WHO: Illinois Fightin' Illini (16-6, 7-4 Big Ten)
WHEN: 1:37 PM CT
WHERE: Caver-Hawkeye Arena (Iowa City, IA)
TV: FOX (Jason Benetti and Stephen Bardo)
RADIO: Hawkeye Radio Network (Gary Dolphin and Bobby Hansen) | XM 380 or SXM 970
MOBILE: www.foxsports.com/mobile
ONLINE: www.foxsports.com/live
FOLLOW: @IowaAwesome | @IowaHoops | @IowaonBTN
LINE: Iowa -3
KENPOM: Iowa -2 (58% chance of winning)
G Tony Perkins (10.6 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 2.5 apg, 1.3 spg, 0.4 bpg, 39.7 FG%, 30.2 3FG%)
G Ahron Ulis (6.8 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 2.5 apg, 0.6 spg, 0.2 bpg, 40.9 FG%, 32.7 3FG%)
F Connor McCaffery (7.9 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 3.0 apg, 1.4 spg, 0.0 bpg, 44.1 FG%, 38.0 3FG%)
F Kris Murray (20.6 ppg, 8.6 rpg, 1.8 apg, 0.8 spg, 1.3 bpg, 50.4 FG%, 35.0 3FG%)
F Filip Rebraca (14.0 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 2.1 apg, 0.5 spg, 1.4 bpg, 57.3 FG%, 40.0 3FG%)
Illinois
G Jayden Epps (9.8 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 1.6 apg, 0.6 spg, 0.3 bpg, 43.1 FG%, 34.1 3FG%)
G Terrence Shannon (17.2 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 3.1 apg, 1.4 spg, 0.4 bpg, 42.1 FG%, 36.7 3FG%)
G Matthew Mayer (11.5 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 1.0 apg, 0.9 spg, 0.2 bpg, 37.6 FG%, 33.0 3FG%)
F Coleman Hawkins (9.5 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 3.3 apg, 1.0 spg, 1.2 bpg, 43.9 FG%, 29.5 3FG%)
C Dain Dainja (9.8 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 1.6 apg, 0.6 spg, 1.4 bpg, 68.7% FG, 0.0%)
Saturday is the Black & Gold Spirit Game, with Iowa looking to stripe Carver-Hawkeye Arena in in black and gold. Check the graphic above to see whether you should wear a gold shirt or a black shirt, depending on which section you're in.
If it took this Illinois team a few months to find itself, that shouldn't be surprising -- this is almost a completely new Illini team from the squad that went 23-10 last year and shared the regular season Big Ten championship. That team lost four key senior contributors and saw Kofi Cockburn depart for the NBA Draft and Andre Curbelo enter for the transfer portal. The only returning player who played a notable amount of minutes last season was Coleman Hawkins (around 20 per game), an athletic big who has become a fixture in the post for the Illini while averaging 9.4 ppg and a team-high 6.4 rpg this season.
Around Hawkins, the Illinois has added players through traditional recruiting and the transfer portal. The Illini's biggest recruit was 4* point guard Jayden Epps, who has emerged as a starter for Illinois over their last three games. Epps is still finding his way a bit, especially as a passer, but his quickness and strength has provided a welcome boost for Illinois, particularly on the defensive end. Illinois turned to the transfer portal to fill out the rest of their starting lineup; current leading scorer Terrence Shannon moved to Illinois after three years at Texas Tech, while Matthew Mayer and Dain Dainja were both plucked from Baylor.
MORE HERE: https://iowa.rivals.com/news/preview-iowa-vs-illinois
WHEN: 1:37 PM CT
WHERE: Caver-Hawkeye Arena (Iowa City, IA)
TV: FOX (Jason Benetti and Stephen Bardo)
RADIO: Hawkeye Radio Network (Gary Dolphin and Bobby Hansen) | XM 380 or SXM 970
MOBILE: www.foxsports.com/mobile
ONLINE: www.foxsports.com/live
FOLLOW: @IowaAwesome | @IowaHoops | @IowaonBTN
LINE: Iowa -3
KENPOM: Iowa -2 (58% chance of winning)
PROJECTED STARTING FIVE
IowaG Tony Perkins (10.6 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 2.5 apg, 1.3 spg, 0.4 bpg, 39.7 FG%, 30.2 3FG%)
G Ahron Ulis (6.8 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 2.5 apg, 0.6 spg, 0.2 bpg, 40.9 FG%, 32.7 3FG%)
F Connor McCaffery (7.9 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 3.0 apg, 1.4 spg, 0.0 bpg, 44.1 FG%, 38.0 3FG%)
F Kris Murray (20.6 ppg, 8.6 rpg, 1.8 apg, 0.8 spg, 1.3 bpg, 50.4 FG%, 35.0 3FG%)
F Filip Rebraca (14.0 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 2.1 apg, 0.5 spg, 1.4 bpg, 57.3 FG%, 40.0 3FG%)
Illinois
G Jayden Epps (9.8 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 1.6 apg, 0.6 spg, 0.3 bpg, 43.1 FG%, 34.1 3FG%)
G Terrence Shannon (17.2 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 3.1 apg, 1.4 spg, 0.4 bpg, 42.1 FG%, 36.7 3FG%)
G Matthew Mayer (11.5 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 1.0 apg, 0.9 spg, 0.2 bpg, 37.6 FG%, 33.0 3FG%)
F Coleman Hawkins (9.5 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 3.3 apg, 1.0 spg, 1.2 bpg, 43.9 FG%, 29.5 3FG%)
C Dain Dainja (9.8 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 1.6 apg, 0.6 spg, 1.4 bpg, 68.7% FG, 0.0%)
Saturday is the Black & Gold Spirit Game, with Iowa looking to stripe Carver-Hawkeye Arena in in black and gold. Check the graphic above to see whether you should wear a gold shirt or a black shirt, depending on which section you're in.
PREVIEW
Outside of Purdue (winners of nine straight Big Ten games), there's no team in the Big Ten hotter than Illinois. The Illini have won seven of their last games, with the only hiccup in that stretch being a loss to Indiana. They haven't been riding a wave of good fortune or getting a lot of lucky bounces in those wins, either; all seven wins have been by at least nine points and their average margin of victory in those wins has been almost 13 ppg. But it hasn't all been smooth sailing for the Illini this season -- they started out 0-3 in Big Ten play (losing to Maryland, Penn State, and Northwestern) and three of their four league losses have been by double digits (including a pair of 15-point home losses to Indiana and Penn State). Still, most of that sketchy play came back in December; since the calendar flipped to 2023, Illinois has gone 7-2.If it took this Illinois team a few months to find itself, that shouldn't be surprising -- this is almost a completely new Illini team from the squad that went 23-10 last year and shared the regular season Big Ten championship. That team lost four key senior contributors and saw Kofi Cockburn depart for the NBA Draft and Andre Curbelo enter for the transfer portal. The only returning player who played a notable amount of minutes last season was Coleman Hawkins (around 20 per game), an athletic big who has become a fixture in the post for the Illini while averaging 9.4 ppg and a team-high 6.4 rpg this season.
Around Hawkins, the Illinois has added players through traditional recruiting and the transfer portal. The Illini's biggest recruit was 4* point guard Jayden Epps, who has emerged as a starter for Illinois over their last three games. Epps is still finding his way a bit, especially as a passer, but his quickness and strength has provided a welcome boost for Illinois, particularly on the defensive end. Illinois turned to the transfer portal to fill out the rest of their starting lineup; current leading scorer Terrence Shannon moved to Illinois after three years at Texas Tech, while Matthew Mayer and Dain Dainja were both plucked from Baylor.
MORE HERE: https://iowa.rivals.com/news/preview-iowa-vs-illinois
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