Illinois (18-11, 10-8) will play its final regular-season road game on Sunday in Ann Arbor, Michigan. One of the top teams in the Big Ten, No. 15 Michigan (22-6, 14-3), awaits Illinois, which is coming off a much-needed win against Iowa (15-14, 6-12) on Tuesday.
Michigan’s twin towers
Illinois has struggled with injuries to its primary big men over the last few months. Sophomore center Tomislav Ivišić, who seems healthy now, was out with mononucleosis for a while and then dealt with ankle issues.
Now, freshman forward Morez Johnson Jr. is likely out for at least the rest of the regular season with a broken wrist. Partially due to these issues, the Illini have struggled in the paint with rebounding and physicality. This was on display on Jan. 23 when Maryland’s (22-7, 12-6) freshman center Derik Queen and senior forward Julian Reese physically dominated Illinois in Champaign.
Michigan, like Maryland, is also a big team. Two of its best players, graduate student center Vladislav Goldin and junior forward/center Danny Wolf, are 7-foot-1 and 7-foot, respectively. However, they have a different play style than a traditional big-man combo.
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“Vlad’s obviously very, very big,” said Illinois head coach Brad Underwood. “Danny doesn’t post a lot. Danny’s kind of a 7-foot point guard for them. So it’s not that it’s at the rim. It’s different than Maryland, (which) had the physicality in terms of size. It’s different.”
Goldin is more of a traditional center, and he’s been dominant, averaging 15.9 points on 64.3% shooting, 6.4 rebounds and 1.5 blocks. On the other hand, Wolf is a combination of a point forward and a stretch four.
He’s a strong scorer inside and out, rebounds with energy and is a very crafty passer. Wolf averages 12.6 points on 50% shooting, including 34% from deep on three attempts per game. He also grabs a Big Ten-leading 9.8 rebounds per game while dishing out 3.8 assists.
When Goldin and Wolf are on the floor simultaneously, it gives Michigan a tough-to-guard, dynamic lineup. The Illini, especially Ivišić, will have to continue to show the strong defensive fight they had against Iowa if they hope to counter the offensive production of the Wolverines’ bigs and win the rebounding battle.
Will Riley is here to stay
After coming off the bench for most of the season, freshman forward Will Riley was inserted into the starting lineup on Tuesday instead of graduate student forward Ben Humrichous. Underwood made it seem on Saturday as if that change is here to stay heading into Sunday’s showdown. He likes Riley’s multiple weapons that can make it tougher for an opponent to guard.
“With Morez out, it’s forcing Ben to play a little backup five, so that keeps him a little fresher,” Underwood said. “We can control matchups and really substitutions a little better than that. I thought he was terrific in that role. And I thought Will was very effective. He didn’t shoot the ball great, but he got great looks. Just the added playmaker, passer, driver … I really kind of like that piece.”
Humrichous, who has struggled with his shot lately, played a smaller role off the bench but was effective against Iowa. He went 2-2 from three and had three steals, a solid effort from the transfer and the team’s oldest player.
“I told Ben the only way I’ll not play you is if you quit shooting,” Underwood said. “No one works harder at shooting than he does. Water finds its level, so to speak … I get mad every single time he doesn’t shoot it because every time he shoots it, I think it’s going in.”
Johnson update
Johnson was spotted at Tuesday’s game wearing a unique-looking cast. It seemed more flexible and had holes in it. On Saturday, Underwood shed more light on what exactly Johnson was wearing and how the University network helped create the solution.
“We’ve got very proud alums who are all over, not just the state but the world,” Underwood said. “Basketball’s important; they’re big basketball fans. They reached out to me in an email. I forwarded it on to our medical team. He was just in a standard cast before, and this one really looks kind of like a net. It’s an orange net that is a cast; it’s very firm, but it’s got the holes in it where all the bone stimulation is stuff that he can get to. It fits him very, very well.”
Although Johnson has progressed and Underwood expressed that he hopes he will be back for the Big Ten or NCAA tournaments, there is still no timetable for his return.
“He can’t do anything where there’s any simulation of falling,” Underwood said. “His workouts are kind of in a pool … The swelling is down. He says it’s much less painful. Until they give us the go-ahead, we have no idea.”
Game time
The Illini will tip off against the Wolverines at 2:45 p.m. on Sunday. The game will air on CBS.
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