No. 14 Illini Host Rematch vs. Rutgers Sunday

#14 ILLINOIS (13-4, 4-2) vs. Rutgers (10-7, 2-4)
Date | Time	Sunday, Jan. 21, 2024 | 12 p.m. CT
Location	Champaign, Ill. | State Farm Center
Buy Tickets	Sold Out | Buy on SeatGeek
TV	BTN (Brandon Gaudin & Robbie Hummel)
Live Stream	foxsports.com/live/btn | FOX Sports App
Radio	Busey Bank Illini Sports Network | Varsity Network App | SiriusXM 161 or 196, SXM App 958
Live Stats	StatBroadcast
Digital Game Program	Game 18 vs. Rutgers
Printable Notes	Illinois | Rutgers
Pre-Game Media Availability	Coach Underwood (Jan. 20)
2023-24 Stats	Illinois | Rutgers
Record Book	Illinois
Shop	Online Store | Auctions
Social Media	@IlliniMBB | #Illini | @IlliniMBB | Facebook | YouTube

Head Coach Brad Underwood

Career Record: 236-110 (.682), 11th year
At Illinois: 27-83 (.605), 7th year
Big Ten: 70-54 (.565)

Series History

All-Time Record / Streak: Illinois leads 12-4  /  Illinois W-2
Last Meeting: #24 Illinois 76, Rutgers 58 (12/2/2023 at Piscataway)
Record at Champaign / Streak: Illinois leads 7-0  /  Illinois W-7
Last Meeting in Champaign: Illinois 69, #24 Rutgers 60 (2/11/2023)
Underwood vs. Rutgers: 8-3

Opening Tips

• Illinois hosts its first Big Ten rematch vs. Rutgers, on Sunday at sold-out State Farm Center (12 p.m. CT, BTN). 
• Illinois is No. 14 in the latest AP poll, marking the team's eighth consecutive week inside the Top 25.  
• Illinois defeated the Scarlet Knights, 76-58, in the teams' 2023-24 Big Ten opener on Dec. 2 at Jersey Mikes Arena in Piscataway, N.J. 
• Illinois has won two straight vs. Rutgers, overall, and enters Sunday's matchup with a perfect 7-0 mark against the Scarlet Knights in games played at State Farm Center.
• Illinois is the Big Ten's winningest team in conference play since the start of 2019-20. Entering Sunday's game vs. Rutgers, the Illini are 59-27 (.686) in league games over the last four-plus seasons.  
• Following Illinois' win at Michigan Thursday, the Illini are also a Big Ten leading 25-18 (.581) on the road in conference play since the start of 2019-20, including a 2-1 mark this season. 
• Sunday's contest vs. Rutgers 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. Following Thursday's win at Michigan, the Illini now close out the month playing every third day through the team's Jan. 30 matchup at Ohio State. 
• Illinois ranks second in the Big Ten and 25th nationally with an average scoring margin of +14.3 ppg. 
• During the Illini's seven-game home win streak from Oct. 17 through Jan. 11, the Orange and Blue had outscored opponents by an average of 23.7 points per contest. 
• 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. 
• Offensively, the Fighting Illini's scoring average 82.1 ranks as the team's highest since 1993-94 (84.0 ppg). 
• Defensively, Illinois ranks 25th nationally in both scoring margin (+14.3) and field goal percentage defense (.395), marks that rank second and third in the Big Ten, respectively. The Orange and Blue are also 74th in the NCAA in blocks per game (4.4), and 89th nationally in scoring defense (67.8 ppg). 
• Illinois is among the top 10 nationally in two defensive categories via KenPom, ranking sixth in the nation in effective field goal percentage defense (.440) and ninth in 2-point field goal percentage defense (.430). 
• KenPom also rates the Illini among the top30 programs nationally in adjusted efficiency on both offense (10th, 120.0) and defense (27th, 96.3). Illinois is one of 10 programs to rank inside the top 30 in both metrics. 
• The Illini lead the Big Ten and rank in the top 10 in the NCAA in both total rebounds per game (42.94; fifth in NCAA) and defensive rebounds per game (29.94, eighth in NCAA). The Illini also rank second in the Big Ten in rebounding margin (+14.3) and offensive rebounds per game (13.0), 25th and 36th in the nation, respectively. 
• The Illini average 42.9 rebounds per game is the team's best single-season mark since 1972-73 (44.4 rpg).  
• The Illini have outrebounded their opponents in 12 of 17 games this season, and own an 11-1 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 10 of the last 11 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 18.5 ppg over the last 11 games (204). He has climbed to 13th 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 fourth in the Big Ten at 21.5 points per game. 
• Domask is also one of the Big Ten's most efficient scorers, ranking 12th in the conference with a .438 field goal percentage (88-201). 
• Domask also ranks No. 2 in the Big Ten in free throw shooting at 88.4% (61-69), 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 5.4 assists over the last seven games (38), compared to 1.6 apg the first 10 games (16), and has moved up to No. 14 in the Big Ten overall at 3.18 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 eighth in the Big Ten at 7.7 rebounds per game, overall, and sixth in the league in defensive rebounding (5.9 per game). 
• Guerrier leads the Illini and ranks fourth in the Big Ten with six double-doubles through 17 games this season 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 eight of his last nine 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 15-of-39 (.385) on threes over the last nine games, compared to 2-of-20 (.100) over his first eight.
• Coleman Hawkins has scored in double figures in eight of the last nine games and is averaging 14.3 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.4 blocks and 2.1 steals with 23 threes (2.6 per game) during that run.
• In Illinois' 88-73 road win at Michigan (1/18), Hawkins became first Big Ten player since 2007 (Purdue's Carl Landry) to record a stat line of at least 21 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, six steals and one block. 
• Hawkins has made 23-of-53 (.434) 3-pointers over the last nine games, after going 2-of-14 (.143) from distance in his first five contests.
• Hawkins has recorded at least one steal in each of his last 11 games (including a career-high six at Michigan) and has at least one block in his last eight games, 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 (1.29 bpg, 11th) and steals per game (1.64 spg, 13th).
• Luke Goode has started each of the Illini's last six games, averaging 32.3 minutes per game. Goode set his career high in minutes with 36 each in each game against Michigan State (1/11) at Maryland (1/14).
• Goode also scored career-best 16 points at #1 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 10th in the Big Ten at 2.0 triples per game, and is shooting a team-leading 41.0% (34-83) from distance.
• Justin Harmon has reached double-figures scoring in four of his last six games and is averaging 10.9 points per game over that stretch dating back to an 18-point effort vs. FDU (12/29), followed by a career-high 20 points vs. Northwestern (1/2). Harmon averaged just 4.1 points per game over his first 11 contests of the season.. 

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)