2024–25 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team

2024–25 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 20
AP	No. 18
Record	14–6 (6–4 Big Ten)
Head coach	Brad Underwood (8th season)
Associate head coach	Orlando Antigua (5th overall, 1st season)
Assistant coaches	Kwa Jones (1st, interim season) Geoff Alexander (4th season) Zach Hamer (2nd season) Tyler Underwood (2nd season)
Home arena	State Farm Center

2024–25 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 7 Michigan State	8	–	0		1.000			17	–	2		.895
No. 10 Purdue	8	–	2		.800			16	–	5		.762
Michigan	7	–	2		.778			15	–	5		.750
No. 17 Wisconsin	6	–	3		.667			16	–	4		.800
Maryland	6	–	4		.600			16	–	5		.762
UCLA	6	–	4		.600			15	–	6		.714
No. 18 Illinois	6	–	4		.600			14	–	6		.700
No. 16 Oregon	5	–	4		.556			16	–	4		.800
Indiana	5	–	5		.500			14	–	7		.667
Ohio State	4	–	5		.444			12	–	8		.600
USC	4	–	5		.444			12	–	8		.600
Iowa	4	–	6		.400			13	–	8		.619
Northwestern	3	–	6		.333			12	–	8		.600
Minnesota	3	–	6		.333			11	–	9		.550
Rutgers	3	–	6		.333			10	–	10		.500
Penn State	3	–	7		.300			13	–	8		.619
Nebraska	2	–	7		.222			12	–	8		.600
Washington	1	–	8		.111			10	–	10		.500
† 2025 Big Ten tournament winner As of January 27, 2025 Rankings from AP Poll

The 2024–25 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team represents the University of Illinois during the 2024–25 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Illini are led by eighth-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.

The Illini opened their season just outside of the preseason rankings and defeated the Eastern Illinois Panthers 112–67, led by a 31 point scoring performance from freshman Will Riley.

Previous season

The Fighting Illini finished the 2023–24 season 23–9, 14–6 in Big Ten play to finish in second place. They defeated Ohio State, Nebraska, and Wisconsin to win the Big Ten tournament championship. As a result, they received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 3 seed in the East region. They beat Morehead State and Duquesne to advance to the Sweet Sixteen for the first time since 2005. There they defeated Iowa State to advance to the Elite Eight before being blown out by eventual tournament champion UConn.

Offseason

After the previous season ended, Marcus Domask sought a medical hardship waiver from the NCAA to play in the 2024-25 season.[1] After his waiver application was denied, he declared for the NBA draft.[2]

After three years at Illinois, Assistant Coach Chester Frazier joined West Virginia's coaching staff.[3] This resulted in Sencire Harris, who had previously pledged to stay with the team, to enter the transfer portal, with Amani Hansberry soon following, as both were primarily recruited by Frazier.[4] Both players ultimately followed Frazier to West Virginia.[5] Replacing Frazier on the coaching staff was Orlando Antigua, who had previously served as assistant coach at Illinois prior to a stint at Kentucky.[6]

Following Will Riley's committing and reclassifying to 2024, Jeremiah Fears decommitted from the Illini, due to his desire to reclassify to 2024 as well.[7]

On September 20, the Illini announced that assistant coach Tim Anderson was taking an indefinite leave of absence, with Kwa Jones temporarily promoted to fill his position.[8]

Departures

Name	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Reason for Departure
Quincy Guerrier	F	6'8"	220	Graduate Student	Montreal, Quebec	Graduated; Undrafted, signed with the Toronto Raptors
Terrence Shannon Jr.	G	6'6"	215	Fifth Year	Chicago, Illinois	Graduated; Drafted 27th overall in 2024 NBA Draft by the Minnesota Timberwolves
Marcus Domask	G/F	6'6"	215	Graduate Student	Waupun, Wisconsin	Graduated; Undrafted, signed with the Chicago Bulls
Justin Harmon	G	6'4"	180	Graduate Student	Chicago, Illinois	Graduated
Dain Dainja	F/C	6'9"	255	Redshirt Junior	Brooklyn Park, Minnesota	Transferred to Memphis
Sencire Harris	G	6'4"	160	Redshirt Freshman	North Canton, Ohio	Transferred to West Virginia
Amani Hansberry	F/C	6'8"	225	Freshman	Silver Spring, Maryland	Transferred to West Virginia
Luke Goode	G/F	6'7"	210	Junior	Fort Wayne, Indiana	Graduated; Transferred to Indiana
Coleman Hawkins	F/C	6'10"	225	Senior	Sacramento, California	Graduated; Transferred to Kansas State
Niccolo Moretti	G	6'1"	160	Redshirt Freshman	Bologna, Italy	Transferred to Florida Atlantic
Max Williams	G	6'2"	192	Senior	Chicago, Illinois	Graduated

Incoming transfers

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Previous School
Jake Davis	15	G/F	6'6"	210	Sophomore	McCordsville, Indiana	Mercer
Tre White	22	G/F	6'7"	205	Junior	Dallas, Texas	Louisville
Kylan Boswell	4	G	6'2"	200	Junior	Urbana, Illinois	Arizona
Carey Booth	0	F	6'10"	203	Sophomore	Englewood, Colorado	Notre Dame
Ben Humrichous	3	F	6'9"	220	Fifth Year	Tipton, Indiana	Evansville

Source:[9]

2024 recruiting class

College recruiting information

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Morez Johnson Jr. F/C	Riverdale, IL	Thornton Township	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	Nov 5, 2021
	Star ratings: Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Jason Jakstys F	Yorkville, IL	Yorkville	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Jul 23, 2023
	Star ratings: Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Tomislav Ivišić C	Vodice, Croatia	SC Derby	7 ft 1 in (2.16 m)	230 lb (100 kg)	May 6, 2024
	Star ratings: Rivals: N/A   247Sports:
Kasparas Jakucionis G	Vilnius, Lithuania	FC Barcelona Bàsquet	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	May 28, 2024
	Star ratings: Rivals: N/A   247Sports:
Will Riley F	Kitchener, Ontario	The Phelps School	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Jun 23, 2024
	Star ratings: Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Overall recruiting rankings:   Rivals: 11  247Sports: 10
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: "2024 Illinois Commits". Rivals.com. "ESPN- Illinois Fighting Illini Men's Basketball Recruiting". ESPN.com. "2024 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. "2024–25 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team". 247sports.com.

Roster

2024–25 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown F 0 Carey Booth 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 215 lb (98 kg) So Notre Dame Englewood, Colorado G 2 Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) So Word of God Lafayette, Indiana F 3 Ben Humrichous 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 225 lb (102 kg) GS Evansville Tipton, Indiana G 4 Kylan Boswell 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Jr Arizona Champaign, Illinois G 5 AJ Redd (W) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Jr St. Ignatius Chicago, Illinois F 7 Will Riley 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Fr The Phelps School Kitchener, Ontario C 13 Tomislav Ivišić  7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 255 lb (116 kg) So SC Derby Vodice, Croatia F 15 Jake Davis 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 205 lb (93 kg) So Mercer McCordsville, Indiana G/F 20 Ty Rodgers  6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Jr Thornton Township Saginaw, Michigan F 21 Morez Johnson Jr. 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 255 lb (116 kg) Fr Thornton Township Riverdale, Illinois G 22 Tre White 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Jr Louisville Dallas, Texas G 24 Keaton Kutcher (W) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 195 lb (88 kg) RS Jr South Dakota Mount Vernon, Iowa F 31 Jason Jakstys  6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Fr Yorkville High School Yorkville, Illinois G 32 Kasparas Jakucionis 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Fr FC Barcelona Bàsquet Vilnius, Lithuania	Head coach Brad Underwood (Kansas State) Assistant coach(es) Orlando Antigua (Pittsburgh) Geoff Alexander (Western Illinois) Zach Hamer (Vanderbilt University) Tyler Underwood (Illinois) Kwa Jones (Houston) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: 10/31/24

Note: Tomislav Ivišić lost one year of eligibility due to playing professionally in Europe, thus he is a sophomore for NCAA purposes.

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
October 27, 2024* 11:00 a.m., SECN		at No. 24 Ole Miss Charity Benefit for CASA of North Mississippi	L 74–91		15 – Gibbs-Lawhorn	6 – Tied	5 – Tied	SJB Pavilion (7,023) Oxford, MS
Regular season
November 4, 2024* 7:00 p.m., B1G+		Eastern Illinois	W 112–67	1–0	31 – Riley	14 – Ivisic	7 – Jakucionis	State Farm Center (15,246) Champaign, IL
November 8, 2024* 7:00 p.m., Peacock		SIU Edwardsville	W 90–58	2–0	18 – Ivisic	8 – Tied	13 – Jakucionis	State Farm Center (15,544) Champaign, IL
November 13, 2024* 8:00 p.m., BTN		Oakland	W 66–54	3–0	20 – Ivisic	6 – Tied	3 – Tied	State Farm Center (15,299) Champaign, IL
November 20, 2024* 8:00 p.m., SECN	No. 25	vs. No. 8 Alabama C.M. Newton Classic	L 87–100	3–1	18 – Riley	10 – Ivisic	6 – Jakucionis	Legacy Arena (11,533) Birmingham, AL
November 23, 2024* 3:00 p.m., B1G+	No. 25	Maryland Eastern Shore	W 87–40	4–1	19 – Riley	13 – Johnson Jr.	4 – Jakucionis	State Farm Center (13,456) Champaign, IL
November 25, 2024* 8:00 p.m., BTN		Little Rock	W 92–34	5–1	21 – Jakucionis	11 – Tied	7 – Boswell	State Farm Center (12,131) Champaign, IL
November 28, 2024* 3:00 p.m., CBS		vs. No. 19 Arkansas Thanksgiving Hoops Showcase	W 90–77	6–1	23 – Jakucionis	10 – Ivisic	6 – Boswell	T-Mobile Center (5,707) Kansas City, MO
December 6, 2024 8:00 p.m., BTN	No. 19	at Northwestern Rivalry	L 66–70 ^OT	6–2 (0–1)	20 – Jakucionis	12 – Ivisic	7 – Jakucionis	Welsh–Ryan Arena (7,039) Evanston, IL
December 10, 2024 8:00 p.m., Peacock		No. 20 Wisconsin	W 86–80	7–2 (1–1)	24 – Jakucionis	11 – Ivisic	6 – Boswell	State Farm Center (15,544) Champaign, IL
December 14, 2024* 4:30 p.m., FOX		No. 1 Tennessee	L 64–66	7–3	22 – Jakucionis	12 – Ivisic	2 – Jakucionis	State Farm Center (15,544) Champaign, IL
December 22, 2024* 12:00 p.m., ESPN		vs. Missouri Braggin' Rights	W 80–77	8–3	21 – Jakucionis	10 – Ivisic	5 – Boswell	Enterprise Center (18,497) St. Louis, MO
December 29, 2024* 1:00 p.m., BTN	No. 24	Chicago State	W 117–64	9–3	23 – Ivisic	10 – Boswell	10 – Boswell	State Farm Center (15,544) Champaign, IL
January 2, 2025 9:00 p.m., FS1	No. 22	at No. 9 Oregon	W 109–77	10–3 (2–1)	20 – White	11 – White	6 – Jakucionis	Matthew Knight Arena (7,010) Eugene, OR
January 5, 2025 3:00 p.m., BTN	No. 22	at Washington	W 81–77	11–3 (3–1)	18 – Jakucionis	9 – Ivisic	6 – Jakucionis	Alaska Airlines Arena (8,156) Seattle, WA
January 8, 2025 8:00 p.m., BTN	No. 13	Penn State	W 91–52	12–3 (4–1)	21 – Humrichous	11 – Johnson Jr.	6 – Tied	State Farm Center (13,883) Champaign, IL
January 11, 2025 11:00 a.m., BTN	No. 13	USC	L 72–82	12–4 (4–2)	15 – Humrichous	8 – Tied	6 – Boswell	State Farm Center (15,544) Champaign, IL
January 14, 2025 6:00 p.m., Peacock	No. 19	at Indiana Rivalry	W 94–69	13–4 (5–2)	22 – Boswell	11 – Ivisic	5 – Jakucionis	Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall (17,222) Bloomington, IN
January 19, 2025 11:00 a.m., CBS	No. 19	at No. 12 Michigan State	L 78–80	13–5 (5–3)	19 – Riley	9 – Boswell	5 – Ivisic	Breslin Center (14,797) East Lansing, MI
January 23, 2025 8:00 p.m., FS1	No. 17	Maryland	L 71–90	13–6 (5–4)	21 – Jakucionis	9 – Boswell	7 – Jakucionis	State Farm Center (15,544) Champaign, IL
January 26, 2025 2:00 p.m., BTN	No. 17	Northwestern Rivalry	W 83–74	14–6 (6–4)	17 – Boswell	10 – Jakucionis	7 – Jakucionis	State Farm Center (15,544) Champaign, IL
January 30, 2025 7:30 p.m., FS1	No. 18	at Nebraska						Pinnacle Bank Arena  Lincoln, NE
February 2, 2025 12:00 p.m., CBS	No. 18	Ohio State						State Farm Center  Champaign, IL
February 5, 2025 7:30 p.m., BTN		at Rutgers						Jersey Mike's Arena  Piscataway, NJ
February 8, 2025 5:00 p.m., BTN		at Minnesota						Williams Arena  Minneapolis, MN
February 11, 2025 7:00 p.m., Peacock		UCLA						State Farm Center  Champaign, IL
February 15, 2025 7:00 p.m., FOX		Michigan State						State Farm Center  Champaign, IL
February 18, 2025 7:30 p.m., FS1		at Wisconsin						Kohl Center  Madison, WI
February 22, 2025* 7:00 p.m., FOX		vs. Duke SentinelOne Classic						Madison Square Garden  New York City, NY
February 25, 2025 8:00 p.m., FS1		Iowa Rivalry						State Farm Center  Champaign, IL
March 2, 2025 2:45 p.m., CBS		at Michigan						Crisler Center  Ann Arbor, MI
March 7, 2025 7:00 p.m., FOX		Purdue						State Farm Center  Champaign, IL
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time.

Source:[10]

Rankings

See also: 2024–25 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
RV = Received 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	RV	RV	25	RV	19	RV	RV	24	22	13	19	17	18
Coaches	24	20	20	RV	17	RV	RV	22	20	15	20	17	20

References

1. "Richey | Can the Illini get old again?". April 3, 2024.
2. "Illinois' Marcus Domask enters NBA draft after waiver denied". April 25, 2024.
3. "Report: Chester Frazier leaves Illinois men's basketball for West Virginia". April 13, 2024.
4. "Sencire Harris enters transfer portal". April 15, 2024.
5. "Former Illinois guard Sencire Harris commits to WVU". April 21, 2024.
6. "Orlando Antigua to Illinois". April 21, 2024.
7. "Jeremiah Fears contacted by Kentucky after reclassifying into 2024". July 2, 2024.
8. "Tim Anderson takes indefinite leave from Illini hoops staff".
9. "2024 Illinois Fighting Illini Basketball Transfers". ON3.com.
10. "2024-25 Men's Basketball Schedule".