| 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. |
12.5 |
2.9 |
4.0 |
5.2 apg over last 10 games |
| G |
11 |
Alfonso Plummer |
6-1 |
180 |
Gr. |
15.4 |
2.5 |
1.1 |
1st in B1G in 3FG (3.1 avg) |
| G |
20 |
Da'Monte Williams |
6-3 |
215 |
Sr. |
4.2 |
5.5 |
3.0 |
2.96 assist/turnover ratio |
| G/F |
3 |
Jacob Grandison |
6-6 |
210 |
Gr. |
10.1 |
4.0 |
2.3 |
40.7% on threes (44-108) |
| C |
21 |
Kofi Cockburn |
7-0 |
285 |
Jr. |
21.5 |
11.4 |
0.9 |
41 career double-doubles |
| Off the Bench |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
Note |
| G |
0 |
Brandin Podziemski |
6-5 |
200 |
Fr. |
1.7 |
1.2 |
0.4 |
5 points vs Northwestern |
| 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. |
2.0 |
1.9 |
0.2 |
62.1% FG (18-29) |
| G |
5 |
Andre Curbelo |
6-1 |
175 |
So. |
9.0 |
3.2 |
3.0 |
15 points at Purdue |
| G |
10 |
Luke Goode |
6-7 |
200 |
Fr. |
2.2 |
1.7 |
0.7 |
Career-high 9 points vs MSU |
| C |
12 |
Brandon Lieb |
7-0 |
220 |
So. |
0.8 |
0.7 |
0.1 |
Career-high 4 points vs St. Francis Pa. |
| F |
13 |
Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk |
6-8 |
235 |
r-So. |
2.0 |
2.5 |
0.8 |
Career-high 8 points vs MSU |
| G |
15 |
RJ Melendez |
6-7 |
205 |
Fr. |
3.6 |
1.8 |
0.6 |
Career-high 14 points vs Northwestern |
| 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. |
5.2 |
4.0 |
1.5 |
3rd on team in steals (18) & blocks (12) |
Career Record: 198-89 (.690), 9th year
At Illinois: 89-62 (.589), 5th year
Big Ten: 51-41Â (.554)
Series Notes vs. Rutgers
All-Time Record:Â Illinois leads 10-3
Streak: Illinois W-2
Last Meeting: Illinois 86, Rutgers 51 (12/3/2021 at Champaign)
Record at Piscataway: Rutgers leads 3-2
Streak at Piscataway: Rutgers W-2
Last Meeting at Piscataway: #19 Rutgers 91, #13 Illinois 88Â (12/20/2020)
Underwood vs. Rutgers:Â 5-2
Opening Tips
• No. 12 Illinois is back on the road for two games this week to wrap up a stretch with four out of five away from home, beginning Wednesday night at Rutgers (6 p.m. CT, BTN).
• Rutgers owns the Big Ten's longest active winning streak at three games (tied with Iowa), and has won four of its last five. Illinois, meanwhile, has won five of its last six.
• Illinois' next two opponents are a combined 22-4 on their home court, including 11-3 in Big Ten play.
• Illinois is aiming for its first win in Piscataway since 2018, Coach Underwood's first season.
• Illinois has won eight of its last 10 Big Ten road games, and 13 of its last 16.
• Illinois has totaled 18 road wins in Big Ten play over the last three years, four more than the next closest team (Wisconsin, 13). Illinois is 18-9 during this stretch (.667), one of only three teams above .500 in B1G road games.
• Illinois is the Big Ten's winningest team over the last three seasons, with a 43-14 (.754) record vs. league foes.
• Illinois is 25-4 in its last 29 games versus Big Ten opponents.
• Illinois is first in defensive efficiency (97.5) in Big Ten play by kenpom, with its defense ranking first in effective field goal percentage (.451) and 2-point percentage (.444) and second in 3-point percentage (.314).
• Leading the way for Illinois is National Player of the Year candidate Kofi Cockburn, the only NCAA player averaging 21+ points and 11+ rebounds this season.
• Cockburn has posted double-doubles in all five career games vs. Rutgers averaging 13.8 ppg and 13.2 rpg.
• Cockburn has 41 career double-doubles, tied with Skip Thoren (1963-65) for the all-time Illinois record.
• Since returning to the court after missing two games, Cockburn is averaging 22.6 points (113) on 65.3% shooting (47-72) over his last five outings.
Kickin' Cancer with Kruger and Self
Illinois coach Brad Underwood hosts a fundraising dinner and auction each spring to raise money for Coaches vs. Cancer. The pandemic put the event on hold the last two years, but it is back in a big way in 2022. Former Fighting Illini head coaches Lon Kruger (199-2000) and Bill Self (2001-03) are returning to the Champaign area, joining Underwood and Illini fans for a festive night to raise money in the fight against cancer.
The Kickin' Cancer dinner and auction is set for April 12 at Gordyville USA in Gifford, Illinois. Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased online at CoachesVsCancerIllinois.com.
Illini Items
• Illinois has five Quad 1 wins, tied for 11th-most nationally.
• Illinois has 11+ Big Ten wins for a third-straight season. The Illini last achieved that as part of a seven-year streak from 2000 through 2006.
• Illinois is one win away from its 12th Big Ten victory. The Illini are aiming to win at least 12 B1G games in three straight years for just the third time in school history, joining the 1951-53 and 1987-89 stretches.
• Illinois has had nine different starting lineups this season, the most among high-major conference teams.
• Illinois rotation players have missed a combined 44 games so far this season.
• Illinois has outrebounded 16 of 24 opponents and ranks sixth in the NCAA in rebound margin at +8.5 rpg.
• Illinois is 15-1 this season when scoring at least 70 points in regulation, with the lone loss to Arizona (79-83).
• Illinois is unbeaten this season when shooting better than its opponent (16-0), when shooting at least 45% (12-0), and when making more free throws than the opponent (14-0).
• Kofi Cockburn is vying to become the first Illini to average 20 points and 10 rebounds for a season since Nick Weatherspoon in 1973 (25.0 ppg, 12.3 rpg).
• Cockburn has scored in double figures in 34 straight games, the last 15 of his sophomore season and all 19 games this season. His streak began on Feb. 2, 2021.
• Cockburn is drawing 7.5 fouls per 40 minutes, which ranks second nationally.
• Cockburn has eight 20-point, 10-rebound games the season, ranking third in the NCAA.
• Cockburn's 41 career double-doubles are tied for most in the NCAA since 2019-20.
• Despite missing five games, Cockburn still ranks eighth in the NCAA in double-doubles this season with 13.
• Cockburn has 17 assists in 19 games. His season total in 31 games last year was five.
• Trent Frazier is averaging 13.9 points over the last 11 games (153), scoring at least 13 points seven times.
• Frazier is averaging 5.2 assists over the last 10 games (52).
• Frazier is No. 8 on the UI scoring list (1,709) and also ranks in the Illini top 10 in career games played (second), minutes (second), 3-pointers (third), starts (fifth) and steals (sixth).
• Frazier is four made 3-pointers away from reaching 300 for his career, and five steals shy of 200 career steals
• Alfonso Plummer has scored at least 14 points in each of the last three games, averaging 15.7 points over this stretch while shooting 42.3% from three (11-26).
• Plummer is averaging 17.2 points over the last 20 games (344), shooting 42.1% from 3-point range (69-164) while averaging 3.5 made threes.
• Plummer has scored in double figures 17 times, with eight outings of 20+ points.
• Plummer leads the Big Ten in 3-pointers, averaging 3.1 makes. He ed the Pac-12 last season, averaging 2.6 made threes while at Utah.
• Plummer is 72 points away from reaching 1,000 for his career (928).
• Jacob Grandison is averaging 3.6 assists over the last five games (18).
• RJ Melendez is averaging 11.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.5 steals and shooting 85.7% over the last two games.
Complete Illinois Game Notes (PDF)
