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LIVE BLOG: FINAL: No. 8 Illinois 97, Chicago State 38

Good morning from State Farm Center where No. 8 Illinois (1-0) hosts Chicago State (0-1) for a 11 a.m. tip.

Matthew Stevens

LIVE BLOG: FINAL: No. 8 Illinois 97, Chicago State 38
LIVE BLOG: FINAL: No. 8 Illinois 97, Chicago State 38 /

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Welcome once again to the State Farm Center where No. 8 Illinois (1-0) will host Chicago State (0-1) after the Illini easily dispatched North Carolina A&T 121-60 yesterday in the 2020-21 season opener. Chicago State lost 84-61 yesterday to Ohio in this event. The Illini will play Ohio tomorrow at noon. 

I'm LOOKING LIVE...at the State Farm Center in Champaign, Ill., as we're about an hour from the opening tip.

NOTE: Please join us as we live-blog and discuss the Illini game here in our weekly Illini Gameday Open Thread. Dive into the conversation — it's easy — by simply going to the top right of the redesigned site and click the follow button.

You can log in with Facebook or Google and either way, it's free. That's right...IT'S FREE. From there, sound off in the comment section and share your reactions and observations with our staff and fellow members of the Illini Now/Sports Illustrated community as we keep you up to date of the game in real-time.

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Game 2: Chicago State at Illinois

Date/Time/Place: Saturday, Dec. 14, 2019: 5 p.m. CST, State Farm Center in Champaign, Ill.

Capacity: 16,618 (NO FANS!)

Records: Chicago State 0-1; Illinois 1-0.

Line: Illinois by 39

Series notes: Illinois has won all 12 all-time matchups against Chicago State with the last one coming in 2015 when the Illini defeated CSU 82-79. 

TV: BTN; Kevin Kugler (PBP), Stephen Bardo (analyst)

Radio (Illinois): Brian Barnhart (PBP), Deon Thomas (analyst).

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Here is the league's lineup of games for tonight:

Nevada at Nebraska - 1 p.m. CST

Purdue vs. Clemson - Melboune, Fla., - 7:30 p.m. CST

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10:30 a.m. UPDATE - The uniforms today appear to be Illinois in the all orange and Chicago State in the black. 

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10:40 a.m. UPDATE - Illinois likely to go with the same lineup as the opener with four guards surrounding Kofi Cockburn. Starters are likely Frazier, Dosunmu, Williams, Miller and Cockburn. 

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INJURY UPDATE: No signs of Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk (foot) or Austin Hutcherson (back) during warmups today for the Illini. Illinois played 14 players (including three walk-ons) yesterday in the 62-point win over North Carolina A&T. 

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NOTE: Chicago State men’s basketball head coach Lance Irvin will not coach today after informing the university administration nearly one week ago that he is not comfortable coaching this season due to medical concerns after being a two-time cancer survivor. First reported by Stadium's Jeff Goodman. 

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NOTE: Illinois athletics having family of the five starters announce them on the jumbotron today at State Farm Center. A really cool moment and yes, Ayo Dosunmu's family was the largest and the loudest of the five. 

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CHICAGO STATE TIMEOUT - 17:38 left in 1st: No. 8 Illinois 9, Chicago State 0 - Illinois and Adam Miller leaving off as they did yesterday. The freshman from Peoria has five of the team's first nine points and his Peoria buddy Da'Monte Williams already with two rebounds. 

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MEDIA TIMEOUT - 14:21 left in 1st: No. 8 Illinois 19, Chicago State 4 - Instead of relying on the 3-pointer today, Illinois have decided layups work as well. The Illini already have seven of them less than six minutes in, which explains them being 8 of 9 from the field. Dosunmu already with six points, two rebounds and two assists. 

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MEDIA TIMEOUT - 11:19 left in 1st: No. 8 Illinois 25, Chicago State 6 - Chicago State switches to a zone and Illinois doing a great job of ball movement through the spaces of this zone. Illinois is currently 11 of 13 from the field today and mostly its on finding the easiest shot possible. Miller with 7 points already. 

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MEDIA TIMEOUT - 7:17 left in 1st: No. 8 Illinois 31, Chicago State 12 - Despite holding a 19-point lead, Underwood is screaming at his team during this timeout. My guess is he doesn't like the five turnovers and the fact that the pace has slowed greatly. Cockburn with 8 points and three rebounds. 

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CHICAGO STATE TIMEOUT - 3:45 left in 1st: No. 8 Illinois 42, Chicago State 12 - Andre Curbelo doing his best Dee Brown impression proving where in transition he could have unstoppable skills. We're getting a ho-hum, everyday performance from Dosunmu, which in his case means 10 points, five assists and four rebounds in 14 minutes. 

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ILLINI TIMEOUT - 13.3 left in 1st: No. 8 Illinois 46, Chicago State 17 - Yes, Illinois is up 29 right now but the 8 assists/8 turnovers ratio really upsets Underwood right now. The offense just not as crisp and the shot selection and pass selection isn't the best today.   

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HALFTIME: No. 8 Illinois 47, Chicago State 17 - Illinois is shooting 17 of 26 from the field and the dynamic duo of Cockburn & Dosunmu have combined for 23 points. However, the zone offense isn't as crisp as Underwood would like it and the 1/1 assist to turnover ratio is concerning. 

Screen Shot 2020-11-26 at 11.56.24 AM

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MEDIA TIMEOUT - 15:12 left: No. 8 Illinois 59, Chicago State 20 - Lost in the 3-point barrage that was yesterday for the Illini, Trent Frazier was 2 of 7 from beyond the arc. Today the senior guard is 4 of 6 from 3-point range and looks more confident shooting off the dribble in transition today. 

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CHICAGO STATE TIMEOUT - 13:08 left: No. 8 Illinois 67, Chicago State 20 - Adam Miller starting to heat up from beyond the arc and has 13 points. Kofi Cockburn is already 2 for 2 this season on double-double efforts. 

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MEDIA TIMEOUT - 11:56 left: No. 8 Illinois 67, Chicago State 23 - Illinois held Chicago State without a rebound for the first 7:16 of the second half. Illini already with four players in double figures. 

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MEDIA TIMEOUT - 3:53 left: No. 8 Illinois 91, Chicago State 29 - The last time Illinois scored 100 points in back-to-back games against Division I competition was 2015. Curbelo with 14 points, seven rebounds and four turnovers. 

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Matthew Stevens
MATTHEW STEVENS

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