2023–24 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team

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2023–24 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball
NCAA tournament, Elite Eight
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 7
APNo. 6
Record29–9 (14–6 Big Ten)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Chester Frazier (3rd season)
  • Tim Anderson (3rd season)
  • Geoff Alexander (3rd season)
  • Zach Hamer (1st season)
  • Tyler Underwood (1st season)
Captains
  • Coleman Hawkins
  • Terrence Shannon Jr.
Home arenaState Farm Center
Seasons
2023–24 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 2 Purdue 17 – 3   .850 34 – 5   .872
No. 6 Illinois † 14 – 6   .700 29 – 9   .763
Nebraska 12 – 8   .600 23 – 11   .676
Northwestern 12 – 8   .600 22 – 12   .647
Wisconsin 11 – 9   .550 22 – 14   .611
Indiana 10 – 10   .500 19 – 14   .576
Iowa 10 – 10   .500 19 – 15   .559
Michigan State 10 – 10   .500 20 – 15   .571
Minnesota 9 – 11   .450 19 – 15   .559
Ohio State 9 – 11   .450 22 – 14   .611
Penn State 9 – 11   .450 16 – 17   .485
Maryland 7 – 13   .350 16 – 17   .485
Rutgers 7 – 13   .350 15 – 17   .469
Michigan 3 – 17   .150 8 – 24   .250
† 2024 Big Ten tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2023–24 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team represented the University of Illinois during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Illini were led by seventh-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 defeated Wisconsin to win the Big Ten Tournament. The team was then awarded the #3 seed in the East region of the NCAA Tournament, in which they advanced their first Elite Eight since 2005. There they lost to the eventual champion, UConn.

Previous season[edit]

The Illini finished the 2022–23 season 20–13, 11–9 in Big Ten play to finish in a four-way tie for fifth place. As the No. 7 seed in the Big Ten tournament, they lost to Penn State in the second round. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 9 seed in the West Region where they lost to Arkansas in the First Round.[1]

Offseason[edit]

Niccolo Moretti joined the Illini for the second semester of the 2022-2023 academic year and took part in practice and officially joined the team this season.

After declaring for the 2023 NBA draft, both Terrence Shannon Jr. and Coleman Hawkins withdrew and returned to the Illini. Jeremiah Williams committed to transfer to Illinois on June 1, 2023, but later withdrew that commitment and rejoined the transfer portal later that month on June 23.

In August, the Illini took a ten-day trip to Spain where they played and won three games against Spanish teams.[2] None of the games were televised but the Illini provided a link to stream the second game for free on Vimeo.

Departures[edit]

Name Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason for Departure
Jayden Epps G 6'2" 190 Freshman Suffolk, Virginia Transferred to Georgetown
Brandon Lieb C 7'0" 210 Junior Deerfield, Illinois Transferred to Illinois State
RJ Melendez G/F 6'7" 205 Sophomore Arecibo, Puerto Rico Transferred to Georgia
Matthew Mayer F 6'9" 225 Graduate Student Austin, Texas Graduated; Undrafted in 2023 NBA draft, signed with Houston Rockets
Skyy Clark G 6'3" 200 Freshman Los Angeles, California Left team after 13 games. Transferred to Louisville
Zacharie Perrin F 6'10" 220 Freshman Grandfontaine, France Left team after one game. Returned to France
Connor Serven F 6'9" 235 Junior Prairie City, Illinois Transferred to Eastern Michigan
Paxton Warden G 6'4" 180 Freshman Glen Ellyn, Illinois Transferred to Lewis University

Incoming transfers[edit]

Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous School
Marcus Domask 3 G/F 6'6" 215 Graduate Student Waupun, Wisconsin Southern Illinois
Quincy Guerrier 13 G/F 6'8" 230 Graduate Student Quebec City Oregon
Justin Harmon 4 CG 6'4" 200 Graduate Student Chicago, Illinois Utah Valley
Keaton Kutcher 22 G 6'2" 200 Junior Mount Vernon, Iowa South Dakota
Max Williams 25 G 6'2" 200 Senior Chicago, Illinois DePaul

Source:[3]

2023 recruiting class[edit]

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Amani Hansberry
PF 		Silver Spring, Maryland Mount Saint Joseph 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Nov 9, 2022 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports:4/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars   ESPN grade: 84
Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn
CG 		Lafayette, Indiana Word of God 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Nov 9, 2022 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports:3/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars   ESPN grade: 82
Overall recruiting rankings:   Rivals: 25  247Sports: 37
  • 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:

  • "2023 Illinois Commits". Rivals.com.
  • "ESPN- Illinois Fighting Illini Men's Basketball Recruiting". ESPN.com.
  • "2023 Team Ranking". Rivals.com.
  • "2023–24 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team". 247sports.com.

Roster[edit]

2023–24 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 0 Terrence Shannon Jr. 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 225 lb (102 kg) GS Texas Tech Chicago, Illinois
G 1 Sencire Harris Current redshirt 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 160 lb (73 kg) So St. Vincent–St. Mary North Canton, Ohio
G 2 Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr Word of God Lafayette, Indiana
G/F 3 Marcus Domask 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 215 lb (98 kg) GS Southern Illinois Waupun, Wisconsin
G 4 Justin Harmon 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) GS Utah Valley Chicago, Illinois
G 5 AJ Redd (W) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 170 lb (77 kg) So St. Ignatius Chicago, Illinois
G/F 10 Luke Goode 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Jr Homestead Fort Wayne, Indiana
G 11 Niccolo Moretti 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 170 lb (77 kg) RS Fr NBA Global Academy (Australia) Bologna, Italy
G/F 13 Quincy Guerrier 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 230 lb (104 kg) GS Oregon Montreal, Quebec
G/F 20 Ty Rodgers 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) So Thornton Township Saginaw, Michigan
G 22 Keaton Kutcher (W) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Jr South Dakota Mount Vernon, Iowa
G 25 Max Williams (W) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Sr DePaul Chicago, Illinois
F 33 Coleman Hawkins 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Sr Prolific Prep Sacramento, California
F 35 Amani Hansberry 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Fr Mount Saint Joseph Silver Spring, Maryland
F/C 42 Dain Dainja 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 255 lb (116 kg) RS Jr Baylor Brooklyn Park, Minnesota
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: 4/3/24

Note: While listed above as a graduate student for NCAA eligibility purposes, Shannon is a fifth-year senior working towards his bachelor's degree.

Roster movement[edit]

  • Shannon was suspended prior to the December 29 game against FDU and became eligible to play again January 19.
  • Moretti suffered a foot injury during the November 19 game against Southern and suited up for the January 14 game against Maryland, but did not play until the following game against Michigan.
  • Hansberry began sitting out games with back spasms starting with the game against Purdue on January 5 and returned to action against Ohio State on January 30.

Schedule and results[edit]

Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
Spain trip
August 6, 2023*
12:00 p.m., – 		at Madrid All-Stars W 84–73 
 16 – Dainja   15 – Dainja   4 – Shannon Jr.  WiZink Center (122)
Madrid, Spain
August 9, 2023*
12:00 p.m., Vimeo 		at Valencia International Basketball Academy W 105–60 
 25 – Shannon Jr.   9 – Tied   5 – Hawkins  L’Alqueria Del Basket (242)
Valencia, Spain
August 13, 2023*
5:00 a.m., – 		at Catalonia All-Stars W 103–69 
 19 – Hansberry   11 – Tied   4 – Moretti  Palau d'Esports Josep Mora (152)
Barcelona, Spain
Exhibition
October 20, 2023*
8:00 p.m., B1G+ 		No. 25 Ottawa (KS) W 116–65 
 18 – Shannon Jr.   12 – Hansberry   6 – Domask  State Farm Center (15,154)
Champaign, IL
October 29, 2023*
5:00 p.m., BTN 		No. 25 No. 1 Kansas
Maui Strong Fund game 		W 82–75 
 28 – Shannon Jr.   9 – Guerrier   3 – Rodgers  State Farm Center (12,592)
Champaign, IL
Regular season
November 6, 2023*
7:00 p.m., B1G+ 		No. 25 Eastern Illinois W 80–52  1–0
  18 – Gibbs-Lawhorn   8 – Hansberry   3 – Tied  State Farm Center (15,014)
Champaign, IL
November 10, 2023*
7:00 p.m., B1G+ 		No. 25 Oakland W 64–53  2–0
  15 – Shannon Jr.   10 – Guerrier   5 – Tied  State Farm Center (15,544)
Champaign, IL
November 14, 2023*
7:00 p.m., FS1 		No. 23 No. 4 Marquette
Gavitt Tipoff Games 		L 64–71  2–1
  21 – Shannon Jr.   10 – Guerrier   3 – Hawkins  State Farm Center (15,544)
Champaign, IL
November 17, 2023*
7:00 p.m., B1G+ 		No. 23 Valparaiso W 87–64  3–1
  22 – Shannon Jr.   9 – Harmon   4 – Shannon Jr.  State Farm Center (14,894)
Champaign, IL
November 19, 2023*
7:00 p.m., BTN 		No. 23 Southern W 88–60  4–1
  24 – Shannon Jr.   9 – Domask   4 – Shannon Jr.  State Farm Center (12,012)
Champaign, IL
November 24, 2023*
8:00 p.m., BTN 		Western Illinois W 84–52  5–1
  19 – Shannon Jr.   15 – Guerrier   4 – Rodgers  State Farm Center (13,051)
Champaign, IL
December 2, 2023
3:00 p.m., BTN 		No. 24 at Rutgers W 76–58  6–1
(1–0) 		 23 – Shannon Jr.   10 – Shannon Jr.   3 – Tied  Jersey Mike's Arena (8,000)
Piscataway, NJ
December 5, 2023*
5:30 p.m., ESPN 		No. 20 vs. No. 11 Florida Atlantic
Jimmy V Classic 		W 98–89  7–1
  33 – Tied   6 – Domask   3 – Tied  Madison Square Garden (17,873)
New York, NY
December 9, 2023*
11:00 a.m., CBS 		No. 20 at No. 17 Tennessee L 79–86  7–2
  22 – Tied   7 – Goode   4 – Hawkins  Thompson–Boling Arena (21,678)
Knoxville, TN
December 17, 2023*
12:00 p.m., BTN 		No. 16 Colgate W 74–57  8–2
  16 – Hawkins   8 – Tied   5 – Rodgers  State Farm Center (14,026)
Champaign, IL
December 22, 2023*
8:00 p.m., FS1 		No. 13 vs. Missouri
Braggin' Rights 		W 97–73  9–2
  30 – Shannon Jr.   11 – Shannon Jr.   7 – Domask  Enterprise Center (18,485)
St. Louis, MO
December 29, 2023*
8:00 p.m., BTN 		No. 11 Fairleigh Dickinson W 104–71  10–2
  19 – Dainja   15 – Rodgers   11 – Domask  State Farm Center (15,544)
Champaign, IL
January 2, 2024
8:00 p.m., BTN 		No. 9 Northwestern
Rivalry 		W 96–66  11–2
(2–0) 		 32 – Domask   10 – Guerrier   6 – Domask  State Farm Center (15,118)
Champaign, IL
January 5, 2024
7:30 p.m., FS1 		No. 9 at No. 1 Purdue L 78–83  11–3
(2–1) 		 26 – Domask   10 – Guerrier   6 – Hawkins  Mackey Arena (14,876)
West Lafayette, IN
January 11, 2024
8:00 p.m., FS1 		No. 10 Michigan State W 71–68  12–3
(3–1) 		 15 – Tied   7 – Hawkins   5 – Domask  State Farm Center (14,727)
Champaign, IL
January 14, 2024
1:00 p.m., BTN 		No. 10 Maryland L 67–76  12–4
(3–2) 		 26 – Domask   7 – Hawkins   5 – Rodgers  State Farm Center (15,544)
Champaign, IL
January 18, 2024
7:30 p.m., FS1 		No. 14 at Michigan W 88–73  13–4
(4–2) 		 21 – Hawkins   14 – Guerrier   4 – Hawkins  Crisler Center (10,919)
Ann Arbor, MI
January 21, 2024
12:00 p.m., BTN 		No. 14 Rutgers W 86–63  14–4
(5–2) 		 18 – Harmon   11 – Guerrier   5 – Domask  State Farm Center (15,544)
Champaign, IL
January 24, 2024
8:00 p.m., BTN 		No. 10 at Northwestern
Rivalry 		L 91–96 OT 14–5
(5–3) 		 22 – Tied   13 – Hawkins   6 – Domask  Welsh–Ryan Arena (7,039)
Evanston, IL
January 27, 2024
2:00 p.m., FOX 		No. 10 Indiana
Rivalry 		W 70–62  15–5
(6–3) 		 16 – Domask   10 – Domask   4 – Domask  State Farm Center (15,554)
Champaign, IL
January 30, 2024
6:00 p.m., Peacock 		No. 14 at Ohio State W 87–75  16–5
(7–3) 		 23 – Tied   10 – Rodgers   3 – Shannon Jr.  Value City Arena (10,285)
Columbus, OH
February 4, 2024
5:30 p.m., BTN 		No. 14 Nebraska W 87–84 OT 17–5
(8–3) 		 20 – Hawkins   14 – Rodgers   5 – Tied  State Farm Center (15,544)
Champaign, IL
February 10, 2024
1:00 p.m., CBS 		No. 10 at Michigan State L 80–88  17–6
(8–4) 		 28 – Shannon Jr.   7 – Tied   7 – Hawkins  Breslin Center (14,797)
East Lansing, MI
February 13, 2024
6:00 p.m., Peacock 		No. 14 Michigan W 97–68  18–6
(9–4) 		 31 – Shannon Jr.   7 – Guerrier   5 – Hawkins  State Farm Center (15,544)
Champaign, IL
February 17, 2024
4:30 p.m., FOX 		No. 14 at Maryland W 85–80  19–6
(10–4) 		 27 – Shannon Jr.   12 – Domask   3 – Domask  Xfinity Center (17,950)
College Park, MD
February 21, 2024
5:30 p.m., BTN 		No. 12 at Penn State
Return to Rec 		L 89–90  19–7
(10–5) 		 35 – Shannon Jr.   11 – Shannon Jr.   6 – Domask  Rec Hall[4] (6,150)
University Park, PA
February 24, 2024
1:15 p.m., BTN 		No. 12 Iowa
Rivalry 		W 95–85  20–7
(11–5) 		 30 – Hawkins   8 – Dainja   5 – Hawkins  State Farm Center (15,544)
Champaign, IL
February 28, 2024
8:00 p.m., BTN 		No. 13 Minnesota W 105–97  21–7
(12–5) 		 29 – Shannon Jr.   7 – Domask   5 – Domask  State Farm Center (15,544)
Champaign, IL
March 2, 2024
12:00 p.m., BTN 		No. 13 at Wisconsin W 91–83  22–7
(13–5) 		 31 – Domask   8 – Domask   3 – Domask  Kohl Center (17,071)
Madison, WI
March 5, 2024
6:00 p.m., Peacock 		No. 12 No. 3 Purdue L 71–77  22–8
(13–6) 		 20 – Domask   9 – Hawkins   4 – Domask  State Farm Center (15,544)
Champaign, IL
March 10, 2024
6:00 p.m., FS1 		No. 12 at Iowa
Rivalry 		W 73–61  23–8
(14–6) 		 25 – Shannon Jr.   13 – Guerrier   3 – Tied  Carver–Hawkeye Arena (14,998)
Iowa City, IA
Big Ten Tournament
March 15, 2024
5:30 p.m., BTN 		(2) No. 13 vs. (10) Ohio State
Quarterfinals 		W 77–74  24–8
  28 – Shannon Jr.   10 – Rodgers   4 – Domask  Target Center (12,675)
Minneapolis, MN
March 16, 2024
2:30 p.m., CBS 		(2) No. 13 vs. (3) Nebraska
Semifinals 		W 98–87  25–8
  40 – Shannon Jr.   13 – Rodgers   8 – Domask  Target Center (14,138)
Minneapolis, MN
March 17, 2024
2:30 p.m., CBS 		(2) No. 13 vs. (5) Wisconsin
Championship 		W 93–87  26–8
  34 – Shannon Jr.   7 – Tied   8 – Domask  Target Center (13,991)
Minneapolis, MN
NCAA Tournament
March 21, 2024
2:10 p.m., TruTV 		(3 E) No. 10 vs. (14 E) Morehead State
First Round 		W 85–69  27–8
  26 – Shannon Jr.   11 – Domask   10 – Domask  CHI Health Center (17,239)
Omaha, NE
March 23, 2024
7:40 p.m., TNT 		(3 E) No. 10 vs. (11 E) Duquesne
Second Round 		W 89–63  28–8
  30 – Shannon Jr.   7 – Hawkins   7 – Domask  CHI Health Center (17,387)
Omaha, NE
March 28, 2024
9:14 p.m., TBS/TruTV 		(3 E) No. 10 vs. (2 E) No. 4 Iowa State
Sweet Sixteen 		W 72–69  29–8
  29 – Shannon Jr.   6 – Tied   5 – Domask  TD Garden (19,144)
Boston, MA
March 30, 2024
5:09 p.m., TBS/TruTV 		(3 E) No. 10 vs. (1 E) No. 1 UConn
Elite Eight 		L 52–77  29–9
  17 – Domask   6 – Goode   3 – Shannon Jr.  TD Garden (19,181)
Boston, MA
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
E=East.
All times are in Central Time.

Source:[5]

Rankings[edit]

See also: 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
RV = Received votes
Week
PollPre12345678910111213141516171819Final
AP2523RV2420161311910141014101412131213106
CoachesRV2322241816119810141114121412161214107

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Illinois 63–73 Arkansas (Mar 16, 2023) Final Score". ESPN. Retrieved May 29, 2023.
  2. ^ Niekerk, Maaike (July 24, 2023). "Illini men's basketball set for ten day pre-season trip to Spain". Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  3. ^ "2023 Illinois Fighting Illini Basketball Transfers". ON3.com. Retrieved May 29, 2023.
  4. ^ "Men's and Women's Basketball Teams to Host Return to Rec Games This Season". Penn State University Athletics. October 14, 2023. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
  5. ^ "2023-24 Men's Basketball Schedule". Illinois University Athletics. Retrieved November 19, 2023.

External links[edit]

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