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Illinois, coming off a 97-68 home win over Michigan, visits Maryland on Saturday (4:30 p.m. CT, FOX) for the first of back-to-back Big Ten road contests.
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Illinois is No. 14 in the latest AP poll, the team's 12th consecutive week inside the Top 25.
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The Illini are currently in sole possession of second place in the Big Ten at 9-4, behind No. 2 Purdue (12-2).
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Marcus Domask enters Saturday 15 points away from 2,000 for his career. There are 18 active Div. I players who have reached the 2,000-point career milestone, including three in the B1G (Jahmir Young, Zach Edey & Boo Buie).
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The matchup with Maryland is the second game of the season series; the Terrapins captured a 76-67 win in Champaign on Jan. 14, Illinois' only home loss in its last 12 games at State Farm Center.
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Saturday's meeting with Maryland is just the 23rd in the series overall, and only the 14th since Maryland joined the Big Ten in 2014-15. The Illini visit College Park for the first time since Dec. 2, 2022, and are in search of their first road win at Maryland since a 71-62 non-conference victory on Nov. 29, 2011.
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Illinois is 5-4 away from State Farm Center in 2023-24, joining Purdue as the only Big Ten teams with winning records in road+neutral games.
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Illinois is the Big Ten's winningest team in conference play since the start of 2019-20. The Illini are 64-29 (.688) in league games over the last five seasons heading into Saturday's game at Maryland.
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Following Illinois' road win at Ohio State on Jan. 30, the Illini also have a Big Ten-leading 26 road wins (26-20, .565) in conference play since the start of 2019-20, which includes a 3-3 road mark this season.
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Illinois' scoring average of 83.0 points per game, the team's highest since 1993-94 (84.0 ppg), ranks 21st in the NCAA.
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The Illini have connected on at least six 3-pointers in each of their last 19 games, a mark that ranks third nationally among power conference programs behind BYU (24) and Northwestern (22).
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Illinois is sixth in the country in offensive efficiency (122.1), its second-highest ranking of the Kenpom era and best since 2005, when the Illini's NCAA runner-up team had the nation's No. 3 offense (122.3).
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Illinois has topped 85 points in six of its last eight games. The Illini are 8-1 this season when scoring at least 85 points.
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Illinois ranks second in the Big Ten and 19th nationally with a scoring margin of +12.7 ppg.
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During the Illini's seven-game home win streak from Nov. 17 through Jan. 11, the Orange and Blue outscored opponents by an average of 23.7 points per contest.
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Illinois has 21 wins over Top 25 teams since 2019-20, sixth-most nationally. Three of the team's six losses this season have come against top-10 foes, and all six have been by single-digit margins.
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Illinois is among the top 25 nationally in two defensive categories via KenPom, ranking 18th both in 2-point field goal percentage defense (.449) and effective field goal percentage defense (.459).
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KenPom rates the Illini among the nation's top programs nationally in adjusted efficiency on both offense (6th, 122.0) and defense (39th, 98.1). Among the top-10 rated offensive programs nationally, Illinois is one of seven - along with Arizona, Auburn, BYU, UConn, Duke, and Purdue - to also rank inside the top 50 defensively.
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Illinois is 13-0 when holding the opposition to less than one point per possession.
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The Illini lead the Big Ten and rank in the top 25 in the NCAA in total rebounds per game (42.5; fourth in NCAA), defensive rebounds per game (29.4, fifth in NCAA), and offensive rebounds per game (13.1; 24th in the NCAA). The Illini also rank second in the Big Ten in rebounding margin (+9.3), which ranks ninth nationally.
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The Illini's 42.5 rebounds per game is the team's best single-season mark since 1972-73 (44.4 rpg).
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The Illini have outrebounded their opponents in 18 of 24 games this season, and own a 16-2 record when winning the battle on the glass.
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Illinois is 11-1 when its records an offensive rebound rate of at least 35%.
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Illinois enters play this week leading the Big Ten in second-chance scoring, converting their offensive rebounds into 15.1 ppg, almost two points per game higher than the next closest Big Ten program (Purdue, 13.3).
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Illinois has pulled down 50+ rebounds in eight games this season, its most since 1979-80. Included in that was a stretch four straight – vs. Valpo, Southern, Western Illinois, and at Rutgers – that was
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Illinois' longest streak of consecutive games with 50+ rebounds since the 1963-64 season.
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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.
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Domask enter's Saturday's game at Maryland just 15 points shy of reaching 2,000 for his collegiate career. Domask scored 1,615 points at Southern Illinois and has tallied 370 as an Illini.
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In addition to closing in on 2,000 points, Domask comes into Saturday's game 29 rebounds away from 700 career boards, and just two steals away from 100.
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Domask has scored in double figures in 17 of the last 18 games, with two 30+ point performances – a career-high 33 vs. Florida Atlantic at Madison Square Garden and 32 vs. Northwestern.
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Domask is averaging 17.8 ppg over the last 18 games (320). He has climbed to 12th in the Big Ten at 15.3 points per game overall this season after averaging just 8.2 points over his first six games.
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In conference games only, Domask ranks fourth in the Big Ten at 18.9 points per game.
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Domask, at 15.5 ppg, and teammate
Terrence Shannon Jr., at 21.1 ppg, rank as the top scoring tandem in the Big Ten conference at 36.6 ppg, ahead of Purdue's Zach Edey (23.3 ppg) and Lance Jones (12.8 ppg). Domask and Jones were teammates for four seasons at Southern Illinois from 2019-20 through 2022-23.
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Domask is one of the Big Ten's most efficient scorers, ranking 12th in the conference with a .455 (130-286) field goal percentage.
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Domask ranks No. 2 in the Big Ten in free throw shooting at 87.6% (85-97), on pace to break the Illinois program's single-season record of .874 (76-87) set by Alfonso Plummer in 2022.
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Domask is averaging 4.7 assists over the last 14 games (66), compared to 1.6 apg the first 10 games (16), and ranks 12th in the Big Ten at 3.4 assists per game, and 14th with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.56.
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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..
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Hawkins has scored in double figures in 14 of the last 16 games and is averaging 14.4 points, 6.3 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 1.3 blocks and 2.0 steals. 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.
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Hawkins followed up his six-steal performance at Michigan (1/18) with five more swipes vs. Rutgers (1/21), becoming the first Illini player since Trent Frazier in 2018-19 to record two games with 5+ steals in a single season. His combined 11 steals are the most by an Illini over a two-game stretch in 38 years, since Bruce Douglas combined for 12 steals with seven at Michigan (1/18/86) and five at Michigan State (1/12/86).
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In back-to-back road games at Michigan (1/18) and at Northwestern (1/24), Hawkins recorded two double-doubles of 21 points and 10 rebounds vs. the Wolverines and 22 points and 13 boards vs. the Wildcats, while shooting 54% (14-26) overall, 50% (5-10) from 3-point range, and a perfect 10-for-10 from the free-throw line, while adding eight steals, five assists, three blocks.
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Hawkins recorded at least one steal in 14 straight games from Dec. 2 at Rutgers to Jan. 27 vs. Indiana, a career-long streak, before finishing without a swipe at Ohio State (1/30) for the first time since the season's first three games. He ranks seventh in the Big Ten at 1.7 steals per game overall. In Big Ten Play, Hawkins ranks sixth in the league at 1.9 swipes per contest.
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Hawkins also posted a career-long streak of eight consecutive games with a block between Dec. 17 vs. Colgate and Jan. 18 at Michigan. He ranks 12th in the Big Ten at 1.19 blocks per game overall.
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Hawkins is the only player in the Big Ten to rank in the top 15 in the conference in both blocks per game (1.19 bpg, 12th) and steals per game (1.71 spg, seventh).
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Over the last 16 games, Hawkins, one of the most versatile front court players in the nation, has led the Fighting Illini in 3-pointers made (37) and attempted (87), connecting at a team-best 42.5% from long distance during that span. Hawkins opened the season 2-for-14 (.143) from distance in his first five contests.
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Hawkins ranks first in the Big Ten in 3-point shooting among players listed 6-foot-10 or taller with 39 triples on the season, more than the next two players - Minnesota F Dawson Garcia (16) and Wisconsin C Steven Crowl (14) - combined.
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Hawkins is averaging 7.0 rebounds per game over his last 10 contests, and has climbed to No. 16 in the Big Ten with an overall rebounding average of 6.1 rebounds per game, and 15th in defensive rebounding at 4.5 per game.
