2019–20 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team
American college basketball season
The 2019–20 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team represented the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign in the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season . Led by third-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 21–10, 13–7 in Big Ten play to finish in fourth place. Their season ended following the cancellation of postseason tournaments due to the COVID-19 pandemic .[1]
Previous season
The Illini finished the 2018–19 season 12–21, 7–13 in Big Ten play and finished in a three-way tie for 10th place. Due to the 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.[2]
Offseason
The Illini took a trip to Italy and compiled a 3-1 record, beating the three Italian teams they faced and losing to the Dutch team. Cockburn and Feliz did not come on the trip due to visa issues.[3]
Departures
2019 recruiting class
US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name
Hometown
High school / college
Height
Weight
Commit date
Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk PF
Lommel, Belgium
KA Pegasus
6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
225 lb (102 kg)
Jun 8, 2019
Recruiting star ratings : Scout : N/A Rivals : N/A 247Sports : N/A
Kofi Cockburn C
Kingston, Jamaica
Christ the King (NY) / Oak Hill Academy (VA)
6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)
290 lb (130 kg)
Jan 6, 2019
Recruiting star ratings : Scout : N/A Rivals : 247Sports : ESPN : ESPN grade: 89
Jermaine Hamlin C
Lincoln, Illinois
Lincoln
6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
240 lb (110 kg)
Aug 20, 2019
Recruiting star ratings : Scout : N/A Rivals : N/A 247Sports : N/A
Overall recruiting rankings: Rivals : 58 247Sports : 70
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:
Roster
2019–20 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team
Players
Coaches
Pos.
#
Name
Height
Weight
Year
Previous school
Hometown
G
0
Alan Griffin
6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
195 lb (88 kg)
So
Oak Park and River Forest HS /Archbishop Stepinac HS
White Plains, New York
G
1
Trent Frazier
6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
175 lb (79 kg)
Jr
Wellington High School (FL)
West Palm Beach, Florida
F
2
Kipper Nichols
6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
220 lb (100 kg)
RS Sr
St. Edward High School (OH)
Cleveland, Ohio
G/F
3
Jacob Grandison
6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
220 lb (100 kg)
Jr
Phillips Exeter Academy / Holy Cross
Oakland, California
F
4
Zach Griffith (W)
6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
210 lb (95 kg)
Jr
Fisher High School
Fisher, Illinois
F
5
Tevian Jones
6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
205 lb (93 kg)
So
Culver City High School
Culver City, California
G
10
Andrés Feliz (C)
6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
195 lb (88 kg)
Sr
West Oaks Academy/Northwest Florida State
Santo Domingo , Dominican Republic
G
11
Ayo Dosunmu (C)
6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
185 lb (84 kg)
So
Morgan Park High School
Chicago, Illinois
F
13
Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk
6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
220 lb (100 kg)
Fr
KA Pegasus
Lommel , Belgium
F
15
Giorgi Bezhanishvili
6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
235 lb (107 kg)
So
St. Patrick High School
Rustavi , Georgia
G
20
Da'Monte Williams
6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
210 lb (95 kg)
Jr
Manual High School
Peoria, Illinois
C
21
Kofi Cockburn
7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)
290 lb (132 kg)
Fr
Oak Hill Academy (VA)
Kingston, Jamaica
G
22
Austin Hutcherson
6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
175 lb (79 kg)
Jr
Hun School of Princeton / Wesleyan
New York City
G
32
Tyler Underwood (W)
6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
180 lb (82 kg)
GS
Nacogdoches High School / Oklahoma State
Nacogdoches, Texas
F/C
34
Jermaine Hamlin
6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
240 lb (109 kg)
Fr
Lincoln
Lincoln, Illinois
G
35
Samson Oladimeji (W)
6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
210 lb (95 kg)
Sr
William 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: November 6, 2019
Note: Alan Griffin would later be removed from the roster site due to transferring out of the program.
Schedule and results
Date time, TV
Rank#
Opponent#
Result
Record
High points
High rebounds
High assists
Site (attendance) city, state
Italy Trip
August 6, 2019 *12:00 p.m.
at CUS Insubria
W 118-56
1–0
27 – Dosunmu
11 – Griffin
5 – Dosunmu
(273)Varese, Italy
August 7, 2019 *1:00 p.m.
at Gazzada All-Stars
W 112-63
2–0
31 – Griffin
9 – Bezhanishvili
8 – Williams
(763)Gazzada Schianno, Italy
August 9, 2019 *1:00 p.m.
at Livorno All-Stars
W 107-74
3-0
26 – Dosunmu
10 – Jones
4 – Williams
(337)Livorno, Italy
August 10, 2019 *12:00 p.m.
vs. The Netherlands National B Team
L 72-82
3–1
27 – Dosunmu
6 –
4 – Dosunmu
(171)Roma, Italy
Exhibition
November 1, 2019 *8:00 p.m., BTN Plus
Lewis
W 83–50
0–0
16 – Cockburn
11 – Cockburn
4 – Dosunmu
State Farm Center (12,867)Champaign, IL
Regular season
November 5, 2019 *7:00 p.m., BTN Plus
Nicholls
W 78–70 OT
1–0
23 – Feliz
11 – Tied
4 – Frazier
State Farm Center (10,034)Champaign, IL
November 8, 2019 *8:00 pm, WCIX
at Grand Canyon
W 83–71
2–0
23 – Cockburn
14 – Cockburn
6 – Dosunmu
GCU Arena (7,498)Phoenix, AZ
November 10, 2019 *8:00 p.m., P12N
at No. 21 Arizona
L 69–90
2–1
15 – Dosunmu
10 – Feliz
4 – Dosunmu
McKale Center (13,780)Tucson, AZ
November 18, 2019 *7:00 p.m., ESPNU
Hawaii O’ahu Classic
W 66–53
3–1
15 – Cockburn
14 – Cockburn
5 – Feliz
State Farm Center (11,589)Champaign, IL
November 20, 2019 *8:00 p.m., BTN
The Citadel O’ahu Classic
W 85–57
4–1
18 – Cockburn
17 – Cockburn
5 – Frazier
State Farm Center (11,196)Champaign, IL
November 23, 2019 *7:00 p.m., BTN Plus
Hampton O’ahu Classic
W 120–71
5–1
20 – Dosunmu
13 – Cockburn
5 – Tied
State Farm Center (9,732)Champaign, IL
November 26, 2019 *7:00 pm, BTN Plus
Lindenwood O’ahu Classic
W 117–65
6–1
24 – Dosunmu
8 – Cockburn
9 – Feliz
State Farm Center (9,712)Champaign, IL
December 2, 2019 *6:00 p.m., ESPN2
Miami (FL) ACC–Big Ten Challenge
L 79–81
6–2
23 – Cockburn
8 – Bezhanishvili
5 – Bezhanishvili
State Farm Center (11,819)Champaign, IL
December 7, 2019 4:00 p.m., ESPN2
at No. 3 Maryland
L 58–59
6–3 (0–1)
13 – Frazier
8 – Tied
3 – Dosunmu
Xfinity Center (16,690)College Park, MD
December 11, 2019 8:00 p.m., BTN
No. 5 Michigan
W 71–62
7–3 (1–1)
19 – Cockburn
10 – Cockburn
3 – Dosunmu
State Farm Center (13,277)Champaign, IL
December 14, 2019 *5:00 p.m., BTN
Old Dominion
W 69–55
8–3
15 – Griffin
9 – Cockburn
4 – Bezhanishvili
State Farm Center (13,276)Champaign, IL
December 21, 2019 *12:00 pm, SECN
vs. Missouri Braggin' Rights
L 56–63
8–4
21 – Dosunmu
6 – Griffin
2 – Bezhanishvili
Enterprise Center (15,259)St. Louis, MO
December 29, 2019 *1:00 p.m., ESPNU
North Carolina A&T
W 95–64
9–4
26 – Cockburn
9 – Cockburn
5 – Bezhanishvili
State Farm Center (13,676)Champaign, IL
January 2, 2020 7:00 p.m., FS1
at No. 14 Michigan State
L 56–76
9–5 (1–2)
18 – Dosunmu
9 – Cockburn
4 – Frazier
Breslin Student Events Center (14,797)East Lansing, MI
January 5, 2020 7:00 p.m., FS1
Purdue
W 63–37
10–5 (2–2)
16 – Griffin
12 – Griffin
6 – Feliz
State Farm Center (12,153)Champaign, IL
January 8, 2020 8:00 p.m., BTN
at Wisconsin
W 71–70
11–5 (3–2)
18 – Dosunmu
6 – Cockburn
6 – Dosunmu
Kohl Center (16,108)Madison, WI
January 11, 2020 11:00 a.m., BTN
Rutgers
W 54–51
12–5 (4–2)
18 – Dosunmu
17 – Cockburn
2 – Tied
State Farm Center (11,070)Champaign, IL
January 18, 2020 4:00 p.m., BTN
No. 24
Northwestern Rivalry
W 75–71
13–5 (5–2)
16 – Frazier
7 – Cockburn
6 – Dosunmu
State Farm Center (14,131)Champaign, IL
January 21, 2020 6:00 p.m., ESPNU
No. 21
at Purdue
W 79–62
14–5 (6–2)
22 – Cockburn
15 – Cockburn
11 – Dosunmu
Mackey Arena (14,804)West Lafayette, IN
January 25, 2020 11:00 a.m., FS1
No. 21
at Michigan
W 64–62
15–5 (7–2)
27 – Dosunmu
7 – Dosunmu
2 – Dosunmu
Crisler Center (12,707)Ann Arbor, MI
January 30, 2020 6:30 p.m., FS1
No. 19
Minnesota
W 59–51
16–5 (8–2)
17 – Feliz
10 – Cockburn
4 – Bezhanishvili
State Farm Center (15,544)Champaign, IL
February 2, 2020 12:00 p.m., FS1
No. 19
at No. 18 Iowa Rivalry
L 65–72
16–6 (8–3)
17 – Feliz
6 – Tied
3 – Dosunmu
Carver–Hawkeye Arena (15,056)Iowa City, IA
February 7, 2020 7:00 p.m., FS1
No. 20
No. 9 Maryland
L 66–75
16–7 (8–4)
16 – Dosunmu
9 – Griffin
4 – Dosunmu
State Farm Center (15,544)Champaign, IL
February 11, 2020 8:00 p.m., ESPN
No. 22
Michigan State
L 69–70
16–8 (8–5)
17 – Dosunmu
9 – Dosunmu
4 – Frazier
State Farm Center (15,544)Champaign, IL
February 15, 2020 3:30 p.m., BTN
No. 22
at Rutgers
L 57–72
16–9 (8–6)
14 – Griffin
10 – Cockburn
4 – Feliz
Louis Brown Athletic Center (8,000)Piscataway, NJ
February 18, 2020 5:30 p.m., FS1
at No. 9 Penn State
W 62–56
17–9 (9–6)
24 – Dosunmu
7 – Tied
4 – Williams
Bryce Jordan Center (9,506)University Park, PA
February 24, 2020 7:00 p.m., BTN
Nebraska
W 71–59
18–9 (10–6)
18 – Dosunmu
10 – Cockburn
3 – Tied
State Farm Center (15,354)Champaign, IL
February 27, 2020 7:00 p.m., BTN
at Northwestern Rivalry
W 74–66
19–9 (11–6)
24 – Griffin
14 – Cockburn
7 – Feliz
Welsh–Ryan Arena (7,039)Evanston, IL
March 1, 2020 1:00 p.m., BTN
Indiana Rivalry
W 67–66
20–9 (12–6)
17 – Dosunmu
7 – Feliz
4 – Feliz
State Farm Center (15,554)Champaign, IL
March 5, 2020 6:00 p.m., ESPN
No. 23
at No. 19 Ohio State
L 63–71
20–10 (12–7)
21 – Dosunmu
11 – Feliz
5 – Dosunmu
Value City Arena (16,382)Columbus, OH
March 8, 2020 6:00 p.m., BTN
No. 23
No. 18 Iowa Rivalry
W 78–76
21–10 (13–7)
17 – Dosunmu
8 – Cockburn
8 – Dosunmu
State Farm Center (15,554)Champaign, IL
Big Ten tournament
Canceled
NCAA Tournament
Canceled
*Non-conference game.
# Rankings from
AP Poll . (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in
Eastern Time .
Source[4]
Rankings
Ranking movementsLegend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes т = Tied with team above or below Week Poll Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Final AP RV RV — — — — — — — — 24 21 19 20 22 RV RV 23 21 21 Coaches RV — — — — — — RV — — RV 22 19 21 23 RV RV 22-T 22 22
*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings
References
Venues Rivalries Culture & lore People Seasons Helms and Premo-Porretta national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics