The opponent
Illinois men’s basketball kicks off their 2024-25 campaign against Eastern Illinois on Monday night in Champaign. This is the third straight year in which the Illini have taken on the Panthers to begin their season and the ninth overall meeting between the programs. Illinois has won all eight previous contests. However, with Illinois having a brand new team this year and not having many game repetitions under their belt, the matchup won’t be easy.
“It’s an Eastern team that is extremely well coached,” said head coach Brad Underwood. “They have a few guys back from last year’s game. We know we’re getting a team that’s going to play extremely hard. They’re one of the top teams in their conference at forcing turnovers.”
What we learned from the exhibition
After an exhibition loss to Ole Miss on Oct. 27 in which the Illini turned the ball over 22 times, shot just above 30% from three and did not defend well, Underwood has used the past week of practice to work on those issues before the season opener.
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“We played too fast after makes,” Underwood said. “We just committed some egregious turnovers. I think they had 18 points on live ball turnovers, which is an egregious amount. We emphasized that, and we’ll see if that’s better tomorrow.”
Fifth-year forward Ben Humrichous, touted as one of the best shooters on the team, struggled from deep against Ole Miss. He missed all four of his three-point attempts. Still, he echoed Underwood’s sentiments about focusing on the process and trusting that the results will come.
“I’m a shooter,” Humrichous said. “God’s given me the ability to do it well, and even though you miss some shots, we move on. I’m such a process guy, not so much of a result (guy) when it comes to the shots. I’ve been in here working, just continuing to put my reps in and I’m sure that it will go in.”
Of course, there are going to be bumps in the road, especially early in the season, for a roster with 10 new players. Players will struggle, mistakes will be made, and there will be room for growth. But Underwood is not worried about his players’ ability to adjust relatively quickly and figure it out.
“Our team has an ability to be a very quick problem solver,” Underwood said. “We’ve got some very high-IQ guys.”
In terms of the team’s rotation, Underwood played 11 scholarship players against Ole Miss and tried a variety of lineup combinations. However, that will likely change against EIU.
“I’m gonna play ‘when,’ this one,” said Underwood. “I was going to play guys (in the exhibition), and I needed to figure a few things out. When you’re playing ‘when,’ you keep your best five at that time on the court as much as you can. Whatever helps you, you do that.”
Roster outlook
Every player is healthy and available to play against EIU after center Tomislav Ivisic was cleared last week by the NCAA. Ivisic, now classified as a sophomore, was one of the standout players in the exhibition against Ole Miss. He is a key piece for the Illini this year with his size and ability to play both in the post and on the perimeter.
Ivisic will likely stay in the starting lineup along with freshman guard Kasparas Jakucionis and junior guard Kylan Boswell. Humrichous will likely also start again at the four. Against Ole Miss, junior guard Tre White started at small forward but received minutes similar to freshman forward Will Riley and junior guard/forward Ty Rodgers. Keep an eye on that rotation to see if Underwood starts to favor one or two players over the others at the position.
Sophomore guard Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn, the team’s leading scorer against Ole Miss, should also see heavy minutes after impressing the team throughout the lead-up to the season.
“Dra was electric,” Humrichous said. “Brought a different intensity, a different physicality to us. He did a great job, and I think there’s something about the way that he played that we can all pick up — on-ball defense, just overall intensity and energy.”
It’s game time
The Illini are set to tip off against the Panthers at 7 p.m. in front of a home crowd itching for their first in-person look at the new roster.
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