# 2021–22 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team

The 2021–22 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team represented 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 played their home games at the State Farm Center in Champaign, Illinois as members of the Big Ten Conference. They finished the season 23–10, 15–5 in Big Ten play to finish in a two-way tie for the regular-season championship. As the No. 1 seed in the Big Ten tournament, they were defeated by No. 9 seed Indiana in the Quarterfinals. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 4 seed in the South Region, where they defeated Chattanooga in the First Round before losing to Houston in the Second Round.

## 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.

### 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 |
| Giorgi Bezhanishvili | 15 | F | 6'9" | 245 | Junior | Rustavi, Georgia | Undrafted in the 2021 NBA draft |
| 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 |
| Adam Miller | 44 | G | 6'3" | 180 | Freshman | Peoria, IL | Transferred to LSU |

### 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

College recruiting information :
| 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 |
| Star ratings: 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 |
| Star ratings: 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 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 81 ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Rivals: 18 247Sports: 24 ||||||
| 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 Illinois Commits". Rivals.com. "ESPN- Illinois Fighting Illini Men's Basketball Recruiting". ESPN.com. "2021 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. "2021–22 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team". 247sports.com. ||||||

## Roster

Note: While Dain Dainja is listed on the Illini 2021-22 roster site, he is not listed in the 2021-22 record book. Jacob Grandison, while listed as a graduate student, is a redshirt senior for eligibility purposes.

## 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., B1G+ | 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., B1G+ | 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., B1G+ | 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., B1G+ | 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 | Canceled due to COVID-19 | Canceled due to COVID-19 | Canceled due to COVID-19 | Canceled due to COVID-19 | Canceled due to COVID-19 | State Farm Center Champaign, IL |
| January 4, 2022 6:00 p.m., FS1 | | at Minnesota | W 76–53 | 10–3 (3–0) | 29 – Cockburn | 10 – Cockburn | 4 – Tied | Williams Arena (10,112) Minneapolis, MN |
| January 6, 2022 6:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | Maryland | W 76–64 | 11–3 (4–0) | 23 – Cockburn | 18 – Cockburn | 3 – Plummer | State Farm Center (12,981) Champaign, IL |
| January 11, 2022 7:30 p.m., BTN | No. 25 | at Nebraska | W 81–71 | 12–3 (5–0) | 29 – Frazier | 13 – Cockburn | 5 – Frazier | Pinnacle Bank Arena (14,069) Lincoln, NE |
| January 14, 2022 8:00 p.m., FS1 | No. 25 | Michigan | W 68–53 | 13–3 (6–0) | 21 – Cockburn | 10 – Cockburn | 7 – Frazier | State Farm Center (15,544) Champaign, IL |
| January 17, 2022 11:00 a.m., FOX | No. 17 | No. 4 Purdue | L 88–96 $^{2OT}$ | 13–4 (6–1) | 24 – Plummer | 6 – Tied | 6 – Frazier | State Farm Center (15,544) Champaign, IL |
| January 21, 2022 6:00 p.m., FS1 | No. 17 | at Maryland | L 65–81 | 13–5 (6–2) | 18 – Plummer | 8 – Williams | 6 – Williams | Xfinity Center (12,331) College Park, MD |
| January 25, 2022 6:00 p.m., ESPN | No. 24 | No. 10 Michigan State | W 56–55 | 14–5 (7–2) | 16 – Frazier | 4 – Tied | 5 – Frazier | State Farm Center (15,544) Champaign, IL |
| January 29, 2022 3:30 p.m., BTN | No. 24 | at Northwestern Rivalry | W 59–56 | 15–5 (8–2) | 22 – Cockburn | 9 – Tied | 4 – Grandison | Welsh–Ryan Arena (7,039) Evanston, IL |
| February 2, 2022 8:00 p.m., BTN | No. 18 | No. 11 Wisconsin | W 80–67 | 16–5 (9–2) | 37 – Cockburn | 12 – Cockburn | 7 – Frazier | State Farm Center (14,860) Champaign, IL |
| February 5, 2022 11:00 a.m., ESPN | No. 18 | at Indiana Rivalry | W 74–57 | 17–5 (10–2) | 23 – Frazier | 8 – Cockburn | 4 – Tied | Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall (17,222) Bloomington, IN |
| February 8, 2022 8:00 p.m., ESPN | No. 13 | at No. 3 Purdue | L 68–84 | 17–6 (10–3) | 18 – Cockburn | 7 – Cockburn | 5 – Frazier | Mackey Arena (14,804) West Lafayette, IN |
| February 13, 2022 1:00 p.m., BTN | No. 13 | Northwestern Rivalry | W 73–66 | 18–6 (11–3) | 19 – Cockburn | 15 – Cockburn | 6 – Frazier | State Farm Center (15,544) Champaign, IL |
| February 16, 2022 6:00 p.m., BTN | No. 12 | at Rutgers | L 59–70 | 18–7 (11–4) | 20 – Cockburn | 10 – Cockburn | 5 – Curbelo | Jersey Mike's Arena (8,236) Piscataway, NJ |
| February 19, 2022 11:00 a.m., ESPN | No. 12 | at No. 19 Michigan State | W 79–74 | 19–7 (12–4) | 27 – Cockburn | 9 – Cockburn | 5 – Tied | Breslin Center (14,797) East Lansing, MI |
| February 24, 2022 8:00 p.m., FS1 | No. 15 | No. 22 Ohio State | L 83–86 | 19–8 (12–5) | 26 – Plummer | 4 – Hawkins | 4 – Frazier | State Farm Center (15,544) Champaign, IL |
| February 27, 2022 1:00 p.m., CBS | No. 15 | at Michigan | W 93–85 | 20–8 (13–5) | 27 – Cockburn | 7 – Cockburn | 4 – Grandison | Crisler Center (12,707) Ann Arbor, MI |
| March 3, 2022 6:00 p.m., FS1 | No. 20 | Penn State | W 60–55 | 21–8 (14–5) | 14 – Williams | 6 – Cockburn | 4 – Frazier | State Farm Center (15,544) Champaign, IL |
| March 6, 2022 6:30 p.m., FS1 | No. 20 | No. 24 Iowa Rivalry | W 74–72 | 22–8 (15–5) | 21 – Cockburn | 14 – Cockburn | 6 – Curbelo | State Farm Center (15,544) Champaign, IL |
| Big Ten tournament |||||||||
| March 11, 2022 11:30 a.m., BTN | (1) No. 16 | vs. (9) Indiana Quarterfinals | L 63–65 | 22–9 | 23 – Cockburn | 10 – Tied | 6 – Frazier | Gainbridge Fieldhouse Indianapolis, IN |
| NCAA tournament |||||||||
| March 18, 2022 5:50 p.m., TNT | (4 S) No. 19 | vs. (13 S) Chattanooga First Round | W 54–53 | 23–9 | 17 – Cockburn | 13 – Cockburn | 4 – Tied | PPG Paints Arena (17,410) Pittsburgh, PA |
| March 20, 2022 11:10 a.m., CBS | (4 S) No. 19 | vs. (5 S) No. 15 Houston Second Round | L 53–68 | 23–10 | 19 – Cockburn | 8 – Cockburn | 4 – Frazier | PPG Paints Arena (18,506) Pittsburgh, PA |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. |||||||||
Source

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking RV = Received votes т = Tied with team above or below :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | Final |
| AP | 11 | 10 | 14 | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | 25 | 17 | 24 | 18 | 13 | 12 | 15 | 20 | 16 | 19 | Not released |
| Coaches | 10 | 10^ | 15 | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | 24 | 17 | 21 | 18 | 13 | 12 | 14 | 17 | 15 | 16т | 19 |
*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings ^Coaches did not release a Week 1 poll.