2018–19 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team American college basketball season
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]
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]
College recruiting information
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
Star ratings : Rivals : 247Sports : ESPN : 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
Star ratings : Rivals : 247Sports : ESPN : 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
Star ratings : Rivals : 247Sports :
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
Star ratings : Rivals : 247Sports : ESPN : 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
Star ratings : Rivals : 247Sports : 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
Star ratings : Rivals : 247Sports : ESPN : 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
Star ratings : Rivals : 247Sports : ESPN : ESPN grade: 83
Overall recruiting rankings: Rivals : 11 247Sports : 24
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
2018–19 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)
180 lb (82 kg)
Fr
Oak 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)
So
Wellington High School (FL)
West Palm Beach, Florida
F
2
Kipper Nichols
6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
225 lb (102 kg)
RS Jr
St. Edward High School (OH)
Cleveland, Ohio
G
3
Drew Cayce (W)
6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
175 lb (79 kg)
RS Jr
La Lumiere School /Creighton
Libertyville, Illinois
F
4
Zach Griffith (W)
6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
210 lb (95 kg)
So
Fisher High School
Fisher, Illinois
F
5
Tevian Jones
6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
200 lb (91 kg)
Fr
Culver City High School
Culver City, California
G
10
Andrés Feliz
6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
185 lb (84 kg)
Jr
West Oaks Academy/Northwest Florida State
Santo Domingo , Dominican Republic
G
11
Ayo Dosunmu
6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
185 lb (84 kg)
Fr
Morgan Park High School
Chicago, Illinois
C
12
Adonis De La Rosa
7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)
265 lb (120 kg)
GS
Christ the King HS /Kent State
Bronx, NY
F
15
Giorgi Bezhanishvili
6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
230 lb (104 kg)
Fr
St. Patrick High School
Vienna , Austria
G
20
Da'Monte Williams
6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
190 lb (86 kg)
So
Manual High School
Peoria, Illinois
F
22
Anthony Higgs
6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
215 lb (98 kg)
Fr
Perry Hall High School
Baltimore, Maryland
G
23
Aaron Jordan (C)
6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
210 lb (95 kg)
Sr
Plainfield East High School
Plainfield, Illinois
G
32
Tyler Underwood (W)
6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
180 lb (82 kg)
RS Jr
Nacogdoches High School / Oklahoma State
Nacogdoches, Texas
C
34
Samba Kane
7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)
220 lb (100 kg)
Fr
Regis Jesuit High School /Florida Preparatory Academy
Dakar , Senegal
G
35
Samson Oladimeji (W)
6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
200 lb (91 kg)
Jr
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: 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 Rivalry
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 Rivalry
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
^ Greenberg, Steve. "Big Ten tourney: Illinois sinks like a stone in season-ending 83-62 loss to Iowa" . Retrieved March 24, 2019 .
^ "Illinois vs. Iowa - Game Recap - February 28, 2018 - ESPN" . ESPN.com . Retrieved March 1, 2018 .
^ 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 . March 10, 2018. Retrieved April 13, 2018 .
^ 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. Archived from the original on April 5, 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 .
^ a b 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 March 12, 2018 .
^ "2018 Gavitt Games (Big Ten - Big East Challenge) Schedule" . BT Powerhouse . Retrieved May 15, 2018 .
Venues Rivalries Culture & lore People Seasons Helms and Premo-Porretta national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics