No. 2 seed Maryland (24-7, 14-6) is the next test for No. 7 seed Illinois (21-11, 12-8) in the Big Ten tournament on Friday night. The Illini took down the No. 15 Iowa Hawkeyes (17-16, 7-13) on Thursday evening in their opening game, setting up a rematch with the Terrapins.
The last time these two teams played, Illinois was upset at home, falling by 21 at the end of January. The Illini were without sophomore center Tomislav Ivišić, and freshman center Derik Queen and senior forward Julian Reese took full advantage, bullying the Illini in the paint. Now, Illinois has its full frontcourt back, is fully healthy and is playing well.
After the Illini’s win over the Hawkeyes, they weighed in on the quarterfinal rematch with the Terrapins.
Junior guard Tre White
“It’s always us and our principles,” White said. “Trying to adjust to that. So just us being sharp. We know what we did against them and what didn’t work. Like I said, we’ve got our full roster now, so I’m excited for real.”
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Head coach Brad Underwood
“I’ll be honest: We weren’t in a great spot, but I also thought when we played them that they were one of the best teams in the league, and they’ve proven that,” Underwood said. “That was right at the start of Tomi not being here, and it forced us to play really small at times. Will wasn’t playing as well; Tre wasn’t playing as well. I think we’re a different team, obviously … I need to look at (the matchup) again. It’s been so long. I haven’t studied them. I don’t ever work ahead. Obviously, you start with their frontcourt guys. They’ve shot the ball extremely well. It obviously starts with those two guys (Reese and Queen), and I just remember how they whipped us in the first game.”
Freshman forward Morez Johnson Jr.
“Everybody’s back now, so we’ll be ready to go,” Johnson said.
Junior guard Kylan Boswell
“Having both of them, (Johnson) and (Ivišić), right now, at this moment, is perfect,” Boswell said. “I feel like Tom can just help stretch, get those guys (Reese and Queen) out the paint. If you want to sag and let us not attack the rim, you’ve got to go guard him from three. We’ll let him shoot those all day long. What he brings to the table for us is just too many options.”
Graduate student forward Ben Humrichous
“I’m excited for tomorrow just because of the way that we’re clicking offensively and defensively,” Humrichous said. “I’m excited for the way that we’re going to match up with them. Bring the energy, and from the get-go, be locked in defensively and offensively.”
Freshman forward Will Riley
“We’re ready for them,” Riley said. “We played them before. We know what they’re about. We’re just going to compete … It sucked (losing to Maryland in January). Nobody wants to really lose. It was hard for us, but we got through it, and we’re a better team now, so we’re ready.”
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