It’s been a struggle for No. 18 Illinois (14-7, 6-5) recently, and Thursday only continued that trend. Nebraska (13-8, 3-7) ended a six-game losing streak at home as Illinois visited Lincoln without sophomore center Tomislav Ivišić for the third straight game.

There weren’t many bright spots, and Illinois is searching for answers after dropping four of its last six. 

*Kasparas Jakučionis (C): Freshman guard Kasparas Jakučionis has been poor lately, with multiple explanations. The Lithuanian is coming off of an injury and still wears a brace around his wrist, which has clearly affected him. He has also been without his running mate, Ivišić, for the last three games, and the numbers have blatantly dropped. 

Jakučionis is 16-39 in that span, shooting just 41%. He is also averaging 5.33 turnovers, showing his poor ball security without the second-best player on the team. His passing has remained at an elite level, but players have not made open shots to reward him. 

*Kylan Boswell (C-): Right when it looked like junior guard Kylan Boswell was adjusting to the Illinois offense, he reverted to his early season form. He has been playing too quickly lately, resulting in poor shot selection and turnovers.

An 0-4 outing from three against Nebraska brought his percentage down to 23.7% on the season, a disappointing drop from his 37.9% mark last year at Arizona.

Aside from the offensive struggle, Boswell’s defense has also regressed. While he doesn’t have his starting center to back him up in the paint and scare off driving opponents, Boswell hasn’t been the lockdown guy he was to start the year. The Illini need him to return to form and stop allowing opposing star guards to score so efficiently. 

*Tre White (B-): The second-highest minute earner for Illinois on Thursday was junior guard Tre White. The transfer was awesome on the boards, grabbing five offensive and 13 total. He was also pretty solid on defense, making some nice stops and blocking two shots. 

However, White has been phased out of the other side of the ball and hasn’t reached double figures in the last five games. Just 2-8 from the field won’t cut it, with Illinois searching for reliable basket scorers. 

*Ben Humrichous (D): Graduate student forward Ben Humrichous couldn’t hit anything against the Cornhuskers, and it killed the Illini. In a game that was sent to overtime, Humrichous was 0-8 from the field and missed more than one wide-open three-pointer. Labeled as a “sharpshooter,” it’ll be tough down the stretch for the Illini to win games with the forward missing open looks.

*Morez Johnson Jr. (B+): He only played 25 minutes, but freshman forward Morez Johnson Jr. looked pretty solid. He hustled everywhere, recorded three blocks and a steal and knocked down both shots he attempted. 

Johnson has filled the Ivišić-hole nicely, with a +8 in the box score against Nebraska. He was the only positive on the team. But the issue isn’t Johnson filling in the starting lineup; it’s the depth behind him, and Illinois’ problems won’t be solved until that’s figured out. 

Will Riley (A-): Another Illini with a good showing was freshman forward Will Riley. Unfortunately for the Canadian, possibly his two best games of the season — taking the competition into account  — have come in this rough stretch of games for the team. 

His second half in Lincoln was electric and fueled a 16-point, four-rebound performance. Riley nearly sank the game-winner at the end of regulation, but the corner fadeaway rolled out. 

Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn (B+): The final player who gave head coach Brad Underwood extended quality minutes in this one was sophomore guard Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn. The always-aggressive guard found a ton of success driving to the rim and hit a huge three late in the game to help send it to overtime. He finished with 15 points and four boards. 

Carey Booth (B-): Sophomore forward Carey Booth only played four minutes, but he looked the best defensively he has all year. He forced multiple missed shots and caused a Nebraska travel.

Booth missed the only shot he took, but he looked confident driving to the paint and left the shot just a little short. With no word on when Ivišić will be back, it was reassuring to see Booth get solid playing time — even if it was just four minutes.

Jake Davis (C): Sophomore forward Jake Davis can do a little more than just shoot, but it was also a poor game for him in that department. All four attempts were pretty open, and he only sank one, hurting Illinois down the stretch. 

Illinois needs more from practically everyone after losing to two teams toward the bottom of the conference in the last two weeks. It’ll get a chance to rebound on Sunday against Ohio State (13-8, 5-5). 

@benfader7

[email protected]