Game Day essentials:
No. 10 Illinois (14-5, 5-3) vs. Indiana (12-7, 4-4)
- Tip Time: 3:00 p.m. Eastern, Saturday
- Location: State Farm Center (15,544), Champaign, Ill.
- Television: Fox (Jason Benetti, Robbie Hummel)
- Stream: Fox Sports
- IU Radio Network: IU Radio Network
- Point Spread: Illinois is around a 14.5 point favorite.
- KenPom Projected Score: No. 93 Indiana 71 – No. 10 Illinois 85
- Series: Indiana leads series, 96-91.
Illinois’s Brad Underwood
Hired in March of 2017, Brad Underwood serves as the Illinois men’s basketball program’s 18th head coach.
Since being hired, Underwood has earned a record of 128-84 with a 71-55 record in conference. After a few tough seasons, Underwood has brought Illinois to three NCAA Tournament appearances under his tenure, as well as a Big Ten regular season championship and a Big Ten tournament championship.
Underwood had an extensive coaching career before arriving at Illinois. He started at the junior college level with one season at Dodge City CC and three at Daytona Beach Community College. He then moved to an assistant role at Kansas State until 2012. After one assistant season at South Carolina, Underwood got his first Division I job at Stephen F. Austin.
Underwood’s seasons at SFA were some of his best. He only lost one conference game under his three seasons with the Lumberjacks and amassed an 89-14 overall record during his time as head coach. In each season, Underwood’s team appeared in the NCAA Tournament. Underwood would then have one season in 2016-7 with Oklahoma State before joining the Illinois staff.
Illinois’s results and roster
| DATE | OPPONENT | LOCATION | TIME/RESULT |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11/6/2023 | Eastern Illinois | Champaign, Ill. | W 80-52 |
| 11/10/2023 | Oakland | Champaign, Ill. | W 64-53 |
| 11/14/2023 | #4 Marquette (Gavitt Games) | Champaign, Ill. | L 64-71 |
| 11/17/2023 | Valparaiso | Champaign, Ill. | W 87-64 |
| 11/19/2023 | Southern | Champaign, Ill. | W 88-60 |
| 11/24/2023 | Western Illinois | Champaign, Ill. | W 84-52 |
| 12/2/2023 | at Rutgers | Piscataway, N.J. | W 76-58 |
| 12/2/2023 | #3 Marquette | Madison, Wis. | W 75-64 |
| 12/5/2023 | vs. #11 Florida Atlantic | New York, N.Y. | W 98-89 |
| 12/9/2023 | at #17 Tennessee | Knoxville, Tenn. | L 79-86 |
| 12/17/2023 | Colgate | Champaign, Ill. | W 74-57 |
| 12/22/2023 | vs. Missouri | St. Louis, Mo. | W 97-73 |
| 12/29/2023 | Fairleigh Dickinson | Champaign, Ill. | W 104-71 |
| 1/2/2024 | Northwestern | Champaign, Ill. | W 96-66 |
| 1/5/2024 | at #1 Purdue | West Lafayette, Ind. | L 78-83 |
| 1/11/2024 | Michigan State | Champaign, Ill. | W 71-68 |
| 1/14/2024 | Maryland | Champaign, Ill. | L 67-76 |
| 1/18/2024 | at Michigan | Ann Arbor, Mich. | W 88-73 |
| 1/21/2024 | Rutgers | Champaign, Ill. | W 86-63 |
| 1/24/2024 | at Northwestern | Evanston, Ill. | L 91-96 OT |
Illinois’s game notes (via Illinois Athletics)
Three Illini In 1,000-Point Club
- The Fighting Illini roster features three players – Marcus Domask, Quincy Guerrier, and Terrence Shannon Jr. – who have scored more than 1,000 points in their collegiate careers.
- Illinois’ three 1,000-point scorers are tied for third-most in the NCAA, behind St. John’s and TCU (4 each).
RETURNING FOR THE ILLINI
- The return of both Coleman Hawkins and Terrence Shannon Jr. provided an offseason spark for the Orange and Blue. The duo, who ranked first and third, respectively, on the team in scoring last season, both explored their professional prospects before announcing within hours of one another that they were withdrawing from the NBA Draft on May 31.
- Hawkins enters his senior season and provides great continuity in the Illini lineup after starting all 33 games last season and leading the team in minutes played (32.5 mpg). The 6-10 power forward’s versatility and all-around game was on display in all facets last season, where he ranked third on the Illini in scoring (9.9 ppg), led the team in rebounds (6.3 rpg) as well as assists (3.0 apg), and was second on the roster in both blocked shots (1.2 bpg) and steals (1.1 spg).
- Shannon, a fifth-year senior, is back for his second year at Illinois. The Chicago native averaged 17.2 points, 4.6 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.3 steals in his inaugural season in Champaign, earning first-team All-Big Ten accolades. He ranked seventh in the Big Ten in scoring and had 11 games of 20+ points, including nine times against high-major opponents. His aggressiveness on the offensive end also resulted in 166 free throws on 210 attempts, ranking second in the B1G in both categories while cracking the Illinois single-season top-10 lists.
- Big man Dain Dainja leads a group of four other returners that played significant roles for the Illini in 2022-23, along with Luke Goode, Ty Rodgers, and Sencire Harris.
- Dainja, redshirt junior, provides a strong presence in the Illini front court in his second season. He returns after leading the team in field goal percentage (.636) and offensive rebounds (67), and is tied with Coleman Hawkins as the team’s returning leader in blocks (39).
- Indiana native Goode, a junior, is one of the team’s most potent three-point threats, but was limited to just 10 games last season after suffering a bone fracture in his left foot Oct. 22 and undergoing surgery. After returning to the Illini lineup in mid-February, Goode averaged 4.0 points and 1.6 rebounds per game while shooting a team-best 42.1% from deep.
- Rodgers and Harris are both back for their sophomore campaigns after strong starts to their careers as freshmen in 2022-23. Each played in all 33 games with Harris making seven starts. Rodgers, who is expected to serve as a primary ballhandler, averaged 3.3 points and 4.0 rebounds recording 32 assists and 22 steals last year. Harris averaged 3.7 points and 2.1 rebounds, with 29 assists and 27 steals as a freshman, and will use the 2023-24 season as a redshirt year as he continues to develop his body and his game.
Illinois’s KenPom notable numbers:
(out of 362 teams)
Tempo – No. 66 (Offense No. 159 / Defense No. 75)
Offensive Efficiency – No. 7
- Illinois holds an effective field goal percentage of 53.6 (No. 66) on the season. Illinois is shooting 34.3 percent from three (No. 144) and 54.4 percent from two (No. 46).
- Illinois does well at creating second chances with an offensive rebound percentage of 37 percent on the season so far (No. 16).
- Illinois scores from different levels throughout the game. Their point distribution on twos (50.4 percent), threes (30.7 percent) and free throws (18.9 percent) all fall around the middle of Division 1 (No. 189, No. 173, and No. 186 respectively).
Defensive Efficiency – No. 31
- Opponents hold a 44.9 effective field goal percentage (No.13) against Illinois so far. Teams are shooting 32.2 percent from three (No. 107) and 43.5 percent from two (No. 14).
- A weak spot of the Illini defense has been forcing turnovers. They’re only doing so at a 13.4 percent rate (No. 353) and getting steals at a 6.6 percent rate (No. 344). This is likely in part due to a focus on scheme over playing aggressively.
- Even though Illinois holds a good defensive percentage from two, opponents are still scoring 58.9 percent of their total points from inside (No. 8) as they try to take away the 3-point shot.
- Illinois fouls at a very low rate compared to other teams. Opponents are shooting a 22.5 percent rate of free-throws for every field goal attempt (No. 9) and teams are only finding 14.8 percent of their points from the line (No. 343).
Extras
- Illinois has the ninth-tallest roster in Division 1, with the average player around 6 foot 6 inches.
- They also have the 12th-most D-1 experience in the nation, with average player having three years of playing time.
- Illinois has the 47th-ranked hardest schedule in the nation.
- Terrence Shannon ranks 141st nationally in offensive rating and 47th in fouls drawn.
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