Illinois Faces Michigan Tonight, SIUE Wins, EIU Men, Women Lose

The University of Illinois game at Michigan Thursday evening was postponed.

Winners of four straight, No. 6 Illinois is next on the road, playing at Nebraska Friday night (8 p.m. CT, BTN).

• Illinois is fourth in the current kenpom team rankings. That is the program's highest rating since the 2005 NCAA Runner-Up squad was second.

• Illinois owns a combined 10 victories in Quads 1 and 2, tied for most in the NCAA. Illinois' six Quad 1 wins, meanwhile, ranks third nationally.

• Leading the Illini is reigning Naismith Trophy and Big Ten Player of the Week Ayo Dosunmu. Owning numbers of 21.2 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 5.1 assists per game, Dosunmu is solidifying his candidacy for First-Team All-America status and has moved into the National Player of the Year conversation as well. He is the only player in the NCAA over the last 11 seasons to average at least 20 points, six rebounds and four assists, all while leading Illinois Basketball back among the nation's elite.

• The Illini have won three consecutive road games during league play for the second year in a row. Illinois heads to Nebraska aiming for its longest streak since setting a school record with 13 straight Big Ten road wins from Feb. 3, 2004 through Feb. 19, 2005.

• Illinois is looking for its first win at Nebraska since 2017. The Illini are 4-5 all-time in Lincoln, but just 1-4 at Pinnacle Bank Arena.

• Illinois' 9-3 league record is its best through 12 games since the 2010 Big Ten season (also 9-3). 

• Dosunmu earned national and league accolades after recording just the third triple-double in school history in last Saturday's win over Wisconsin, registering 21 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists.

• Dosunmu is on pace to become just the second Big Ten player since 1993 to average 20 points, six rebounds and five assists, joining Ohio State's Evan Turner, the National Player of the Year in 2009-10.

• Kofi Cockburn ranks second in the NCAA with 13 double-doubles this season. He has posted double-doubles in 10 of 12 Big Ten games, averaging 18.8 points and 11.3 rebounds during league play. 

• At 17.2 ppg and 10.4 rpg, Cockburn is one of just three players from the high-major conferences currently averaging a double-double. He is on pace to become the first Illini player since Nick Weatherspoon in 1973 (25.0 ppg, 12.3 rpg) to average a double-double for an entire season.

• Trent Frazier has seen his scoring increase recently, averaging 16.0 points (64) while making an average of three treys per contest (12-32) over the last four games.

• Jacob Grandison has scored 32 points over the last five games (6.4 ppg) after totaling 29 points through this season's first 13 games (2.2 ppg). 

• Freshman Andre Curbelo ranks second in the Big Ten in assists during league play at 5.2 apg. He is averaging 4.4 assists on the season, currently ranking fifth on the school's all-time freshman assists chart behind legendary Illini point guards Bruce Douglas, Derek Harper, Dee Brown and Deron Williams.

• Da'Monte Williams leads the nation in 3-point shooting (min. 30 attempts), connecting on 23-of-39 for 59%.

• Since scoring a season-low 63 points in the Maryland loss, Illinois is averaging 78.0 points over the last five games (390).

• Illinois has held eight of its last nine opponents to less than 44% shooting. Since the loss to Ohio State, Illini foes are shooting a combined 39.9% over the last four games (99-248).

• Illinois is 11-1 this season when holding teams to less than 45% shooting.

• Illinois is 11-0 when shooting more free throws than its opponent, compared to 2-5 in games where it gets to the foul line less than the opposition.

DOS DOES IT AGAIN

The awards are rolling in once again for Ayo Dosunmu. He has been named the Jersey Mike's Naismith Trophy Player of the Week by the Atlanta Tipoff Club as well as Big Ten Player of the Week for the second week in a row and fourth time this season by the conference office.
Dosunmu earns the honors after leading the Illini to a pair of victories last week, extending 6th-ranked Illinois' winning streak to four straight games:

• Averaged 15.5 points, 9.0 rebounds, 7.0 assists and 2.0 steals in Illinois' two Quad 1 victories last week. 

• Made national headlines in the win over No. 19 Wisconsin, recording just the third triple-double in school history and first since 2001.

• Registered 21 points, career-high tying 12 rebounds and career-high 12 assists as the Illini defeated the Badgers in Champaign for the first time since 2011.

• Recorded the first triple-double this season against a ranked team, and became the first Big Ten player to record a 20+ point triple-double against a ranked team since Michigan State's Denzel Valentine vs. No. 4 Kansas on Nov. 17, 2015.

• Helped Illinois earn its first win at Indiana since 2010, totaling 10 points, six rebounds and two steals in limited minutes due to foul trouble.

• Now averaging 21.2 points, 6.4 rebounds and 5.0 assists on the season, Dosunmu is vying to become just the fourth player nationally since 1993 to average 20 points, six rebounds and five assists, and first in the Big Ten since Ohio State's Evan Turner in 2009-10.

SIUE 81, Tennessee Tech 63

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – SIUE men's basketball put up one its best performances of the year, overpowering Tennessee Tech 81-63 Thursday at the Eblen Center.

SIUE improved to 8-10 overall and 6-6 in the Ohio Valley Conference.

"We got defensive stops which led to baskets, we shared the ball and we made shots," SIUE Head Coach Brian Barone said. "It wasn't just making shots. We had some good defensive rotations, we had great communication. Overall this was probably our most complete performance."
The win was the first-ever for SIUE at Tennessee Tech and was the sixth road win of the year, marking a program high for the Division I era.

"There is a very nice tradition (at SIUE) but in terms of those benchmarks that haven't been achieved yet, it's nice to be the first ones to do it," Barone said.

SIUE took a 13-11 lead on the first of three consecutive three-pointers by Mike Adewunmi and never looked back. The Cougars pushed their lead to 15 late in the half and led by 13 (45-32) at halftime.

Courtney Carter blocked a layup attempt to start the second half, sparking a 10-0 run by the Cougars to slam the door on the Golden Eagles.
"Coming out of half we got a stop right away and then we had an 'and-one' and back-to-back three-point plays," Barone said.

The Cougars' lead ballooned to as many as 27 late in the half.

SIUE enjoyed its best shooting night of the season, knocking down 58 percent (31-53) of its shots including going 12-20 (60 percent) from three-point range.

The 12 three-pointers were the second-most in a game this year and the 60 percent success rate, the best of the year from three-point range.
The Cougars also racked up a season-best 25 assists.

"A couple of times where we were about to take that second dribble or that third dribble and we got bodied up and it just clicked to kick it," Barone said. "We rewarded ourselves by making the shot on that kick."

Courtney Carter led four SIUE players scoring in double figures with 18 points. He was 7-11 from the field and 4-6 from three-point range. He added five assists. Mike Adewunmi finished with 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting. He was 4-5 from three-point range and added six assists. Shamar Wright scored 15 points while tying his career high with four assists. Carlos Curtis scored 13 points and dished our a career-best nine assists for the second straight game.
Seven players had at least an assist in the game for SIUE.

"It got contagious where guys were talking," Barone added. "They're saying 'I got you on the next one, or I got you, so now you get me.' That was fun to hear in the huddle. They were understanding how they were sharing the ball. And defensively, we switched a lot tonight. And when you think about it, switching on defense is the same concept. On both ends of the court our communication and our selflessness were really apparent."

Tennessee Tech, which fell to 2-19 overall and 2-12 in the OVC, shot 44 percent (27-62) from the field and was 5-20 from three-point range.
Jr. Clay led the Golden Eagles with 19 points.

The Cougars continue the road trip with a Saturday afternoon game at Jacksonville State.

"That is now back-to-back games where we have taken care of the ball for the most part," Barone said.  "And we need to do it again on Saturday."

JSU 76, EIU 64 (Men)

JACKSONVILLE, Ala. – Eastern Illinois cut what had been a 25-point Jacksonville State lead down to five points with one minute remaining before JSU iced the game at the foul line to hold off EIU, 76-64, on Thursday night at Mathews Coliseum. 

EIU fell to 7-15 overall, 4-11 in the OVC.  JSU improved to 13-7 overall, 9-5 in the OVC in the only regular season meeting between the two schools. 

EIU opened the game cold from the field as they were 3 for their first 25 shots.  EIU held its own on the glass and did not turn the ball over as JSU led 38-19 at the half. 

JSU pushed their lead out to 25 points early in the second half.  A couple of 3-pointers by Kashawn Charles cut ten points off the margin down to 53-38. 

The Gamecocks responded with six straight points by Darian Adams as he knocked down a 3-pointer and then made three free throws.  Adams finished with 18 points to lead JSU. 

Marvin Johnson sparked a 7-0 run that brought EIU to within 63-50 with 5:06 left in the game.  Johnson led EIU with 21 points, his second straight 20+ point game.  

After a 0-of-11 effort from 3-point range in the first half, EIU knocked down seven 3-pointers in the second half.  Henry Abraham hit back-to-back 3-pointers cutting the lead to single digits with 1:42 to play as EIU used a 15-2 run to cut the lead to 65-58. 

Following free throws by Adams to stop EIU’s run, Charles hit a 3-pointer and converted a four-point play with 1:00 left in the game to make it 67-62.  Charles had 15 points. 

JSU would close the game at the line with 7-of-8 free throw shooting on a night the Gamecocks converted 22-of-27 at the foul line.  Kayne Henry finished with 17 points after scoring 13 in the first half.  

Mack Smith rounded out the EIU double figure scorers with ten points in his first action in three weeks.  

JSU 58, EIU 56 (Women)

JACKSONVILLE, Ala. -- Eastern Illinois (9-11, 7-8 OVC) fought hard against Jacksonville State (9-6, 6-5 OVC), but came up just short against the Gamecocks: 58-56. All five of the Panthers' starters scored in double figures on the day, but little scoring off the bench hurt EIU in the long run. Karle Pace made her return for the Panthers today, as she recorded the team-high with 14 points. Jordyn Hughes, Kira Arthofer, all scored 11 points, while Abby Wahl finished with 10 points, and Lariah Washington finished with 8 to round out the starting five. The Panthers will travel to Cookeville, Tenn., on Saturday to face Tennessee Tech for the second time this season.  

QUICK STATS

Grace McRae played in her first game since Dec. 6.

Six points in a quarter ties the lowest amount of points scored in a quarter by EIU this season (Northwestern, UT Martin).

The Panthers lose by two for the second Thursday in a row.

The Panthers had four players score in double-digits (Pace, Arthofer, Hughes, and Wahl).

The Panthers put up 36 points in the second half, 16 more than the first half.

Jordyn Hughes recorded a career-high eight rebounds.

Karle Pace moves to the No. 13 spot in career points with 1,326 points: She is 11 points away from tying Chris Aldridge for the No. 12 spot

QUARTER-BY-QUARTER

The Panthers and Gamecocks started at an even pace early in the game. JSU began to find a rhythm during the middle of the first quarter, shooting  6-14. Pace found Wahl in the waning seconds of the quarter on a roll to the basket. Wahl made a layup through contact and drew a foul in the process. Wahl converted the and-one, tying the Panthers and Gamecocks, 14-14 heading into the second quarter.

Jacksonville State went on a 9-0 run to start the quarter, and pushed the ball in transition at a ferocious pace. Matt Bollant called a timeout to get the team back on track and, hopefully, stop the score from getting out of hand. Eastern scored their first basket nearly five minutes into the quarter off a Wahl layup. The Panthers started to swing the momentum back in their favor as the Gamecocks shooting began to grow cold. JSU held the lead, 28-20 going into halftime. 

The Panthers quickly took the momentum away from the Gamecocks early on in the second half of play. EIU scored 8 points to tie the game back up off a pair of Hughes free throws. The Panthers regained the lead from a Washington layup and foul. Washington converted to pull away with a two-point lead. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Imari Martin gave the Gamecocks the lead heading into the final minutes of the quarter. The Panthers kept it close, but a buzzer-beating jumper gave the Gamecocks a 44-42 lead.

EIU and JSU jousted back and forth in the first few minutes of the quarter. Yamia Johnson of the Gamecocks nailed a 3-pointer; Washington quickly responded with a 3 of her own. JSU started to swing the momentum in their favor while EIU's scoring drought exceeded three minutes. Two turnovers turned to layups to cut into the Jacksonville State lead. With two minutes left in the quarter, the Panthers trailed by 5 points, and JSU was losing momentum at the right time for the Panthers. The Jacksonville State defense put the Gamecocks in the driver's seat despite a nearly five-minute scoring drought. Arthofer managed to score a bucket and draw the foul to cut the lead to 5 points. Arthofer was unable to convert, but the Panthers continued to fight in the final seconds. Washington nailed a 3-pointer with two seconds left to go to pull EIU within one, but it was too little too late. The Panthers fell to JSU, 58-56.