No. 24 Illinois (8-3) will play a small in-state school, Chicago State (0-14), to close out 2024. The Cougars will make the almost three-hour trip south to Champaign for what is expected to be an extremely one-sided matchup. It will be the final nonconference home game for the Illini this season.
Chicago State: Winless
Chicago State is by far the worst team that Illinois has played all year. The Cougars are 0-14 this season and will likely drop to 0-15 after playing the Illini. Their last game was an 81-57 loss to CSUN on Dec. 21.
Chicago State’s leading scorer is junior guard Jalen Forrest, who is averaging 9.1 points per game on 33.6% shooting. The Cougars don’t pack much of an offensive punch, which the Illini should easily take advantage of.
Illinois has played schools this season, such as Little Rock, which it beat by 58. Its matchup against Chicago State should be more of the same as it prepares to make a West Coast trip in early January to take on Oregon and Washington.
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Illinois has never lost to Chicago State, holding a perfect 13-0 record.
Confidence builder for Riley, Humrichous
After shooting just over 46% from three in his first four games of the year, graduate student forward Ben Humrichous is in a shooting slump. He has been shooting 5-22 from deep since December began, including a 1-9 performance at Northwestern.
Freshman forward Will Riley also can’t seem to make a three, shooting a cold 1-18 from long range since the start of December. However, he shot an amazing 18-32 (56.3%) from three in November and started the season with a 31-point opening performance against EIU.
For both Riley and Humrichous, this game against Chicago State is a chance to get their mojo back. It’s a weak team that will be defending them, so there will be plenty of opportunities for easy shots. Both players need a confidence boost heading into January and the rest of the Big Ten schedule, and Sunday is the day for it to happen.
If they can’t perform against one of the weakest teams on Illinois’ schedule, Riley and Humrichous will have much to figure out heading into the New Year.
Records on the line
Freshman guard Kasparas Jakucionis has been the best player all year for the Illini, especially in the last six contests. Jakucionis has now scored 20-plus points in six games in a row.
He is one of only five freshmen in the Underwood era to score 20-plus points in at least five games. If Jakucionis puts up at least 20 against Chicago State, he will tie former Illini guard Ayo Dosunmu for the most 20-point games as a freshman under head coach Brad Underwood.
Jakucionis would also be tied for second all-time in 20-point games as a freshman, trailing only former Illini guard Corey Bradford, who holds the record with eight during the 1998-99 season.
Underwood also has a chance to move up in the history books. With a win, Underwood will become the sole No. 4 all-time most-winning head coach in Illinois men’s basketball history. He is currently tied with Doug Mills at 151 wins. Mills coached the Illini from 1937-1947.
Tip-off
The last men’s basketball game of 2024 tips off at 1 p.m. on the Big Ten Network.
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