2018–19 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Record12–21 (7–13 Big Ten)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaState Farm Center
2018–19 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L PCTW L PCT
No. 5 Michigan State †16–4 .80032–7  .821
No. 13 Purdue16–4 .80026–10  .722
No. 8 Michigan15–5 .75030–7  .811
No. 21 Wisconsin14–6 .70023–11  .676
Maryland13–7 .65023–11  .676
Iowa10–10 .50023–12  .657
Minnesota9–11 .45022–14  .611
Ohio State8–12 .40020–15  .571
Indiana8–12 .40019–16  .543
Penn State7–13 .35014–18  .438
Illinois7–13 .35012–21  .364
Rutgers7–13 .35014–17  .452
Nebraska6–14 .30019–17  .528
Northwestern4–16 .20013–19  .406
† 2019 Big Ten tournament winner
Rankings from AP poll

The 2018–19 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team represented the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign in the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Led by second-year head coach Brad Underwood, the Illini played their home games at State Farm Center in Champaign, Illinois as members of the Big Ten Conference. The Illini finished the season 12–21, 7–13 in Big Ten play, to finish in a three-way tie for 10th place. Due to tie-breaking rules, they received the No. 11 seed in the Big Ten tournament where they defeated Northwestern in the first round before losing to Iowa in the second round.[1]

Previous season

The Illini finished the 2017–18 season 14–18, 4–14 in Big Ten play to finish in a three-way tie for 11th place. As the No. 13 seed in the Big Ten tournament, they lost in the first round to Iowa.[2]

Offseason

Player departures

On March 5, 2018 Mark Smith announced his decision to transfer to a new school, indicating he did not fit into Illinois' system moving forward.[3] On March 15, Leron Black announced his decision to forgoing final year of eligibility to declare for the NBA draft after already graduating with his bachelor's degree.[4] He intended to sign with an agent, ending his collegiate career.[5] On March 26, Te'Jon Lucas and Michael Finke both announced they would transfer to other programs.[6] Lucas announced he would transfer to Milwaukee to complete his two years of remaining eligibility after sitting out for a season.[7] Finke announced he will transfer to Grand Canyon and have one year of immediate eligibility as a graduate transfer.[8] In late April, Matic Vessel left the program and returned to his home country of Slovenia to explore his options to continue basketball.[9] On June 7, 2018 Greg Eboigbodin announced his intent to transfer out of Illinois, which left Illinois with four returning scholarship players from the prior season.[10] Eboigbodin announced on July 30, 2018 that he would transfer to Northeastern University.[11]

NameNumberPos.HeightWeightYearHometownNotes
Te'Jon Lucas3G6'0"170SophomoreMilwaukee, WisconsinTransferred to Milwaukee
Matic Vessel4F6'10"215FreshmanLjubljana, SloveniaLeft team
Greg Eboigbodin11F6'9"220FreshmanBenin City, NigeriaTransferred to Northeastern
Leron Black12F6'7"220Redshirt JuniorMemphis, TennesseeGraduated
Mark Smith13G6'5"225FreshmanEdwardsville, IllinoisTransferred to Missouri
Mark Alstork24G6'5"190Graduate studentDayton, OhioGraduated
Clayton Jones41G6'0"170Redshirt SeniorChampaign, IllinoisGraduated
Michael Finke43F6'10"230Redshirt JuniorChampaign, IllinoisTransferred to Grand Canyon
Cameron Liss45F6'6"220Redshirt JuniorNorthbrook, IllinoisGraduated

2018 recruiting class

In October 2017, five-star point guard Ayo Dosunmu verbally committed to Illinois over Wake Forest at the flagship Jordan Brand Store on State Street in the Chicago Loop.[12] Dosunmu signed his National Letter of Intent in November 2017 to attend Illinois. In March 2018, Dosunmu was named one of 26 high school seniors who will participate in the Jordan Brand Classic on April 8, 2018, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.[13] Dosunmu is the third Illini to be selected to play in the Jordan Classic, joining Dee Brown who played for the Red team in 2002 and Jalen Coleman-Lands who played in 2015.[14] Dosunmu was also selected to play in the second annual Iverson Roundball Classic All-American Game that took place in April 2018 at Souderton Area High School outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[15]

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Giorgi Bezhanishvili
PF		 Vienna, Austria St. Patrick High School (NJ) 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 230 lb (100 kg) Mar 26, 2018 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports:3/5 stars    ESPN:3/5 stars   ESPN grade: 74
Ayo Dosunmu
PG		 Chicago, IL Morgan Park High School 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 172 lb (78 kg) Oct 19, 2017 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:5/5 stars   Rivals:5/5 stars   247Sports:5/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars   ESPN grade: 89
Andrés Feliz
PG		 Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic West Oaks Academy/Northwest Florida State College 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Apr 8, 2018 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports:3/5 stars
Alan Griffin
SG		 White Plains, NY Oak Park and River Forest HS/Archbishop Stepinac HS 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Mar 2, 2018 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:3/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports:3/5 stars    ESPN:3/5 stars   ESPN grade: 75
Anthony Higgs
SF		 Baltimore, MD Perry Hall High School 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Jun 26, 2018 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:3/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports:3/5 stars    ESPN: N/A
Tevian Jones
SF		 Culver City, CA Culver City High School 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Apr 3, 2018 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:4/5 stars   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports:4/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars   ESPN grade: 80
Samba Kane
C		 Dakar, Senegal Regis Jesuit High School/Florida Preparatory Academy 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Mar 9, 2018 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:3/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports:3/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars   ESPN grade: 83
Overall recruiting rankings:   Rivals: 13  247Sports: 28
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "Illinois 2018 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved April 9, 2018.
  • "ESPN Recruiting Nation Basketball". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 9, 2018.
  • "2018 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved April 9, 2018.
  • "Illinois 2018 Basketball Commits". 247sports.com. Retrieved April 9, 2018.

Roster

2018–19 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearPrevious schoolHometown
G 0 Alan Griffin 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)180 lb (82 kg) FrOak Park and River Forest HS/Archbishop Stepinac HS White Plains, New York
G 1 Trent Frazier 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)170 lb (77 kg) SoWellington High School (FL) West Palm Beach, Florida
F 2 Kipper Nichols 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)225 lb (102 kg) RS JrSt. Edward High School (OH) Cleveland, Ohio
G 3 Drew Cayce (W) 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)175 lb (79 kg) RS JrLa Lumiere School/Creighton Libertyville, Illinois
F 4 Zach Griffith (W) 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)210 lb (95 kg) SoFisher High School Fisher, Illinois
F 5 Tevian Jones 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)200 lb (91 kg) FrCulver City High School Culver City, California
G 10 Andrés Feliz 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)185 lb (84 kg) JrWest Oaks Academy/Northwest Florida State Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
G 11 Ayo Dosunmu 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)185 lb (84 kg) FrMorgan Park High School Chicago, Illinois
C 12 Adonis De La Rosa 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)265 lb (120 kg) GSChrist the King HS/Kent State Bronx, NY
F 15 Giorgi Bezhanishvili 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)230 lb (104 kg) FrSt. Patrick High School Vienna, Austria
G 20 Da'Monte Williams 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)190 lb (86 kg) SoManual High School Peoria, Illinois
F 22 Anthony Higgs Injured Current redshirt 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)215 lb (98 kg) FrPerry Hall High School Baltimore, Maryland
G 23 Aaron Jordan 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)210 lb (95 kg) SrPlainfield East High School Plainfield, Illinois
G 32 Tyler Underwood (W) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)180 lb (82 kg) RS JrNacogdoches High School / Oklahoma State Nacogdoches, Texas
C 34 Samba Kane 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)220 lb (100 kg) FrRegis Jesuit High School/Florida Preparatory Academy Dakar, Senegal
G 35 Samson Oladimeji (W) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)200 lb (91 kg) JrWilliam Fremd High School Rolling Meadows, Illinois
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: June 22, 2018

Schedule and results

The season marked the first time in Big Ten history that the teams would play a 20-game conference schedule, setting a precedent for all Division I basketball.[16] The new schedule includes a regional component to increase the frequency of games among teams in similar areas. Over the course of a six-year cycle (12 playing opportunities), in-state rivals will play each other 12 times, regional opponents will play 10 times, and all other teams will play nine times.[16] Three in-state series are guaranteed home-and-homes: Illinois and Northwestern, Indiana and Purdue, and Michigan and Michigan State will always play twice.[17]

Date
time, TV		 Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
November 2, 2018*
7:00 pm, BTN Plus		 Illinois Wesleyan W 83–67  –
  20 – Feliz  7 – Jordan  5 – Frazier  State Farm Center (13,349)
Champaign, IL
Regular season
November 8, 2018*
7:00 pm, BTN Plus		 Evansville
Maui on the Mainland		 W 99–60  1–0
  19 – Jordan  10 – Bezhanishvili  7 – Frazier  State Farm Center (11,755)
Champaign, IL
November 13, 2018*
7:40 pm, FS1		 Georgetown
Gavitt Tipoff Games		 L 80–88  1–1
  25 – Dosunmu  5 – Feliz  5 – Feliz  State Farm Center (14,656)
Champaign, IL
November 19, 2018*
10:30 pm, ESPN2		 vs. No. 3 Gonzaga
Maui Invitational Tournament quarterfinals		 L 78–84  1–2
  29 – Frazier  10 – Jordan  3 – Tied  Lahaina Civic Center (2,400)
Lahaina, HI
November 20, 2018*
3:30 pm, ESPN2		 vs. Iowa State
Maui Invitational Tournament		 L 68–84  1–3
  15 – Frazier  7 – De La Rosa  3 – Frazier  Lahaina Civic Center (2,400)
Lahaina, HI
November 21, 2018*
8:00 pm, ESPNU		 vs. Xavier
Maui Invitational Tournament		 L 74–83  1–4
  19 – Dosunmu  6 – De La Rosa  4 – Jordan  Lahaina Civic Center (2,400)
Lahaina, HI
November 25, 2018*
1:00 pm, BTN Plus		 Mississippi Valley State W 86–67  2–4
  16 – Frazier  9 – Dosunmu  9 – Dosunmu  State Farm Center (11,706)
Champaign, IL
November 27, 2018*
6:00 pm, ESPNU		 at Notre Dame
ACC–Big Ten Challenge		 L 74–76  2–5
  23 – Jordan  9 – Dosunmu  6 – Feliz  Edmund P. Joyce Center (8,053)
Notre Dame, IN
December 2, 2018
4:00 pm, BTN		 at Nebraska L 60–75  2–6
(0–1)		  14 – Bezhanishvili  6 – Bezhanishvili  4 – Frazier  Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,764)
Lincoln, NE
December 5, 2018
6:00 pm, BTN		 vs. No. 19 Ohio State L 67–77  2–7
(0–2)		  18 – Tied  6 – Williams  4 – Dosunmu  United Center (5,285)
Chicago, IL
December 8, 2018*
1:00 pm, BTN		 UNLV W 77–74  3–7
  19 – Feliz  7 – Jordan  3 – Dosunmu  State Farm Center (12,268)
Champaign, IL
December 15, 2018*
1:00 pm, BTN Plus		 East Tennessee State W 77–53  4–7
  25 – Frazier  10 – Jordan  5 – Frazier  State Farm Center (12,379)
Champaign, IL
December 22, 2018*
7:00 pm, BTN		 vs. Missouri
Braggin' Rights		 L 63–79  4–8
  28 – Frazier  7 – Bezhanishvili  2 – Bezhanishvili  Enterprise Center (16,397)
St. Louis, MO
December 29, 2018*
2:00 pm, BTN Plus		 Florida Atlantic L 71–73 OT 4–9
  21 – Dosumnu  8 – Tied  4 – Tied  State Farm Center (12,539)
Champaign, IL
January 3, 2019
6:00 pm, FS1		 at No. 21 Indiana
Rivalry		 L 65–73  4–10
(0–3)		  20 – Dosunmu  7 – Bezhanishvili  6 – Frazier  Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall (14,832)
Bloomington, IN
January 6, 2019
12:00 pm, BTN		 at Northwestern L 66–68  4–11
(0–4)		  18 – Dosunmu  6 – Nichols  3 – Tied  Welsh-Ryan Arena (7,039)
Evanston, IL
January 10, 2019
7:00 pm, FS1		 No. 2 Michigan L 69–79  4–12
(0–5)		  23 – Dosunmu  7 – Dosunmu  4 – Nichols  State Farm Center (10,770)
Champaign, IL
January 16, 2019
8:00 pm, BTN		 Minnesota W 95–68  5–12
(1–5)		  23 – Dosunmu  8 – Bezhanishvili  2 – Tied  State Farm Center (11,503)
Champaign, IL
January 20, 2019
12:00 pm, BTN		 at No. 23 Iowa
Rivalry		 L 71–95  5–13
(1–6)		  15 – Dosunmu  7 – Bezhanishvili  6 – Dosunmu  Carver–Hawkeye Arena (13,589)
Iowa City, IA
January 23, 2019
8:00 pm, BTN		 Wisconsin L 60–72  5–14
(1–7)		  20 – Bezhanishvili  8 – Bezhanishvili  4 – Dosunmu  State Farm Center (12,294)
Champaign, IL
January 26, 2019
11:00 am, BTN		 vs. No. 13 Maryland
B1G Super Saturday		 W 78–67  6–14
(2–7)		  20 – Dosunmu  6 – Tied  6 – Dosunmu  Madison Square Garden (7,239)
New York, NY
January 30, 2019
8:00 pm, BTN		 at Minnesota L 75–86  6–15
(2–8)		  30 – Frazier  6 – Dosunmu  4 – Dosunmu  Williams Arena (9,565)
Minneapolis, MN
February 2, 2019
1:15 pm, BTN		 Nebraska W 71–64  7–15
(3–8)		  18 – Nichols  6 – Nichols  2 – Tied  State Farm Center (13,588)
Champaign, IL
February 5, 2019
6:00 pm, ESPN2		 No. 9 Michigan State W 79–74  8–15
(4–8)		  24 – Dosunmu  5 – Bezhanishvili  3 – Frazier  State Farm Center (12,960)
Champaign, IL
February 9, 2019
3:00 pm, BTN		 Rutgers W 99–94 OT 9–15
(5–8)		  35 – Bezhanishvili  7 – Bezhanishvili  6 – Dosunmu  State Farm Center (14,099)
Champaign, IL
February 14, 2019
6:00 pm, ESPN2		 at Ohio State W 63-56  10–15
(6–8)		  15 – Tied  7 – Bezhanishvili  3 – Tied  Value City Arena (12,420)
Columbus, OH
February 18, 2019
7:00 pm, FS1		 at No. 22 Wisconsin L 58–64  10–16
(6–9)		  13 – Dosunmu  6 – Tied  3 – Dosunmu  Kohl Center (17,152)
Madison, WI
February 23, 2019
11:00 am, BTN		 Penn State L 76–83  10–17
(6–10)		  18 – Dosunmu  10 – Bezhanishvili  3 – Dosunmu  State Farm Center (15,544)
Champaign, IL
February 27, 2019
7:30 pm, BTN		 at No. 14 Purdue L 56–73  10–18
(6–11)		  9 – Tied  6 – Jordan  3 – Williams  Mackey Arena (14,804)
West Lafayette, IN
March 3, 2019
5:30 pm, BTN		 Northwestern W 81–76  11–18
(7–11)		  26 – Feliz  10 – Jordan  5 – Dosunmu  State Farm Center (13,924)
Champaign, IL
March 7, 2019
7:00 pm, FS1		 Indiana
Rivalry		 L 74–92  11–19
(7–12)		  16 – Dosunmu  8 – Bezhanishvili  3 – Tied  State Farm Center (14,033)
Champaign, IL
March 10, 2019
11:00 am, FS1		 at Penn State L 56-72  11–20
(7–13)		  16 – Tied  8 – Dosunmu  2 – Tied  Bryce Jordan Center (9,678)
University Park, PA
Big Ten tournament
March 13, 2019
8:00 pm, BTN		 (11) vs. (14) Northwestern
First round		 W 74–69 OT 12–20
  26 – Bezhanishvili  10 – Feliz  6 – Feliz  United Center (16,473)
Chicago, IL
March 14, 2019
8:30 pm, BTN		 (11) vs. (6) Iowa
Second round		 L 62–83  12–21
  12 – Bezhanishvili  6 – Bezhanishvili  6 – Dosunmu  United Center 
Chicago, IL
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central Time.

Source[18]

References

  1. ↑ Greenberg, Steve. "Big Ten tourney: Illinois sinks like a stone in season-ending 83-62 loss to Iowa". Retrieved March 24, 2019.
  2. ↑ "Illinois vs. Iowa - Game Recap - February 28, 2018 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 1, 2018.
  3. ↑ Ryan, Shannon (March 5, 2018). "Mark Smith's departure from Illinois shines light on need for improved recruiting". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved April 4, 2018.
  4. ↑ Ryan, Shannon (March 15, 2018). "Illinois forward Leron Black leaving to pursue pro career". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved April 4, 2018.
  5. ↑ "Illinois Basketball: Leron Black testing the NBA waters is a good move". Writing Illini. March 10, 2018. Retrieved April 13, 2018.
  6. ↑ Ryan, Shannon (March 26, 2018). "Illinois forward Michael Finke and guard Te'Jon Lucas to transfer". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved April 4, 2018.
  7. ↑ Richey, Scott (April 24, 2018). "Lucas transferring to Milwaukee". News Gazette. Retrieved April 25, 2018.
  8. ↑ Richey, Scott (April 25, 2018). "Michael Finke picks Grand Canyon". News Gazette. Retrieved April 25, 2018.
  9. ↑ Richey, Scott (April 25, 2018). "Vesel leaving Illini". News Gazette. Retrieved April 25, 2018.
  10. ↑ Ryan, Shannon (June 7, 2018). "Illinois big man Greg Eboigbodin to transfer, leaving Illini thin in the middle". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
  11. ↑ Cohn, Stephen (July 30, 2018). "Greg Eboigbodin announces transfer to Northeastern". SB Nation. Retrieved August 24, 2018.
  12. ↑ Phillips, Scott (October 19, 2017). "Ayo Dosunmu commitment changes the outlook of Illinois basketball". NBC Sports Chicago. Retrieved April 4, 2018.
  13. ↑ "Ayo to play in Jordan Brand Classic". News-Gazette. March 8, 2018. Retrieved April 4, 2018.
  14. ↑ "All-Time Jordan Brand All-Americans". Jordan Brand Classic. 2018. Archived from the original on April 5, 2018. Retrieved April 4, 2018.
  15. ↑ Yuscavage, Chris (March 21, 2018). "2nd Annual Iverson Classic to Feature Shareef O'Neal, Mac McClung, and More High School Stars". Complex. Retrieved April 4, 2018.
  16. 1 2 Norlander, Matt (October 19, 2017). "Big Ten adds two games for a 20-game conference schedule starting in 2018–19". CBS Sports. Retrieved March 9, 2018.
  17. ↑ "Big Ten to move to 20-game conference slate". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 12, 2018.
  18. ↑ "2018 Gavitt Games (Big Ten - Big East Challenge) Schedule". BT Powerhouse. Retrieved May 15, 2018.
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