| Illinois Probable Starters (from the last game) |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
Note |
| G |
11 |
Ayo Dosunmu |
6-5 |
200 |
Jr. |
21.0 |
6.3 |
5.3 |
Cousy Award Finalist; 2 triple-doubles |
| G |
1 |
Trent Frazier |
6-2 |
175 |
Sr. |
10.8 |
2.9 |
2.6 |
15.0 ppg, 41.8% 3FG last 8 games |
| G |
44 |
Adam Miller |
6-3 |
180 |
Fr. |
8.2 |
2.5 |
0.8 |
33.9% 3FG (40-118) |
| G/F |
3 |
Jacob Grandison |
6-6 |
205 |
r-Jr. |
3.9 |
3.0 |
1.2 |
Illini 7-1 with him in starting lineup |
| C |
21 |
Kofi Cockburn |
7-0 |
285 |
So. |
17.4 |
10.1 |
0.1 |
15 double-doubles (2nd in NCAA) |
| Off the Bench |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
Note |
| F |
2 |
Connor Serven |
6-9 |
215 |
Fr. |
0.5 |
0.3 |
0.0 |
First year walkon |
| F |
4 |
Zach Griffith |
6-6 |
220 |
Sr. |
0.7 |
0.7 |
0.0 |
2x Academic All-B1G |
| G |
5 |
Andre Curbelo |
6-1 |
175 |
Fr. |
7.6 |
3.2 |
4.1 |
3rd in assists in B1G play (4.6) |
| G |
10 |
Edgar Padilla Jr. |
6-1 |
165 |
Fr. |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
First year walkon |
| C |
12 |
Brandon Lieb |
7-0 |
210 |
Fr. |
1.0 |
1.5 |
0.3 |
4 pts, 3 reb in debut |
| F |
13 |
Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk |
6-8 |
235 |
r-Fr. |
0.5 |
0.3 |
0.0 |
Made season debut Jan. 7 |
| F |
15 |
Giorgi Bezhanishvili |
6-9 |
245 |
Jr. |
5.6 |
2.6 |
0.5 |
57.4% FG (54-94) |
| G |
20 |
Da'Monte Williams |
6-3 |
215 |
Sr. |
4.9 |
5.3 |
1.9 |
57.1% 3FG (24-42) |
| G |
22 |
Austin Hutcherson |
6-6 |
175 |
r-Jr. |
– |
– |
– |
Out for season |
| G |
32 |
Tyler Underwood |
6-2 |
180 |
Gr. |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
Working on 2nd grad. degree |
| F |
33 |
Coleman Hawkins |
6-10 |
215 |
Fr. |
1.6 |
0.8 |
0.4 |
Career-high 5 pts at NEB (Feb. 12) |
| C |
34 |
Jermaine Hamlin |
6-10 |
235 |
So. |
1.2 |
0.5 |
0.0 |
4 pts vs. MINN (Dec. 15) |
Career Record: 172-82 (.677), 8th year
At Illinois: 63-55 (.534), 4th year
Series Notes vs. Nebraska
Record: Illinois leads 17-8
Streak: Illinois W-3
Record at Champaign: Illinois leads 12-2
Streak at Champaign: Illinois W-3
Last Meeting: #6 ILL 77, NEB 72, OT (Feb. 12 @NEB)
Underwood vs. Nebraska: 4-2
Opening Tips
• No. 5 Illinois plays the first of back-to-back one-day preps on Thursday, hosting Nebraska (6 p.m. CT, BTN).
• It will be Senior Night in Champaign, with Trent Frazier, Da'Monte Williams and Zach Griffith set for their final game at State Farm Center.
• Thursday is Illinois' lone home appearance over its final six Big Ten games.
• Illinois is fourth in the current NET rankings, and No. 5 overall (No. 2 seed) in the NCAA Tournament Committee's initial ranking of the top 16 teams (released Feb. 13).
• Illinois has seven Quad 1 wins, tied for second-most in the NCAA. The Illini own a combined 11 victories in Quads 1 and 2, meanwhile, tied for fourth nationally.
• Over the last two Big Ten seasons, Illinois has the best win percentage (.694) and most league wins (25).
• Leading the Illini is Ayo Dosunmu. Owning numbers of 21.0 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 5.3 assists per game, Dosunmu is not only solidifying his candidacy for First-Team All-America status, but contending for National Player of the Year as well. He is the only player in the NCAA over the last 11 seasons to average at least 20 points, six rebounds and five assists, all while leading Illinois Basketball back among the nation's elite.
• Illinois and Nebraska are playing for the second time in less than two weeks. Dosunmu had 31 points in the Illini's comeback win in Lincoln on Feb. 12, setting his league play career scoring high.
Senior Night
Illinois will honor one manager and three student-athletes on the State Farm Center court Thursday during a Senior Night ceremony beginning 25 minutes before tip-off (5:35 p.m.). Fan can watch the pregame recognition via live stream on the Illini Men's Basketball Facebook page as part of the Second Screen Experience.
• Trent Frazier (Wellington, Florida) is a four-year starter for the Fighting Illini, with 99 starts in his 117 career appearances. He ranks 24th on the school's all-time scoring list with 1,356 points, and stands fourth on the Illini career 3-pointers made list with 239 treys. He is third on the team in scoring this season at 10.8 ppg, has reached double figures in six of the last eight games led by a season-high 24 points in the win over Iowa, and has also earned a reputation as one of the nation's best defenders. Frazier is majoring in recreation, sport and tourism.
• Da'Monte Williams (Peoria, Illinois) has played in 117 games with 57 starts during his four-year Illini career, amassing 415 points and 436 rebounds. He is averaging 4.9 points and ranks third on the team with an average of 5.3 rebounds this season while ranking second nationally in 3-point field goal shooting (minimum 1.5 att/g) at 57.1 percent. He recorded a double-double earlier this season in the win over Purdue, scoring a season-high 12 points to go with a career-high 10 rebounds. Williams is majoring in sociology.
• Zach Griffith (Fisher, Illinois) is a three-year member of the team, joining the Illini as a walkon after beginning as a student-manager. Griffith is a three-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree and is majoring in kinesiology.
• Bobby Gikas (Lockport, Illinois) is in his fourth year working with the Illini program, serving as head manager this season. Gikas is majoring in molecular and cellular biology.
Illini Items
• Illinois won seven straight Big Ten games from Jan. 19-Feb. 20, with its streak snapped Tuesday in East Lansing. It marked the second year in a row that the Illini had a seven-game winning streak during league play.
• Illinois is ranked No. 5 for the second straight week in the AP Top 25. The Illini are in the Top 5 of a February poll for the first year since 2005, and just the fourth time in the last 65 seasons (1989, 2001, 2005, 2021).
• Illinois' 12-4 conference record is its best 2005 when the No. 1-ranked Illini went 15-1 to win the Big Ten.
• Illinois is 14-1 this season when holding teams to less than 45% shooting.
• Ayo Dosunmu recorded two triple doubles this month (vs. Wisconsin and at Minnesota) to join Michigan State's Magic Johnson as the only two players in Big Ten history with multiple triple doubles in league play.
• Dosunmu is on pace to become just the second Big Ten player since 1993 to average 20 points, six rebounds and five assists, joining Ohio State's Evan Turner, the National Player of the Year in 2009-10.
• Kofi Cockburn ranks second in the NCAA with 15 double-doubles this season. He has posted double-doubles in 12 of 16 Big Ten games, averaging 18.6 points and 10.6 rebounds during league play.
• At 17.4 ppg and 10.1 rpg overall, Cockburn is one of just three players from the high-major conferences currently averaging a double-double. He is vying 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 seven players nationally averaging at least 17 points and 10 rebounds, and he is the only player in the NCAA averaging 15+ points and 10+ boards while shooting at least 65%.
• Dosunmu and Cockburn are combining for 38.4 points per game, the seventh-highest duo nationally, and third among the high-major conferences.
• Trent Frazier has seen his scoring increase recently, averaging 15.0 points (120) and shooting 41.8% fro 3-point range (23-55) while making an average of 2.9 treys over the last eight games.
• Freshman Andre Curbelo ranks third in the Big Ten in assists during league play at 4.6 apg. He is averaging 4.1 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.
• Illinois has freshmen playing prominent roles for the fourth year in a row under Coach Underwood. Adam Miller has started every game this season and ranks fourth among all Big Ten freshmen in scoring at 8.2 ppg.
» Complete Illinois Game Notes (PDF)
