IlliniGuys Staff

November 24, 2023

Ty Rodgers vs Marquette courtesy Joe Clark, IlliniGuys

The Illini face the Leathernecks who come into Champaign having lost to Valparaiso 73-66 on November 21st. This is the same Valparaiso team that the Illini defeated 87-64 on November 17th. The Leathernecks have lost 3 of their last five, but defeated another common opponent, Southern University. WIU beat them 88-80 in OT two days prior to the Illini beating them 88-60 on November 19th.

Illinois-WIU Connections

• Brad Underwood spent 10 years as an assistant at Western Illinois, from the 1994 through 2003 seasons, under head coach Jim Kerwin.
• During Underwood’s time in Macomb, the Leathernecks recorded five top-3 conference finishes in the then-Mid-Continent Conference, including three straight regular season and Mid-Con Tournament runner-up finishes from 1995 through 1997.
• This is the first time during his 11-year head coaching career that Underwood will face the Leathernecks. During his tenure in Macomb, WIU played at Illinois three times, going 0-3.
• Illinois is 5-0 all-time against Western Illinois. The most recent meeting was a 94-66 Illini victory on Nov. 22, 2003, which marked the first game of former head coach Bruce Weber’s Illinois tenure. Weber is on the Big Ten Network broadcast for Friday’s Illinois-WIU match-up.
• Illinois Assistant Coach Geoff Alexander played for Underwood at Western Illinois for two seasons in 1998 and 1999. Alexander then got his coaching start at WIU, as a two-year graduate assistant.
• Illini junior Keaton Kutcher is in his first season with the Illini after two years at South Dakota. Kutcher’s father, David, played for Underwood at Western Illinois for four years from 1994 through 1997.

OPENING TIPS

• Illinois hosts its final game of a six-game, season-opening homestand on Friday night, welcoming Western Illinois into State Farm Center (8 p.m. CT, BTN).
• Following Friday's contest vs. WIU, the Illini will have a full week to prep for the team's Big Ten opener at Rutgers on Saturday, Dec. 2.
• Despite a 4-1 start with a narrow loss to No. 4-ranked Marquette, the Illini slid just outside of the AP top-25 rankings, but moved up from 23 to 22 in the latest Coaches Poll released Nov. 20.
• Illinois is third nationally in 2-point defense (.384) and fourth in effective field goal percentage defense (.387).
• Illinois ranks 16th in the NCAA in field goal percentage defense (.351) and is 24th in scoring defense, holding opponents to 60.0 points per game.
• Illinois ranks inside the top 10 nationally in both rebounds per game (8th; 47.2 rpg) and offensive rebounds per game (2nd; 35.0 avg.)
• The Illini have outrebounded their opponents in each of their first five games this season, including a +33 margin in their last outing vs. Southern (50-17).
• Terrence Shannon Jr.is averaging 22.3 points over the last three games. He scored 21 vs. No. 4 Marquette on Nov. 14, 22 last Friday vs. Valparaiso, and a season-high 24 on Sunday vs. Southern.
• Shannon is game averaging 19.6 points per game, the No. 5-mark in the Big Ten.
• Shannon has scored in double figures in each of his last 15 games, a streak that began Jan. 31, 2023.
• Luke Goode is averaging 11.7 points over the last three games, setting his career scoring high with 13 points apiece vs. Marquette and Valpo.
• Goode is shooting 46.7% from 3-point range on the year and has made 11-of-23 from three over the last three games.
• Head Coach Brad Underwood had Illinois ranked by the AP in four straight preseason polls for the first time since the preseason poll began in 1961-62.
• Illinois' 15-man roster features an experienced blend of returning talent and impact transfers, combined with a top-25 freshman class. Eight players, including three starters, are back from the 2022-23 team, with five new players joining the Illini as Division I transfers, and two incoming freshmen.
• Entering the season, Illinois' eight returning players had combined to play 347 games at the NCAA Division I level with 159 combined starts by the group. Likewise, the team's five transfer players opened the year with 304 career games with 198 starts under their belts.
• Illinois is the winningest team in the Big Ten over the last four seasons, registering a 55-25 mark in league play. The Illini finished fifth in 2023, won the regular season championship in 2022, led the conference in wins while adding a B1G Tournament crown in 2021, and finished one game back of the title in 2020.