| 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 |
5th on UI career scoring list (1,771 pts) |
| G |
11 |
Alfonso Plummer |
6-1 |
180 |
Gr. |
15.1 |
2.6 |
1.1 |
89 threes, 4th on UI single-season list |
| G |
20 |
Da'Monte Williams |
6-3 |
215 |
Sr. |
4.1 |
5.0 |
2.7 |
Season-high 14 pts vs Penn State |
| G/F |
3 |
Jacob Grandison |
6-6 |
210 |
Gr. |
10.3 |
4.0 |
2.4 |
41% on threes (55-134) |
| C |
21 |
Kofi Cockburn |
7-0 |
285 |
Jr. |
21.0 |
10.5 |
0.8 |
5th in NCAA with nine 20/10 games |
| Off the Bench |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
Note |
| G |
0 |
Brandin Podziemski |
6-5 |
200 |
Fr. |
1.5 |
1.0 |
0.3 |
5 points at Northwestern (1/29) |
| 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. |
1.9 |
1.8 |
0.2 |
64.5% FG (20-31) |
| G |
5 |
Andre Curbelo |
6-1 |
175 |
So. |
7.9 |
2.7 |
3.0 |
12 points at Michigan (2/27) |
| G |
10 |
Luke Goode |
6-7 |
200 |
Fr. |
1.9 |
1.7 |
0.6 |
Career-high 9 points vs MSU (1/25) |
| C |
12 |
Brandon Lieb |
7-0 |
220 |
So. |
0.8 |
0.7 |
0.1 |
Has played in 10 games |
| F |
13 |
Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk |
6-8 |
235 |
r-So. |
1.8 |
2.3 |
0.7 |
Career-high 8 points vs MSU (1/25) |
| G |
15 |
RJ Melendez |
6-7 |
205 |
Fr. |
3.8 |
1.8 |
0.6 |
10.7 ppg over 3-game stretch Feb 8-16 |
| 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. |
5.3 |
3.9 |
1.5 |
6.7 ppg over last 3 games |
Career Record: 201-91 (.688), 9th year
At Illinois: 92-64 (.590), 5th year
Big Ten: 54-43Â (.557)
Series Notes vs. Iowa
All-Time Record: Illinois leads 89-76
Streak: Illinois W-4
Last Meeting: Illinois 87, Iowa 83Â (12/6/2021Â at Iowa City)
Record at Champaign: Illinois leads 64-17
Streak at Champaign: Illinois W-2
Last Meeting at Champaign: #19Â Illinois 80, #7 Iowa 75Â (1/29/2021)
Underwood vs. Iowa:Â 4-5
Opening Tips
• No. 20 Illinois wraps up the regular season Sunday night in Champaign, hosting No. 24 Iowa (6:30 p.m. CT, FS1).
• It will be Senior Night at sold out State Farm Center, as Illinois honors seniors Trent Frazier and Da'Monte Williams, graduate students Jacob Grandison and Alfonso Plummer, and junior Kofi Cockburn in a pre-game ceremony 20 minutes before tip-off (approximately 6:10 p.m).
• Looking ahead to the Big Ten Tournament, Illinois enters Sunday having secured a top-3 seed and double bye to the quarterfinal round for the third straight year. Illinois would be the 1 seed with a win and a Wisconsin loss, the 2 seed with a win and a Wisconsin win, and the 3 seed with a loss.
• Illinois is the Big Ten's winningest team over the last three seasons with a 43-16 record in league play, and a 46-16 mark when including the conference tournament.
• Illinois' 43 wins in conference play over the last three years is the winningest stretch in school history, and ties the seventh-winningest run in Big Ten history.
• Illinois has won at least 13 Big Ten games in three straight seasons for the first time in program history.
• Illinois is 28-6 in its last 34 games versus Big Ten opponents.
• Illinois has won 21 games, marking the 35th 20-win season all-time and the first stretch of three-straight 20-win seasons for the program since 2009 through 2011.
• Leading the way for Illinois is National Player of the Year candidate Kofi Cockburn, the only player in the country averaging at least 21 points (21.0 ppg) and 10 rebounds (10.5 rpg) this season.
• Alfonso Plummer (995 points) is five away from scoring 1,000 career points and becoming the fourth player on the current Illini roster to reach the 1,000-point milestone (Frazier-1,771, Cockburn-1,466, Grandison-1,163).
Senior Night
The Illinois program will recognize five members of the roster in a pre-game ceremony Sunday who are set to play their final game at State Farm Center.
The most dominant center in Illini history, Kofi Cockburn (Kingston, Jamaica) was a consensus second-team All-American last year and is the only player in the NCAA averaging at least 20 points and 10 rebounds this season. He earned national player of the week honors after scoring 37 points in the win over No. 11 Wisconsin. Cockburn ranks 17th in UI history with 1,466 points and seventh with 816 rebounds. He is the school record holder with 42 career double-doubles, and is on pace to become Illinois' all-time leading scorer and rebounder among 3-year players.
Jacob Grandison (Oakland, California) is in his third year with the Illini, arriving in Champaign after starring for two seasons at Holy Cross. The versatile forward has started 39 of 58 games the last two years, averaging 10.3 points and 4.0 rebounds this season. Grandison set his scoring high at Illinois with 24 points in the win at Michigan State, tying his career high with six 3-pointers. He has totaled 1,163 points in his college career.
Alfonso Plummer (Fajardo, Puerto Rico) is in his first year with the Illini, joining the program as a grad transfer from Utah. The sharp-shooter leads the Big Ten in 3-point field goals, making 89 which already ranks fourth on the Illini single-season. Plummer is averaging 15.1 points this season, and he tied the school record for threes in a game, making eight against Ohio State.
Da'Monte Williams (Peoria, Illinois) is the school record holder for games played, suiting up 155 times over his five-year Illini career. He has totaled 599 points and 629 rebounds, earning a reputation as an all-glue guy who plays and defends every position and does whatever it takes for his team to win. Williams is coming off his firs time as the Illini's leading scorer in a game, tallying a season-high 14 points in Thursday's win over Penn State.
Trent Frazier (Wellington, Fla.) is a five-year starter and one of the most accomplished players to ever wear the Fighting Illini jersey. He ranks fifth on the U of I all-time scoring list with 1,771 points. He has played the most minutes in Illini history and is on pace to break the school record for career starts as well. Frazier has made 307 three-pointers, ranking second all-time at Illinois. He is averaging 12.5 points this season, scoring a season-high 29 in the win at Nebraska, and hit clutch threes to close out recent wins at Michigan State and Michigan.
So You're Telling Me There's a Chance
Illinois is one game back in the conference standings entering the final weekend. Wisconsin has clinched at least a share of the Big Ten championship at 15-4, with the Illini in second place at 14-5. Wisconsin hosts 14th-place Nebraska on Sunday afternoon. A Wisconsin win would give the Badgers the title outright. But an upset victory by the Huskers would open up an opportunity for the Illini to play for a share of the championship Sunday night.
Illinois has 17 Big Ten championships all-time, winning its last regular season title in 2005. Last year, Illinois led the Big Ten in wins while playing the full league schedule, but missed out on the title due to an unequal number of games played creating a win percentage differential of .024. The Illini went on to win the 2021 Big Ten Tournament.
Big Run in the Big Ten
Illinois' performance in conference play during the Underwood era has reached historic level of success. The Illini's 43 Big Ten wins since 2020 is the most in program history over a three-year stretch:
43 B1G wins – 2020 (13), 2021 (16), 2022 (13)
39 B1G wins – 2004 (13), 2005 (15), 2006 (11)
39 B1G wins – 2003 (11), 2004 (13), 2005 (15)
39 B1G wins – 1987 (13), 1988 (12), 1989 (14)
39 B1G wins – 1951 (13), 1952 (12), 1953 (14)
The run also ranks among the winningest 3-year stretches of any Big Ten program in conference play:
1. 48, Indiana – 1974 (12), 1975 (18), 1976 (18)
2. 47, Indiana – 1975 (18), 1976 (18), 1977 (11)
T3. 46, Michigan State – 2018 (16), 2019 (16), 2020 (14)
T3. 46, Indiana – 1991 (15), 1992 (14), 1993 (17)
5. 45, Purdue – 2017 (14), 2018 (15), 2019 (16)
6. 44, Purdue – 1994 (14), 1995 (15), 1996 (15)
T7. 43, Illinois – 2020 (13), 2021 (16), 2022 (14)
T7. 43, Ohio State – 2010 (14), 2011 (16), 2012 (13)
T7. 43, Indiana – 1992 (14), 1993 (17), 1994 (12)
Illinois has put together three straight 13+ win Big Ten seasons for the first time in program history.
Underwood now owns three of Illinois' top seven all-time winningest Big Ten seasons:
1. 16, 2021 – Brad Underwood
T2. 15, 2005 – Bruce Weber
T2. 15, 1984 – Lou Henson
T4. 14, 2022 – Brad Underwood
T4. 14, 1989 – Lou Henson
T4. 14, 1953 – Harry Combes
T7. 13, 2020 – Brad Underwood
T7. 13, 2004 – Bruce Weber
T7. 13, 2001 – Bill Self
T7. 13, 1998 – Lon Kruger
T7. 13, 1987 – Lou Henson
T7. 13, 1951 – Harry Combes
T7. 13, 1942 – Doug Mills
Complete Illinois Game Notes (PDF)
