| Illinois Probable Starters (from the last game) |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
Note |
| G |
5 |
Andre Curbelo |
6-1 |
175 |
So. |
9.3 |
4.3 |
5.5 |
Leads nation in assist rate (54.1) |
| G |
1 |
Trent Frazier |
6-2 |
175 |
Sr. |
8.8 |
2.8 |
2.3 |
23 points (6 treys) at Marquette |
| G |
20 |
Da'Monte Williams |
6-3 |
215 |
Sr. |
3.6 |
7.4 |
1.4 |
9.3 rpg over last three games |
| F |
33 |
Coleman Hawkins |
6-10 |
215 |
So. |
10.2 |
6.6 |
2.4 |
Leads UI in steals (8) & blocks (6) |
| C |
21 |
Kofi Cockburn |
7-0 |
285 |
Jr. |
20.5 |
10.0 |
1.0 |
Shooting 65.2% from field (15-23) |
| Off the Bench |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
Note |
| G |
0 |
Brandin Podziemski |
6-5 |
200 |
Fr. |
0.3 |
1.0 |
0.7 |
2021 Wisconsin Mr. Basketball |
| F |
2 |
Connor Serven |
6-9 |
235 |
So. |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
Team's lone walkon in second year |
| G/F |
3 |
Jacob Grandison |
6-6 |
210 |
Gr. |
10.8 |
4.2 |
1.2 |
UI career-high 20 points vs JSU |
| F |
4 |
Omar Payne |
6-10 |
240 |
Jr. |
3.6 |
2.2 |
0.2 |
7 points & 5 boards at Marquette |
| G |
10 |
Luke Goode |
6-7 |
200 |
Fr. |
3.3 |
3.0 |
0.3 |
2021 Indiana first-team All-State |
| G |
11 |
Alfonso Plummer |
6-1 |
180 |
Gr. |
9.2 |
2.0 |
0.8 |
21 pts on 7-9 from three vs K-State |
| C |
12 |
Brandon Lieb |
7-0 |
220 |
So. |
1.3 |
1.0 |
0.3 |
Career-high 4 points vs ASU |
| F |
13 |
Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk |
6-8 |
235 |
r-So. |
3.0 |
5.4 |
0.6 |
Career-high 10 boards vs JSU & ASU |
| G |
15 |
RJ Melendez |
6-7 |
205 |
Fr. |
4.3 |
2.3 |
0.3 |
2021 Florida SIAA Player of the Year |
| G |
22 |
Austin Hutcherson |
6-6 |
190 |
Gr. |
4.5 |
3.0 |
1.0 |
Made UI debut Monday vs UC |
Career Record: 183-85 (.683), 9th year
At Illinois: 74-58 (.561), 5th year
Series Notes vs. UT Rio Grande Valley
Record: Illinois leads 4-0
Record in Champaign: Illinois leads 3-0
Last Meeting: #17 Illinois 71, UTRGV 59 (11/20/2005 @Champaign)
Underwood vs. UTRGV: First meeting
Opening Tips
• No. 14 Illinois plays its first home game in two weeks on Friday, hosting UT Rio Grande Valley (7 p.m. CT, B1G+).
• Illinois has three straight games – and five of its next six – at home.
• The Illini carry a seven-game winning streak at State Farm Center.
• Illinois has had four different starting lineups through five games.
• Illinois owns the nation's fourth-ranked defense by kenpom (87.6 adjusted efficiency).
• Illinois has outrebounded four of its five opponents by at least 16 boards. The Illini rank seventh in the NCAA in rebound margin at +15.2 rpg.
• Illinois ranks fifth nationally in offensive rebound percentage (42.6) and seventh in average (16.6 orpg).
• Illinois has held all five opponents to less than 42% shooting. Illinois ranks 40th in the NCAA in field goal percentage defense (.376).
• Andre Curbelo leads the nation in assist rate (54.1).
• Curbelo has recorded at least five assists in all but one game and is averaging 5.5 apg (26th in NCAA).
• Kofi Cockburn is one of only five players nationally averaging at least 20 points and 10 rebounds.
• Cockburn has 29 career double-doubles, tied for second in the NCAA among active players since 2019-20.
• Alfonso Plummer drained seven 3-pointers in Tuesday's win over Kansas State. That ranks fifth on the Illinois all-time list for made threes in a game, just one shy of the school record.
B1G+ Stream Information
Fans unable to attend Friday's Illinois-UT Rio Grande Valley game can watch it online by purchasing a subscription to B1G+, a streaming service of non-televised events produced by the Big Ten Network in partnership with the Big Ten Conference schools.
Streams are available at bigtenplus.com or by downloading the B1G+ app.
Fans that sign up for the Illinois School Pass can choose either the monthly rate of $9.95 or the annual rate of $79.95. The B1G+ Illinois school pass includes access to live streaming of non-televised Illini games, next day on-demand archives, and access to Big Ten Network's library of Illinois' previous season classics and originals.
Coaches Reunite
Illinois head coach Brad Underwood and UTRGV head coach Matt Figger are close friends and former colleagues. They served as assistant coaches for Frank Martin at Kansas State for five seasons from 2008-12, helping the Wildcats to NCAA Tournament wins in four of those five years and highlighted by a trip to the Elite Eight in 2010.
They now face each other as head coaches for the second time. During Underwood's first season at Illinois and Figger's first year at Austin Peay, the Illini outlasted the Governors in Champaign, 64-57.
Notes from the Last Time Out: #14 Illinois 72, Kansas State 64 | Box Score
• Illinois posted its seventh straight win over K-State and defeated the Wildcats in the first match-up against its former head coach Bruce Weber.
• Illinois drained 12 three-pointers, the most since last year's season opener when it made a school-record 17 treys vs. North Carolina A&T (Nov. 25, 2020).
• Illinois connected on 46.2% from behind the arc (12-26), its best 3-point percentage since making the same rate last season at Michigan on 6-of-13 shooting (March 3, 2021).
• Illinois recorded a season-high 20 assists on 25 baskets, with the 80% assist rate its best in a game since Jan. 19, 2012 at Penn State (14 assists on 17 FG).
• Kofi Cockburn tallied his 29th career double-double with game highs of 23 points and 13 rebounds.
• It was Cockburn's ninth carer 20-point, 10-rebound game, and first since Feb. 12, 2021 at Nebraska (21 pts, 12 reb).
• It also marked Cockburn's 11th career game shooting at least 80% from the field (min. 5 attempts).
• Alfonso Plummer had 21 points on seven 3-pointers, one shy of the Illinois record. He tied for fifth on the school's single-game 3-pointers list, becoming the 10th Illini to make seven treys in a game.
• Plummer is one of only four high-major conference players to make at least seven threes in a game so far this season.
• Cockburn (23) and Plummer (21) gave the Illini two 20-point scorers for the first time since Feb. 12, 2021 at Nebraska (Dosunmu-31, Cockburn-21).
» Complete Illinois Game Notes (PDF)
