University of Illinois
Minnesota
Illini Return Home Monday vs. Minnesota
February 19, 2023 | Men's Basketball
Preview
| ILLINOIS (17-9, 8-7) vs. Minnesota (7-17, 1-13) | |
|---|---|
| Date | Time | Monday, Feb. 20, 2023 | 8 p.m. CT |
| Location | Champaign, Ill. | State Farm Center |
| Tickets | FightingIllini.com |
| Television | BTN (Connor Onion & Brian Butch) |
| Live Stream | fosxports.com/live/btn | FOX Sports App |
| Radio | Busey Bank Illini Sports Network | Varsity Network App |
| Live Stats | StatBroadcast |
| Printable Notes | Illinois | Minnesota |
| Stats | Illinois | Minnesota |
| Record Book | Illinois | Big Ten | NCAA |
| Shop | Online Store | Auctions |
| Social Media | @IlliniMBB  | #Illini | @IlliniMBB  | Facebook  | YouTube  |
| Illinois Probable Starters | |||||||||
| Pos. | No. | Name | Ht. | Wt. | Yr. | PPG | RPG | APG | Note |
| G | 3 | Jayden Epps | 6-2 | 190 | Fr. | 10.1 | 2.0 | 1.7 | 12 pts, career-high 3 stl at Indiana |
| G | 15 | RJ Melendez | 6-7 | 205 | So. | 5.6 | 3.0 | 0.7 | 81.3% FT |
| G/F | 24 | Matthew Mayer | 6-9 | 225 | Gr. | 12.2 | 5.2 | 1.2 | 24 pts, 8 reb, 5 blk at Indiana |
| F | 33 | Coleman Hawkins | 6-10 | 225 | Jr. | 9.7 | 6.5 | 3.1 | 57.1% FG over last 3 games |
| F | 42 | Dain Dainja | 6-9 | 270 | r-So. | 10.3 | 5.9 | 0.5 | 13.0 ppg over last 4 games |
| Off the Bench | |||||||||
| Pos. | No. | Name | Ht. | Wt. | Yr. | PPG | RPG | APG | Note |
| G | 0 | Terrence Shannon Jr. | 6-6 | 225 | Sr. | 17.0 | 5.0 | 3.0 | 20 pts at Penn St, 8th 20-pt game |
| G | 1 | Sencire Harris | 6-4 | 160 | Fr. | 3.6 | 2.0 | 0.9 | +21 in 19 min vs #24 Rutgers |
| F | 2 | Connor Serven | 6-9 | 235 | Jr. | 0.2 | 0.8 | 0.0 | Academic All-Big Ten |
| G | 5 | AJ Redd | 6-3 | 160 | Fr. | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | Former manager now on roster |
| G | 10 | Luke Goode | 6-7 | 200 | So. | 3.3 | 1.0 | 0.7 | 7 pts, 2 reb, 2 ast at Indiana |
| G | 11 | Niccolo Moretti | 6-1 | 160 | Fr. | – | – | – | Joined team Jan. 26; will redshirt |
| C | 12 | Brandon Lieb | 7-0 | 220 | Jr. | 1.2 | 1.3 | 0.2 | 3 reb in 7 min at Indiana |
| G/F | 20 | Ty Rodgers | 6-6 | 200 | Fr. | 2.8 | 3.9 | 1.0 | Career-high 11 pts, 8 reb at Penn St |
| G | 22 | Paxton Warden | 6-4 | 180 | Fr. | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | First career FG at Minnesota |
| G | 55 | Skyy Clark | 6-3 | 200 | Fr. | 7.0 | 3.7 | 2.1 | Announced leave from team Jan. 6 |
Head Coach Brad Underwood
Career Record: 220-102 (.683), 10th year
At Illinois: 111-75 (.597), 6th year
Big Ten: 63-50 (.559)
Series Notes vs. Minnesota
All-Time Record: Illinois leads 128-68
Streak: Illinois W-5
Last Meeting: Illinois 78, Minnesota 60 (Jan. 16, 2023 at Minneapolis)
Record at Champaign: Illinois leads 74-19
Streak at Champaign: Illinois W-3
Last Meeting at Champaign: #13 Illinois 92, Minnesota 65 (Dec. 15, 2020)
Underwood vs. Minnesota: 6-2
Opening Tips
• Illinois returns to Champaign for a two-game homestand, beginning Monday night vs. Minnesota (8 p.m. CT, BTN).
• Illinois is 12-2 at home this season and carries a three-game winning streak at State Farm Center.
• The Minnesota game was originally slated for Feb. 7, but it was postponed due to health and safety protocols within the Gopher program. The rescheduling has the Illini in a stretch of four games in nine days from Feb. 18-26.
• Illinois has won five straight over Minnesota, its longest streak against the Gophers since a school-record 20 consecutive wins from March 4, 1999 through March 15, 2008.
• Illinois has dropped back-to-back games for the first time this season, and first since Jan. 17-21 of last year.
• Illinois is the Big Ten's winningest team in league play over the last four years, with 52 total wins.
• Illinois leads the Big Ten and ranks second in the NCAA behind Utah Valley in blocked shots, averaging 5.9 bpg.
• The Illini's current total of 154 blocks is just nine away from breaking the school single-season record of 162, set in 1978-79.
• Illinois has tallied at least six blocks in 15 games, including nine on Saturday at No. 14 Indiana.
• Illinois has allowed an average of just 59.0 points (472) in its Big Ten wins, holding all eight opponents below the 70-point mark. The Illini have given up an average of 77.6 points (543) in its Big Ten losses, however, with all seven opponents topping 70 points.
• All eight of Illinois' Big Ten wins have been by at least nine points.
Last Time Out: No. 14 Indiana 71, Illinois 68 Box Score
• Illinois led for more than 26 minutes of game time, taking the lead at the 9:10 mark in the first half, and not trailing again until the final 30 seconds of the contest.
• The game also featured 10 ties, a season-most for an Illinois game.
• The loss snaps the Illini's two-game winning streak in Bloomington. Indiana last beat Illinois on its home court Jan. 13, 2019.
• Illinois built a lead in the first half by connecting on 50% (6-12) of its 3-point attempts.
• The Illini struggled from beyond the arc in the second half, however, going 0-for-8 from distance.
• Illinois' largest lead of the game was nine points, 48-39, at the 12:41 mark of the second half.
• Illinois had its three-game winning streak against ranked opponents snapped, moving to 4-3 on the year against top-25 foes.
• Illinois tied a season high with 19 fast break points, posting a 19-11 edge in the category.
• Matthew Mayer led the team in points (24), rebounds (8), and blocks (5), while notching one steal.
• Mayer posted 16 first-half points including four 3-pointers, the most triples in a single half in his career.
• It marks the ninth time this season that Mayer has led the Illini in scoring, and the fourth time he has pulled down a team-high rebounding total.
• Mayer has scored 20+ points five times this season.
• Jayden Epps scored 12 points and tied for the team lead with two assists.
• Epps has reached double-figures 18 times, including 12 of the Illini's last 15 contests.
• Epps also recorded a career high in minutes (34:34) and tied his high with three steals.
• Dain Dainja tallied his 10th double-digit game of the season, finishing with 11 points.
• Luke Goode, in just his third game action since returning from a foot injury, tallied seven points, two rebounds and two assist in a season-high 23 minutes off the bench.
• Goode tied his career high for field goals (3), assists (2), steals (1), and blocks (1).
• Leading scorer Terrence Shannon Jr. missed his first game of the season (concussion protocol).
