| 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. |
11.1 |
3.3 |
3.1 |
7th in B1G in 3s (2.4 avg) |
| G |
11 |
Alfonso Plummer |
6-1 |
180 |
Gr. |
16.8 |
2.5 |
1.0 |
Leads B1G/21st in NCAA in 3s (3.2 avg) |
| G |
20 |
Da'Monte Williams |
6-3 |
215 |
Sr. |
4.0 |
5.5 |
3.5 |
Leads B1G in assist/to radio (3.0) |
| G/F |
3 |
Jacob Grandison |
6-6 |
210 |
Gr. |
12.7 |
4.3 |
2.3 |
6th in kenpom offensive rating (142.4) |
| C |
21 |
Kofi Cockburn |
7-0 |
285 |
Jr. |
22.5 |
11.9 |
1.2 |
2nd in NCAA in scoring, 3rd in rebounding |
| Off the Bench |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
Note |
| G |
0 |
Brandin Podziemski |
6-5 |
200 |
Fr. |
2.1 |
1.6 |
0.5 |
2021 Wisconsin Mr. Basketball |
| F |
2 |
Connor Serven |
6-9 |
235 |
So. |
0.0 |
0.2 |
0.0 |
Team's lone walkon in second year |
| F |
4 |
Omar Payne |
6-10 |
240 |
Jr. |
1.4 |
1.8 |
0.2 |
50% FG and 9 blocks |
| G |
5 |
Andre Curbelo |
6-1 |
175 |
So. |
9.3 |
4.3 |
5.5 |
Third in nation in assist rate (45.0) |
| G |
10 |
Luke Goode |
6-7 |
200 |
Fr. |
2.9 |
1.9 |
0.6 |
2021 Indiana first-team All-State |
| C |
12 |
Brandon Lieb |
7-0 |
220 |
So. |
1.1 |
1.0 |
0.1 |
Career-high 4 points vs St. Francis Pa. |
| F |
13 |
Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk |
6-8 |
235 |
r-So. |
1.8 |
3.0 |
1.1 |
3rd on UI with 19 offensive rebounds |
| G |
15 |
RJ Melendez |
6-7 |
205 |
Fr. |
3.4 |
1.8 |
0.7 |
2021 Florida SIAA Player of the Year |
| G |
22 |
Austin Hutcherson |
6-6 |
190 |
Gr. |
2.8 |
2.0 |
0.5 |
Out for remainder of season |
| F |
33 |
Coleman Hawkins |
6-10 |
215 |
So. |
7.9 |
5.4 |
2.3 |
14 steals & 10 blocks |
Career Record: 190-86 (.688), 9th year
At Illinois: 81-59 (.579), 5th year
Big Ten: 43-38 (.531)
Series Notes vs. Maryland
All-Time Record: Maryland leads 12-6
Streak: Maryland W-3
Record at Champaign: Maryland leads 5-1
Streak at Champaign: Maryland W-4
Last Year's Meeting: Maryland 66, #12 Illinois 63 (1/10/21 @Illinois)
Underwood vs. Maryland at Illinois / All-Time: 1-4 / 1-5
Opening Tips
• Following its win at Minnesota, Illinois has a one-day prep before hosting Maryland on Thursday (6 p.m., ESPN2).
• Former Illini star and Chicago Bulls rookie Ayo Dosunmu will attend Thursday's game and participate in a halftime banner raising ceremony as he joins the Illinois Basketball Honored Jerseys program.
• Illinois is 3-0 in Big Ten play for the first time since 2010-11. Illinois is looking for its first 4-0 Big Ten start since the 2009-10 season.
• Illinois carries a seven-game Big Ten winning streak, claiming its final four games last season along with this year's 3-0 start. It is the third seven-game league win streak of the Underwood era.
• Illinois has not won more than seven in a row in conference play since it set a school record with 25 consecutive Big Ten victories spanning the 2004 (10) and 2005 (15) seasons (Jan. 31, 2004-March 3, 2005).
• Illinois is looking for its first victory over Maryland in Champaign since Jan. 7, 2015.
• Wooden Award Midseason Top 25 honoree Kofi Cockburn is the nation's second-leading scorer at 22.5 ppg and ranks third in the NCAA in rebounding at 11.9 rpg.
• Illinois has outrebounded 11 of 13 opponents and ranks second in the NCAA in rebound margin at +14.0 rpg.
• Illinois ranks second nationally in offensive rebound percentage (41.5).
• Illinois is shooting 44.4% from 3-point range over the last nine games, averaging 11.8 makes (106-239).
• Illinois ranks 10th nationally in 3-point percentage (.399) and 21st in made 3-pointers (10.2 avg.).
• Illinois is averaging 87.3 points over the last eight games (698), leading to a 7-1 record. The Illini rank 25th nationally in scoring offense for the season, averaging 80.8 points.
• Kofi Cockburn is one of just two players in the NCAA this season averaging at least 20 points and 10 rebounds (Jamal Cain, Oakland). The last Illini to average 20 & 10 was Nick Weatherspoon in 1973 (25.0 ppg, 12.3 rpg).
• Cockburn has had three-straight 20-point, 10-rebound games, five on the season, and 13 for his career.
• Cockburn ranks third in kenpom national player of the year standings and fourth in offensive rating (123.0).
• Cockburn is averaging 13.5 rebounds over the last six games (81).
• Cockburn has 36 career double-doubles, most in the NCAA among active players since 2019-20.
• Despite missing three games, Cockburn still ranks eighth in the NCAA in double-doubles with eight. He has posted double-doubles in six straight games, including all three Big Ten contests.
• Cockburn has drawn 69 fouls through 10 games (6.9 avg). He is drawing 8.1 fouls per 40 minutes, which ranks third nationally.
• Cockburn is shooting 70.4% from the foul line this season, a vast improvement from his sophomore campaign (.553). In three Big Ten games, he has made 19-of-23 free throws (.826).
• Cockburn has 12 assists through 10 games. His season total in 31 games last year was five.
• Alfonso Plummer is averaging 21.4 points over the last nine games (193), shooting 46.8% from 3-point range (37-79) while averaging 4.1 made threes. He has scored in double figures in all nine games, with seven outings of 20+ points.
• Plummer leads the Big Ten and ranks 21st in the NCAA in 3-pointers, averaging 3.2 makes. He led the Pac-12 last season, averaging 2.6 made threes while at Utah.
• Plummer leads the nation in free throw shooting at 97.6% (40-41). He made his first 35 free throw attempts to start the season, the second-longest streak in school history.
• Jacob Grandison is averaging 14.8 points over the last six games (89), scoring in double figures five times. He is shooting 52.8% on 3-pointers during that stretch (19-36), making an average of 3.2 threes (19).
• Da'Monte Williams is averaging 4.8 assists over the last eight games (38). Williams leads the Big Ten and is 18th in the NCAA this season in assist/turnover ratio at 3.0 (45:15).
• Trent Frazier is No. 11 on the UI scoring list (1,556), and is 97 points away from cracking the all-time Top 10.
Ayo Returns Thursday to Raise Jersey
Fighting Illini all-time great and current Chicago Bulls rookie guard Ayo Dosunmu returns to the University of Illinois campus on Thursday, participating in a halftime ceremony during the Maryland game as he joins the Illinois Basketball Honored Jerseys program.
Dosunmu will officially become the 34th player in school history to have his jersey raised to the State Farm Center rafters, and the newest addition since Dee Brown (career ended in 2006). Tickets are still available for just $25 and can be purchased online at FightingIllini.com.
Dosunmu averaged 20.1 points, 6.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists during his junior season at Illinois, becoming the first NCAA player since 2010 and just the second Big Ten player since 1993 to average at least 20 points, six rebounds and five assists. He accumulated the most impressive single-season list of accolades ever by an Illini player, highlighted by USA Today National Player of the Year, Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year, and consensus first-team All-American.
Dosunmu is enjoying a strong rookie NBA season in his hometown of Chicago, earning a spot in the rotation for the first-place Bulls. He scored a career-high 15 points Nov. 8 in a win over Brooklyn. He started his first game Dec. 6 in a home win over Denver.
Dosunmu was selected by the Bulls with the No. 38 overall pick in the second round of the 2021 NBA Draft, becoming the first Illini player drafted since 2012.
Notes from the Last Time Out: Illinois 76, Minnesota 53 | Box Score
• Illinois improved to 3-0 in the Big Ten for the first time since the 2010-11 season.
• Illinois has now won its last seven Big Ten games (streak began Feb. 25, 2021).
• Illinois has now won its last five Big Ten road games (streak began Feb. 27, 2021), and 10 of its last 11 Big Ten road games dating back to Dec. 23, 2020.
• Illinois outrebounded Minnesota, 52-28. It marked the second time in three Big Ten games the Illini grabbed 52 rebounds (at Iowa Dec. 6).
• Illinois outscored Minnesota in the paint, 42-18.
• Illinois shot 42.9% from 3-point range (6-14), marking the fifth game in a row and eighth time in the last nine games the Illini topped 40% shooting from beyond the arc.
• Kofi Cockburn had 29 points and 10 rebounds, his sixth-straight double, and eighth in the last nine games.
• It was Cockburn's 36th career double-double, moving him into fourth place on the Illini all-time list.
• It was Cockburn's third straight 20-point, 10-rebound game, and fifth of the season.
• Cockburn's 29 marked his third-highest point total. Two of those three have been against the Gophers:
38 vs. UT Rio Grande Valley, 11/26/2021
33 vs. Minnesota, 12/15/20
29 at Minnesota, 1/4/21
• Cockburn has averaged 28.0 points per game in his last three games against Minnesota (84 points). In those three games, Illinois has won by an average of 27.0 points (81).
• Cockburn was 9-for-11 from the free throw line to tie his career high for free throws made and set a career high 82% from the line in a single game (min. 7 attempts).
Complete Illinois Game Notes (PDF)
