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No. 12 Illinois visits Iowa on Sunday (6 p.m. CT, FS1) in the team's regular-season finale.
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Sunday's matchup is the second in just a 15-day stretch for Illinois and Iowa after the Fighting Illini captured a 95-85 win over the Hawkeyes at State Farm Center on Feb. 24.
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Illinois is one of only four teams nationally to record 20-win regular seasons each of the last five years, joined by Baylor, Houston and San Diego State.
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Illinois has clinched a Big Ten Tournament double-bye for the fourth time in the last five years and is locked into the No. 2 seed after securing sole possession of the league's runner-up finish. It will mark the ninth time the Illini enter the B1G Tourney as a top-2 seed since the tournament began in 1998.
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Illinois heads to Iowa in search of its sixth Quad 1 victory, a mark that would rank tied for 12th nationally.
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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' 68 wins in Big Ten play over the last five years are the most in school history over a five-year stretch.
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Illinois is the Big Ten's winningest team in conference play since the start of 2019-20. The Illini are 68-31 (.687) in league games over the last five seasons heading into Sunday's game at Iowa.
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The Illini also boast 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 heading into Iowa City.
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Illinois is fourth in the country in offensive efficiency (126.0), 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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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' scoring average of 84.3 points (12th in the NCAA) is the team's highest since 1988-89 Flyin' Illini (86.4 ppg).
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Illinois has scored 80+ points in each of the team's last seven road games, averaging 87.2 points per game away from State Farm Center since Jan. 18.
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Terrence Shannon Jr. ranks eighth in the NCAA in scoring at 21.5 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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Illinois is No. 12 in the latest AP poll, the team's 15th consecutive week inside the Top 25.
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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). The team's win at Wisconsin on March 2 marked Illinois' 1,900th all-time victory, making Illinois the 13th NCAA Division I program in the 1,900-win club.
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Illinois has been projected as a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament based on the Men's Basketball Committee's release of its top 16 teams on Feb. 17.
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Through games played March 7, Illinois ranks 16th in the NET. The Illini have a combined 10-8 record in Quad 1 (5-6) 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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Sunday's matchup is the last in a stretch of three straight Quad 1 games for the Illini to close out the regular season, following a 91-83 road win at Wisconsin on March 2, and Tuesday's 77-71 loss vs. No. 3-ranked Purdue.
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Illinois has topped 85 points in 11 of its last 14 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 24th nationally with a scoring margin of +11.0 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' defense ranking 35th in 2-point field goal percentage defense (.463), and 56th in effective field goal percentage defense (.479), according to KenPom.
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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 (41.1; seventh in NCAA), defensive rebounds per game (28.3, 17th in NCAA), and offensive rebounds per game (12.8; 27th in the NCAA). The Illini also rank second in the Big Ten in rebounding margin (+8.5; 10th in NCAA).
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The Illini's 41.1 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 30 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 14.9 ppg, 1.1 points 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. Included in that was a stretch four straight – vs. Valpo, Southern, Western Illinois, and at Rutgers – that was Illinois' longest streak of consecutive games with 50+ rebounds since the 1963-64 season.
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Illinois recorded two separate three-game stretches this season in which the team averaged better than 97.0 points per game. First, the Illini 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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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 34 games as an Illini.
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Shannon's scoring average of 21.5 points per game ranks No. 2 in the Big Ten and No. 8 nationally.
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In his last 13 games since returning to the Illini, Jan. 21 vs. Rutgers, Shannon has averaged 21.3 points and 4.1 rebounds.
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Shannon is closing in on 2,000 career points for his Division I career, entering Sunday's game at Iowa 35 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. He 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 21.5 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 rank seventh in program history between current No. 6 Jim Dawson's 21.7 ppg (1966-67) and No. 7 Rick Schmidt's 21.4 ppg (1973-74).
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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 .460 or better from the field joining Purdue's Zach Edey, Alabama's Mark Sears, Washington's Keion Brooks Jr., Tennessee's Dalton Knecht, and Kentucky's Antonio Reeves, and one of only 18 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 (21.5 ppg, eighth in NCAA), No. 5 in 3-pointers per game (2.3), No. 8 in field goal percentage (.466), and No. 14 in blocked shots per game (0.96).
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Shannon is third in the Big Ten and 26th nationally with 159 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 21.5 ppg, and teammate
Marcus Domask, at 16.2 ppg, rank as the top scoring tandem in the Big Ten conference at a combined 37.7 ppg, just ahead of Purdue's Zach Edey (24.1 ppg) and Braden Smith (13.1 ppg) who average a combined 37.2 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 485 as an Illini. Domask is one of 28 active Division I players to reach 2,000 points and is one of six in the Big Ten, joining Boo Buie, Zach Edey, Ben Krikke, Tyson Walker, and Jahmir Young.
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Domask also moved past 700 career boards in Illinois' win at Wisconsin (3/2/24) 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 22 of the last 24 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 18.2 ppg over the last 24 games (436). He is 10th in the Big Ten at 16.17 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 19.0 points per game.
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Domask, at 16.2 ppg, and teammate
Terrence Shannon Jr., at 21.5 ppg, rank as the top scoring tandem in the Big Ten with a combined 37.7 ppg. The duo ranks just ahead of Purdue's Zach Edey (24.1 ppg) and Braden Smith (13.1 ppg) who average a combined 37.2 ppg.
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Domask is one of the Big Ten's most efficient scorers, ranking seventh with a .466 (173-371) field goal percentage.
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Domask ranks No. 3 in the Big Ten in free throw shooting at 87.7% (107-122), just ahead of 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 20 games (89), compared to 1.6 apg the first 10 games (16), and ranks 12th in the Big Ten at 3.5 assists per game, and 11th with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.58.
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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 18 of the last 22 games and is averaging 15.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.7 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 seventh in the Big Ten at 1.70 steals per game overall. In Big Ten Play, Hawkins ranks fourth in the league at 1.84 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 1.04 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 (1.04 bpg, 12th) and steals per game (1.70 spg, seventh).
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Over the last 22 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 (110) while ranking second on the team shooting 42.7% 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 (25) and Wisconsin C Steven Crowl (18) - combined.
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Hawkins is averaging 6.4 rebounds per game over his last 16 contests, and ranks 19th in the Big Ten with an overall rebounding average of 5.96 rebounds per game.
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Guerrier leads one of the nation's most tenacious rebounding teams, ranking 12th in the Big Ten in overall rebounding (6.5 rpg) and 13th in the league in defensive rebounding (4.7 rpg).
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Guerrier leads the Illini and ranks fifth in the Big Ten with eight double-doubles through 30 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 14 of his last 22 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 34-of-75 (.453) on threes over the last 22 games, compared to 2-of-20 (.100) over his first eight. Guerrier's 45.3% from beyond the arc leads the team during that stretch and his 34 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 Sunday at Iowa with 951 career rebounds, ranking 20th 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 951 career rebounds, Guerrier has amassed 1,588 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).
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Harmon ranks fifth on the Illini roster in scoring at 6.8 points per game, and has tallied 159 of his 204 total points over the team's last 19 games (8.4 ppg) after averaging just 4.1 points per game over the team's first 11 contests of the season.
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Harmon enters the Illini's final regular-season game at Iowa (3/10) with 950 career points and is closing in on the 1,000-point milestone for his NCAA Division I career.
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Illinois is 11-0 in games when Harmon scores at least eight points, and 9-0 when he reaches double figures.
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Harmon shot 5-for-16 (.313) from 3-point range through his first 11 games, but has hit at a clip of 36 percent (17-for-49) over his last 19 contests.
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Harmon posted a season-high 20 points, hitting 7-of-11 from the field, including 4-of-5 from 3-point range, along with 2-of-2 at the foul line in 30 minutes of action in the Illini's win against Northwestern on Jan. 2.
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Harmon led the Illini in scoring for the first time this season, with 18 points in the 86-63 home win vs. Rutgers (1/21).
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Harmon shot 4-for-4 from the free-throw line in Illinois' 91-83 win at Wisconsin, and has gone 17-for-17 from the stripe over the last 11 games.
