2018–19 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team
| 2018–19 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Conference | Big Ten Conference |
| 2018–19 record | 0–0 (0–0 Big Ten) |
| Head coach | Brad Underwood (2nd season) |
| Assistant coach | Orlando Antigua |
| Assistant coach | Jamall Walker |
| Assistant coach | Ron Coleman |
| Home arena | State Farm Center |
| 2018–19 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team | W | L | PCT | W | L | PCT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Illinois | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Indiana | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Iowa | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Maryland | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Michigan | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Michigan State | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Minnesota | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nebraska | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Northwestern | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ohio State | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Penn State | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Purdue | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rutgers | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wisconsin | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| † 2019 Big Ten Tournament winner As of April 9, 2018; Rankings from AP Poll | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The 2018–19 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team will represent 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 will play their home games at State Farm Center in Champaign, Illinois as members of the Big Ten Conference.
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.[1]
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.[2] 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.[3] He intended to sign with an agent, ending his collegiate career.[4] On March 26, Te'Jon Lucas and Michael Finke both announced they would transfer to other programs.[5] Lucas announced he would transfer to Milwaukee to complete his two years of remaining eligibility after sitting out for a season.[6] Finke announced he will transfer to Grand Canyon and have one year of immediate eligibility as a graduate transfer.[7] In late April, Matic Vessel left the program and returned to his home country of Slovenia to explore his options to continue basketball. [8] 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.[9] Eboigbodin announced on July 30, 2018 that he would transfer to Northeastern University.[10]
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Te'Jon Lucas | 3 | G | 6'0" | 170 | Sophomore | Milwaukee, Wisconsin | Transfer to Milwaukee |
| Matic Vessel | 4 | F | 6'10" | 215 | Freshman | Ljubljana, Slovenia | Left program and returned to Solvenia |
| Greg Eboigbodin | 11 | F | 6'9" | 220 | Freshman | Benin City, Nigeria | Transfer to Northeastern |
| Leron Black | 12 | F | 6'7" | 220 | Redshirt Junior | Memphis, Tennessee | Graduated and forgoing final year of eligibility to go pro |
| Mark Smith | 13 | G | 6'5" | 225 | Freshman | Edwardsville, Illinois | Transfer to Missouri |
| Mark Alstork | 24 | G | 6'5" | 190 | Graduate student | Dayton, Ohio | Graduated |
| Clayton Jones | 41 | G | 6'0" | 170 | Redshirt Senior | Champaign, Illinois | Graduated |
| Michael Finke | 43 | F | 6'10" | 230 | Redshirt Junior | Champaign, Illinois | Graduated and transfer to Grand Canyon |
| Cameron Liss | 45 | F | 6'6" | 220 | Redshirt Junior | Northbrook, Illinois | Graduated |
2018 recruiting class
In October of 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.[11] Dosunmu signed his National Letter of Intent in November of 2017 to attend Illinois. In March of 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.[12] 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.[13] Dosunmu was also selected to play in the second annual Iverson Roundball Classic All-American Game that will take place in April of 2018 at Souderton Area High School outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[14]
| 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: | ||||||
| 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:  | ||||||
| Andres 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: | ||||||
| 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: | ||||||
| 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: | ||||||
| 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: | ||||||
| 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: | ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Rivals: 13 247Sports: 28 | ||||||
Sources:
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Roster
| 2018–19 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Roster | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Schedule and results
The season will mark the first time in Big Ten history that the teams will play a 20-game conference schedule, setting a precedent for all Division I basketball.[15] The new schedule will also include 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.[15] Three in-state series that will be guaranteed home-and-homes: Illinois and Northwestern, Indiana and Purdue, and Michigan and Michigan State will always play twice.[16]
| Date time, TV |
Rank# | Opponent# | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exhibition | |||||||||||
| Nov 2, 2018* 7:00 p.m., BTN Plus |
Illinois Wesleyan | – | – | – | State Farm Center Champaign, IL | ||||||
| Regular season | |||||||||||
| Nov 8, 2018* 7:00 p.m., BTN Plus |
Evansville Maui on the Mainland |
– | – | – | State Farm Center Champaign, IL | ||||||
| Nov 13, 2018* 7:30 p.m., FS1 |
Georgetown Gavitt Tipoff Games |
– | – | – | State Farm Center Champaign, IL | ||||||
| Nov 19, 2018* 10:30 pm, ESPN2 |
vs. Gonzaga Maui Invitational Tournament quarterfinals |
– | – | – | Lahaina Civic Center Lahaina, HI | ||||||
| Nov 20, 2018* |
vs. Arizona or Iowa State Maui Invitational Tournament |
– | – | – | Lahaina Civic Center Lahaina, HI | ||||||
| Nov 21, 2018* |
vs. Auburn, Duke, San Diego State, or Xavier Maui Invitational Tournament |
– | – | – | Lahaina Civic Center Lahaina, HI | ||||||
| Nov 25, 2018* 1:00 p.m., BTN Plus |
Mississippi Valley State | – | – | – | State Farm Center Champaign, IL | ||||||
| Nov 27, 2018* 6:00 p.m., ESPN/ESPN2 |
at Notre Dame ACC–Big Ten Challenge |
– | – | – | Edmund P. Joyce Center Notre Dame, IN | ||||||
| Dec 2, 2018 4:00 p.m., BTN |
Nebraska | – | – | – | State Farm Center Champaign, IL | ||||||
| Dec 5, 2018 6:00 p.m., BTN |
vs. Ohio State | – | – | – | United Center Chicago, IL | ||||||
| Dec 8, 2018* 1:00 p.m., BTN |
UNLV | – | – | – | State Farm Center Champaign, IL | ||||||
| Dec 15, 2018* 1:00 p.m., BTN Plus |
East Tennessee State | – | – | – | State Farm Center Champaign, IL | ||||||
| Dec 22, 2018* 7:00 p.m., BTN |
vs. Missouri Braggin' Rights |
– | – | – | Enterprise Center St. Louis, MO | ||||||
| Dec 29, 2018* 2:00 p.m., BTN Plus |
Florida Atlantic | – | – | – | State Farm Center Champaign, IL | ||||||
| Jan 3, 2019 5:30 pm or 6:00 p.m., FS1 |
at Indiana Rivalry |
– | – | – | Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall Bloomington, IN | ||||||
| Jan 6, 2019 12:00 p.m./2:15 p.m./4:30 p.m., BTN |
Northwestern | – | – | – | State Farm Center Champaign, IL | ||||||
| Jan 10, 2019 7:00 p.m., FS1 |
Michigan | – | – | – | State Farm Center Champaign, IL | ||||||
| Jan 16, 2019 8:00 p.m., BTN |
Minnesota | – | – | – | State Farm Center Champaign, IL | ||||||
| Jan 20, 2019 12:00 p.m., BTN |
at Iowa | – | – | – | Carver–Hawkeye Arena Iowa City, IA | ||||||
| Jan 23, 2019 8:00 p.m., BTN |
Wisconsin | – | – | – | State Farm Center Champaign, IL | ||||||
| Jan 26, 2019 11:00 a.m., BTN |
vs. Maryland B1G Super Saturday |
– | – | – | Madison Square Garden New York, NY | ||||||
| Jan 30, 2019 8:00 p.m., BTN |
at Minnesota | – | – | – | Williams Arena Minneapolis, MN | ||||||
| Feb 2, 2019 1:15 p.m., BTN |
at Nebraska | – | – | – | Pinnacle Bank Arena Lincoln, NE | ||||||
| Feb 5, 2019 6:00 p.m., ESPN/ESPN2 |
Michigan State | – | – | – | State Farm Center Champaign, IL | ||||||
| Feb 9, 2019 3:00 p.m., BTN |
Rutgers | – | – | – | State Farm Center Champaign, IL | ||||||
| Feb 14, 2019 6:00 p.m., ESPN/ESPN2 |
at Ohio State | – | – | – | Value City Arena Columbus, OH | ||||||
| Feb 18, 2019 7:00 p.m., FS1 |
at Wisconsin | – | – | – | Kohl Center Madison, WI | ||||||
| Feb 23, 2019 11:00 a.m., BTN |
Penn State | – | – | – | State Farm Center Champaign, IL | ||||||
| Feb 27, 2019 7:30 p.m., BTN |
at Purdue | – | – | – | Mackey Arena West Lafayette, IN | ||||||
| Mar 3, 2019 5:30 p.m., BTN |
at Northwestern | – | – | – | Welsh–Ryan Arena Evanston, IL | ||||||
| Mar 7, 2019 7:00 p.m., FS1 |
Indiana Rivalry |
– | – | – | State Farm Center Champaign, IL | ||||||
| Mar 10, 2019 11:00 a.m., FS1 |
at Penn State | – | – | – | Bryce Jordan Center University Park, PA | ||||||
| Big Ten Tournament | |||||||||||
| Mar 13–17, 2019 TBA |
vs. TBD | – | – | – | United Center Chicago, IL | ||||||
| *Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. | |||||||||||
Source[17]
References
- ↑ "Illinois vs. Iowa - Game Recap - February 28, 2018 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2018-03-01.
- ↑ Ryan, Shannon (March 5, 2018). "Mark Smith's departure from Illinois shines light on need for improved recruiting". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved April 4, 2018.
- ↑ Ryan, Shannon (March 15, 2018). "Illinois forward Leron Black leaving to pursue pro career". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved April 4, 2018.
- ↑ "Illinois Basketball: Leron Black testing the NBA waters is a good move". Writing Illini. 2018-03-10. Retrieved 2018-04-13.
- ↑ Ryan, Shannon (March 26, 2018). "Illinois forward Michael Finke and guard Te'Jon Lucas to transfer". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved April 4, 2018.
- ↑ Richey, Scott (April 24, 2018). "Lucas transferring to Milwaukee". News Gazette. Retrieved April 25, 2018.
- ↑ Richey, Scott (April 25, 2018). "Michael Finke picks Grand Canyon". News Gazette. Retrieved April 25, 2018.
- ↑ Richey, Scott (April 25, 2018). "Vesel leaving Illini". News Gazette. Retrieved April 25, 2018.
- ↑ Ryan, Shannon (June 7, 2018). "Illinois big man Greg Eboigbodin to transfer, leaving Illini thin in the middle". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
- ↑ Cohn, Stephen (July 30, 2018). "Greg Eboigbodin announces transfer to Northeastern". SB Nation. Retrieved August 24, 2018.
- ↑ Phillips, Scott (October 19, 2017). "Ayo Dosunmu commitment changes the outlook of Illinois basketball". NBC Sports Chicago. Retrieved April 4, 2018.
- ↑ "Ayo to play in Jordan Brand Classic". News-Gazette. March 8, 2018. Retrieved April 4, 2018.
- ↑ "All-Time Jordan Brand All-Americans". Jordan Brand Classic. 2018. Retrieved April 4, 2018.
- ↑ 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.
- 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.
- ↑ "Big Ten to move to 20-game conference slate". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2018-03-12.
- ↑ "2018 Gavitt Games (Big Ten - Big East Challenge) Schedule". BT Powerhouse. Retrieved 2018-05-15.