2020–21 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team
The 2020–21 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team represented the University of Illinois in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Led by fourth-year head coach Brad Underwood, the Illini played their home games at the State Farm Center in Champaign, Illinois as members of the Big Ten Conference. They finished the season 24–7, 16–4 in Big Ten play to finish in second place. They defeated Rutgers, Iowa, and Ohio State to win the Big Ten Tournament and receive the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. As the No. 1 seed in the Midwest region, they defeated Drexel in the First Round before being upset by No. 8-seeded Loyola–Chicago.
| 2020–21 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball | |
|---|---|
 | |
Big Ten tournament champions | |
NCAA Tournament, Second Round | |
| Conference | Big Ten Conference |
| Ranking | |
| Coaches | No. 8 |
| AP | No. 2 |
| 2020–21 record | 24–7 (16–4 Big Ten) |
| Head coach |
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| Assistant coaches |
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| Offensive scheme | Spread |
| Base defense | On-the-Line-Up-the-Line, Man |
| Captain | Ayo Dosunmu Da’Monte Williams |
| Home arena | State Farm Center |
| 2020–21 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team | W | L | PCT | W | L | PCT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 4 Michigan | 14 | – | 3 | .824 | 23 | – | 5 | .821 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 2 Illinois † | 16 | – | 4 | .800 | 24 | – | 7 | .774 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 8 Iowa | 14 | – | 6 | .700 | 22 | – | 9 | .710 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 20 Purdue | 13 | – | 6 | .684 | 18 | – | 10 | .643 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 7 Ohio State | 12 | – | 8 | .600 | 21 | – | 10 | .677 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wisconsin | 10 | – | 10 | .500 | 18 | – | 13 | .581 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rutgers | 10 | – | 10 | .500 | 16 | – | 12 | .571 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Maryland | 9 | – | 11 | .450 | 17 | – | 14 | .548 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Michigan State | 9 | – | 11 | .450 | 15 | – | 13 | .536 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Indiana | 7 | – | 12 | .368 | 12 | – | 15 | .444 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Penn State | 7 | – | 12 | .368 | 11 | – | 14 | .440 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Northwestern | 6 | – | 13 | .316 | 9 | – | 15 | .375 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Minnesota | 6 | – | 14 | .300 | 14 | – | 15 | .483 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nebraska | 3 | – | 16 | .158 | 7 | – | 20 | .259 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| † 2021 Big Ten Tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Previous season
The Illini finished the 2019–20 season 21–10, 13–7 in Big Ten play to finish in fourth place. Their season ended when the Big Ten Tournament and the NCAA Tournament were canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.[1]
Offseason
Departures
On April 7, 2020, freshman big man Kofi Cockburn declared for the NBA draft, but did not hire an agent, leaving open the chance that he would return to school for his sophomore season.[2] On April 16, sophomore guard Ayo Dosunmu also declared for the draft.[3] Dosunmu did not hire an agent, but stated that he intended to stay in the draft.[4] On July 31, Cockburn and Dosunmu announced they had withdrawn from the NBA Draft and would return to Illinois for the season.[5]
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andrés Feliz | 10 | G | 6'2" | 195 | Senior | Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic | Graduated |
| Alan Griffin | 0 | F | 6'5" | 195 | Sophomore | White Plains, NY | Transferred to Syracuse[6] |
| Tevian Jones | 5 | F | 6'7" | 205 | Sophomore | Culver City, CA | Transferred to Southern Utah[7] |
| Kipper Nichols | 2 | F | 6'6" | 220 | RS Senior | Cleveland, Ohio | Graduated |
| Samson Oladimeji | 35 | C | 6'4" | 210 | Senior | Rolling Meadows, Illinois | Graduated |
2020 Recruiting Class
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| André Curbelo PG |
San Juan, Puerto Rico | Long Island Lutheran (NY) | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | Nov 3, 2019 | |
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 83 | ||||||
| Coleman Hawkins PF |
Antelope, California | Prolific Prep | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | 215 lb (98 kg) | Nov 16, 2019 | |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 80 | ||||||
| Adam Miller SG |
Chicago, Illinois | Morgan Park | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 170 lb (77 kg) | Nov 21, 2019 | |
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 89 | ||||||
| Brandon Lieb C |
Deerfield, Illinois | Deerfield | 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) | 205 lb (93 kg) | Jun 25, 2020 | |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: N/A ESPN grade: N/A | ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: | ||||||
Sources:
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2021 Recruiting Class
| US college sports recruiting information for 2021 recruits | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date | |
| Luke Goode SG |
Fort Wayne, Indiana | Homestead | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | Apr 17, 2020 | |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 83 | ||||||
| Ramses Melendez SF |
Kissimmee, Florida | Central Pointe Christian Academy | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 195 lb (88 kg) | Feb 15, 2021 | |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 84 | ||||||
| Brandin Podziemski SG |
Delafield, Wisconsin | St. John's Northwestern Military Academy | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 195 lb (88 kg) | Apr 13, 2021 | |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 81 | ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: | ||||||
Sources:
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Roster
| 2020–21 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Schedule and results
| Date time, TV |
Rank# | Opponent# | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Non-Conference regular season | |||||||||||
| November 25, 2020* 1:00 pm, BTN |
No. 8 | North Carolina A&T | W 122–60 | 1–0 |
28 – Tied | 10 – Tied | 7 – Williams | State Farm Center (132) Champaign, IL | |||
| November 26, 2020* 11:00 am, BTN |
No. 8 | Chicago State | W 97–38 | 2–0 |
22 – Dosunmu | 11 – Cockburn | 7 – Dosunmu | State Farm Center (143) Champaign, IL | |||
| November 27, 2020* 12:00 pm, BTN |
No. 8 | Ohio | W 77–75 | 3–0 |
27 – Dosunmu | 14 – Cockburn | 8 – Dosunmu | State Farm Center (155) Champaign, IL | |||
| December 2, 2020* 9:00 pm, ESPN |
No. 5 | vs. No. 2 Baylor Jimmy V Classic |
L 69–82 | 3–1 |
18 – Dosunmu | 7 – Williams | 5 – Dosunmu | Bankers Life Fieldhouse (0) Indianapolis, IN | |||
| December 5, 2020* 8:00 pm, BTN |
No. 5 | UT-Martin | Canceled due to COVID-19 within UT-Martin program | State Farm Center Champaign, IL | |||||||
| December 8, 2020* 8:30 pm, ESPN |
No. 6 | at No. 10 Duke ACC–Big Ten Challenge |
W 83–68 | 4–1 |
18 – Dosunmu | 12 – Dosunmu | 5 – Dosunmu | Cameron Indoor Stadium (0) Durham, NC | |||
| December 12, 2020* 7:00 pm, ESPNU |
No. 6 | at Missouri Braggin' Rights |
L 78–81 | 4–2 |
36 – Dosunmu | 6 – Cockburn | 4 – Curbelo | Mizzou Arena (578) Columbia, MO | |||
| Big Ten regular season | |||||||||||
| December 15, 2020 6:00 pm, ESPN2 |
No. 13 | Minnesota | W 92–65 | 5–2 (1–0) |
33 – Cockburn | 13 – Cockburn | 9 – Curbelo | State Farm Center (173) Champaign, IL | |||
| December 20, 2020 12:00 pm, ESPN2 |
No. 13 | at No. 19 Rutgers | L 88–91 | 5–3 (1–1) |
22 – Dosunmu | 12 – Cockburn | 6 – Dosunmu | Rutgers Athletic Center (0) Piscataway, NJ | |||
| December 23, 2020 5:30 pm, BTN |
No. 18 | at Penn State | W 98–81 | 6–3 (2–1) |
30 – Dosunmu | 7 – Grandison | 8 – Curbelo | Bryce Jordan Center (158) University Park, PA | |||
| December 26, 2020 3:00 pm, FS1 |
No. 18 | Indiana Rivalry |
W 69–60 | 7–3 (3–1) |
30 – Dosunmu | 15 – Cockburn | 5 – Dosunmu | State Farm Center (178) Champaign, IL | |||
| January 2, 2021 5:00 pm, BTN |
No. 15 | Purdue | W 66–58 | 8–3 (4–1) |
14 – Cockburn | 10 – Tied | 6 – Curbelo | State Farm Center (167) Champaign, IL | |||
| January 7, 2021 8:00 pm, BTN |
No. 12 | at Northwestern Rivalry |
W 81–56 | 9–3 (5–1) |
18 – Cockburn | 12 – Cockburn | 7 – Curbelo | Welsh–Ryan Arena (0) Evanston, IL | |||
| January 10, 2021 7:00 pm, BTN |
No. 12 | Maryland | L 63–66 | 9–4 (5–2) |
23 – Dosunmu | 10 – Cockburn | 5 – Tied | State Farm Center (169) Champaign, IL | |||
| January 16, 2021 11:00 am, FOX |
No. 14 | No. 21 Ohio State | L 81–87 | 9–5 (5–3) |
22 – Dosunmu | 11 – Cockburn | 5 – Dosunmu | State Farm Center (175) Champaign, IL | |||
| January 19, 2021 7:30 pm, BTN |
No. 22 | Penn State | W 79–65 | 10–5 (6–3) |
21 – Cockburn | 12 – Cockburn | 5 – Dosunmu | State Farm Center (148) Champaign, IL | |||
| January 29, 2021 8:00 pm, FS1 |
No. 19 | No. 7 Iowa Rivalry |
W 80–75 | 11–5 (7–3) |
25 – Dosunmu | 10 – Tied | 8 – Curbelo | State Farm Center (190) Champaign, IL | |||
| February 2, 2021 8:00 pm, ESPN |
No. 12 | at Indiana Rivalry |
W 75–71 OT | 12–5 (8–3) |
19 – Frazier | 10 – Cockburn | 4 – Curbelo | Assembly Hall (0) Bloomington, IN | |||
| February 6, 2021 1:30 pm, FOX |
No. 12 | No. 19 Wisconsin | W 75–60 | 13–5 (9–3) |
23 – Cockburn | 14 – Cockburn | 12 – Dosunmu | State Farm Center (180) Champaign, IL | |||
| February 12, 2021 8:00 pm, BTN |
No. 6 | at Nebraska | W 77–72 OT | 14–5 (10–3) |
31 – Dosunmu | 13 – Cockburn | 6 – Dosunmu | Pinnacle Bank Arena (0) Lincoln, NE | |||
| February 16, 2021 8:00 pm, BTN |
No. 5 | Northwestern Rivalry |
W 73–66 | 15–5 (11–3) |
17 – Cockburn | 10 – Cockburn | 5 – Tied | State Farm Center (162) Champaign, IL | |||
| February 20, 2021 2:30 pm, FOX |
No. 5 | at Minnesota | W 94–63 | 16–5 (12–3) |
22 – Cockburn | 10 – Dosunmu | 10 – Dosunmu | Williams Arena (56) Minneapolis, MN | |||
| February 23, 2021 6:00 pm, FS1 |
No. 5 | at Michigan State | L 72–81 | 16–6 (12–4) |
22 – Frazier | 9 – Dosunmu | 5 – Dosunmu | Breslin Center (0) East Lansing, MI | |||
| February 25, 2021 6:00 pm, BTN |
No. 5 | Nebraska Senior Night |
W 86–70 | 17–6 (13–4) |
24 – Cockburn | 12 – Curbelo | 8 – Curbelo | State Farm Center (192) Champaign,IL | |||
| February 27, 2021 1:00 pm, ESPN |
No. 5 | at No. 23 Wisconsin | W 74–69 | 18–6 (14–4) |
19 – Cockburn | 8 – Grandison | 4 – Tied | Kohl Center (0) Madison, WI | |||
| March 2, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPN |
No. 4 | at No. 2 Michigan | W 76–53 | 19–6 (15–4) |
22 – Frazier | 7 – Cockburn | 5 – Grandison | Crisler Center (94) Ann Arbor, MI | |||
| March 6, 2021 3:00 pm, ESPN |
No. 4 | at No. 7 Ohio State | W 73–68 | 20–6 (16–4) |
19 – Tie | 6 – Tie | 6 – Curbelo | Value City Arena Columbus, OH | |||
| Big Ten Tournament | |||||||||||
| March 12, 2021 5:30 pm, BTN |
(2) No. 3 | vs. (7) Rutgers Quarterfinals |
W 90–68 | 21–6 |
23 – Dosunmu | 12 – Cockburn | 6 – Dosunmu | Lucas Oil Stadium (7,735) Indianapolis, IN | |||
| March 13, 2021 2:30 pm, CBS |
(2) No. 3 | vs. (3) No. 5 Iowa Semifinals |
W 82–71 | 22–6 |
26 – Cockburn | 9 – Williams | 9 – Dosunmu | Lucas Oil Stadium (8,000) Indianapolis, IN | |||
| March 14, 2021 2:30 pm, CBS |
(2) No. 3 | vs. (5) No. 9 Ohio State Championship |
W 91–88 OT | 23–6 |
16 – Tied | 9 – Tied | 5 – Curbelo | Lucas Oil Stadium (8,000) Indianapolis, IN | |||
| NCAA Tournament | |||||||||||
| March 19, 2021 12:15 pm, TBS |
(1 MW) No. 2 | vs. (16 MW) Drexel First Round |
W 78–49 | 24–6 |
18 – Cockburn | 10 – Dosunmu | 6 – Dosunmu | Indiana Farmers Coliseum (968) Indianapolis, IN | |||
| March 21, 2021 11:10 am, CBS |
(1 MW) No. 2 | vs. (8 MW) No. 17 Loyola–Chicago Second Round |
L 58–71 | 24–7 |
21 – Cockburn | 9 – Cockburn | 7 – Curbelo | Bankers Life Fieldhouse Indianapolis, IN | |||
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. | |||||||||||
Source[8]
Rankings
| Week | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | Final |
| AP | 8 | 5 | 6 | 13 | 18 | 15 | 12 | 14 | 22 | 19 | 12 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | Not released |
| Coaches | 10 | 10^ | 9 | 13 | 18 | 16 | 12 | 13 | 24 | 22 | 13 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 8 |
*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings
^Coaches did not release a Week 1 poll.
References
- "2020 NCAA Tournament canceled due to growing threat of coronavirus pandemic". CBSSports.com. Retrieved 2020-03-16.
- Ryan, Shannon. "Kofi Cockburn declares for the NBA draft, and the Illinois freshman will get feedback from teams before making a final decision". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 2020-05-12.
- "Illinois' Dosunmu declares for NBA draft". ESPN.com. 2020-04-17. Retrieved 2020-05-12.
- Ryan, Shannon. "Illini guard Ayo Dosunmu's dad says his son is '98% or 99%' committed to remaining in the NBA draft". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 2020-05-12.
- "Cockburn returning to Illinois for sophomore year". ESPN.com. 2020-08-01. Retrieved 2021-03-10.
- Cobb, David. "Syracuse lands prized Illinois transfer Alan Griffin, son of Raptors assistant Adrian Griffin". cbssports.com. Retrieved 2020-04-05.
- joey.wagner@lee.net, JOEY WAGNER. "Illinois sophomore Tevian Jones enters transfer portal". Herald-Review.com. Retrieved 2020-05-12.
- "2021-22 Men's Basketball Schedule".
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