# 2022–23 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team

The 2022–23 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team represented the University of Illinois in the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Led by sixth-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 20–11, 11–9 in Big Ten play to finish in a four-way tie in fifth place. As the No. 7 seed in the Big Ten tournament, they were defeated by 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.

## Previous season

The Illini finished the 2021–22 season 23–10, 15–5 in Big Ten play to finish in a 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.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk | 13 | F | 6'8" | 235 | Redshirt Sophomore | Lommel, Belgium | Transferred to South Carolina |
| Kofi Cockburn | 21 | C | 7'0" | 285 | Junior | Kingston, Jamaica | Declared for 2022 NBA draft, went undrafted, signed with Utah Jazz |
| André Curbelo | 5 | G | 6'1" | 175 | Sophomore | Vega Baja, Puerto Rico | Transferred to St. John's |
| Trent Frazier | 11 | G | 6'2" | 175 | Senior | Wellington, Florida | Graduated, signed with KK FMP |
| Jacob Grandison | 3 | G/F | 6'6" | 210 | Graduate Student | Oakland, California | Transferred to Duke |
| Austin Hutcherson | 22 | G | 6'6" | 190 | Graduate Student | New York City, New York | Graduated |
| Omar Payne | 4 | F | 6'10" | 240 | Junior | Kissimmee, Florida | Transferred to Jacksonville |
| Alfonso Plummer | 11 | G | 6'1" | 180 | Graduate Student | Fajardo, Puerto Rico | Graduated |
| Brandin Podziemski | 0 | G | 6'5" | 200 | Freshman | Muskego, Wisconsin | Transferred to Santa Clara |
| Da'Monte Williams | 20 | G | 6'3" | 215 | Senior | Peoria, Illinois | Graduated, signed with U.D. Oliveirense |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Dain Dainja | 42 | F | 6'9" | 270 | Redshirt Sophomore | Brooklyn Park, Minnesota | Baylor |
| Matthew Mayer | 24 | G/F | 6'9" | 225 | Graduate Student | Austin, Texas | Baylor |
| Terrence Shannon Jr. | 0 | G | 6'6" | 215 | Senior | Chicago, Illinois | Texas Tech |

### 2022 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Skyy Clark PG | Nashville, Tennessee | Montverde Academy | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | Apr 7, 2022 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 89 ||||||
| Jayden Epps CG | Suffolk, Virginia | Combine Academy | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 195 lb (88 kg) | Jul 13, 2021 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 83 ||||||
| Sencire Harris SG | Akron, Ohio | St. Vincent–St. Mary High School | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Jul 3, 2021 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 81 ||||||
| Ty Rodgers SF / PF | Grand Blanc, Michigan | Thornton Township High School | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | Nov 17, 2021 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 85 ||||||
| Zacharie Perrin PF | Grandfontaine, France | Sunrise Christian (Kan.) | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | 220 lb (100 kg) | Jul 27, 2022 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 77 ||||||
| Niccolo Moretti PG | Bologna, Italy | NBA Global Academy (Australia) | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | 150 lb (68 kg) | Jan 11, 2023 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Rivals: 6 247Sports: 7 ||||||
| 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: "2022 Illinois Commits". Rivals.com. "ESPN- Illinois Fighting Illini Men's Basketball Recruiting". ESPN.com. "2022 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. "2022–23 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team". 247sports.com. ||||||

## Roster

Note: Skyy Clark and Zacharie Perrin left the team mid-season and were removed from the official Illini Roster page.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| October 28, 2022* 7:00 p.m., B1G+ | No. 23 | Quincy | W 87–52 | – | 15 – Tied | 12 – Hawkins | 3 – Tied | State Farm Center (15,051) Champaign, IL |
| Regular Season |||||||||
| November 7, 2022* 8:00 p.m., ESPNU | No. 23 | Eastern Illinois | W 87–57 | 1–0 | 24 – Shannon | 12 – Hawkins | 5 – Rodgers | State Farm Center (12,938) Champaign, IL |
| November 11, 2022* 8:00 p.m., BTN | No. 23 | Kansas City | W 86–48 | 2–0 | 20 – Dainja | 15 – Dainja | 5 – Shannon Jr. | State Farm Center (15,331) Champaign, IL |
| November 14, 2022* 7:00 p.m., BTN | No. 19 | Monmouth Continental Tire Main Event campus site game | W 103–65 | 3–0 | 30 – Shannon Jr. | 8 – Shannon Jr. | 6 – Clark | State Farm Center (13,772) Champaign, IL |
| November 18, 2022* 8:30 p.m., ESPNU | No. 19 | vs. No. 8 UCLA Continental Tire Main Event semifinal | W 79–70 | 4–0 | 29 – Shannon Jr. | 10 – Shannon Jr. | 7 – Hawkins | T-Mobile Arena (8,707) Paradise, NV |
| November 20, 2022* 2:00 p.m., ESPN | No. 19 | vs. No. 16 Virginia Continental Tire Main Event championship | L 61–70 | 4–1 | 14 – Epps | 6 – Dainja | 6 – Shannon Jr. | T-Mobile Arena Paradise, NV |
| November 25, 2022* 8:00 p.m., B1G+ | No. 16 | Lindenwood | W 92–59 | 5–1 | 19 – Clark | 9 – Mayer | 4 – Clark | State Farm Center (12,552) Champaign, IL |
| November 29, 2022* 6:30 p.m., ESPN | No. 16 | Syracuse ACC/B1G Challenge | W 73–44 | 6–1 | 17 – Shannon Jr. | 10 – Hawkins | 10 – Hawkins | State Farm Center (15,544) Champaign, IL |
| December 2, 2022 8:00 p.m., BTN | No. 16 | at No. 22 Maryland | L 66–71 | 6–2 (0–1) | 19 – Shannon Jr. | 7 – Tied | 3 – Shannon Jr. | Xfinity Center (16,380) College Park, MD |
| December 6, 2022* 6:00 p.m., ESPN | No. 17 | vs. No. 2 Texas Jimmy V Classic | W 85–78 $^{OT}$ | 7–2 | 21 – Mayer | 7 – Hawkins | 4 – Hawkins | Madison Square Garden (17,828) New York, NY |
| December 10, 2022 11:00 a.m., BTN | No. 17 | Penn State | L 59–74 | 7–3 (0–2) | 14 – Mayer | 7 – Tied | 6 – Hawkins | State Farm Center (15,544) Champaign, IL |
| December 17, 2022* 3:00 p.m., BTN | No. 18 | Alabama A&M | W 68–47 | 8–3 | 21 – Mayer | 8 – Harris | 4 – Hawkins | State Farm Center (13,813) Champaign, IL |
| December 22, 2022* 8:00 p.m., SECN | No. 16 | vs. Missouri Braggin' Rights | L 71–93 | 8–4 | 22 – Shannon Jr. | 7 – Shannon Jr. | 5 – Shannon Jr. | Enterprise Center (18,452) St. Louis, MO |
| December 29, 2022* 7:30 p.m., FS1 | | Bethune–Cookman | W 85–52 | 9–4 | 22 – Dainja | 11 – Hawkins | 4 – Hawkins | State Farm Center (15,544) Champaign, IL |
| January 4, 2023 8:00 p.m., BTN | | at Northwestern Rivalry | L 60–73 | 9–5 (0–3) | 17 – Mayer | 9 – Dainja | 7 – Shannon Jr. | Welsh–Ryan Arena (7,039) Evanston, IL |
| January 7, 2023 12:30 p.m., ESPN2 | | No. 14 Wisconsin | W 79–69 | 10–5 (1–3) | 24 – Shannon Jr. | 8 – Shannon Jr. | 3 – Tied | State Farm Center (15,544) Champaign, IL |
| January 10, 2023 8:00 p.m., BTN | | at Nebraska | W 76–50 | 11–5 (2–3) | 25 – Shannon Jr. | 11 – Shannon Jr. | 5 – Hawkins | Pinnacle Bank Arena (12,756) Lincoln, NE |
| January 13, 2023 8:00 p.m., FS1 | | Michigan State | W 75–66 | 12–5 (3–3) | 20 – Dainja | 8 – Hawkins | 5 – Epps | State Farm Center (15,544) Champaign, IL |
| January 16, 2023 5:00 p.m., BTN | | at Minnesota | W 78–60 | 13–5 (4–3) | 19 – Mayer | 10 – Mayer | 4 – Tied | Williams Arena (9,874) Minneapolis, MN |
| January 19, 2023 7:30 p.m., FS1 | | Indiana Rivalry | L 65–80 | 13–6 (4–4) | 26 – Shannon Jr. | 8 – Dainja | 3 – Shannon Jr. | State Farm Center (15,544) Champaign, IL |
| January 24, 2023 6:00 p.m., ESPN | | Ohio State | W 69–60 | 14–6 (5–4) | 17 – Shannon Jr. | 9 – Hawkins | 6 – Hawkins | State Farm Center (15,544) Champaign, IL |
| January 28, 2023 2:00 p.m., FOX | | at Wisconsin | W 61–51 | 15–6 (6–4) | 26 – Mayer | 9 – Hawkins | 2 – Tied | Kohl Center (17,071) Madison, WI |
| January 31, 2023 6:00 p.m., BTN | | Nebraska | W 72–56 | 16–6 (7–4) | 16 – Mayer | 8 – Hawkins | 5 – Shannon Jr. | State Farm Center (15,544) Champaign, IL |
| February 4, 2023 1:30 p.m., FOX | | at Iowa Rivalry | L 79–81 | 16–7 (7–5) | 21 – Mayer | 9 – Tied | 5 – Epps | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (15,056) Iowa City, IA |
| February 11, 2023 1:00 p.m., FS1 | | No. 24 Rutgers | W 69–60 | 17–7 (8–5) | 18 – Hawkins | 8 – Tied | 4 – Hawkins | State Farm Center (15,554) Champaign, IL |
| February 14, 2023 6:00 p.m., ESPNU | | at Penn State | L 81–93 | 17–8 (8–6) | 20 – Shannon Jr. | 8 – Rodgers | 4 – Shannon Jr. | Bryce Jordan Center (7,297) University Park, PA |
| February 18, 2023 11:00 a.m., ESPN | | at No. 14 Indiana Rivalry | L 68–71 | 17–9 (8–7) | 24 – Mayer | 8 – Mayer | 2 – Tied | Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall (17,222) Bloomington, IN |
| February 20, 2023 8:00 p.m., BTN | | Minnesota Rescheduled from February 7 | W 78–69 | 18–9 (9–7) | 22 – Mayer | 11 – Melendez | 3 – Hawkins | State Farm Center (15,544) Champaign, IL |
| February 23, 2023 8:00 p.m., BTN | | No. 21 Northwestern Rivalry | W 66–62 | 19–9 (10–7) | 26 – Shannon Jr. | 8 – Tied | 2 – Mayer | State Farm Center (15,544) Champaign, IL |
| February 26, 2023 11:00 a.m., CBS | | at Ohio State | L 60–72 | 19–10 (10–8) | 14 – Hawkins | 7 – Hawkins | 2 – Tied | Value City Arena (14,212) Columbus, OH |
| March 2, 2023 6:00 p.m., ESPN | | Michigan | W 91–87 $^{2OT}$ | 20–10 (11–8) | 24 – Mayer | 7 – Tied | 4 – Shannon Jr. | State Farm Center (15,544) Champaign, IL |
| March 5, 2023 11:30 a.m., FOX | | at No. 5 Purdue | L 71–76 | 20–11 (11–9) | 16 – Mayer | 6 – Mayer | 6 – Hawkins | Mackey Arena (14,876) West Lafayette, IN |
| Big Ten tournament |||||||||
| March 9, 2023 5:30 p.m., BTN | (7) | vs. (10) Penn State Second round | L 76–79 | 20–12 | 19 – Shannon Jr. | 8 – Mayer | 4 – Tied | United Center Chicago, IL |
| NCAA Tournament |||||||||
| March 16, 2023 3:30 pm, TBS | (9 W) | vs. (8 W) Arkansas First Round | L 63–73 | 20–13 | 20 – Shannon Jr. | 6 – Tied | 3 – Tied | Wells Fargo Arena (16,745) Des Moines, IA |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. |||||||||

## 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 | 23 | 19 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 16 | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | | | | Not released |
| Coaches | 23 | 20 | 14 | 17 | 17 | 19 | 16т | 22 | 24 | RV | 23 | RV | 25 | RV | RV | RV | | | | |
*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings.