No. 14 Illinois Visits Michigan Thursday Night

#14 ILLINOIS (12-4, 3-2) at Michigan (7-10, 2-4)
Date | Time	Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024 | 7:30 p.m. CT (8:30 p.m. ET)
Location	Ann Arbor, Mich. | Crisler Center
Buy Tickets	MGoBlue.com
TV	FS1 (Kevin Kugler & Stephen Bardo)
Live Stream	foxsports.com/live/fs1 | FOX Sports App
Radio	Busey Bank Illini Sports Network | Varsity Network App | SiriusXM 84, SXM App 84
Live Stats	StatBroadcast
Printable Notes	Illinois | Michigan
Pre-Game Media Availability	Coach Underwood (Jan. 17)
2023-24 Stats	Illinois | Michigan
Record Book	Illinois
Shop	Online Store | Auctions
Social Media	@IlliniMBB | #Illini | @IlliniMBB | Facebook | YouTube

Head Coach Brad Underwood

Career Record: 235-110 (.681), 11th year
At Illinois: 126-83 (.603), 7th year
Big Ten: 69-54 (.561)

Series History

All-Time Record / Streak: Illinois leads 93-85  /  Illinois W-6
Last Meeting: Illinois 91, Michigan 87, 2OT  (3/2/2023 at Champaign)
Record at Ann Arbor / Streak: Michigan leads 52-32  /  Illinois W-3
Last Meeting in Ann Arbor: #15 Illinois 93, Michigan 85 (2/27/2022)
Underwood vs. Michigan: 6-2 at Illinois  (6-3 overall)

Opening Tips

• Illinois travels to Ann Arbor to face Michigan Thursday night at Crisler Center (7:30 p.m. CT, FS1). 
• Illinois is No. 14 in the latest AP poll, marking the team's eighth consecutive week inside the Top 25.  
• Illinois has won six in a row over Michigan, including three straight in Ann Arbor. The current six-game streak is the Illini's longest since the series-record 11 straight wins from Feb. 9, 2000 through Jan. 14, 2006.
• Illinois' three consecutive wins in Ann Arbor is its longest streak since claiming four in a row at Crisler Center from Jan. 25, 2001 through Feb. 8, 2005. 
• Illinois is the Big Ten's winningest team in conference play since the start of 2019-20. Entering Thursday's game at Michigan, the Illini are 58-27 (.683) in league games over the last four-plus seasons.  
• The Illini are also a Big Ten leading 24-18 (.571) on the road in conference play since the start of 2019-20. The Orange and Blue are 1-1 in B1G road games this season with a win at Rutgers on Dec. 2 and a narrow loss at then-No. 1 Purdue (83-78) on Jan. 5. 
• Illinois ranks second in the Big Ten and 25th nationally with an average scoring margin of +14.3 ppg. Sunday's loss to Maryland snapped the Illini's seven-game home win streak, during which the Orange and Blue had outscored opponents by an average of 23.7 points per contest. 
• Thursday's contest at Michigan continues a steady cadence of Big Ten play in which the Illini face five of six conference foes on two-day preparations through the end of January. The lead-up to the game against the Wolverines is Illinois' lone three-day window through the team's Jan. 30 game at Ohio State.  
• Illinois has 21 wins over Top 25 teams since 2019-20, sixth-most nationally. Three of the team's four losses this season have been by single-digit margins against top-25 foes. 
• The Illini closed a non-conference schedule featuring six opponents that competed in the 2023 NCAA Tournament, including two that advanced to the second round (Missouri and FDU), two Sweet 16 participants (Marquette and Tennessee), and 2023 Final Four Cinderella story, FAU. The Orange and Blue went 4-2 in those six contests. 
• Illinois' Braggin' Rights win on Dec. 22 capped a run with four of five games away from State Farm Center. The month began with a 76-58 win at Rutgers in the Big Ten opener, followed by a 98-89 victory over No. 11 Florida Atlantic in the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden, before a hard-fought 86-79 loss at No. 17 Tennessee.
• Illinois averaged 99.0 ppg (297) over a three-game stretch from Dec. 22-Jan. 2 in wins vs. Missouri (97-73), vs. FDU (104-71), and vs. Northwestern (96-66). It marked the first time Illinois had topped 90 points in three consecutive games in 30 seasons, since December 10-18, 1993. 
• Defensively, Illinois ranks 15th nationally in field goal percentage defense (.390), 25th in scoring margin (+14.3), marks that rank first and second in the Big Ten, respectively. The Orange and Blue are also 77th in the NCAA in blocks per game (4.5), and 84th nationally in scoring defense (66.9 ppg). 
• Illinois is among the top 5 nationally in two defensive categories via KenPom, ranking second in the nation in 2-point field goal percentage defense (.422) and fifth in effective field goal percentage defense (.437). 
• KenPom also rates the Illini among the top-35 programs nationally in adjusted efficiency on both offense (11th, 118.7) and defense (32nd, 96.0). Illinois is one of 13 programs to rank inside the top 35 in both metrics. 
• The Illini lead the Big Ten in total rebounds per game (43.19), defensive rebounds per game (30.19), and offensive rebounds per game (13.00), figures that are fifth, seventh, and 35th in the NCAA, respectively. The Illini also rank second in the Big Ten in rebounding margin (+9.1), which is 15th nationally. 
• The Illini have outrebounded their opponents in 11 of 15 games this season, and own a 10-1 record when winning the battle on the glass. 
• Illinois has pulled down 50+ rebounds in seven games on the season, including a stretch four straight – vs. Valpo, vs. Southern, vs. Western Illinois, and at Rutgers – that marked the longest streak of consecutive games with 50+ rebounds since the 1963-64 season. 
• Illinois' seven games of 50+ rebounds ranks as the most for the program since at least the 1979-80 season. 

Illini Player Notables

• Marcus Domask has scored in double figures in nine of the last 10 games, with two 30+ point performances – a career-high 33 vs. Florida Atlantic at Madison Square Garden and 32 vs. Northwestern – plus game highs of 26 points at No. 1 Purdue and vs. Maryland. 
• Domask is averaging 18.9 ppg over the last eight games (189). He has climbed to 12th in the Big Ten at 14.9 points per game overall this season after averaging just 8.2 points over his first six games.
• In conference games only, Domask ranks second in the Big Ten at 22.8 points per game. 
• Domask also ranks as one of the Big Ten's most efficient scorers, ranking 13th in the conference with a .444 field goal percentage (83-187).
• Domask also leads the Big Ten in free throw shooting at 90.3% (56-62), on pace to break the Illinois program's single-season record (minimum 75 attempts) of .874 (76-87) set by Alfonso Plummer in 2022. 
• Domask is averaging 5.8 assists over the last six games (35), compared to 1.6 apg the first 10 games (16), and has moved up to No. 14 in the Big Ten overall at 3.19 assists per game. 
• Domask was named Big Ten Player of the Week by the Big Ten (Jan. 8) and Associated Press (Jan. 9), and was  also honored as one of five USBWA Oscar Robertson National Players of the Week (Jan. 9), after averaging 29.0 points, 5.5 assists and 4.0 rebounds while shooting 59.4% from the field, 66.7% from 3-point range, and 90% from the free-throw line in matchups vs. Northwestern and at No. 1 Purdue.
• Quincy Guerrier leads one of the nation's most tenacious rebounding teams, ranking 10th in the Big Ten at 7.3 rebounds per game, overall, and sixth in the league in defensive rebounding (5.8 per game). 
• Guerrier has five double-doubles through 16 games with the Illini. He totaled two double-doubles in 71 career games at Oregon, both coming during the 2021-22 season.
• Guerrier has scored at least 10 points in seven of his last eight games and is averaging 16.0 points per game after opening the season scoring at a clip of 6.3 points per game through his first eight contests at Illinois. 
• Guerrier is 14-of-34 (.412) on threes over the last eight games, compared to 2-of-20 over his first eight games.
• Coleman Hawkins has scored in double figures in seven of the last eight games and is averaging 13.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.5 blocks and 1.6 steals with 20 threes (2.5 per game) during that run.
• Hawkins has made 20-of-48 (.417) 3-pointers over the last eight games, after going 2-of-14 (.143) from distance in his first five games.
• Hawkins has recorded at least one steal in each of his last 10 games, and has at least one block in his last seven, both career-long streaks.
• Hawkins is the only player in the Big Ten to rank in the top 15 in the conference in both blocks per game (1.31 bpg, 10th) and steals per game (1.31 spg, 13th). 
• Luke Goode has started each of the Illini's last five games, averaging 33.0 minutes per game. Goode set his career high in minutes in both games last week, with 36 each against Michigan State at Maryland.
• Goode also scored career-best 16 points at Purdue and tied his career high with four 3-pointers against the Boilers, then two games later  vs. Maryland he tallied 13 points including a trio of 3-pointers. 
• Goode ranks ninth in the Big Ten at 2.0 triples per contest, and is hitting at a clip of 40.5% (32-79) on the season. 
• Prior to being held to just one point vs. Maryland, Justin Harmon had combined for 53 points over his previous four games (13.3 avg.), including 18 points in the Illini's non-conference finale vs. FDU, and career-high 20 points vs. Northwestern. He had totaled 45 points over the first 11 games of the season (4.1 ppg).. 

Every Day Guys Exclusive:

Read the latest feature stories on the Fighting Illini men's basketball team.  

• Jan. 10: 'I Just Wanted to be Different': Hawkins' Legacy Grows in Fourth Year With Program
• Dec. 7: Harmon Takes Long Road to Illinois in Final Year of Eligibility
• Nov. 30: 'I Owed That Sacrifice to Everybody': Goode Finds, Establishes Role in Third Season at Illinois
• Oct. 26: 'Now or Never': Hawkins, Shannon Gear Up for 'Last Dance' at Illinois
• Oct. 19: Every Day Guys: How Three Words Became Engrained in Illinois' Team Culture, Identity

Complete Illinois Game Notes (PDF)