2021–22 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team

2021–22 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings
	† 2022 Big Ten Tournament winner ; As of December 23, 2021; Rankings from AP Poll

2021–22 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball
2021–22 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball
Conference	Big Ten Conference
2021–22 record	9–3 (2–0 Big Ten)
Head coach	Brad Underwood (5th season);
Assistant coaches	Chester Frazier; Tim Anderson; Geoff Alexander;
Offensive scheme	Spread
Base defense	On-the-Line-Up-the-Line, Man
Home arena	State Farm Center
	Seasons ← 2020–21 2022–23 →

The 2021–22 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team represents the University of Illinois in the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Led by fifth-year head coach Brad Underwood, the Illini play their home games at the State Farm Center in Champaign, Illinois as members of the Big Ten Conference.

Previous season[]

In a season limited due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Illini finished the 2020–21 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.

Offseason[]

Illini big man Kofi Cockburn declared for the 2021 NBA draft, before ultimately withdrawing and entering the transfer portal. After considering offers from Kentucky and Florida State, he opted to return to Illinois.^[1]

Departures[]

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Notes
Zach Griffith	4	F	6'6"	220	Senior	Fisher, IL	Graduated
Edgar Padilla Jr.	10	G	6'1"	165	Freshman	Carolina, PR	Transferred to Pensacola State
Ayo Dosunmu	11	G	6'5"	200	Junior	Chicago, IL	Declared for the 2021 NBA draft; selected 38th overall pick by the Chicago Bulls^[2]
Giorgi Bezhanishvili	15	F	6'9"	245	Junior	Rustavi, Georgia	Declared for the 2021 NBA draft^[3]
Tyler Underwood	32	G	6'2"	180	Graduate Student	Champaign, IL	Graduated
Jermaine Hamlin	34	C	6'10"	235	Sophomore	Lincoln, IL	Transferred to Eastern Illinois^[4]
Adam Miller	44	G	6'3"	180	Freshman	Peoria, IL	Transferred to LSU^[5]

Incoming transfers[]

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Previous School
Omar Payne	4	F	6'10"	240	Junior	Kissimmee, FL	Florida
Alfonso Plummer	11	G	6'1"	180	Graduate Student	Fajardo, PR	Utah

2021 recruiting class[]

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
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
Luke Goode SG	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 83
RJ Melendez SF	Arecibo, Puerto Rico	Central Pointe Christian Academy	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Feb 15, 2021
RJ Melendez SF	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 84
Brandin Podziemski SG	Muskego, Wisconsin	St. John's Northwestern Military Academy	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Apr 13, 2021
Brandin Podziemski SG	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 81
Overall recruiting rankings:
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: "2021 Team Ranking". Rivals.com.

Roster[]

2021–22 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Previous school	Hometown
G	0	Brandin Podziemski	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Fr	St John's Northwestern	Muskego, Wisconsin
G	1	Trent Frazier	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	GS	Wellington	Wellington, Florida
F	2	Connor Serven (W)	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	So	St. Rita	Bushnell, Illinois
G/F	3	Jacob Grandison	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	GS	Phillips Exeter Academy (NH) / Holy Cross	Oakland, California
F	4	Omar Payne	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	240 lb (109 kg)	Jr	Montverde / Florida	Kissimmee, Florida
G	5	André Curbelo	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	So	Long Island Lutheran (NY)	Vega Baja, Puerto Rico
G	10	Luke Goode	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Fr	Homestead	Fort Wayne, Indiana
G	11	Alfonso Plummer	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	GS	Coleigo La Luz / Utah	Fajardo, Puerto Rico
C	12	Brandon Lieb	7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	So	Deerfield	Deerfield, Illinois
F	13	Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	RS So	KA Pegasus	Lommel, Belgium
G	15	RJ Meléndez	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	Fr	Central Pointe Christian Academy	Arecibo, Puerto Rico
G	20	Da'Monte Williams	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	GS	Manual	Peoria, Illinois
C	21	Kofi Cockburn	7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)	285 lb (129 kg)	Jr	Oak Hill Academy (VA)	Kingston, Jamaica
G	22	Austin Hutcherson	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	GS	Hun School of Princeton (NJ) / Wesleyan	New York City, New York
F	33	Coleman Hawkins	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	So	Prolific Prep	Sacramento, California

Head coach

Brad Underwood (Oklahoma State University)

Assistant coach(es)

Chester Frazier (Illinois)
Tim Anderson (Oklahoma Panhandle State)
Geoff Alexander (Western Illinois)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster
Last update: August 30,2021

Schedule and results[]

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
October 23, 2021* 8:00 p.m., BTN+	No. 11	St. Francis (IL)	W 101–34	–	14 – Tied	7 – Hutcherson	5 – Curbelo	State Farm Center (12,799) Champaign, IL
October 29, 2021* 7:00 p.m., BTN+	No. 11	Indiana (PA)	W 94–79	–	21 – Cockburn	9 – Hawkins	12 – Curbelo	State Farm Center (15,544) Champaign, IL
Regular season
November 9, 2021* 7:00 p.m., BTN	No. 11	Jackson State	W 71–47	1–0	20 – Grandison	10 – Bosmans-Verdonk	4 – Plummer	State Farm Center (14,032) Champaign, IL
November 12, 2021* 8:00 p.m., BTN+	No. 11	Arkansas State	W 92–53	2–0	17 – Hawkins	12 – Hawkins	7 – Curbelo	State Farm Center (14,327) Champaign, IL
November 15, 2021* 6:00 p.m., FS1	No. 10	at Marquette Gavitt Tipoff Games	L 66–67	2–1	23 – Frazier	11 – Williams	3 – Tied	Fiserv Forum (14,631) Milwaukee, WI
November 22, 2021* 5:30 p.m., ESPNews	No. 14	vs. Cincinnati Hall of Fame Classic semifinals	L 51–71	2–2	18 – Cockburn	10 – Williams	5 – Curbelo	T-Mobile Center Kansas City, MO
November 23, 2021* 6:00 p.m., ESPNews	No. 14	vs. Kansas State Hall of Fame Classic Consolation	W 72–64	3–2	23 – Cockburn	13 – Cockburn	7 – Curbelo	T-Mobile Center Kansas City, MO
November 26, 2021* 7:00 p.m., BTN+	No. 14	Texas–Rio Grande Valley	W 94–85	4–2	38 – Cockburn	10 – Cockburn	8 – Williams	State Farm Center (12,782) Champaign, IL
November 29, 2021* 8:00 p.m., ESPN2		Notre Dame ACC–Big Ten Challenge	W 82–72	5–2	28 – Cockburn	8 – Cockburn	6 – Frazier	State Farm Center (14,907) Champaign, IL
December 3, 2021 6:00 p.m., ESPN2		Rutgers	W 86–51	6–2 (1–0)	24 – Plummer	15 – Cockburn	5 – Frazier	State Farm Center (14,501) Champaign, IL
December 6, 2021 6:00 p.m., FS1		at Iowa Rivalry	W 87–83	7–2 (2–0)	21 – Tied	18 – Cockburn	6 – Williams	Carver–Hawkeye Arena (12,072) Iowa City, IA
December 11, 2021* 4:00 p.m., FOX		No. 11 Arizona	L 79-83	7–3	27 – Frazier	13 – Cockburn	3 – Tied	State Farm Center (15,544) Champaign, IL
December 18, 2021* 12:00 p.m., BTN		Saint Francis (PA)	W 106–48	8–3	21 – Cockburn	11 – Cockburn	5 – Frazier	State Farm Center (12,302) Champaign, IL
December 22, 2021* 8:00 p.m., BTN		vs. Missouri Braggin' Rights	W 88–63	9–3	25 – Cockburn	14 – Cockburn	6 – Grandison	Enterprise Center (14,953) St. Louis, MO
December 29, 2021* 8:00 p.m., BTN		Florida A&M						State Farm Center Champaign, IL
January 2, 2022 5:00 p.m., BTN		at Minnesota						Williams Arena Minneapolis, MN
January 6, 2022 6:00 p.m., ESPN2		Maryland						State Farm Center Champaign, IL
January 11, 2022 7:30 p.m., BTN		at Nebraska						Pinnacle Bank Arena Lincoln, NE
January 14, 2022 8:00 p.m., FS1		Michigan						State Farm Center Champaign, IL
January 17, 2022 11:00 a.m., FOX		Purdue						State Farm Center Champaign, IL
January 21, 2022 6:00 p.m., FS1		at Maryland						Xfinity Center College Park, MD
January 25, 2022 6:00 p.m., ESPN/ESPN2		Michigan State						State Farm Center Champaign, IL
January 29, 2022 3:30 p.m., BTN		at Northwestern Rivalry						Welsh–Ryan Arena Evanston, IL
February 2, 2022 8:00 p.m., BTN		Wisconsin						State Farm Center Champaign, IL
February 5, 2022 11:00 a.m., ESPN/ESPN2		at Indiana Rivalry						Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall Bloomington, IN
February 10, 2022 8:00 p.m., ESPN/ESPN2		at Purdue						Mackey Arena West Lafayette, IN
February 13, 2022 1:00 p.m., BTN		Northwestern Rivalry						State Farm Center Champaign, IL
February 16, 2022 6:00 p.m., BTN		at Rutgers						Jersey Mike's Arena Piscataway, NJ
February 19, 2022 1:30 p.m., FOX		at Michigan State						Breslin Center East Lasning, MI
February 24, 2022 8:00 p.m., FS1		Ohio State						State Farm Center Champaign, IL
February 27, 2022 1:00 p.m., CBS		at Michigan						Crisler Center Champaign, IL
March 3, 2022 8:00 p.m., FS1		Penn State						State Farm Center Champaign, IL
March 6, 2022 6:30 p.m., FS1		Iowa Rivalry						State Farm Center Champaign, IL

March 9–13, 2022 TBA		vs. TBD						Gainbridge Fieldhouse Indianapolis, IN
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time.

Source^[6]

Rankings[]

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. т = Tied with team above or below. ( ) = First place votes.
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	Final
AP	11	10	14	RV	RV
Coaches	10	10^	15	RV	RV

*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings
^Coaches did not release a Week 1 poll.

References[]

^ Borzello, Jeff (July 16, 2021). "Kofi Cockburn staying with Illinois after entering transfer portal". ESPN. Retrieved July 27, 2021.
^ Cobb, David (April 6, 2021). "2021 NBA Draft: Illinois star Ayo Dosunmu declares after leading program to No. 1 seed in NCAA Tournament". CBS Sports. Retrieved July 27, 2021.
^ Ryan, Shannon (April 8, 2021). "Illinois forward Giorgi Bezhanishvili says he'll enter the NBA draft: 'I'm excited to see what the future holds'". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved July 27, 2021.
^ Werner, Jeremy (May 14, 2021). "Former Illini center Jermaine Hamlin transfers to Eastern Illinois". 247 Sports. Retrieved July 27, 2021.
^ Huett, Wes (May 1, 2021). "Illinois basketball transfer Adam Miller picks LSU". Peoria Journal Star. Retrieved July 27, 2021.
^ "2021–22 Men's Basketball Schedule". fightingillini.com. Retrieved 2021-09-08.

[1] Borzello, Jeff (July 16, 2021). "Kofi Cockburn staying with Illinois after entering transfer portal". ESPN. Retrieved July 27, 2021.

[2] Cobb, David (April 6, 2021). "2021 NBA Draft: Illinois star Ayo Dosunmu declares after leading program to No. 1 seed in NCAA Tournament". CBS Sports. Retrieved July 27, 2021.

[3] Ryan, Shannon (April 8, 2021). "Illinois forward Giorgi Bezhanishvili says he'll enter the NBA draft: 'I'm excited to see what the future holds'". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved July 27, 2021.

[4] Werner, Jeremy (May 14, 2021). "Former Illini center Jermaine Hamlin transfers to Eastern Illinois". 247 Sports. Retrieved July 27, 2021.

[5] Huett, Wes (May 1, 2021). "Illinois basketball transfer Adam Miller picks LSU". Peoria Journal Star. Retrieved July 27, 2021.

[6] "2021–22 Men's Basketball Schedule". fightingillini.com. Retrieved 2021-09-08.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

v t Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball
Venues	Kenney Gym (1906–1925) Huff Hall (1926–1963) State Farm Center (1963–present) Prairie Capital Convention Center (2015)
Rivalries	Indiana Iowa Missouri Northwestern
Culture & lore	Whiz Kids Flyin' Illini Orange Krush Fighting Illini Sports Network Oskee Wow-Wow Illinois Loyalty Chief Illiniwek 1960s slush fund scandal
People	Head coaches NBA draftees Statistical leaders
Seasons	1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22
Helms and Premo-Porretta national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics

2021–22 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings
v t	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
No. 10 Michigan State	2	–	0	1.000	10	–	2	.833
No. 13 Ohio State	2	–	0	1.000	8	–	2	.800
Illinois	2	–	0	1.000	9	–	3	.750
Northwestern	1	–	0	1.000	8	–	2	.800
No. 3 Purdue	1	–	1	.500	11	–	1	.917
Minnesota	1	–	1	.500	10	–	1	.909
Indiana	1	–	1	.500	10	–	2	.833
No. 24 Wisconsin	1	–	1	.500	9	–	2	.818
Michigan	1	–	1	.500	7	–	4	.636
Rutgers	1	–	1	.500	5	–	5	.500
Maryland	0	–	1	.000	6	–	4	.600
Iowa	0	–	2	.000	9	–	3	.750
Penn State	0	–	2	.000	5	–	5	.500
Nebraska	0	–	2	.000	6	–	7	.462

† 2022 Big Ten Tournament winner As of December 23, 2021; Rankings from AP Poll