Wolverines to Head to Champaign for Midweek Battle with Illinois

» No. 5-ranked Michigan will close its early two-game Big Ten schedule when it heads to Champaign to take on Illinois at the State Farm Center.
» U-M opened conference play with a 103-91 victory against Iowa at Crisler Center.
» Zavier Simpson is second nationally and leads the Big Ten with 8.7 assists per game; he has collected at least five assists in eight of U-M's nine games, with three games of 10 or more.
» Jon Teske has had five or more rebounds in every game this season, with four games of 10 or more. He leads U-M with 9.2 per game.
» U-M's starting five -- Zavier Simpson, Eli Brooks, Franz Wagner, Isaiah Livers and Jon Teske has made up 72 percent of the scoring -- 521 of 723 points.

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The No. 5-ranked University of Michigan men's basketball team continues its opening two-game Big Ten early slate with a midweek trip to Champaign, Illinois, to face the Illini at State Farm Center. The conference battle is scheduled for an 8 p.m. CST tipoff on Big Ten Network with Kevin Kugler (play-by-play), Robbie Hummel (analyst) and Oliva Dekker (sideline) as the broadcast crew.

Who are the Illinois Fighting Illini?

• The Fighting Illini have a 6-3 overall record, including a 0-1 mark in Big Ten play after being edged at Maryland, 59-58, last time out (Dec. 7).
• Four players are scoring in double figures for Illinois, led by Kofi Cockburn who is averaging a double-double at 15.4 points and 10.7 rebounds per game. Ayo Dosunmu adds 15.0 points per contest, Andres Feliz chips in 14.3 points per game, and Trent Frazier is averaging 10.6.
• Illinois leads the country in rebounding margin at +15.7 per game. The Fighting Illini are averaging 43.4 rebounds per contest, tops in the Big Ten and sixth-best nationally.
• Cockburn has five double-doubles this season, second most in the Big Ten and 11th nationally. Cockburn averages a Big Ten-high 4.1 offensive rebounds per game, which also ranks ninth in the country.
• Brad Underwood is in his third season as head coach at Illinois. Prior to joining the Fighting Illini, Underwood spend one season at Oklahoma State (2016-17), guiding the Cowboys to the NCAA Tournament, and three years at Stephen F. Austin (2013-16), taking the Lumberjacks to the NCAA Tournament in all three seasons.

The All-Time Series with Illinois

• Wednesday's game is the 173rd all-time meeting between Michigan and Illinois.
• U-M trails, 87-85, in the all-time series against Illinois, but U-M has won the last four meetings.
• U-M holds a 28-57 record in Champaign, however, U-M has won five of their last seven.
• U-M holds a 52-28 record in Ann Arbor and has won the last five at Crisler Center.
• U-M holds a 5-2 record in neutral-site games with six of the seven played at the Big Ten Tournament. The other was an 83-81 win in the 1989 Final Four, where U-M went on to win its first national title.
• There have been 17 games when both teams were ranked among the nation's top 25 with U-M leading, 12-5. The last time there was a game when both teams were ranked was March 2, 1997, when the Wolverines lost, 70-51, at Illinois at Assembly Hall.
• There have been 31 games decided by three points or fewer with U-M leading, 18-13. The last time a game was decided by fewer than three points was when U-M knocked off Illinois at the 2014 Big Ten Tournament, 64-63, on March 14, 2014. The Wolverines moved on that year to the championship game, losing to Michigan State.
• There have been nine overtime games with U-M holding a 5-4 edge. The last time there was an extra period was Feb. 12, 2015 -- a 64-52 U-M loss in Champaign. After ending regulation knotted at 50, the Illini outscored U-M, 14-2, in the extra period.
• Largest U-M Victory: 31 points (84-53) at Assembly Hall on March 4, 2014, which clinched the outright Big Ten title for Michigan.
• Largest U-M Loss: 30 pints (twice) -- 96-66 at Illinois on Dec. 15, 1952; 92-62)at Michigan on Feb. 9, 1953
• U-M Victories by 10 Points or More: 31 | U-M Losses by 10 Points or More: 45

Check Out These Facts

• Zavier Simpson has not missed a game in four seasons -- a streak of 125 straight.
• Jon Teske has not missed a game in three seasons -- a streak of 87 straight -- and he is expected to play in his 108th career game on Wednesday.
• Adding his name to the list, Eli Brooks has not missed a game over his last 47 contests.
• Simpson has vaulted himself up U-M's all-time assists leaderboard as he is fourth all-time with 509. He became the fourth Wolverine to reach the 500-assist mark, joining U-M greats Gary Grant (731), Rumeal Robinson (575) and Antoine Joubert (539).
• Simpson has 5 or more assists in eight of U-M's nine games, with three games of 10 or more.
• Simpson has led U-M in assists in more than 50 percent of his career games -- 67 of 125.
• Jon Teske leads U-M with three double-doubles this season. He opened this year with 17 points and 13 boards against Appalachian State, reaching the double-double with 6:22 left in the first half. He added a second against No. 8 Gonzaga (19 points, 14 rebounds) and a third at No. 1 Louisville (18 points, 10 rebounds).
• Teske has five rebounds or more in every game this season.
• Teske leads U-M with 22 blocks, nearly half of U-M's season total of 47.
• Isaiah Livers has posted at least one three-pointer in every game and leads U-M with 24.
• In his career, Livers has made 97 treys -- just three away from become the 28th Wolverine to reach 100 in a career.
• Livers leads U-M with 15.1 points per game, nearly doubling his previous single-season best of 7.9 (2018-19).
• With the first four double-figure scoring games of his career, Eli Brooks is averaging 11.7 points per game, almost five times better than any other previous season -- 2.5 (2018-19) and 1.8 (2017-18).

Putting the Ball in the Basket

• Michigan is averaging 80.3 points per game with four players averaging in double figures -- Isaiah Livers (15.1), Jon Teske (14.1), Zavier Simpson (12.3) and Eli Brooks (11.7).
• Livers has three 20-plus point scoring outings, including a career-best 24 against Houston Baptist, 22 against Creighton and 21 vs. No. 8 Gonzaga (Battle 4 Atlantis). Overall, he has scored in double digits in seven games.
• This season, Brooks has recorded the first four double-figure games of his career, including scoring a career-high 24, twice. The first was in the season opener against Appalachian State as he made a career-best five three-pointers. The second was in the semifinal win over No. 6 North Carolina (Battle 4 Atlantis).
• Michigan had six players score in double figures in the Big Ten opener against Iowa, including all five starters. The last time U-M had six players score in double figures was against Illinois (Jan. 6, 2018). The last time all five starters were in double figures was at Maryland (March 3, 2019).
• U-M's starting five -- Zavier Simpson, Eli Brooks, Franz Wagner, Isaiah Livers and Jon Teske has made up 72 percent of the scoring -- 521 of 723 points.
• Despite plenty of season remaining, Michigan's 80.3 points per game is the most since the 1992-93 season (81.9) -- Juwan Howard's sophomore year. Since 1992-93 (27 seasons), U-M has averaged more than 75 points per game in a season five times -- 1993-94 (79.8), 1997-98 (77.4), 1999-2000 (75.5), 2012-14 (75.2) and 2016-17 (75.0).
• U-M is shooting 50.2 percent from the field, which ranks 13th in the nation. The Wolverines already have six games shooting above 50 percent with a season-high 57.7 percent vs. Iowa State.
• From deep, U-M averages 9.4 three-pointers per game. U-M has five games with 10-plus three-pointers with a season-high 14 against Houston Baptist. The Wolverines are shooting 39.9 percent from deep, which ranks 21st in the nation.
• Thanks to a 29-for-34 performance against Iowa, the Wolverines have improved their free-throw shooting as they have knocked down 71.9 percent from the charity stripe. Franz Wagner leads U-M at 91.7 percent (11-for-12), while Isaiah Livers is second at 87.5 (14-for-16).

Reaching the Century Mark

• Michigan recorded a season-high 111 points against Houston Baptist (Nov. 22). It was the first time the Wolverines hit 100 points or more in a game since a 102-point performance against Chaminade (Nov. 21, 2017) at the Maui Invitational. It was the second time U-M scored more than 100 against Houston Baptist, as the Wolverines scored 107 against the Huskies at Crisler Center on Dec. 7, 2013.
• The Wolverines posted a second game above the century mark with 103 points against Iowa in the Big Ten opener on Dec. 3. It was the most points against a conference foe in 23 years when the Maize and Blue defeated Indiana, 112-64, at Crisler Arena (Feb. 22, 1998).
• U-M has had two 100-plus point games in 23 seasons. There have been 17 seasons with three or more and seven with five or more. The most by a Michigan team is 10, acheived by the 1988-89 national championship squad.
• Michigan is 103-4 all-time when reaching 100 points.