Wolverines to Get Rematch with No. 21 Illinois at Crisler

» Michigan will face No. 21 Illinois for the second time in the regular season.
» The Wolverines dropped a 71-62 decision to the Fighting Illini at the State Farm Center on Dec. 11.
» Zavier Simpson continues leads the nation with 154 assists and an 8.6 per game average -- a career-best average by nearly 2.5 per contest. He needs just 15 to reach 600 in his career.
» Jon Teske leads U-M in scoring (14.0), rebounding (7.8), blocks (2.0) and steals (1.2).
» In his last game, Brandon Johns Jr. scored a career-best 14 points. He has started the last six games with Isaiah Livers out with a groin injury.

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The University of Michigan men's basketball team (11-7, 2-5 Big Ten) will return to Crisler Center to face No. 21 Illinois on Saturday (Jan. 25), marking its seventh game against one of the nation's top-25 teams. The game is scheduled for a noon tipoff with Jeff Levering (p-by-p) and Len Elmore (analyst) as the FS1 broadcast crew.

What You Need to Know for Saturday's Game

• Saturday's game will be the second regular-season meeting between Michigan and Illinois this season. In mid-December, the Wolverines dropped a 71-62 decision to the Fighting Illini at the State Farm Center in Champaign, Illinois.
• U-M has lost its last three games. The last time the Wolverines lost three straight was during the 2014-15 season, a string of five straight. It was a run that covered 177 games.
• Over the past month, the ranking of Michigan's regular-season schedule has skyrocketed to one of the best in the nation -- No. 2 (Sagarin), No. 3 (ESPN's BPI) and No. 3 (KenPom).
• Zavier Simpson leads the nation with 154 assists and an 8.6 per-game average -- a career-best average by nearly 2.5 a contest. He is adding a career-best 12.6 points per game.
• Simpson (585) moved into the second spot on U-M's all-time list passing Rumeal Robinson (575) after six assists at Iowa (Jan. 17). Simpson needs 15 assists to become just the second Wolverine to reach 600 assists -- trailing only Gary Grant's U-M record of 731.
• Jon Teske leads U-M in scoring (14.0), rebounding (7.8), blocks (2.0) and steals (1.2).
• With Isaiah Livers' (groin injury) absence over the last six games, Franz Wagner has produced four double-figure games and improved his averages to 10.0 points and 4.1 rebounds per game.
• With Livers out, Brandon Johns Jr. has started the last six games. He has produced two of his three double-figure scoring games including a career-best 14 against Penn State.

Who are the Illinois Fighting Illini?

• No. 21 Illinois comes to Ann Arbor with a 14-5 overall record, with a 6-2 mark in Big Ten play. The Fighting Illini won their fifth straight game after a 79-62 win at Purdue on Tuesday (Jan. 21).
• Sophomore guard Ayo Dosunmu leads the Fighting Illini in scoring with 15.6 points per contest. Freshman forward Kofi Cockburn adds 15.0 points and a team-high 9.7 rebounds per game while senior guard Andres Feliz also scores in double figures with 10.3 points per game.
• Illinois leads the Big Ten, and is second nationally, with a +10.4 rebounding margin. Houston leads the country at +11.1 while Michigan State is second in the Big Ten -- and is third in the country -- at +10.1.
• The Fighting Illini are ranked 18th nationally in rebounding (40.8 per game) and rank 20th in the country in offensive rebounding with 13.0 per game.
• Brad Underwood is in his third season as head coach at Illinois. Underwood guided Stephen F. Austin to the NCAA Tournament in each of his three seasons in charge of the Lumberjacks (2014, '15, '16) and also took Oklahoma State to the NCAA Tournament in his one season in Stillwater (2017).

Earlier this season against Illinois

• Michigan suffered its first Big Ten loss at Illinois, 71-62, on Dec. 11 -- part of the early conference schedule. Jon Teske led U-M with a team-best 16 points, while Isaiah Livers and Eli Brooks each added 12. Zavier Simpson finished with nine points and eight assists.
• U-M shot just 16.7 percent from long range going 3-for-18; however, Illinois did not fare any better shooting just 9.1 percent (1-for-11) on three-pointers.
• Led by Kofi Cockburn's 19 points, 10 rebound double-double, the Illini scored 44 of their 71 points in the paint, including 16 second-chance points as U-M was outrebounded 44-28. Illinois finished with 15 offensive boards compared to U-M's six.
• Ayo Dosunmu added 14 points and eight rebounds while Giorgi Bezhanishvili closed with 12 and eight for Illinois.

The All-Time Series with Illinois

• Saturday's game will be the 174th all-time meeting between Michigan and Illinois.
• U-M trails, 88-85, in the all-time series against the Illini. U-M was on a four-game win streak before Illinois snapped it by winning the last meeting, 71-62, in Champaign on Dec. 11.
• Michigan had eight games (4-4) against Illinois vacated by the Wolverines due to NCAA sanctions -- giving U-M a recognized 81-84 all-time record.
• U-M holds a 52-28 record in Ann Arbor, with the Wolverines on a five-game win streak at Crisler Center. U-M has 28-58 record in Champaign, winning five of the last eight games. U-M is 5-2 record in neutral site games -- with six games at the Big Ten Tournament and one in the 1989 Final Four.
• There have been 14 games in which Michigan and Illinois were ranked among the nation's top 25. U-M leads, 9-5, in those contests. The last time it happened was March 2, 1997, when the No. 24 Wolverines lost at No. 21 Illinois, 70-51.
• There have been 31 games decided by three points or fewer, with U-M holding an 18-13 edge. The last time March 14, 2014, in a thrilling one-point U-M victory, 64-63, at the 2014 Big Ten Tournament.
• There have been nine overtime games between the teams, with U-M leading, 5-4. The last overtime game was Feb. 12, 2015, a 64-52 U-M loss at Illinois. Overall, there have been six OT games, two 2OT contests and one 4OT matchup.
• Longest U-M win streak: 10 games (Jan. 18, 1992 to Jan. 9, 1996).
• Longest U-M losing streak: 11 games (Feb. 9, 2000 to Jan. 14, 2006)
• Largest U-M Victory: 31 points (84-53) at Illinois on March 4, 2014
• Largest U-M Loss: 30 points, twice: at U-M (92-62) on Feb. 9, 1953, and at Illinois (96-66) on Dec. 15, 1952
• U-M Victories by 10+ Points: 31 | U-M Losses by 10+ Points: 45
• U-M's average margin in wins: 8.5 points | U-M's average margin in losses: 11.1 points
• All-Time U-M Points: 10,529 (60.9 per game) | All-Time Illinois Points: 10,785 (62.3)

Longevity Continues for the Maize and Blue

• Zavier Simpson has not missed a game in four seasons -- a streak of 134 straight. If he keeps up this pace, Simpson could tie U-M's all-time mark against Wisconsin (Feb. 27) and pass the record of former teammate Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman (144) at Ohio State on March 1.
• Jon Teske has not missed a game in three seasons -- a streak of 96 straight -- and is expected to play in his 117th career game against Illinois (Jan. 25). Adding his name to the list, Eli Brooks has played in 56 consecutive games and 86 total in his career.

Closing in on a Historical Record

• Zavier Simpson is closing in on a unique U-M achievement as he could become the first Wolverine to record 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 500 assists.
• He needs 88 points to reach 1,000 (912)
• He needs 79 rebounds to reach 500 (421)
• He already has passed 500 assists (585)

Below is a list of some of U-M's all-time great guards and their career totals:
• Gary Grant (2,222 points, 455 rebounds, 731 assists)
• Rumeal Robinson (1,446 points, 353 rebounds, 575 assists)
• Derrick Walton Jr. (1,471 points, 562 rebounds, 499 assists)
• ZAVIER SIMPSON (912 points, 421 rebounds, 585 assists)