It was an electric 40 minutes of basketball on Saturday, but ultimately, the fans left thinking about the final 5.7 seconds. After No. 1 Tennessee (10-0) beat Illinois (7-3) in Champaign on a last-second layup from senior guard Jordan Gainey, Illinois gets an eight-day break to wrap up finals.
Several Illini had a solid week against two ranked foes, but others struggled as the competition ramped up. Here are player grades from the heartbreaking loss at home.
*Kylan Boswell (B+): Junior guard Kylan Boswell continued his solid play of late, bringing valuable defense and offense. The Champaign native wasn’t extremely efficient from the field, but with so much focus on the defensive end, 10 points and seven boards are fine numbers.
Boswell was terrific defensively once again. Despite being grabbed and pushed while working through continuous screens all game, the defender locked down one of the nation’s best scorers.
Tennessee’s fifth-year guard Chaz Lanier managed 17 points but on a poor 5-17 shooting. Boswell was in his face all night and didn’t let him get too many easy opportunities. We have enough of a sample size on Boswell to be confident in his lockdown capabilities the rest of the way, and double-digit scoring in most games will be a cherry on top.
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*Kasparas Jakucionis (A-): In a game where everyone struggled to make baskets, freshman guard Kasparas Jakucionis was huge down the stretch for Illinois. He wasn’t as efficient as usual, but nobody was.
Jakucionis dropped a team-high 22 points, highlighted by multiple four-point plays in the second half. For a while, Jakucionis was all Illinois had, but even he felt the pressure late. Illinois’ point guard turned it over seven times, twice in the final two minutes, and missed a free throw in the final seconds.
It’s hard to knock the 18-year-old after he was the only one to step up for most of the game, and he will need help in other big games down the stretch.
*Tre White (B): One of the few Illini to shoot well was junior guard Tre White. He played the second most minutes on Saturday and scored 11 points.
White was most impactful as the backup defensive option on Lanier. He helped Boswell out on several possessions and brought some toughness to Illinois. The two-time transfer also hit a big three in the second half, which left Illinois feeling good at the time.
*Ben Humrichous (B-): Graduate student forward Ben Humrichous did not break out of his slump but improved his shooting performance in recent games.
He was still keen on taking quick, contested and deep threes in the first half and actually put the ball on the floor a little in the second half. Humrichous had a massive putback dunk with four minutes left to give Illinois the lead, which was a good sign for the veteran.
*Tomislav Ivisic (C): It was a rare game for sophomore center Tomislav Ivisic. After some early foul trouble, Ivisic played more in the second half but was never really a factor.
He has now had his lowest-scoring outputs of the season in back-to-back contests and only took five shots against Tennessee. It was just his third game with single-digit shot attempts this year and the first time under eight shots.
After being the best player on the roster for one month, Ivisic has hit a rough patch. He still secured 12 rebounds and probably needed more help on the glass.
Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn (C): Sophomore guard Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn entered the game early against Tennessee and immediately made an impactful play. He raced back on defense in the first half to contest what looked to be an easy fast-break dunk. He forced a miss without fouling and brought the crowd to its feet.
Unfortunately for Gibbs-Lawhorn, he was quickly called for two fouls amid a whistle-filled first half. The guard never got much play the rest of the way.
Will Riley (C+): The Canadian youngster is tough to judge at times due to sporadic play. Freshman forward Will Riley began the night poorly. He struggled to inbound one ball and failed to get in another. He missed a layup and was getting stood up by 5-foot-9 senior guard Zakai Ziegler. As a 6-foot-8 player, it’s tough to watch a smaller defender be able to body Riley up top.
Fortunately for the Illini, Riley had a response. The forward scored a tough layup and got fouled on a three-point attempt a couple of possessions later. His defense improved as well, getting a hand in his matchups face every time. If he can embrace more physicality and set his feet on jumpers more consistently, the Riley from the first couple of games will return.
Morez Johnson Jr. (B): Due to Tennessee’s reputation as a rough team, freshman forward Morez Johnson Jr. was expected to get some good minutes on Saturday. He played over half of the first 20 minutes, scoring his only attempt from the field and playing tough. He only received one minute in the second half, though, which was interesting considering his value against gritty opponents.
Jake Davis (C-): Sophomore forward Jake Davis entered this one earlier than usual and played six big minutes. While he was solid on defense overall, Davis is out there to shoot. He passed up the two looks he had for passes, which doesn’t benefit the Illini.
Carey Booth (C): While sophomore forward Carey Booth only played 20 seconds, he might’ve deserved more. Booth has been in the doghouse since the first few games, but Illinois desperately needed someone else tonight. Tennessee had 17 offensive rebounds, and several Illinois players could not buy a bucket. Booth didn’t even get a chance to change either.
@benfader7
