| Illinois Probable Starters (from the last game) |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
Note |
| G |
20 |
Da'Monte Williams |
6-3 |
215 |
Sr. |
3.7 |
7.2 |
2.5 |
Career-high 8 assists vs. UTRGV |
| G |
11 |
Alfonso Plummer |
6-1 |
180 |
Gr. |
12.7 |
2.0 |
0.8 |
25.5 ppg over last two games |
| G |
22 |
Austin Hutcherson |
6-6 |
190 |
Gr. |
3.7 |
2.7 |
0.7 |
Made UI debut Nov. 22Â vs Cincy |
| F |
33 |
Coleman Hawkins |
6-10 |
215 |
So. |
10.7 |
6.2 |
2.7 |
Leads UIÂ in steals (9) &Â blocks (8) |
| C |
21 |
Kofi Cockburn |
7-0 |
285 |
Jr. |
26.3 |
10.0 |
1.0 |
Shooting 71.4% from field (30-42) |
| Off the Bench |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
Note |
| G |
0 |
Brandin Podziemski |
6-5 |
200 |
Fr. |
0.3 |
0.8 |
0.5 |
2021 Wisconsin Mr. Basketball |
| G |
1 |
Trent Frazier |
6-2 |
175 |
Sr. |
8.8 |
2.8 |
2.3 |
23 points (6 treys) at Marquette |
| 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. |
3.0 |
2.0 |
0.2 |
7 points & 5 boards at Marquette |
| G |
5 |
Andre Curbelo |
6-1 |
175 |
So. |
9.3 |
4.3 |
5.5 |
Leads nation in assist rate (50.2) |
| G |
10 |
Luke Goode |
6-7 |
200 |
Fr. |
3.8 |
3.0 |
0.5 |
2021 Indiana first-team All-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. |
2.5 |
4.7 |
1.5 |
Career-high 6 assists vs UTRGV |
| G |
15 |
RJ Melendez |
6-7 |
205 |
Fr. |
3.8 |
1.8 |
0.3 |
2021 Florida SIAA Player of the Year |
Career Record: 184-85 (.684), 9th year
At Illinois: 75-58 (.564), 5th year
Series Notes vs. Notre Dame
Record: Illinois leads 27-15
Streak: Notre Dame W-3
Last Meeting: Notre Dame 76, Illinois 74Â (11/27/2018Â @South Bend)
Record in Champaign: Illinois leads 12-2
Streak in Champaign: Notre Dame W-1
Last Meeting in Champaign: Notre Dame 84, Illinois 79Â (12/2/2005Â @Champaign)
Underwood vs. Notre Dame at Illinois / All-Time:Â 0-1 / 0-2
Opening Tips
• Two of the top 15 winningest teams in college basketball history meet on Monday night, as Illinois (1,839 wins, 15th) hosts Notre Dame (1,918 victories, 8th) in the 23rd annual Big Ten/ACC Challenge.
• The Illini carry an eight-game winning streak at State Farm Center.
• Illinois has had five different starting lineups through six games.
• Illinois has outrebounded five of six opponents and ranks seventh in the NCAA in rebound margin at +13.5 rpg.
• Illinois ranks fifth nationally in offensive rebound percentage (40.8) and 14th in average (14.8 orpg).
• Illinois has held all six opponents to less than 48% shooting.
• Illinois is shooting 44.4% from 3-point land over the last two games while making an average of 10.0 threes (20-45), compared to 23.9% the previous three games with an average of 5.6 makes (17-71).
• Preseason All-American/Big Ten Player of the Year Kofi Cockburn is the nation's leading scorer, averaging 26.3 points. He is coming off a career-high 38 points vs. UT Rio Grande Valley.
• Cockburn is one of four players nationally averaging at least 20 points and 10 rebounds.
• Cockburn has 30 career double-doubles, tied for the NCAA lead among active players since 2019-20.
• Alfonso Plummer is averaging 25.5 points over the last two games, shooting 65% from 3-point range. He drained seven threes vs. Kansas State (one shy of Illini record), then had six treys vs. UTRGV.
• Da'Monte Williams is averaging 8.5 rebounds over the last four games.
Series History
Two Midwest programs located 200 miles apart are playing for only the fourth time since 1973, but the 43rd time overall. Illinois leads the all-times series 27-15, but Notre Dame has won the last three games. The Illini are 12-2 in games played in Champaign, but the Irish were victorious in their last visit to State Farm Center for the 2015 Big Ten/ACC Challenge.
Brad Underwood, meanwhile, has been involved in a pair of heartbreaking losses to Mike Brey's Irish.
Stephen F. Austin played a memorable game against Notre Dame in the second round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament during Underwood's final season. The 14th-seeded Lumberjacks led late before the No. 6-seed Irish won 76-75 on a tip-in with 1.5 seconds left to advance to the Sweet 16.
During Underwood's second UI season, the Illini trailed by 12 points with five minutes remaining before battling back in South Bend. Trent Frazier's 3-point attempt looked on target but spun out of the rim at the buzzer, preserving a 76-74 Notre Dame victory in the 2018 Big Ten/ACC Challenge.
Illini Big Ten/ACC Challenge Notes
• Illinois is 9-13 all-time in the Challenge. The Illini's nine victories are tied for the sixth-most wins by any Big Ten team in the event (excludes Maryland).
• After winning at No. 10 Duke last year, Illinois is looking for consecutive wins in the Challenge for the first time since claiming four in a row from 2009 through 2012.
• Illinois is looking for its first home victory in the Challenge since defeating N.C. State in 2016.
• Illinois and Notre Dame are meeting for the third time in the Challenge. The Irish won both previous match-ups, 84-79 in 2015 in Champaign, and 76-74 in 2018 in South Bend.
• Illinois is ranked for the second-straight year in the Challenge, and 12th time overall.
Illini By the Numbers in the Big Ten/ACC ChallengeÂ
Record:Â 9-13
Current streak:Â W-1
At home: 5-4
On the road: 4-6
At neutral sites: 0-3
When ranked: 6-5
When unranked: 3-8
When playing a ranked opponent: 4-6
When playing an unranked opponent: 5-7
When both teams are ranked: 3-5
When neither team is ranked: 2-7
Longest winning streak: 4 (2009-12)
Longest losing streak: 3, four times (1999-2001, 2006-08, 2013-15, 2017-19)
Largest winning margin: 27 points (2002 vs. North Carolina)
Smallest winning margin: 2 points (2009 at Clemson)
Largest losing margin: 13 points (2001 at Maryland)
Smallest losing margin: 1 point (2000 vs. Duke)
Looking Back at Illinois' Last Big Ten/ACC Challenge Game | Box Score
No. 6 Illinois rolled from start to finish in an 83-68 victory over No. 10 Duke on the Blue Devils' home court.
The Illini scored 12 unanswered to take a 14-2 lead and never looked back. Duke drew within 28-20 but Illinois outscored the hosts 15-9 to close out the half and take a 43-29 lead into intermission.
After making 6-of-8 from 3-point land in the opening stanza, Illinois did its damage at the rim in the second half. The Illini connected on 14-of-20 two-pointers and made 9-of-13 from the foul line while taking just three 3-point shots in the final 20 minutes, as the lead never fell below double digits.
Illinois shot 58% on the night, the program's best mark in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. And the Illini's 63.6% from 3-point range was its best accuracy of the Underwood era.
Ayo Dosunmu recorded his third career double-double and second of the season with 18 points and career-high 12 rebounds.
Illinois had six players score in double figures: Dosunmu-18, Kofi Cockburn-13, Andre Curbelo-12, Giorgi Bezhanishvili-11, Trent Frazier-10, Da'Monte Williams-10.
Illinois handed coach Mike Krzyzewski just his 11th nonconference home loss during his 41-year Duke career, and just his sixth since 1984.
Illinois' 15-point victory margin tied for Duke's largest nonconference home loss under Krzyzewski, equaling Louisville's 15-point victory (91-76) on 1/12/83.
The Illini also gave Duke its first-ever home loss in the Challenge (9-1).
Notes from the Last Time Out: #14 Illinois 94, UTRGV 85 | Box Score
• Illinois shot 62.3% from the field, its best performance since making 64.3% vs. Hampton on 11/23/19.
• Kofi Cockburn set a career high in scoring, pouring in 38 points on 15-of-19 shooting with 8-of-11 from the foul line. His 15 field goals also were a career high.
• It marked the second 30-point game of Cockburn's career, eclipsing his previous career bests set last season when he had 33 points on 12-15 FG vs. Minnesota (12/15/20).
• It was the most points by an Illini player since Malcolm Hill scored 40 vs. Northern Kentucky on 11/13/16.
• Cockburn's 38 are the second-most points without a 3-point field goal in the NCAA this season behind Indiana's Trayce Jackson-Davis (43 vs. Marshall, 11/24).
• Cockburn moved up to No. 49 on the UI all-time scoring list with 1,040 career points.
• Cockburn recorded his second straight double-double and 30th of his career, grabbing a game-high 10 rebounds to go along with his 38 points.
• Cockburn is just the second player in the NCAA this season to have a game with at least 38 points and 10 boards, joining Mercer's Felipe Haase (41 pts & 10 reb at Winthrop, 11/13).
• Alfonso Plummer scored a season-high 30 points, draining six 3-pointers.
• Plummer's six treys vs. UTRGV followed his seven triples on Tuesday vs. Kansas State. His combined 13 threes are third-most in consecutive games in Illini history.
• Cockburn (38) and Plummer (30) gave Illinois two 30-point scorers in the same game for the first time since 12/3/90, when Andy Kaufmann had 46 and Deon Thomas had 34 in a double overtime game vs. Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
• Da'Monte Williams set a career high with eight assists.
• Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk had a career-high six assists in 12 minutes.
• Austin Hutcherson earned his first career start with the Fighting Illini.
• Illinois was without three starters for the game: Andre Curbelo, Trent Frazier, and Jacob Grandison.
» Complete Illinois Game Notes (PDF)
