| Illinois Probable Starters |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
Note |
| G |
1 |
Trent Frazier |
6-2 |
175 |
Sr. |
10.6 |
2.9 |
2.6 |
14.1 ppg last 9 games |
| G |
44 |
Adam Miller |
6-3 |
180 |
Fr. |
8.7 |
2.5 |
0.7 |
18 points Thu. vs. NEB |
| G |
20 |
Da'Monte Williams |
6-3 |
215 |
Sr. |
5.0 |
5.4 |
1.9 |
54.3% 3FG (25-46) |
| G/F |
3 |
Jacob Grandison |
6-6 |
205 |
r-Jr. |
4.4 |
3.2 |
1.2 |
Illini 7-1 with him as starter |
| C |
21 |
Kofi Cockburn |
7-0 |
285 |
So. |
17.7 |
10.0 |
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. |
0.4 |
0.2 |
0.0 |
First year walkon |
| F |
4 |
Zach Griffith |
6-6 |
220 |
Sr. |
0.5 |
1.0 |
0.0 |
2x Academic All-B1G |
| G |
5 |
Andre Curbelo |
6-1 |
175 |
Fr. |
7.7 |
3.6 |
4.3 |
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 |
| G |
11 |
Ayo Dosunmu |
6-5 |
200 |
Jr. |
21.0 |
6.3 |
5.3 |
Cousy Award Finalist; 2 triple-doubles |
| 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. |
0.4 |
0.2 |
0.0 |
Made season debut Jan. 7 |
| F |
15 |
Giorgi Bezhanishvili |
6-9 |
245 |
Jr. |
5.4 |
2.6 |
0.5 |
56.1% FG (55-98) |
| G |
22 |
Austin Hutcherson |
6-6 |
175 |
r-Jr. |
– |
– |
– |
Out for season |
| G |
32 |
Tyler Underwood |
6-2 |
180 |
Gr. |
0.5 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
Working on 2nd grad. degree |
| F |
33 |
Coleman Hawkins |
6-10 |
215 |
Fr. |
1.5 |
0.8 |
0.2 |
Career-high 5 pts at NEB (Feb. 12) |
| C |
34 |
Jermaine Hamlin |
6-10 |
235 |
So. |
1.1 |
0.4 |
0.0 |
4 pts vs. MINN (Dec. 15) |
Career Record: 173-82 (.678), 8th year
At Illinois: 64-55 (.538), 4th year
Series Notes vs. Wisconsin
Record: Illinois leads 112-89
Streak: Illinois W-2
Record at Champaign: Wisconsin leads 58-40
Streak at Champaign: Wisconsin W-1
Last Meeting: #12 ILL 75, #19 WIS 60 (Feb. 6 @ILL)
Underwood vs. Wisconsin: 2-4
Opening Tips
• No. 5 Illinois plays its third game in five days on Saturday afternoon, at No. 23 Wisconsin (1 p.m. CT, ESPN).
• Illinois plays five of its last six games away from home, with its three remaining games all on the road against teams ranked in the top 12 in kenpom (Wisconsin-12, Michigan-3, Ohio State-7).
• Illinois is fifth 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 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 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.
• Illinois has reached 13 Big Ten wins for the second straight season.
• Over the last two Big Ten seasons, Illinois has the best win percentage (.703) and most league wins (26).
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Kofi Cockburn ranks second in the NCAA with 15 double-doubles this season. He has posted double-doubles in 12 of 17 Big Ten games, averaging 18.9 points and 10.4 rebounds during league play.
• At 17.7 ppg and 10.0 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 38.7 points per game, the sixth-highest duo nationally, and third among the high-major conferences.
• Trent Frazier has seen his scoring increase recently, averaging 14.1 points (127) and shooting 38.7% from 3-point range (24-62) while making an average of 2.7 treys over the last nine games.
• Along with the scoring, Frazier continues to be a menace at the other end of the floor and is a contender for Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year honors. He had a career-high 6 steals while holding Minnesota star Marcus Carr to 3-of-11 shooting on Saturday. Last night, he held Nebraska's Teddy Allen to seven points on 3-of-7 shooting two days after Allen scored 41.
• Freshman Andre Curbelo ranks third in the Big Ten in assists during league play at 4.8 apg. He is averaging 4.3 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.
• Curbelo is coming off a 10-point, 12-rebound, 8-assist performance in Thursday's win over Nebraska, playing a career-high 31 minutes at the point with Dosunmu sidelined.
• 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 8.7 ppg.
• 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 15-1 this season when holding teams to less than 45% shooting.
Dosunmu & Cockburn Finalists for Postition Awards
The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced this week that Illini junior Ayo Dosunmu is one of five finalists for the 2021 Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Award, while Illinois sophomore Kofi Cockburn is one of five finalists for the 2021 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award.
Cousy Award Finalists
Jared Butler, Baylor
Cade Cunningham, Oklahoma State
Ayo Dosunmu, Illinois
Collin Gillespie, Villanova
Jalen Suggs, Gonzaga
Abdul-Jabbar Award Finalists
Charles Bassey, Western Kentucky
Kofi Cockburn, Illinois
Luka Garza, Iowa
Evan Mobley, USC
Trevion Williams, Purdue
The winners of the Starting Five awards will be determined by a combination of fan votes and input and the Basketball Hall of Fame's selection committee. Naismith Starting Five Fan Voting presented by Dell Technologies is underway on hoophallawards.com.
Notes from Thursday's Senior Night Win Over Nebraska
• Illinois improved to 13-4 in league play, reaching 13 wins for the second straight year.
• Seniors Da'Monte Williams and Trent Frazier were joined in the starting lineup by senior walkon Zach Griffith, who made his first career start on the Illini Senior Night.
• Kofi Cockburn scored 24 points on 8-of-10 from the field and 8-for-10 from the foul line, making his last 8 free throws after missing the first two.
• Cockburn's 24 points marked his second-highest scoring total of the season, as well as his eighth 20-point game and the season and 13th of his career.
• Freshman Andre Curbelo recorded his first-career double-double with 10 points and a career-high 12 rebounds to go along with eight assists.
• It is the ninth game that Curbelo has recorded 5+ assists and fifth game with 7+ assists.
• Freshman Adam Miller turned in his 10th double-digit scoring effort with 18 points, setting his scoring high in league play.
• Jacob Grandison posted a season-high 14 points while adding seven rebounds.
• Senior Da'Monte Williams tied a career-high with four steals.
• Illinois finishes its 2020-21 home slate with an 11-2 record at State Farm Center.
» Complete Illinois Game Notes (PDF)
