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No. 12 Illinois hosts No. 3 Purdue at sold-out State Farm Center on Tuesday (6 p.m. CT, Peacock).
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The Illini close out the home schedule with Senior Night at State Farm Center, honoring seven players and three managers in a pregame ceremony.
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Tuesday's game will be streamed live on
Peacock, NBC's streaming platform. Fans will need to purchase a
Peacock subscription to watch the game, which is available starting at $5.99 per month or $59.99 annually. For more information on Big Ten Men's Basketball on Peacock and to purchase a subscription, visit
PeacockTV.com.
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Illinois has clinched a Big Ten Tournament double-bye for the fourth time in the last five years. The Illini enter the final week of the regular season with a seed range of 1, 2, or 3 in Minneapolis.
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Head Coach
Brad Underwood has led Illinois to 13+ Big Ten wins in four of the last five years, and five straight winning records in conference play.
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Illinois is the Big Ten's winningest team in conference play since the start of 2019-20. The Illini are 68-30 (.694) in league games over the last five seasons heading into Tuesday's game vs. Purdue. The Boilermakers ranks second during that span with 66 victories.
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Illinois has won six straight home games and is 15-2 at State Farm Center this season. A victory Tuesday would mark the most single-season home wins since the Flyin' Illini set the program record with a 17-0 mark in 1988-89.
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Illinois is looking for its first win over a top-5 team since beating No. 2 Texas last season in the Jimmy V Classic.
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Illinois has scored at least 80 points in nine straight games, the longest streak since the Flyin' Illini (12) in 1989.
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Illinois is averaging 97.0 points per game during its current three-game win streak.
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Terrence Shannon Jr. ranks fifth in the NCAA in scoring at 22.0 points per game, the highest scoring average by an Illini in 51 years, since Nick Weatherspoon's 25.0 ppg in 1973.
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Brad Underwood is just the second coach in Fighting Illini history with five straight 20-win seasons, joining the legendary Lou Henson, who accomplished the feat nine years in a row from 1983 to 1991.
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Illinois is No. 12 in the latest AP poll, the team's 15th consecutive week inside the Top 25.
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Illinois has recorded 11 wins over top-10 opponents since 2019-20, the third-most nationally.
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Illinois' four-wins over top-5 foes since 2019-20 is tied for seventh, one off the national lead of five (six teams).
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Following Illinois' win at Wisconsin on March 2, the Illini have a Big Ten-leading 28 road wins (28-21, .571) in conference play since the start of 2019-20, which includes a 5-4 road mark this season.
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Overall, Illinois is 7-5 away from State Farm Center in 2023-24, joining Purdue as the only Big Ten teams with winning records in combined road and neutral games this season.
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The Illini recently reached a pair of milestone victories: First, the team's win over Iowa on Feb. 24 marked the program's 1,000th Big Ten victory and secured the Illini's 37th all-time 20-win season (fifth consecutive). Saturday's win at Wisconsin marked Illinois' 1900th all-time victory, making Illinois the 13th NCAA Division I program in the 1,900-win club.
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Through games played March 3, Illinois ranks 15th in NET. The Illini have a combined 10-7 record in Quad 1 (5-5) and Quad 2 (5-2) games, and a perfect 12-0 mark in Quad 3 (7-0) and Quad 4 (5-0) contests.
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Tuesday's matchup is the second of three straight Quad 1 games for the Illini to close out the regular season, including the team's 91-83 road win at Wisconsin Saturday, and Sunday's regular-season finale at Iowa.
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Illinois is third in the country in offensive efficiency (126.7), its highest ranking of the Kenpom era, ahead of the 2005 season when the Illini's NCAA runner-up team also had the nation's No. 3 offense (122.3).
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Illinois' scoring average of 84.8 points (seventh in the NCAA) is the team's highest since 1988-89 Flyin' Illini (86.4 ppg).
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Illinois has topped 85 points in 11 of its last 13 games. The Illini are 15-2 this season when scoring at least 85.
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Illinois ranks second in the Big Ten and 22nd nationally with a scoring margin of +11.6 ppg.
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Illinois has 21 wins over Top 25 teams since 2019-20, sixth-most nationally. Three of the team's seven losses this season have come against top-10 foes, and all seven have been by single-digit margins.
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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 30 in the NCAA in total rebounds per game (41.5; seventh in NCAA), defensive rebounds per game (28.6, 13th in NCAA), and offensive rebounds per game (11.6; 27th in the NCAA). The Illini also rank second in the Big Ten in rebounding margin (+8.8; eighth in NCAA).
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The Illini's 41.5 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 21 of 29 games and are 18-3 when winning the battle on the glass.
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Illinois is 13-2 this season when it records an offensive rebound rate of at least 35%.
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Illinois enters play this weekend leading the Big Ten in second-chance scoring, converting their offensive rebounds into 14.8 ppg, 1.0 point per game higher than the next closest Big Ten program (Purdue, 13.8).
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Illinois has pulled down 50+ rebounds in nine games this season, its most since 1979-80.
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Shannon has been named to watch lists for the Oscar Robertson Trophy and USBWA All-America Team.
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Shannon has reached double-figures scoring in each of his last 33 games as an Illini.
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Shannon's scoring average of 22.0 points per game ranks No. 2 in the Big Ten and No. 5 nationally.
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In his last 12 games since returning to the Illini, Jan. 21 vs. Rutgers, Shannon has averaged 22.2 points and 4.3 rebounds.
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Shannon is closing in on 2,000 career points for his Division I career, entering Tuesday's game vs. Purdue 46 points short of the milestone mark. He would join
Marcus Domask to become the second Illini to reach the 2,000-point threshold this season, making Illinois the only power conference team this season to feature two 2,000-point scorers.
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Shannon, reached 1,000 points for his Illini career, in the team's Feb. 28 win vs. Minnesota. Shannon is the 53rd player to score 1,000 points in an Illini uniform, and only the fourth to reach that plateau in two seasons, joining Dave Scholz (1966-69), who scored exactly 1,000 points in his first two season before finishing with 1,459 in his three-year career, Nick Anderson (1987-89), who sat out as a freshman before tallying 1,172 in his only two seasons on the court for the Orange and Blue, and Kenny Battle (1987-89), who scored 1,112 points as an Illini upperclassman following two years at Northern Illinois.
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Shannon scored a career-high 35, and tied his season high with 11 boards for his third double-double of the year and the fifth of his Illini career at Penn State (2/21). His 35 points are the most by an Illini since Kofi Cockburn's 37 vs. Wisconsin (2/2/22), and the most in a road game by an Illini since Ayo Dosunmu's 36 at Missouri (12/12/2020).
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Shannon has four 30-point games this season, tying for third-most in a single season in school history and the most since Ayo Dosunmu in 2020-21. Shannon's five career 30-point games are tied for sixth on the Illini's career charts.
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At 22.0 points per game, Shannon is on pace for Illinois' 20th single-season scoring average of 20+ points since 1907, and at his current pace would tie Dave Scholtz (1967-68) for the fifth-highest single-season scoring average in program history.
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Shannon is on pace to record the fifth 20-point season by an Illini guard in program history. Other Illini guards to average more than 20.0 points per game are: Jim Dawson (21.7 ppg in 1966-67), Rick Howat (20.6 ppg in 1970-71), Kendall Gill (20.0 ppg in 1989-90), and Ayo Dosunmu (20.1 ppg in 2020-21).
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Shannon is one of six power conference players nationally averaging 20+ points while shooting .470 or better from the field joining Purdue's Zach Edey, Alabama's Mark Sears, Washington's Keion Brooks Jr., Cal's Jaylon Tyson, and Tennessee's Dalton Knecht, and one of only 12 NCAA Division I players overall to hit those offensive marks.
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During a six game stretch between Illinois' road win at Ohio State on Jan. 30, and his career-high 35-point effort at Penn State on Feb. 21, Shannon averaged 27.0 points, shooting 46.5% overall while hitting a team-most 16 three-pointers and 52 free-throws, and adding a team-leading eight blocks.
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Shannon ranks among the Big Ten leaders in several categories: No. 2 in scoring (22.0 ppg, fifth in NCAA), No. 4 in 3-pointers per game (2.4), No. 6 in field goal percentage (.476), and No. 13 in blocked shots per game (1.0)
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Shannon is third in the Big Ten and 28th nationally with 154 free throws, which ranks 10th in a single season in Illini history. Shannon hit 166 free-throws last season (sixth in program history) and now joins Malcolm Hill as the only Illini with two of the program's top-10 single-season free-throw totals.
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Shannon, at 22.0 ppg, and teammate
Marcus Domask, at 16.0 ppg, rank as the top scoring tandem in the Big Ten conference at a combined 38.0 ppg, just ahead of Purdue's Zach Edey (24.0 ppg) and Braden Smith (13.1 ppg) who average a combined 37.1 ppg.
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Domask eclipsed 2,000 points for his Division I career on Feb. 17 vs. Maryland. He scored 1,615 points at Southern Illinois and has tallied 412 as an Illini. Domask is one of 26 active Division I players to reach 2,000 points and is one of four in the Big Ten, joining Boo Buie, Zach Edey, and Jahmir Young.
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Domask also moved past 700 career boards in Saturday's win at Wisconsin to become only the third active NCAA Division I player in the nation with 2,000+ career points, 700+ career rebounds and 400+ career assists, joining Creighton's Baylor Scheierman and Maryland's Jahmir Young.
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Domask has scored in double figures in 21 of the last 23 games, with three 30+ point performances: a career-high 33 vs. Florida Atlantic at Madison Square Garden, and 32 vs. Northwestern, and 31 at Wisconsin.
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Domask is averaging 18.1 ppg over the last 23 games (416). He is 12th in the Big Ten at 16.0 points per game overall this season after averaging just 8.2 points over his first six games. In conference games only, Domask ranks fifth in the Big Ten at 18.9 points per game.
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Domask, at 16.0 ppg, and teammate
Terrence Shannon Jr., at 22.0 ppg, rank as the top scoring tandem in the Big Ten with a combined 38.0 ppg. The duo ranks just ahead of Purdue's Zach Edey (24.0 ppg) and Braden Smith (13.1 ppg) who average a combined 37.1 ppg.
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Domask is one of the Big Ten's most efficient scorers, ranking ninth with a .465 (165-355) field goal percentage.
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Domask ranks No. 3 in the Big Ten in free throw shooting at 87.3% (103-118), just behind the Illinois program's single-season record of .874 (76-87) set by Alfonso Plummer in 2022.
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Domask is averaging 4.5 assists over the last 19 games (85), compared to 1.6 apg the first 10 games (16), and ranks 12th in the Big Ten at 3.5 assists per game, and 12th with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.61.
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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 17 of the last 21 games and is averaging 15.0 points, 5.9 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.1 blocks and 1.9 steals.
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Hawkins closed out February by scoring 50 points in his last two games. First, he poured in a career-high 30, while also leading the team with five assists and five steals, in the team's 95-85 victory vs. Iowa (1/24), followed by a 20-point outing in the Illini's 105-97 win vs. Minnesota (2/28).
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Hawkins' performance vs. Iowa (2/24) made him the first B1G player to post a 30-point, 5-assist, 5-steal game since MSU's Matteen Cleaves in 1998.
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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 eighth in the Big Ten at 1.65 steals per game overall. In Big Ten Play, Hawkins ranks fifth in the league at 1.8 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 leads the Illini and ranks 12th in the Big Ten at 1.08 blocks per game overall.
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Hawkins is one of only two players in the Big Ten to rank in the top 15 in the conference in both blocks per game (1.08 bpg, 12th) and steals per game (1.65 spg, eighth).
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Over the last 21 games, Hawkins, one of the most versatile front court players in the nation, has led the Fighting Illini in 3-pointers made (47) and attempted (109) while ranking second on the team shooting 43.1% from long distance. 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 49 triples, more than the next two players - Minnesota F Dawson Garcia (24) and Wisconsin C Steven Crowl (17) - combined.
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Hawkins is averaging 6.2 rebounds per game over his last 15 contests, and ranks 20th in the Big Ten with an overall rebounding average of 5.85 rebounds per game..
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Guerrier leads one of the nation's most tenacious rebounding teams, ranking 11th in the Big Ten in overall rebounding (6.66 rpg) and 11th in the league in defensive rebounding (4.86 rpg).
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Guerrier leads the Illini and ranks fourth in the Big Ten with eight double-doubles through 29 games this season with the Illini. He totaled two double-doubles in 71 career games at Oregon, both coming during the 2021-22 season.
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Guerrier has scored at least 10 points in 13 of his last 21 games, averaging 11.7 points per game over that stretch after opening the season with a 6.3 points per game average through his first eight contests at Illinois.
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Guerrier is 31-of-71 (.437) on threes over the last 21 games, compared to 2-of-20 (.100) over his first eight. Guerrier's 44% from beyond the arc leads the team during that stretch and his 31 triples are second on the team behind
Coleman Hawkins, who has hit 47 three-pointers in the last 21 contest.
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Guerrier enters play Tuesday vs. Purdue with 949 career rebounds, ranking 19th on the NCAA's list of active career leaders, and closing in no 1,000 boards for his collegiate career.
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In addition to his 949 career rebounds, Guerrier has amassed 1,576 career points at the Division I level and ranks as one of just 15 active players nationally to have recorded 1,500+ points and 900+ rebounds in their careers.
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Guerrier, who played at Syracuse and Oregon before joining the Illini, is one of only five active players nationally to have accumulated 1,500+ points and 900+ rebounds all at major conference programs, along with Armando Bacot (North Carolina), Emmanuel Miller (TCU/Texas A&M), Hunter Dickinson (Kansas/Michigan), and Zach Edey (Purdue). .
