University of Illinois
Chicago State
#24 Illini Close 2024 vs. Chicago State at Sold Out State Farm Center
December 27, 2024 | Men's Basketball
PREVIEW
| #24 ILLINOIS (8-3, 1-1 B1G) vs. Chicago State (0-14) | |
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| Date | Time | Promotion | Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024 | 1 p.m. CT | Star Wars Day |
| Location | Champaign, Ill. | State Farm Center |
| Buy Tickets | Sold Out | Buy on SeatGeek |
| TV | BTN (Mike Hall & Trent Meacham) |
| Live Stream | foxsports.com/live/btn/ | FOX Sports App |
| Radio | Busey Bank Illini Sports Network | Varsity Network App | SiriusXM 372, SXM App 372 |
| Live Stats | Statbroadcast.com |
| Printable Notes | Illinois |
| Pregame Press Conference | Coach Underwood (Dec. 28) |
| 2024-25 Stats | Illinois | Chicago State |
| Record Book | Illinois |
| Shop | Online Store | Auctions |
| Social Media | @IlliniMBB  | #Illini | @IlliniMBB  | Facebook  | YouTube  |
| PROBABLE STARTERS (Based on previous game) | |||||||||
| Pos. | No. | Name | Ht. | Wt. | Yr. | PPG | RPG | APG | Note |
| G | 32 | Kasparas Jakucionis | 6-6 | 205 | Fr. | 16.5 | 5.7 | 5.5 | Last 6 games: 21.8 p / 5.5 r / 4.5 a / 49% 3FG |
| G | 4 | Kylan Boswell | 6-2 | 205 | Jr. | 10.6 | 4.5 | 3.5 | 12.8 ppg over last 8 games |
| G | 22 | Tre White | 6-7 | 210 | Jr. | 9.5 | 5.3 | 0.7 | Season-high 23 points vs. #20 Wisconsin |
| F | 3 | Ben Humrichous | 6-9 | 225 | Gr. | 7.8 | 2.8 | 0.9 | 2.0 3-pointers/game (11th in Big Ten) |
| C | 13 | Tomislav Ivisic | 7-1 | 255 | So. | 13.9 | 9.7 | 1.5 | 6 double-doubles (8th in NCAA / 1st in Big Ten) |
| OFF THE BENCH | |||||||||
| Pos. | No. | Name | Ht. | Wt. | Yr. | PPG | RPG | APG | Note |
| F | 0 | Carey Booth | 6-10 | 215 | So. | 1.8 | 1.1 | 0.1 | Four of five field goals are 3-pointers |
| G | 2 | Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn | 6-1 | 185 | So. | 5.5 | 1.5 | 0.1 | Career-high 21 points vs EIU |
| G | 5 | AJ Redd | 6-3 | 170 | Jr. | 0.5 | 0.8 | 0.3 | Former team manager turned walkon |
| F | 7 | Will Riley | 6-8 | 195 | Fr. | 12.5 | 4.0 | 1.5 | 4 games of 10+ points and 5+ rebounds |
| F | 15 | Jake Davis | 6-6 | 205 | So. | 0.9 | 0.8 | 0.3 | Season-high 4 rebounds vs. UMES |
| F | 21 | Morez Johnson Jr. | 6-9 | 255 | Fr. | 4.7 | 6.4 | 0.3 | 2.5 offensive rebounds/game (4th in Big Ten) |
| G | 24 | Keaton Kutcher | 6-2 | 195 | r-Jr. | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 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 |
Head Coach Brad Underwood
Career Record: 260-118 (.688), 12th year
At Illinois: 151-91 (.624), 8th year
Big Ten: 81-59 (.579)
Series History vs. Chicago State
All-Time Record: Illinois leads, 13-0
Record in Champaign: Illinois leads, 12-0
Last Meeting: #8 Illinois 97, Chicago State 38 (11/26/2020 in Champaign)
Underwood vs. Chicago State: 1-0
Opening Tips
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Following a week-long Holiday break, No. 24 Illinois returns to action on Sunday afternoon, facing Chicago State at sold-out State Farm Center to close out the 2024 calendar year (1 p.m. CT, BTN).
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Brad Underwood has led the Illini program to Top-25 rankings in six consecutive seasons. Illinois returned to the AP poll for the third time this season on Monday, currently ranked 24th.
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The Chicago State game marks Illinois' final non-conference home contest. The Illini still have one non-league game remaining, against No. 4 Duke at Madison Square Garden on Feb. 22.
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With Illinois' next victory, eighth-year head coach Brad Underwood will move into sole possession of fourth place on the Fighting Illini all-time coaching wins list. Underwood is currently tied with Doug Mills (1937-47) at 151 wins apiece.
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Point guard Kasparas Jakucionis has scored 20+ points in each of the last six games, shattering the Illini freshman record for consecutive 20-point games (previous record was two). Over this span, Jakucionis is averaging 21.8 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 4.5 assists while knocking down 20 three-pointers at a 49% clip.
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Jakucionis is the fourth Big Ten freshman since 1996-97 with at least six-straight 20-point games, and the first to do so since Indiana's Eric Gordon had seven in a row in 2007.
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Tomislav Ivisic has recorded six double-doubles through 11 games, tied with Northwestern's Brooks Barnhizer for most in the Big Ten this season.
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Illinois is No. 14 in the NCAA NET rankings through games played Dec.26. The Illini rank second in the Big Ten.
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Illinois is coming off its second-straight Braggin' Rights win, 80-77 over Missouri, last Sunday in St. Louis.
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Illinois played four SEC teams during non-conference play, going 2-2 with wins over Mizzou and No. 23 Arkansas and losses to No. 1 Tennessee and No. 8 Alabama. The Illini met a fifth SEC opponent prior to the season, facing Ole Miss in a charity exhibition game.
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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
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Newcomers to the Illini roster have accounted for 93% of the team's scoring so far (856 of 920 total points), with UI freshmen accounting for 40.4% of those points (372).
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Illinois' top three scorers and rebounders are all in their first year of collegiate basketball. Freshman G Kasparas Jakucionis ranks first in scoring (16.5 ppg) and third in rebounding (5.7 rpg). Sophomore C Tomislav Ivisic nearly averages a double-double at 13.9 points and team-leading 9.7 rebounds per game. Freshman F Will Riley is the Illini's No. 3 scorer at 12.5 points per game. And Freshman F Morez Johnson Jr. ranks second on the team at 6.4 rebounds per game.
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Only 11 games into his college career, Jakucionis already has six 20-point games, just two away from equaling the Illini all-time record for 20-point games by a freshman. Cory Bradford (1998-99) set the current mark with eight, followed by Ayo Dosunmu (2018-19) and Kiwane Garris (1993-94) at seven each.
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Jakucionis is the fifth freshman of the Underwood Era to record at least five total 20-point games in his rookie season, joining Dosunmu (7 in 2018-19), Trent Frazier (5 in 2017-18), Giorgi Bezhanishvili (5 in 2018-19), and Kofi Cockburn (5 in 2019-20).
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Jakucionis enters 2025 on pace to break the Illini freshman scoring average record of 15.9 ppg set by Kiwane Garris 31 years ago.
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Tomislav Ivisic is the No. 2 rebounder in the Big Ten at 9.7 rpg, trailing only Michigan's Danny Wolf (10.2).
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Illinois currently ranks 11th in KenPom adjusted defensive efficiency (94.8), its highest ranking since the 2021 season and second-best ranking of the Underwood era.
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Illinois stands fourth nationally in effective field goal percentage defense (.415), ranking third in 3-point defense (.263) and 12th in 2-point defense (.426).
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Illinois leads the Big Ten and ranks among the NCAA leaders in: 3-point attempts per game (6th in NCAA, 32.1), free throw attempts per game (20th, 25.1), total rebounds per game (2nd, 45.3), defensive rebounds per game (1st; 32.0), offensive rebounds per game (45th, 13.3), field goal percentage defense (6th; .372), and 3-point percentage defense (5th; .262). The Illini also rank second in the Big Ten in rebounding margin (8th in NCAA; +11.4) and 3-pointers made per game (25th; 10.4).
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According to KenPom, the Illini rank 11th nationally, and fourth among Power Conference programs, with a 3-point attempt rate (3-point attempts/total field goal attempts) of 51.1%. The Illini boast the best overall offensive efficiency rating (116.6) among the top 20 programs in 3-point attempt percentage.
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The Illini's scoring average of 83.6 ppg is the team's highest since the 1993-94 Illini also averaged 84.0 ppg.
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Illinois' scoring margin of +17.9 points per game is on pace for the No. 2 mark in program history. The 1942-43 Illini outscored opponents by 20.6 points per game. The team's top mark since 1960 is +15.9 set in 2004-05.
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Illinois ranks second nationally in rebounding at 45.3 boards per game, on pace for the program's best average in 53 seasons, since posting 48.0 rebounds per contest in 1971-72. The Orange and Blue have outrebounded their opponents in 10 of 11 games this season.
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Illinois is the winningest team in the Big Ten since 2019-20, registering a 70-32 (.686) mark in league play. And when including the conference tournament, the Illini have a league-best 76 wins during this time span. 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.
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Head coach Brad Underwood has also led Illinois to the Big Ten's best road record since the start of the 2019-20 season. During that span, the Illini are 29-22 (.569) in conference road matchups, and have finished .500 or better in four of the last five seasons.
