Lineups
No. 13 Illinois (5-2, 1-0 Big Ten)
Starters
P Name Yr. Ht. PPG Hometown
G Trent Frazier Sr. 6-2 8.6 Wellington, Fla.
G Adam Miller Fr. 6-3 11.9 Peoria
G Ayo Dosunmu Jr. 6-5 22.7 Chicago
G Da’Monte Williams Sr. 6-3 6.1 Peoria
C Kofi Cockburn So. 7-0 16.7 Kingston, Jamaica
FYI: Cockburn’s 33 points and 13 rebounds in Tuesday’s win against Minnesota made him one of 12 players this season with at least a 30-10 double-double. Two other Big Ten bigs are on that list, with Iowa’s Luka Garza dropping a 35-10 on Western Illinois and Purdue’s Trevion Williams posting a 30-11 against Indiana State.
Off the bench
G Andre Curbelo Fr. 6-1 10.7 Vega Baja, Puerto Rico
F Giorgi Bezhanishvili Jr. 6-9 6.4 Rustavi, Georgia
F Coleman Hawkins Fr. 6-10 1.0 Sacramento, Calif.
No. 19 Rutgers (5-0, 1-0 Big Ten)
Starters
P Name Yr. Ht. PPG Hometown
G Geo Baker Sr. 6-4 7.0 Derry, N.H.
G Jacob Young Sr. 6-2 15.0 Houston
G Montez Mathis Jr. 6-4 13.8 Baltimore
G/F Ron Harper Jr. Jr. 6-6 23.2 Franklin Lakes, N.J.
C Clifford Omoruyi Fr. 6-11 6.4 Benin City, Nigeria
FYI: Baker suffered a high ankle sprain in Rutgers’ season opener against Sacred Heart on Nov. 25 and missed the next three games. He returned in Monday’s Big Ten opener against Maryland, playing 28 minutes off the bench and finishing with 13 points, three rebounds and three assists.
Off the bench
G Paul Mulcahy So. 6-6 5.6 Bayonne, N.J.
C Myles Johnson Jr. 6-11 8.6 Long Beach, Calif.
F Mawot Mag Fr. 6-7 3.3 Melbourne, Australia
Details
Site: Rutgers Athletic Center (8,000), Piscataway, N.J.
Radio: Brian Barnhart (play-by-play) and former Illini Deon Thomas (analysis) will have the call on the Illini Sports Network on WDWS 1400-AM, WHMS 97.5-FM, WDAN-1490-AM, WDNL 102.1-FM and WPXN 104.9-FM.
TV: Jason Benetti (play-by-play) and Dan Dakich (analysis) will have the call on ESPN2.
Series history: Illinois leads 8-2.
Last meeting: Rutgers won 72-57 on Feb. 15, 2020 in Piscataway, N.J.
FYI: Both of Illinois’ losses to Rutgers in the series came on the road. Last season’s came with Ayo Dosunmu sidelined after his scary fall against Michigan State, but not-so-serious injury. The Illini also lost 62-59 on March 4, 2017, with a surprise, game-winning three-pointer from Rutgers’ Deshawn Freeman eliminating any chance Illinois might wind up on the NCAA tournament bubble. It was the penultimate blow to the John Groce era in Champaign. The final one coming, of course, when a Michigan team playing in its practice jerseys ran the Illini off the floor in the Big Ten tournament.
Beat writer Scott Richey’s storylines
Illini should have the place all to themselves
Illinois coach Brad Underwood wasn’t expecting many other hotel guests when his team arrived in New Jersey on Saturday night ahead of Sunday’s game against Rutgers. The same is expected next week in State College, Pa. “Joey Biggs, our director of ops, told me more than likely we’d be the only people in the hotel in New Jersey and at Penn State,” Underwood said. The Illini will also travel back to Champaign in between games spaced just three days apart in the further east reaches of the Big Ten. “That way we get a couple nights back in our own bed under conditions we feel pretty comfortable in from a safety standpoint,” the Illinois coach continued. “In a normal situation, we might stay out. If (Sunday) was an evening game, we might think different.”
Like father, like son: Harper leading the way for Scarlet Knights
Rutgers senior guard Geo Baker was the player receiving most of the preseason hype in Piscataway, N.J., but it’s been junior wing Ron Harper Jr. that’s worked his way to the top of every opposing scouting report so far this season. The son of the five-time NBA champion of the same name is one of just two players nationally averaging at least 23 points, seven rebounds and two assists (St. Bonaventure’s Osun Osunniyi being the other). “He’s basically become the guy, and it’s not easy to become that,” Underwood said of Harper. “Last year they were very balanced. Now, he’s just literally stepped into a star’s role, and he’s done it very well. He’s shooting the cover off it — shooting (50) percent from three and (60) percent from the field. He does it in every capacity. He does it from the three. He does it through post-ups. He’s a guy that truly is a focal point.”
Cockburn’s big game could open up other options for the Illini
Now that Kofi Cockburn has shown what he can do in Big Ten play following his 33-point, 13-rebound effort during Tuesday’s win against Minnesota, the Illinois sophomore center will likely draw a bit more defensive attention. Rutgers has the size to throw at him between Myles Johnson (6-foot-10, 255 pounds) and Clifford Omoruyi (6-11, 240). “They swarmed him pretty good last year,” Underwood said. “We’ll see if that’s their natural instinct to chuck cutters and to really clog the paint. We’ve been shooting the ball better as a team — one of the top teams in the country — so you have to pick your poison a little bit if you’re going to leave Adam Miller or Trent Frazier or Ayo Dosunmu or Andre Curbelo open. I would expect them to be on him pretty good.”
Prediction | No. 13 Illinois 79, No. 19 Rutgers 76
The Illini went into the RAC — the “Trapezoid of Terror” — and lost last season. Home-court advantage was a real thing for the Scarlet Knights, who went 18-1 at home and 2-10 on the road last season. Home-court advantage in the latter part of 2020? Not what it used to be. If the Illini intend on competing for a Big Ten title, this is the type of game they need to win. (N-G prediction record — 5-2).
"8" - Google News
December 20, 2020 at 08:30PM
https://ift.tt/2WytdpC
Game 8 preview: No. 13 Illinois at No. 19 Rutgers; Noon Sunday - Champaign/Urbana News-Gazette
"8" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2z1PBPz
https://ift.tt/3c1rzCJ
No comments:
Post a Comment