GAME 10

Coppin State at Illinois, 7 p.m. Sunday

LINEUPS

ILLINOIS (9-0)

Probable starters

P Name HT. YR. PPG

G Sam Maniscalco 6-0 Gr. 12.0

G D.J. Richardson 6-3 Jr. 13.0

G Brandon Paul 6-4 Jr. 10.4

F Tyler Griffey 6-8 Jr. 7.4

C Meyers Leonard 7-0 So. 12.9

Top reserves

G Tracy Abrams 6-1 Fr. 3.1

G Joseph Bertrand 6-5 So. 4.0

F Nnanna Egwu 6-11 Fr. 3.2

COPPIN STATE (3-4)

Probable starters

P Name HT. YR. PPG

G Tony Gallo 5-11 Sr. 17.7

G Taariq Cephas 5-9 Fr. 7.2

F Antonio Williams 6-6 Sr. 6.1

F Akeem Ellis 6-6 Sr. 10.3

F Michael Murray 6-5 So. 5.7

Top reserves

G Michael Harper 6-4 Sr. 11.0

G Mike Simpson 6-6 So. 1.6

F Brandon St. Louis 6-8 Fr. 7.3

FACTS & FIGURES

Site: The Assembly Hall (16,618), Champaign.

Radio: Brian Barnhart and Jerry Hester call the action on WDWS 1400-AM, WHMS 97.5-FM, WDAN 1490-AM, WDNL 102.1-FM and WPXN 104.9-FM.

TV: ESPNU. Jim Barbar is on play-by-play duties, while former Illini Stephen Bardo provides the expert analysis.

Series: Illinois leads 3-0. Illinois won in 1996 (91-55), 2002 (63-37) and 2005 (61-42). All three matchups were at the Assembly Hall. Bruce Weber is 1-0 vs. Coppin State.

Coaches: Weber (202-86 in ninth season at Illinois, 305-140 in 14th season overall); Ron "Fang" Mitchell (398-361 in 26th season at Coppin State and overall).

PAUL KLEE'S STORYLINES

Coppin State's story

Coppin State is a historically black university in Baltimore. The basketball program is in the midst of its annual run of guarantee games, having already played road tests at Oklahoma (92-65 loss), Connecticut (87-70 loss) and Purdue (78-57 loss). Bruce Weber said he talked scouting reports with Matt Painter after the Boilers beat the Eagles. "They will play a variety of zones," Weber said. In a perfect world, Illinois would have more practice time between games. But this is the first game in a stretch of four games in 11 days. So the Illini will have to show their improvement — or lack of — in front of a crowd today. When it comes to scouting reports, opponents knew little about Meyers Leonard or Tracy Abrams or any of the guys who didn't play last season. Now they're starting to learn what they can and can't do. "I think teams are starting to scout us a little more and maybe key in on me a little more," Leonard said.

Double down

It has been a couple years since Leonard witnessed the kind of defensive attention he saw Wednesday against St. Bonaventure. "High school, definitely," the 7-foot sophomore said. "That's the first time I've ever faced it in college with athletes like this." The Bonnies threw two — sometimes three — defenders at Leonard, hoping to force him into poor decisions. "He obviously was frustrated," Weber added. The coach said there are a few ways Leonard can improve against double-teams. One, he can post up deeper in the paint. Two, Illinois can get him the ball in the center of the paint — instead of on either block. "If you get the ball right in front of the rim you can't post-trap him," Weber said. Finally, he said Leonard should avoid floating toward the baseline because that adds an extra defender and limits where he can move. "He's a very good passer," Weber said. "He's just got to square up."

Diamond in the rough?

Travis Britt hardly was an unknown commodity prior to the Shootout at the Hall at Parkland. The Rantoul senior has been receiving interest from college coaches since junior high. But he wasn't a headliner Saturday — and he should've been. The 6-5 swingman is a Division I-caliber prospect and in many ways was the most impressive player (not prospect) of the day. In a three-point loss to Chicago Hope, Britt had 26 points in 27 minutes. He showed an under-control, mature game and committed two turnovers. So why hasn't he received the kind of buzz and acclaim as others in the state? One, he's not in Chicago. Two, academics are a concern among college coaches. But his academic situation isn't as bad as others who have made it to the Division I level. Britt said Eastern Illinois recently offered a scholarship. "I like them," he said. "And it's only 45 minutes from my house." Keep an eye on Southern Indiana, which has made Britt a priority in its 2012 recruiting efforts. "I like the feeling of the basketball program over there (in Evansville)," Britt said.

PREDICTION

Illinois 79, Coppin State 63

Through nine games, the new Illini have shown a great chemistry. But that chemistry hasn't been tested yet. To this point there hasn't been a loss, and all of the players figure they will work their way into the rotation. Well, Illinois is going to lose at some point, and everyone isn't going to play. The freshmen who think everything's great now eventually will hear from people in Chicago (or elsewhere) that they should be playing more, should be shooting more, etc. "That's when you learn about chemistry," Bruce Weber said during a recent recruiting trip. And that's a misnomer about the Illini last season. "They didn't have bad chemistry," Weber said. He went on to add the 2010-11 Illini simply didn't have the competitive edge you'd like to see. But most of the time they got along fine. The road will get bumpy for the new Illini. Today's matchup against Coppin State should provide one of the last opportunities to clear the bench and keep everyone happy — at least for a night. (News-Gazette prediction record: 9-0)