| PROBABLE STARTERS (Based on previous game) |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
Note |
| G |
32 |
Kasparas Jakucionis |
6-6 |
205 |
Fr. |
9.0 |
6.3 |
7.7 |
Tied Illini frosh assists record (13) vs SIUE |
| G |
4 |
Kylan Boswell |
6-2 |
205 |
Jr. |
5.0 |
2.0 |
2.3 |
Season-high 8 points vs. Oakland |
| G |
22 |
Tre White |
6-7 |
210 |
Jr. |
8.3 |
4.0 |
1.3 |
Career-high 3 3-pointers vs. SIUE |
| F |
3 |
Ben Humrichous |
6-9 |
225 |
Gr. |
13.0 |
4.3 |
1.3 |
Career-high 5 3-pointers vs. SIUE |
| C |
13 |
Tomislav Ivisic |
7-1 |
255 |
So. |
17.3 |
9.0 |
1.0 |
Career-high 20 points vs. Oakland |
| OFF THE BENCH |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
Note |
| F |
0 |
Carey Booth |
6-10 |
215 |
So. |
3.3 |
2.0 |
0.3 |
Blocks in each of first two games |
| G |
2 |
Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn |
6-1 |
185 |
So. |
10.0 |
2.3 |
0.0 |
Career-high 21 points vs EIU |
| G |
5 |
AJ Redd |
6-3 |
170 |
Jr. |
1.0 |
0.5 |
0.0 |
Former team manager turned walkon |
| F |
7 |
Will Riley |
6-8 |
195 |
Fr. |
17.7 |
6.0 |
1.7 |
No. 7 freshman scorer in the nation |
| F |
15 |
Jake Davis |
6-6 |
205 |
So. |
1.5 |
1.0 |
0.0 |
Hit first 3-pointer as an Illini vs. SIUE |
| F |
21 |
Morez Johnson Jr. |
6-9 |
255 |
Fr. |
3.3 |
6.3 |
0.0 |
Tied Illini frosh blocks record (6) vs EIU |
| G |
24 |
Keaton Kutcher |
6-2 |
195 |
r-Jr. |
1.0 |
0.5 |
0.5 |
Scored first Illinois points vs. SIUE |
| REDSHIRT (Averages from 2023-24 season) |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
Note |
| G/F |
20 |
Ty Rodgers |
6-6 |
210 |
Jr. |
6.2 |
5.3 |
2.0 |
Started all 38 games last season |
| F |
31 |
Jason Jakstys |
6-10 |
210 |
Fr. |
-- |
-- |
-- |
Third-Team All-State |
Career Record: 255-115 (.689), 12th year
At Illinois: 146-88 (.624), 8th year
Big Ten: 80-58 (.580)
Series History vs. Alabama
All-Time Record / Streak: Alabama leads, 3-1 / Alabama W3
Record at Neutral Site: Alabama leads, 1-0
Last Meeting: Alabama 79, Illinois 58 (3/17/2015 at Tuscaloosa / NIT Round 1)
Last Meeting at Neutral Site: Alabama 58, #19 Illinois 56 (3/16/1986 at Charlotte, N.C. / NCAA Tournament Round 2)
Underwood vs. Alabama: First meeting
Opening Tips
- No. 25 Illinois (3-0) opens a stretch of four games in nine days across three different cities on Wednesday night vs. No. 8 Alabama (3-1) at the C.M. Newton Classic (8 p.m. CT/SEC Network) at Legacy Arena in Birmingham.
- The Fighting Illini are off to a 3-0 start with home wins over Eastern Illinois (112-67), SIUE (90-58) and Oakland (66-54). Wednesday's game is the Illini's first away from State Farm Center.
- Illinois entered the Top 25 of the AP poll, at No. 25, for the first time this season, and remained ranked No. 20 in the coaches poll. Head Coach Brad Underwood now has the Fighting Illini program ranked for a sixth consecutive season.
- Following the 2024 Elite Eight appearance and Big Ten Tournament Championship, Illinois has a dramatically different roster this season. The program returns just one rotation player – last year's ninth-leading scorer Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn – and returns just 2.9% of its minutes, 2.2% of its points, and 2.0% of its rebounds overall.
- Since the start of the 2019-20 season, Illinois is 17-18 in 35 games in which both teams are ranked in the AP Top 25. The Orange and Blue are 5-5 in ranked-ranked matchups at neutral sites during that span.
- Since the 2019-20 season, Illinois ranks third nationally with 12 wins over top-10 teams. The Illini's most recent top-10 win came in last year's NCAA Sweet 16, when the Illini defeated No. 4 Iowa State to advance to the Elite Eight.
- Illinois is looking to start 4-0 or better for the third time under Brad Underwood, and the second time in three seasons after opening the 2022-23 campaign 4-0.
- Through three games, KenPom.com ranks the Illini 25th in adjusted efficiency rating (+19.72), with the Orange and Blue coming in at No. 21 in defensive efficiency (95.0) and No. 33 in defense efficiency (114.7).
- As a team, Illinois ranks top 15 nationally in 3-pointers per game (5th, 12.7), 3-point attempts per game (6th, 35.0), rebounds per game (8th, 47.3), rebound margin (8th, +15.3), defensive rebounds per game (9th, 33.3), scoring margin (11th, +29.7), free-throws made per game (11th, 22.0) and free-throw attempts per game (12th, 30.3).
- Illinois is the winningest team in the Big Ten over the last five seasons, registering a 69-31 (.690) mark in league play. The Illini won the 2024 Big Ten Tournament championship as the #2 seed, captured the regular season championship in 2022, and led the conference in wins while adding a B1G Tournament crown in 2021.
Illini crack AP top 25
- Illinois (3-0) is ranked No. 25 in this week's Associated Press Top 25, its first appearance in a 2024-25 AP poll. The Illini check in at No. 20, meanwhile, in the latest Coaches poll.
- Head Coach Brad Underwood now has the Fighting Illini program ranked for a sixth consecutive season
- Illinois spent all but one week ranked last season, ending 2023-24 with its highest placement of the year by the AP at No. 6. That marked Illinois' fourth Top-25 finish in the last five years, and its second Top-10 tally of the Underwood era after a No. 2 final ranking in 2020-21.
- Illinois is currently ranked in the AP Top 25 in football (24), men's basketball (25), and women's basketball (22). The Fighting Illini are one of just three schools appearing in all three polls, joined by Alabama and Iowa State.
Illini vs. Ranked Opponents
- Illinois is 196-298 all-time against ranked opponents, including a 58-66 mark vs. ranked opponents at neutral sites.
- Entering Wednesday's matchup vs. No. 8 Alabama, the Illini are 70-160 vs. top-10 foes, with a 21-38 mark in neutral-site contests.
- The Illini, No. 25 in this week's AP poll, are 110-105 all-time when both teams are ranked, with a 42-34 mark in ranked-ranked matchups on a neutral floor.
- Illinois' most recent win vs. a ranked opponent came last March when the No. 10 Illini defeated fourth-ranked Iowa State, 72-69, in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament at TD Garden in Boston.
- In 35 ranked vs. ranked matchups since the start of the 2019-20 season, Illinois is 17-18. The Illini are 5-5 in ranked-ranked matchups at neutral sites during that span. Taking on the Top
- Illinois has won 13 of its last 23 games vs. top-10 opponents, another highlight of the job Brad Underwood has done rebuilding the Fighting Illini program.
- The Illini rank third nationally in top-10 wins since the start of the 2019-20 season:
- Top-10 Wins (2019-20 - Present)
- 1. Baylor – 15
- 2. Kansas – 14
- 3. Illinois – 12
- T4. Purdue – 11
- T4. Michigan State – 11
- T6. Iowa State – 10
- T6. Connecticut – 10
- T8. Ohio State – 9
- T8. Tennessee – 9
- Five of those wins are over top-5 opponents, one off the NCAA lead held by Alabama, and tied with Arizona, Gonzaga, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan State, Purdue, and Tennessee.
Illinois-Alabama Storylines
- Wednesday's contest is the fifth meeting between Illinois and Alabama and the first in the series with both programs ranked inside the top 25.
- The Crimson Tide hold a 3-1 lead and have won three straight - all in postseason play - since the No. 9-ranked Fighting Illini captured the first meeting, 77-54, on Dec. 12, 1953, in Champaign.
- The two programs will face off the first time in a decade since the Crimson Tide defeated the Fighting Illini, 79-58, in the first round of the NIT, March 17, 2015, in Tuscaloosa.
- Illinois hosted Alabama in the NIT First Round on March 13, 1996, dropping a 72-69 decision in the final game of head coach Lou Henson's storied Illini career.
- Wednesday's game is the second neutral-site matchup in the series. The fourth-seeded Illini fell to the fifth-seeded Tide in the second round the NCAA Tournament's Southeast Region, March 16, 1986, in Charlotte, N.C.
- Eighth-ranked Alabama (3-1) will play its first game since an 87-78 loss at then-No. 13 Purdue last Friday. The matchup with the Boilermakers was the first for the Crimson Tide against five regular-season opponents common to the Illini schedule. In addition to Alabama, the Illini are also slated to play SEC foes Arkansas (Nov. 28), Tennessee (Dec. 14), and Missouri (Dec. 22). Illinois travels to face Rutgers (Feb. 5) - which is scheduled to take on Alabama Nov. 27 in Las Vegas - then hosts Purdue in its regular-season finale (March 7).
- The Illinois men's basketball program is a combined 88-52 all-time against the current 16-team membership of the Southeastern Conference.
- Illinois head coach Brad Underwood is 8-8 in his career vs. current SEC programs. During his time at Illinois he is 4-5 against the current membership of the SEC, including a 1-1 mark last season with a 97-73 win over Mizzou in the annual Braggin' Rights matchup in St. Louis, and a hard-fought 86-79 road loss at then-No. 17 Tennessee.
Complete Illinois Game Notes (PDF)
