| Illinois Probable Starters (from the last game) |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
Note |
| G |
1 |
Trent Frazier |
6-2 |
175 |
Sr. |
10.4 |
3.0 |
2.7 |
13.3 ppg last 10 games |
| G |
44 |
Adam Miller |
6-3 |
180 |
Fr. |
8.5 |
2.6 |
0.8 |
18 points Thu. vs. NEB |
| G |
20 |
Da'Monte Williams |
6-3 |
215 |
Sr. |
5.3 |
5.3 |
2.0 |
55.1% 3FG (27-49) |
| G/F |
3 |
Jacob Grandison |
6-6 |
205 |
r-Jr. |
4.4 |
3.4 |
1.3 |
Illini 8-1 with him as starter |
| C |
21 |
Kofi Cockburn |
7-0 |
285 |
So. |
17.7 |
9.9 |
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. |
8.1 |
3.8 |
4.2 |
Big Ten Freshman of the Week |
| 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. |
5.5 |
2.5 |
0.5 |
56.9% FG (58-102) |
| 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 |
0.4 |
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: 174-82 (.680), 8th year
At Illinois: 65-55 (.542), 4th year
Series Notes vs. Michigan
Record: Illinois leads 89-85
Streak: Illinois W-2
Record at Ann Arbor: Michigan leads 52-30
Streak at Ann Arbor: Illinois W-1
Last Meeting: ILL 71, #5 MICH 62 (12/11/19 @ILL) & #21 ILL 64, MICH 62 (1/25/20 @MICH)
Underwood vs. Michigan at Illinois / All-Time: 2-2 / 2-3
Opening Tips
• Winners in nine of its last 10, No. 4 Illinois plays its fourth game in eight days on Tuesday at No. 2 Michigan (6 p.m. CT, ESPN).
• Illinois finishes Big Ten play with five of six away from home. Illinois' last three are on the road against teams ranked in the top 12 in kenpom, with remaining games at Michigan (2) and Ohio State (7) following Saturday's victory at Wisconsin (12).
• Illinois has clinched a top-2 seed in next week's Big Ten Tournament.
• Illinois is sixth in the current NET rankings. The Illini were No. 5 overall (No. 2 seed) in the NCAA Tournament Committee's initial ranking of the top 16 teams (released Feb. 13).
• Illinois has eight Quad 1 wins, tied with Michigan for most in the NCAA. The Illini own a combined 12 victories in Quads 1 and 2, meanwhile, tied with Michigan and Gonzaga for second nationally behind Alabama (13).
• Illinois' 14 Big Ten wins through 18 games is tied for its third-most in a season. The school record of 15 league victories was set in 1984 (15-3, co-champions) and equaled in 2005 (15-1, champions).
• Over the last two Big Ten seasons, Illinois has the league's best win percentage (.711) and most wins (27).
• Illinois is No. 4 this week, its highest ranking since claiming the No. 1 spot in the final AP poll of 2005. The Illini are in the Top 5 of a March poll for just the fourth time in the last 65 seasons (1989, 2001, 2005, 2021).
• No. 4 Illinois at No. 2 Michigan marks the program's third top-4 match-up (AP) in Big Ten play, and first since Jan. 11, 1979, when the No. 4 Illini defeated No. 1 Michigan State on an Eddie Johnson jump shot at the buzzer.
• Illinois is 4-3 all-time in top-4 match-ups, with its last win a 72-57 victory by the No. 1 Illini over No. 4 Louisville in the 2005 Final Four (April 2, 2005).
• Illinois is 6-40 all-time against teams ranked in the top 2 of the AP poll, with its last win on Feb. 7, 2013 when the Illini defeated No. 1 Indiana on a Tyler Griffey layup at the buzzer.
• Illinois has never beaten a top-2 team on the road. Its highest ranked road wins were at No. 3 Indiana on March 5, 1989 on a Nick Anderson 30-footer at the buzzer, and an overtime victory at No. 3 Kentucky on Dec. 5, 1966.
• 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 last 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 the Big Ten's second-leading scorer while also leading the conference in assists.
• Kofi Cockburn ranks second in the NCAA with 15 double-doubles this season. He has posted double-doubles in 12 Big Ten games, averaging 18.9 points and 10.2 rebounds during league play.
• For the first time this season, Cockburn's season-rebounding average has dipped under 10. At 17.7 ppg and 9.9 rpg, Cockburn 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.
• Dosunmu and Cockburn are combining for 38.7 points per game, the sixth-highest scoring duo nationally, and third among the high-major conferences.
• Trent Frazier has seen his scoring increase recently, averaging 13.3 points (133) and shooting 38.7% from 3-point range (24-62) while making an average of 2.4 treys over the last 10 games.
• Freshman Andre Curbelo ranks third in the Big Ten in assists during league play at 4.6 apg. He is averaging 4.3 assists on the season, standing 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 major minutes 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 8.5 ppg. Curbelo, meanwhile is the fifth-leading freshman scorer in the conference at 8.1 ppg.
Curbelo B1G Freshman of the Week
Andre Curbelo is the latest Illini rookie to receive recognition from the conference, announced Monday as Big Ten Freshman of the Week. Curbelo earned the award after achieving the following:
• Averaged 13.0 points, 7.7 rebounds and 3.7 assists while shooting 53.6% from the field and 80% from the free throw line over three games last week.
• Flirted with a triple-double in the win over Nebraska, finishing with 10 points, career-high 12 rebounds and 8 assists.
• Set his scoring high in league play with 17 points to go along with 7 boards in the win at No. 23 Wisconsin.
• Also tallied double figures at Michigan State, scoring 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting.
Illini teammate Adam Miller was the first Big Ten's first Freshman of the Week selection this season.
» Complete Illinois Game Notes (PDF)
