#23 Illini Take On Valpo Friday Night at State Farm Center

#23 ILLINOIS (2-1) vs. Valparaiso (2-1)
Date | Time	Friday, Nov. 17, 2023 | 7 p.m. CT
Location	Champaign, Ill. | State Farm Center
Buy Tickets	FightingIllini.com
TV	None
Live Stream	BigTenPlus.com | B1G+ App
Radio	Busey Bank Illini Sports Network | Varsity Network App | SiriusXM 98 or 196, SXM App 958
Live Stats	StatBroadcast
Printable Notes	Illinois | Valparaiso
Pregame Press Conference	Coach Underwood (Nov. 16)
2023-24 Stats	Illinois | Valparaiso
Record Book	Illinois
Shop	Online Store | Auctions
Social Media	@IlliniMBB | #Illini | @IlliniMBB | Facebook | YouTube

Head Coach Brad Underwood

Career Record: 225-107 (.678), 11th year
At Illinois: 116-80 (.592), 7th year
Big Ten: 66-52 (.559)

Series History

All-Time Record vs. Valparaiso: Illinois leads 7-0
Record in Champaign: Same
Last Meeting: Illinois 82, Valparaiso 57 (3/14/2017 in Champaign | NIT First Round)
Underwood vs. Valparaiso: First Meeting

Opening Tips

• No. 23 Illinois hosts Game 4 of a six-game, season-opening homestand on Friday night when Valparaiso visits State Farm Center (7 p.m. CT, B1G+).

• Illinois is looking to bounce back from its first loss, 71-64, on Monday vs. No. 4-ranked Marquette.

• 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.

• Terrence Shannon Jr. is coming off a 21-point performance vs. Marquette, and has now scored at least 15 points in each of his first three games of the season. Shannon ranks ninth in the Big Ten at 17.3 ppg.

• Shannon has scored in double figures in each of his last 13 games, a streak that began Jan. 31, 2023.

• Quincy Guerrier leads the Illini in rebounding at 7.0 boards per game, and has posted back-to-back games with 10 rebounds apiece vs. Oakland and Marquette.

• Through three games, the Illini rank 29th nationally in scoring defense, holding opponents to just 58.7 ppg.

• Illinois has been whistled for an average of just 12.0 personal fouls per game, ninth nationally and second in the Big Ten, entering Friday's game vs. Valparaiso.

• The Illini have outrebounded their opponents in each of their first three games of the season and are now 90-35 (.720) under Brad Underwood tying or recording more rebounds than an opponent

• 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. 

Roger Powell Jr. Returns to Champaign as Valparaiso Head Coach

• Former Fighting Illini great Roger Powell Jr. returns to Champaign on Friday night as first-year head coach at Valparaiso. 

• Powell is a fan-favorite from one of the most beloved teams in Illinois history, the 2004-05 national runner-up squad that won a then-NCAA record-tying 37 games, Big Ten regular season and tournament championships, and advanced to the Final Four after one of the most memorable comebacks in NCAA Tournament history, erasing a 15-point deficit with four minutes remaining to defeat Arizona in overtime in the Midwest Regional Final.

• Powell started all 39 games at power forward as a senior, earning honorable mention All-Big Ten honors. He was fourth on the Illini in scoring (12.0 ppg) and second on the team in rebounding (5.7 rpg) that season. 

• Powell scored a season-high 21 points vs. Minnesota (1/29/05) and at Penn State (2/16/05) and grabbed a career-high 14 rebounds vs. North Carolina in the NCAA championship game (4/4/05). 
  Powell was named Big Ten Player of the Week following a game-high 19 points in the blowout win over No. 1 Wake Forest (12/1/04) and a double-double of 19 points and 11 rebounds against Arkansas (12/4/04). 

• Powell tallied 15 points and 12 rebounds in the Big Ten Tournament championship game victory over Wisconsin (3/13/05), and he scored a game-high 20 points in the Final Four win over Louisville (4/2/05).

• Powell still ranks 37th on the Illinois all-time scoring list with 1,178 career points and stands sixth in Illini history with a career field goal percentage of 57.2 percent. 

• Following his pro career playing in the NBA and Europe, Powell spent five years as an assistant coach at Valparaiso and four years as an assistant at Gonzaga prior to earning the Valpo head coaching position. 

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Complete Illinois Game Notes (PDF)