Illinois (2-0) returned to the State Farm Center on Friday night for the second game of their three-game opening homestand. The Illini took on the SIU Edwardsville Cougars (1-2), and just like the EIU Panthers on Monday, the Cougars were outmatched on both ends of the floor.
Illinois outscored SIUE 90-58 to put the cherry on top of a night they celebrated the 2024 Big Ten championship team.
Croatian domination: Tomislav Ivisic shining on both ends
Sophomore center Tomislav Ivisic remained an extremely effective two-way player for the Illini. After a 14-point and 14-rebound double-double in his collegiate debut on Monday, Ivisic followed it up with an 18-point and seven-rebound outing against SIUE.
Ivisic shot the ball extremely well, one of the few things he struggled with on Monday. The 7-foot-1 center knocked down 50% of his four three-point attempts. He was also fed the ball in the post multiple times and showed his touch around the rim, dropping in four of his five shots at the basket.
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Don’t be mistaken, though — Ivisic can be a powerhouse as well. He opened each half with a two-handed dunk.
On the defensive end, Ivisic contested strongly in the paint, staying straight up and stifling the Cougars’ big men. He restricted 6-foot-11 junior center Arnas Sakenis to two shots, while 6-foot-9 sophomore forward Ring Malith shot a poor 3-11 from the field.
Ben Humrichous & Co. raining down threes
Fifth-year forward Ben Humrichous showed the crowd at the State Farm Center exactly why he was brought to Champaign. Humrichous shot lights out against SIUE, hitting five of his eight three-point attempts.
“He can shoot off the move, which I really really like,” said head coach Brad Underwood about Humrichous. “As he’s running into things, he’s a terrific shooter. He’s got great great range. That creates space. I’m hopeful he can continue to be a 40% plus three-point shooter, and we’ve just got to get him more shots.”
Junior forward Tre White and freshman forward Will Riley also shot it well from deep, each taking five threes and knocking down three. Riley also had a four-point play, adding to the two he had in Monday’s game.
The Illini were also active on the offensive glass, taking multiple three-point attempts during a possession on more than a few occasions. Despite the SIUE coaching staff repeatedly yelling at their team to take away the three, the Illini shot 38 threes and connected on 39.5% of them.
This follows Monday’s game in which the Illini took 42 shots from beyond the arc. Illinois has made it clear that shooting a high volume of threes will be how they play this season.
“It makes sense why we do it,” said Humrichous. “It’s incredibly efficient. We’ve got a lot of guys that can really make ’em. I think that’s what coach Underwood’s about, not just shooting but making ’em. It’s great, I love it. It’s a lot of why I came here.”
Floor general: Kasparas Jakucionis controlling the offense with ease
From the opening tip, freshman guard Kasparas Jakucionis was vocal with his teammates, audibly directing the offense and communicating during stoppages in play. Even at 18 years old, he has taken a leadership role for the Illini, and his play showed it.
Jakucionis racked up 13 assists on the night while only turning the ball over three times in 33 minutes. For the high usage he is getting and being new to the college game, there has been a noticeable improvement since the exhibition against Ole Miss in how comfortable Jakucionis seems with the ball.
“The beauty of what KJ does is he delivers at the right time, where guys can really just kind of catch it and shoot it,” said Underwood. “There’s very little wasted motion. He puts it in the pocket. He delivers it where Tomi can go up and dunk it, or Tomi can catch and shoot it, or whoever it was. Those are the things that elite point guards do, and he’s doing that.”
Cross-court transition passes, pick-and-roll drop-offs and quick swings to shooters around the arc were all a part of Jakucionis’ bag against SIUE. Even under pressure, when SIUE started double-teaming Jakucionis, he made tough passes out of trouble to open teammates. The ball was always moving, something that helps a team full of shooters find the best shots.
“We always try to get a great shot, not good shot,” said Jakucionis. “We’re looking at extra passes or kicking out, driving one more time, and just having a better shot than we could have before.”
Getting everyone else opportunities did not stop Jakucionis from scoring the ball, too. The native of Lithuania only shot 1-3 from the field, but he got to the line a lot to make up for it. Jakucionis knocked down nine free throws, which contributed to his 12 points.
“He provides what the game gives him,” said Underwood. “It just doesn’t matter what the game needs. He’s got a maturity about him with that.
Defense starting to come together
The Illini’s on-ball defense stifled the Cougars’ offense, forcing turnovers and bad shots for 40 minutes. Sophomore guard Dra-Gibbs Lawhorn was picking up his assignment at the half-court logo, while junior guard Kylan Boswell gave everything he had to fight through screens and stay with his man.
The on-ball defensive effort was clear, making the Illini look like a completely different defensive team than they did a couple of weeks ago at Ole Miss. It’s a step in the right direction, but only time will tell if the team’s defensive performance will be sustained against tougher teams.
“We’re making progress,” said Underwood. “I was disappointed tonight in our defensive rebounding, and I was a little disappointed in our ability to track down a few loose balls. And then we fumbled, I don’t know, five or six balls that I thought were in our hands on rebounds, and we didn’t secure them. But we are making progress.”
Free throws need to be taken advantage of
The Illini were impressive on offense, but their free throw percentage stuck out like a sore thumb. The team got to the foul line 28 times but only knocked down 19 of their attempts. Their 67.9% free throws were helped by Jakucionis going 9-10 from the line. Besides him, the rest of the team only made an extremely poor 10 of their 18 free throws: 55.56%.
Drawing fouls and getting to the line is great, but the Illini will need to make their free throws, especially when playing tougher opponents where a few extra points might make the difference.
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