#23 Illini Host #4 Marquette Tuesday in Gavitt Tipoff Games Matchup

#23 ILLINOIS (2-0) vs. #4 Marquette (2-0)
Date | Time	Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2023 | 7 p.m. CT
Location	Champaign, Ill. | State Farm Center
Buy Tickets	Sold Out | Buy on SeatGeek
TV	FS1
Live Stream	FOXSports.com | FOX Sports App
Radio	Busey Bank Illini Sports Network | Varsity Network App | SiriusXM 156 or 195, SXM App 958
Live Stats	StatBroadcast
Printable Notes	Illinois | Marquette
Pregame Press Conference	Coach Underwood (Nov. 13)
2023-24 Stats	Illinois | Marquette
Record Book	Illinois
Shop	Online Store | Auctions
Social Media	@IlliniMBB | #Illini | @IlliniMBB | Facebook | YouTube

Head Coach Brad Underwood

Career Record: 225-106 (.679), 11th year
At Illinois: 116-79 (.595), 7th year
Big Ten: 66-52 (.559)

Series History

All-Time Record vs. Marquette: Illinois leads 9-6
Record in Champaign: Illinois leads 5-2
Last Meeting: Marquette 67, #11 Illinois 66 (11/15/2021 in Milwaukee)
Underwood vs. Marquette: 0-1

Opening Tips

• No. 23 Illinois hosts Game 3 of a six-game, season-opening homestand on Tuesday night, welcoming No. 4 Marquette to sold out State Farm Center (7 p.m. CT, FS1) for the final year of the Gavitt Tipoff Games series between the Big Ten and Big East.

• Illinois enters the week ranked No. 23 in the Associated Press poll. The Illini began the season at No. 25, marking the fourth straight year the team has appeared in the preseason rankings (No. 8 entering 2020-21, No. 11 entering 2021-22, and No. 23 entering 2022-23). 

• Head Coach Brad Underwood has Illinois ranked by the AP in four straight preseason polls for the first time since the preseason poll began in 1961-62. 

• Illinois is 12-6 in its last 18 games versus top-10 teams, and 4-4 in its last eight games versus top-5 teams.

• Illinois recorded 11 wins over top-10 opponents the previous four seasons, second-most nationally behind Baylor (14).

• Illinois' four-wins over top-5 foes the last four seasons is tied for sixth, one off the national lead of five (five teams).

• Illinois' most recent win against a top-5 team was last season's 85-78 overtime win over No. 2 Texas in the Jimmy V Classic (Dec. 6, 2022). 

• Illinois' last win over a top-5 team at State Farm Center was the 71-62 victory over No. 5 Michigan on Dec. 11, 2019.

• In facing No. 4 Marquette, Illinois is aiming for its highest ranked win at home since taking down No. 1 Indiana on Tyler Griffey's layup at the buzzer on Feb. 7, 2013.

• Illinois' last home win over a top-5 team in non-conference play was a 91-73 victory over No. 1 Wake Forest on Dec. 2, 2004. Illinois would take over the top spot in the polls the following week, holding the No. 1 ranking for the remainder of the 2004-05 season.

• Illinois' 15-man roster features an experienced blend of returning talent and impact transfers, combined with a top-25 freshman class. Eight players, including three starters, are back from the 2022-23 team, with five new players joining the Illini as Division I transfers, and two incoming freshmen. 

• Entering the season, Illinois' eight returning players had combined to play 347 games at the NCAA Division I level with 159 combined starts by the group. Likewise, the team's five transfer players opened the year with 304 career games with 198 starts under their belts. 

• Illinois is the winningest team in the Big Ten over the last four seasons, registering a 55-25 mark in league play. The Illini finished fifth in 2023, won the regular season championship in 2022, led the conference in wins while adding a B1G Tournament crown in 2021, and finished one game back of the title in 2020. 

About the Gavitt Tipoff Games

• The Gavitt Tipoff Games is an early-season series played between the Big Ten and Big East conferences and named in honor of Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer Dave Gavitt, founder of the Big East and basketball visionary who had a profound and lasting influence on the sport at the collegiate, professional and Olympic levels.

• Scheduled each season from 2015-2023 (except 2020), the Gavitt Tipoff Games is played in the first full week each season, with games played at home sites. The agreement called for each Big East team to participate a minimum of six times, and each Big Ten programs to make a minimum of four appearances.

• This is Illinois' fifth Gavitt Tipoff Games appearance, and the program's first since 2021. The Illini are 1-3 in the event, losing 60-59 at Providence (Nov. 18, 2015), defeating DePaul at State Farm Center, 82-73 (Nov. 17, 2017), falling at home to Georgetown, 88-80 (Nov. 13, 2018), and dropping a 67-66 decision at Marquette (Nov. 15, 2021). 

• Entering the 2023 slate of eight contests, the Big Ten holds a 3-1-3 advantage in the previous seven series with 4-4 ties in 2015, 2016 and 2017, Big Ten wins in 2018 (5-3), 2019 (5-3), and 2022 (6-2), and the Big East winning, 6-2, in 2021. 

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Complete Illinois Game Notes (PDF)