| Illinois Probable Starters (Based on Previous Game) |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
Note |
| G/F |
20 |
Ty Rodgers |
6-6 |
210 |
So. |
7.5 |
4.0 |
1.8 |
Season-high 4 assists vs. Western Illinois |
| G |
0 |
Terrence Shannon Jr. |
6-6 |
225 |
5th |
19.5 |
3.5 |
2.8 |
21.5 ppg over last 4 contests |
| G/F |
3 |
Marcus Domask |
6-6 |
215 |
Gr. |
8.2 |
4.8 |
1.7 |
Season-high 9 rebounds vs. Southern |
| G/F |
13 |
Quincy Guerrier |
6-8 |
230 |
Gr. |
6.5 |
7.8 |
0.5 |
10-pt, 15-reb double-double vs. WIU |
| F/C |
42 |
Dain Dainja |
6-9 |
255 |
r-Jr. |
10.3 |
5.3 |
0.3 |
14.7 ppg, 6.3 rpg in last 3 games (all starts) |
| Off the Bench |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
Note |
| G |
2 |
Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn |
6-1 |
185 |
Fr. |
5.7 |
2.2 |
1.0 |
9 pts, 4 rebs in just 13 mins. vs. WIU |
| G |
4 |
Justin Harmon |
6-4 |
200 |
Gr. |
3.7 |
3.5 |
1.0 |
First block (1), steals (2) as an Illini vs. WIU |
| G |
5 |
AJ Redd |
6-3 |
170 |
So. |
0.3 |
0.3 |
0.0 |
Scored first-career point vs. EIU |
| G/F |
10 |
Luke Goode |
6-7 |
205 |
Jr. |
8.8 |
5.2 |
0.2 |
14 3-pointers over last 4 games (14-30 3FG) |
| G |
11 |
Niccolo Moretti |
6-1 |
170 |
r-Fr. |
4.0 |
2.3 |
2.7 |
Career-high 6 points vs Valpo |
| G |
22 |
Keaton Kutcher |
6-2 |
200 |
Jr. |
-- |
-- |
-- |
Transfer from South Dakota |
| G |
25 |
Max Williams |
6-2 |
200 |
Sr. |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
Transfer from DePaul |
| F |
33 |
Coleman Hawkins |
6-10 |
230 |
Sr. |
4.7 |
6.3 |
3.3 |
Karl Malone Award Watch List |
| F |
35 |
Amani Hansberry |
6-8 |
240 |
Fr. |
3.8 |
4.6 |
1.0 |
8 pts, 7 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl vs. Southern |
| Redshirt |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
Note |
| G |
1 |
Sencire Harris |
6-4 |
170 |
So. |
-- |
-- |
-- |
Plans to redshirt 2023-24 season |
Career Record: 228-107 (.681), 11th year
At Illinois: 119-80 (.599), 7th year
Big Ten: 66-52 (.559)
Series History
All-Time Record / Streak: Illinois leads 11-4 / Illinois W-1
Last Meeting: Illinois 69, #24 Rutgers 60 (2/11/2023 in Champaign)
Record in Piscataway / Streak: Rutgers leads 4-2 / Rutgers W-3
Last Meeting in Piscataway: Rutgers 70, #12 Illinois 59 (2/16/2022)
Underwood vs. Rutgers: 7-3
Opening Tips
-
A founding member of the Big Ten Conference, No. 24 Illinois begins its 119th season of league play Saturday afternoon at Rutgers (3 p.m. CT, BTN). Illinois is opening B1G play on the road for the sixth time in the last eight seasons.
-
Illinois returned to the AP Top-25 rankings at No. 24 this week. The Illini are also 24th in the latest Coaches Poll.
-
Saturday's matchup at Rutgers opens a stretch of three games over a one-week span away from State Farm Center for the Fighting Illini, the team's first ventures on the road this season.
-
Illinois will remain on the East Coast for a neutral-site matchup Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden against 13th-ranked Florida Atlantic as part of the Jimmy V Classic before returning to campus to prepare for a road battle at No. 10 Tennessee next Saturday.
-
The Illinois-Rutgers game features the top two defenses in the Big Ten. Rutgers leads the league allowing just 55.5 points per game, while the Illini defense is No. 2 at 58.7 ppg. The teams also rank 1-2 in opponent field goal percentage, with the Illini holding a slight edge at 34.0%, compared with Rutgers' 34.6%.
-
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.
-
Illinois is 69-49 all-time in Big Ten openers, but just 24-31 when opening league play on the road.
-
Illinois has not recorded a victory when starting Big Ten play on the road since winning at Iowa on Dec. 29, 2010.
-
Illinois is coming off of three dominant victories over Valpo, Southern, and Western Illinois, winning by an average margin of 27.7 points, and posting three straight games with 50+ rebounds for the team's first such streak since Dec. 10-18, 1993.
-
Illinois leads the nation in two defensive categories via KemPom: effective field goal percentage defense (.378) and 2-point defense (.373).
-
The Illini rank in the top 10 in the following NCAA statistical rankings: first in field goal percentage defense (.340), first in defensive rebounds (35.5 rpg), second in total rebounds (48.3 rpg), third in fewest fouls (12.0 avg), eighth in scoring defense (58.7 ppg), and 10th in rebound margin (+12.3 rpg).
-
The Illini have outrebounded their opponents in each of their first six games this season.
-
In Illinois' win over Western Illinois, Quincy Guerrier posted his second double-double of the season with 10 points and a team-season-high 15 rebounds. Guerrier also added four blocks vs. the Leathernecks.
-
Luke Goode (.459; 17-37) and Terrence Shannon Jr. (.439; 18-41) rank 1-2 in the Big Ten in 3-point percentage. The Illini duo are the only two qualified shooters (min. 2.5 made/g) at least 40% from 3-point range so far this season.
-
Shannon is averaging 21.5 points over the last four games (86), and is averaging 19.5 points per game, overall, the No. 3-mark in the Big Ten.
-
Shannon has scored in double figures in each of his last 16 games, a streak that began Jan. 31, 2023.
-
Goode is shooting 46.7% from 3-point range over the last four games (14-30), making 3.5 triples per contest.
-
Dain Dainja is averaging 14.7 points (44) on 74.1% shooting (20-27) over the last three games as a starter.
'Now or Never': Shannon, Hawkins Gear up for Last Dance at Illinois
Now or never. Now or never. Now or never.
Those three words would not leave Coleman Hawkins' mind. Locked in on pursuing his dreams and taking his game to the next level, Hawkins submitted his name into the 2023 NBA Draft with the intention of hearing his name called on draft night and becoming a professional basketball player...continue reading
Complete Illinois Game Notes (PDF)
