| Illinois Probable Starters |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
Note |
| G/F |
20 |
Ty Rodgers |
6-6 |
210 |
So. |
5.9 |
5.6 |
2.6 |
1st career double-double (10p, 15 r) vs. FDU |
| G/F |
10 |
Luke Goode |
6-7 |
205 |
Jr. |
6.9 |
4.4 |
0.7 |
At least one 3-pointer in 11 of 13 games |
| G/F |
3 |
Marcus Domask |
6-6 |
215 |
Gr. |
13.2 |
4.6 |
3.1 |
32 points in Tuesday's win over Northwestern |
| G/F |
13 |
Quincy Guerrier |
6-8 |
230 |
Gr. |
11.0 |
7.4 |
0.2 |
Consecutive double-doubles vs. FDU and Northwestern |
| F |
33 |
Coleman Hawkins |
6-10 |
230 |
Sr. |
10.3 |
5.5 |
2.5 |
5 straight double-figure scoring games |
| Off the Bench |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
Note |
| G |
2 |
Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn |
6-1 |
185 |
Fr. |
3.8 |
1.5 |
0.6 |
9 pts & tied career-high w/ 4 rebs vs. FDU |
| G |
4 |
Justin Harmon |
6-4 |
200 |
Gr. |
6.4 |
2.7 |
0.9 |
38 combined pts (8 3FGs) vs. FDU & NW |
| G |
5 |
AJ Redd |
6-3 |
170 |
So. |
0.5 |
0.2 |
0.0 |
First-career FG vs. Missouri |
| G |
11 |
Niccolo Moretti |
6-1 |
170 |
r-Fr. |
4.0 |
2.3 |
2.7 |
Career-high 6 points vs Valpo |
| G |
25 |
Max Williams |
6-2 |
200 |
Sr. |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
Transfer from DePaul |
| F |
35 |
Amani Hansberry |
6-8 |
240 |
Fr. |
2.6 |
2.9 |
0.5 |
8 pts, 7 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl vs. Southern |
| F/C |
42 |
Dain Dainja |
6-9 |
255 |
r-Jr. |
7.5 |
4.3 |
0.3 |
Team-high 19 points (9-10 FG) vs. FDU |
| Out |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
Note |
| G |
0 |
Terrence Shannon Jr. |
6-6 |
225 |
5th |
21.7 |
4.5 |
2.5 |
Suspended from all team activities Dec. 27 |
| G |
1 |
Sencire Harris |
6-4 |
170 |
So. |
-- |
-- |
-- |
Plans to redshirt 2023-24 season |
| G |
22 |
Keaton Kutcher |
6-2 |
200 |
Jr. |
-- |
-- |
-- |
Transfer from South Dakota |
Career Record: 234-108 (.684), 11th year
At Illinois: 125-81 (.607), 7th year
Big Ten: 68-52 (.567)
Series History
All-Time Record / Streak: Purdue leads 105-90 / Purdue W-3
Record at West Lafayette / Streak: Purdue leads 65-29 / Purdue W-2
Last Meeting: #5 Purdue 76, Illinois 71 (3/5/2023 at West Lafayette)
Underwood vs. Purdue: 3-5
Opening Tips
- No. 9 Illinois travels to West Lafayette on Friday for a top-10 showdown at No. 1 Purdue (7:30 p.m. CT, FS1).
- Illinois' No. 9 AP ranking is its highest since March 15, 2021 (#2) and highest in the first week of January for the Orange and Blue since Jan. 2, 2006 (#6).
- Illinois is the Big Ten's winningest team in conference play since the start of 2019-20. Following the team's win vs. Northwestern on Tuesday, the Illini are now 57-25 (.695) in league games over the last four-plus seasons. Purdue ranks second with 53 wins over that same period.
- The Illini are in search of the program's fourth win all-time over a No. 1-ranked team, and first ever away from home. The Orange and Blue are 0-8 in road games at No. 1, and 3-20 overall against No. 1 opponents.
- Illinois' last game against a No. 1 ranked opponent was a 74-72 victory over Indiana on Tyler Griffey's layup at the buzzer on Feb. 7, 2013 at State Farm Center.
- Friday marks the first time head coach Brad Underwood will lead the Illini against a No. 1-ranked team.
- Underwood owns the two highest-ranked wins away from Champaign in program history, a 76-53 victory at No. 2 Michigan on March 2, 2021, and an 85-78 (OT) win vs. No. 2 Texas at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 12, 2022.
- The Illini's win over No. 2 Texas at the 2022 Jimmy V Classic is the program's most recent over a top-5 team.
- The Fighting Illini are 32-28 all-time in games when both programs are ranked inside the AP top 10, with a 5-1 record in such contests during the Underwood era.
- Illinois has recorded 11 wins over top-10 opponents since 2019-20, the third-most nationally.
- Illinois is 12-7 in its last 19 games versus top-10 teams, and 4-5 in its last nine games vs. top-5 opponents.
- Illinois' four-wins over top-5 foes since 2019-20 is tied for sixth, one off the national lead of five (five teams).
- Illinois has 21 wins over Top 25 teams since 2019-20, sixth-most nationally. Both of the team's losses this season have been by single-digit margins against top-25 foes.
- The Illini picked up an exhibition win prior to the regular season tipping off, topping No. 1 Kansas, 82-75, in the Maui Strong Relief Matchup on Oct. 29 at State Farm Center.
- The Illini are 3-1 on the season away from State Farm Center, going 1-1 in true road games at Rutgers (W, 76-58) and No. 17 Tennessee (L, 86-79), and earning two neutral-site wins over No. 11 FAU (W, 98-89) at Madison Square Garden, and vs. Missouri (97-73) in the annual Braggin' Rights game in St. Louis.
- Overall, the Orange and Blue enter Friday's matchup on a four-game win streak. After closing non-conference play with decisive victories over Colgate (74-57), Missouri (97-73), and FDU (104-71) before Tuesday's 96-66 win vs. Northwestern, the Illini now lead the Big Ten with a scoring margin of +18.4.
- The Illini closed a non-conference schedule that featured 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.
- Friday's meeting with Purdue is the 195th in the series that dates back to the 1905-06 season. The matchup is Illinois' third-most-played in program history behind only Wisconsin (205 games) and Minnesota (197).
- The Illini are 29-65 vs. the Boilermakers in West Lafayette and are looking for their first road win the series since a 76-62 victory at Mackey Arena on Jan. 21, 2020.
- The contest at Purdue is the Illini's lone road game in a stretch of more than two weeks that began Dec. 29 with a win over FDU (104-71) and continued with Tuesday's home win vs. Northwestern (96-66). The team follows Friday's game with home games against Michigan State on Jan. 11 and Maryland on Jan. 14.
- 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 is averaging 99.0 ppg (297) over the last three games. This is the first time Illinois has topped 90 points in three consecutive games in 30 seasons, since December 10-18, 1993.
- Defensively, Illinois ranks 11th nationally in field goal percentage defense (.378), 12th in scoring margin (+18.4), 58th in scoring defense (65.5 ppg), and 69th in blocks per game (4.5).
- Illinois is among the top 3 nationally in two defensive categories via KenPom, ranking second in the nation in 2-point field goal percentage defense (.406) and third effective field goal percentage defense (.425).
- KenPom also rates the Illini among the top-25 programs nationally in adjusted efficiency on both offense (12th, 118.3) and defense (18th, 93.4). Illinois is one of only six programs to rank inside the top 20 in both metrics.
- The Illini lead the Big Ten and rank second in the NCAA in total rebounds per game (45.23), defensive rebounds per game (31.92), while their B1G-leading rebounding margin (+12.5) ranks seventh nationally. The team also ranks 39th in offensive rebounds per game (13.31), second in the conference.
- The Illini have outrebounded their opponents in 11 of 13 games this season, opening with seven straight contests with the rebounding edge before battles vs. No. 11 FAU (-2) and at No. 17 Tennessee (-9).
- 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.
- Marcus Domask has scored in double figures in six of the last seven games, with two 30+ point performances.
- Domask is averaging 17.4 ppg over this stretch (122).
- Domask is averaging 8.0 assists over the last three games (24), compared to 1.6 apg the first 10 games (16).
- Quincy Guerrier leads one of the nation's most tenacious rebounding teams, ranking 10th in the Big Ten at 7.4 rebounds per game, overall, and sixth in the league in defensive rebounding (5.8 per game).
- Guerrier has four double-doubles on the season, including each of the last two games.
- Guerrier has scored at least 14 points in each of the last five games, averaging 18.6 points (93).
- Guerrier is 12-of-23 on threes over the last five games (.522), compared to 2-of-20 the first eight games.
- Coleman Hawkins has scored in double-figures in five straight games – a career-best streak – and is averaging 14.8 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 2.4 assists with 15 three-pointers (3.0 per game) in 31.8 min/game during this run.
- Hawkins has made 15-of-34 from 3-point range over the last five games (.441), after going 2-of-14 in his first five games from three (.143).
- Justin Harmon has combined for 38 points over the last two games, averaging 19.0 points. He totaled 45 points over the first 11 games, averaging 4.1 ppg.
- Head Coach Brad Underwood had Illinois ranked by the AP in four straight preseason polls for the first time since the preseason poll began in 1961-62.
- 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. .
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