDF)
