#19 ILLINOIS (10-5, 6-3) vs. #7 Iowa (12-3, 6-2)
Date | Time	Friday, Jan. 29, 2021 | 8 p.m. CT
Location	Champaign, Ill. | State Farm Center
Television	FS1 (Kevin Kugler & Stephen Bardo)
Live Stream	foxsports.com/live | Fox Sports App
Radio	Busey Bank Illini Sports Network | Listen | TuneIn | Sirius (Ch 84) XM (Ch. 84)
Live Stats	FightingIllini.com
Printable Notes	Illinois | Iowa
Stats	Illinois | Iowa | Big Ten
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Social Media	@IlliniMBB | #Illini | @IlliniMBB | Facebook | YouTube

Head Coach Brad Underwood

Career Record: 166-81 (.672), 8th year
At Illinois: 57-54 (.514), 4th year

Series Notes vs. Iowa

Record: Illinois leads 86-76
Streak: Illinois W-1
Record at Champaign: Illinois leads 63-17
Streak at Champaign: Illinois W-1
Last Season: #18 IOWA 72, #19 ILL 65 (2/2/20 @IOWA) & #23 ILL 78, #18 IOWA 76 (3/8/20 @ILL)
Underwood vs. Iowa: 1-5

Opening Tips

• Following the postponement of last weekend's game at Michigan State, No. 19 Illinois returns to action for the first time in 10 days on Friday night, hosting No. 7 Iowa (8 p.m. CT, FS1).

• Illinois is 61-153 all-time against top-10 opponents, with its most recent win coming on Dec. 8 at No. 10 Duke. The Illini are 27-37 all-time at State Farm Center against top-10 teams, with its most recent victory last season over No. 5 Michigan (Dec. 11, 2019).

• Illinois has totaled four top-10 wins during the Brad Underwood era: at No. 10 Duke (Dec. 8), over No. 5 Michigan (Dec. 11, 2019) and at No. 9 Penn State (Feb. 18, 2020) last season, and the initial victory against No. 9 Michigan State (Feb. 5, 2019) two years ago.

• Illinois is 1-3 in top-25 match-ups this season, 95-93 all-time, and 35-11 at State Farm Center.  

• Leading the Illini is first-team All-America candidate Ayo Dosunmu. Owning numbers of 21.7 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 4.9 assists per game, Dosunmu is one of only two players nationally averaging at least 20 points, six rebounds and four assists this season (Cameron Shelton, Northern Arizona).

• The nation's No. 8 leading scorer at 21.7 points per game, Dosunmu owns the highest scoring average by an Illini since Nick Weatherspoon in 1973 (25.0 ppg). 

• Kofi Cockburn leads the NCAA with 11 double-doubles this season and also carries the nation's longest active streak with six-straight double-doubles. He has posted double-doubles in eight of nine Big Ten games, averaging 19.7 points and 11.2 rebounds in league play. 

• At 17.4 ppg and 10.3 rpg, Cockburn is one of 19 players nationally – and one of just three from the high major conferences – currently averaging a double-double. He is on pace to become the first Illini player since Nick Weatherspoon in 1973 (25.0 ppg, 12.3 rpg) to average a double-double for an entire season.

• Cockburn is one of only two players in the NCAA averaging double figures in scoring (17.4 ppg) while shooting 70% from the field (70.1%), joined by Grand Canyon's Asborn Midtgaard (15.1 ppg, 74.5% FG).

• Over the last five games, freshman Adam Miller is averaging 11.2 points (56) and making an average of 3.0 treys (15) while shooting 40.5% from behind the arc (15-37).

• Da'Monte Williams leads the nation in 3-point shooting (min. 20 attempts), connecting on 22-of-36 for 61.1%.

• Freshman Andre Curbelo ranks second in the Big Ten in assists during league play at 5.6 apg. He is averaging 4.4 assists on the season, currently ranking fifth on the school's all-time freshman assists chart behind legendary Illini point guards Bruce Douglas, Derek Harper, Dee Brown and Deron Williams.

Suits and Sneakers Week

Head Coach Brad Underwood and his staff will be wearing custom Nikes along with Coaches vs. Cancer branded masks during Friday night's game, joining coaches from across the country who are participating in the annual Suits and Sneakers Week (Jan. 25-31).

Coaches vs. Cancer is a collaboration between the American Cancer Society and National Association of Basketball Coaches. The program empowers coaches, their teams and communities to join the fight against cancer by participating in awareness efforts, advocacy programs and fundraising activities. Since the Coaches vs. Cancer program began in 1993, coaches have raised more than $130 million for the fight against cancer. 

Underwood serves on the Coaches vs. Cancer Council and has hosted a successful Kickin' Cancer Dinner and Auction fundraiser following each season at Gordyville USA in nearby Gifford, Illinois. Due to the ongoing pandemic, the event will not be able to be held this year.

Double-Digit Consistency

Ayo Dosunmu has scored at least 10 points in each of the last 30 games, a run that dates back to last year's win at Wisconsin on Jan. 8, 2020. Dosunmu owns the second-longest streak among players from the high major conferences, – trailing only Friday night's opponent in Iowa's Luka Garza (39) – and the sixth-best streak in Div. I.

Here is a look at the longest active double-figure scoring streaks in the NCAA, courtesy of Elias Sports.

72 – Antoine Davis, Detroit (Nov. 6, 2018)
40 – Obadiah Noel, UMass Lowell (Nov. 17, 2019)
39 – Luka Garza, Iowa (Dec. 3, 2019)
36 – Carlik Jones, Louisville/Radford (Dec. 18, 2019)
32 – Tre Mitchell, Massachusetts (Dec. 4, 2019)
30 – Ayo Dosunmu, Illinois (Jan. 8, 2020)

Dominant Dosunmu

The production of junior guard Ayo Dosunmu is up significantly across the board in 2020-21. And that's coming off an impressive sophomore campaign where he earned first-team All-Big Ten accolades.  Here is a look at Dosunmu's current numbers compared to a year ago:

2020-21
21.7 PPG
6.3 RPG
4.9 APG
.490 FG%
.385 3FG%
.815 FT%

2019-20
16.6 PPG
4.3 RPG
3.3 APG
.484 FG%
.296 3FG%
.755 FT%

Change
+5.1 PPG
+2.0 RPG
+1.6 APG
+0.6 FG%
+8.9 3FG%
+6.0 FT%

Through Jan. 9, Dosunmu was the only player in the NCAA averaging at least 20 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists. His assists numbers have since dipped just below five per game. How difficult would it be to achieve such lofty numbers over an entire season? Consider that dating back to 1992-93, only three players have posted that stat line for a year: Memphis' Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway in 1993, Morehead State's Ricky Minard in 2004, and Ohio State's Evan Turner in 2010.

Dosunmu is currently fifth in the running for Kenpom.com Player of the Year, a list littered by the Big Ten with three of the top five ranked players, and five of the top nine.

Dosunmu has scored 18+ points in 11 games and 22+ points in nine games, ranking second nationally. He is one of only nine players, meanwhile, with at least three 30-point games on the season.

Dosunmu's current scoring average of 21.7 points is the best by an Illini since Nick Weatherspoon netted 25.0 ppg in 1973. He is on pace to become just the second UI player in the last 29 years to average at least 20 points for a season, joining 2003 Big Ten Player of the Year Brian Cook (20.0 ppg).

Illinois Single-Season Scoring Average
1. 27.8 – Don Freeman, 1965-66
2. 25.3 – John Kerr, 1953-54
3. 25.0 – Nick Weatherspoon, 1972-73
4. 22.2 – Skip Thoren, 1964-65
5. 22.0 – Dave Scholz, 1967-68
6. 21.73 – Ayo Dosunmu, 2020-21
7. 21.71 – Jim Dawson, 1966-67

King Kofi

Illinois has a force in the paint in sophomore Kofi Cockburn. He is averaging 17.4 points while ranking second in the NCAA in field goal percentage at 70.1%. Cockburn is vying for the Illini single-season field goal shooting record of 65.9%, set by Robert Archibald in 2001-02. 

Cockburn is one only two players in the NCAA averaging double figures in scoring while shooting 70% from the field, joined by Grand Canyon's Asborn Midtgaard.

Cockburn has scored at least 13 points in 14 of 15 games, including an active 11-game streak. He erupted for a career-high 33 points on 12-of-15 shooting with 13 rebounds in the Dec. 15 over Minnesota, becoming the first player in the NCAA this season – and one of only five – to score at least 33 points while registering at least 13 boards.

He anchors the Illini interior defense, leading the Big Ten and ranking 15th in the NCAA in rebounding at 10.3 rpg while leading the Illini with 22 blocked shots.

Cockburn is one of 19 players in the NCAA averaging a double-double on the season, including one of only three from the high-major conferences:

Justin Champagnie, Pittsburgh – 20.2 ppg 12.2 rpg
Kofi Cockburn, Illinois – 17.4 ppg 10.3 rpg
Derek Culver, West Virginia – 13.1 ppg 10.2 rpg

He is one of only five players, meanwhile, averaging 17 points and 10 rebounds on the season:

Hayden Brown, The Citadel – 21.5 ppg 10.0 rpg
Terry Taylor, Austin Peay – 21.2 ppg 10.8 rpg
Justin Champagnie, Pittsburgh – 20.2 ppg 12.2 rpg
Charles Bassey, Western Kentucky – 17.8 ppg 12.2 rpg
Kofi Cockburn, Illinois – 17.4 ppg 10.3 rpg

Cockburn has totaled 11 double-doubles and owns an active six-game streak, leading the NCAA in both areas. He shattered the Illini freshman double-doubles record last year with 12, giving him 23 for his career. That ranks fourth nationally among active players since the start of the 2019-20 season, and first in the high-major conferences.

2020-21 NCAA Double-Double Leaders
T1. 11 – Kofi Cockburn, Illinois
T1. 11 – Charles Bassey, Western Kentucky
3. 10 – Ruot Monyyong, Little Rock
T4. 9 – Fardaws Aimaq, Utah Valley
T4. 9 – Terry Taylor, Austin Peay

NCAA Double-Double Leaders – Last Two Seasons
1. 27 – Terry Taylor, Austin Peay
2. 26 – Ruot Monyyong, Little Rock
3. 24 – James Butler, Drexel
T4. 23 – Kofi Cockburn, Illinois
T4. 23 – Jordan Goodwin, St. Louis
6. 22 – Luka Garza, Iowa

» Complete Illinois Game Notes (PDF)