Despite still missing a few key pieces, No. 17 Illinois dominated a severely outmatched Jackson State squad on Monday night in Champaign, 113-55. Every active player, including fan favorite senior guard AJ Redd, saw minutes in the contest. It was a promising show of what the Illini can be if they can translate their play to tougher, high-major opponents, even when they are not at full strength.

“Next guy up,” said graduate student forward Ben Humrichous. “We’ve got a really talented team. A team that plays really hard all the way across the board.”

Illini can’t miss early

The Orange Krush were screaming, “boom” a lot during the first half on Monday night. The Illini put on an absolute masterclass shooting the ball, going 10-19 from deep in the first half to blitz the Tigers early.

Everyone contributed to the team’s 52.6% three-point shooting in the opening 20 minutes. Humrichous and junior forward Jake Davis each went 2-4 from three, freshman forward David Mirković shot 2-3 from beyond the arc and junior center Tomislav Ivišić hit 3-5.

Mirković was hot early, grabbing a rebound, dribbling up the length of the court and drilling a pull-up three from the top of the key. A Davis corner three and Humrichous catch-and-shoot triple off a well-executed inbounds play also drew some of the loudest crowd responses of the night.

Ivišić was a welcome surprise in the first half after making his return following an Oct. 8 tonsillectomy. His three triples in the opening 20 minutes led him to have a team-high 15 points at halftime. However, he did miss two free throws, which angered head coach Brad Underwood, who audibly screamed for his starting center to make his foul shots. Despite that small blip, Ivišić did not look out of game shape for someone who has practiced sparingly the last month and was on a minutes restriction in the Florida scrimmage.

Jackson State’s jacked-up jumpers

The Tigers, unlike the Illini, did not take smart shots at any point in the first half. Jackson State, from the jump, was jacking up off-balance shots early in the shot clock, which resulted in them going down 22-3 in just six minutes of play.

Illinois’ defense also played a major part in forcing bad shots alongside Jackson State’s quick trigger and shot selection. Of their 30 first-half points, only eight came in the paint, with the Tigers’ ill-advised jumpers, both forced and unforced, being a majority of their shots. 

“I thought defensively we did a nice job of sitting down guarding the ball, which is something I wanted to see against a team that I knew there would be some isolation, they would break some plays off and try to drive us,” Underwood said. 

Jackson State also could not match up with the size of Illinois, failing to grab offensive rebounds and get second-chance opportunities. The Tigers only had one offensive rebound and one second-chance point in the opening half, a painful reminder of their lackluster size and physicality.

Illini attack the glass

Illinois was active on the boards throughout the entirety of Monday night’s contest. After getting outrebounded against Florida, it was a major focus point from the coaching staff, and it seemed to work. The Illini outrebounded the Tigers 61-19, including 21-4 on the offensive glass.

“We play every game (the) same, as hard as possible, crash the boards as much as we can without relaxing at any moment,” Mirković said.

From the first possession, the energy was there; Ivišić put Illinois on the board with a hook shot, but not before the team missed two three-pointers and recovered two offensive rebounds.

The most active player in the first half on the offensive glass was freshman guard Keaton Wagler, who showed a willingness to get in the paint and compete throughout the first 20 minutes. Despite needing more physical development and strength, he had a team-high three offensive rebounds in the first half. 

That rebounding energy continued on both ends throughout the entire game, with multiple players showing out. Mirković shored up his strong performance against Illinois State with another 14 rebound outing, continuing to showcase his high motor.

“(Mirković is) a really skilled dude that just plays incredibly hard, and I think you guys are seeing the fruits of that.” Humrichous said. 

Multiple other bigs also had strong performances. Jakstys and junior center Zvonimir Ivišić both came off the bench and were productive on the boards, each totaling nine rebounds. The Illini front court is deep, and Jakstys has really stood out. His nine rebounds came in only 11 minutes.

“We see that every day in practice,” Underwood said about Jakstys. “That’s why he’s earned himself the right to play minutes.”

Versatile offense

Illinois’ offensive energy was not only seen on the glass. The Illini were constantly cutting and moving the ball, both around the perimeter and in-and-out of the paint. That ball movement was seriously helped by each players’ versatility. Everyone can shoot the ball, making them threats from outside. The size of Illinois also helped the team fight down low and score off drop-passes, cuts or back to the basket isolation situations. If something didn’t work, another way to score was usually just a pass away.

“We’re skilled, I think we can really pass,” Underwood said. “I think we’re just touching the versatility side of things.”

Humrichous, Wagler put nail in coffin

A 33-point deficit at halftime was too much for Jackson State to erase. The Illini mostly coasted throughout the final 20 minutes, scoring 43 compared to their 70 in the first half, but a couple players really lit it up.

Humrichous was on fire, knocking down three triples on five attempts in the second half, adding a spark to an Illini offense that wasn’t as cutthroat as it was to start the game. The consistent three-point shooting throughout a full 40-minute game is a good sign for the veteran forward, who had a very up-and-down year last season from beyond the arc. Starting the season with a 5-9 performance is sure to shore up his confidence.

“All I can say is all glory to God; it’s a joy to be back out there again,” Humrichous said. “Got a lot of great looks tonight. Got to give a lot of credit to my guys, to our ballhandlers that were able to crease the paint and then get me good looks.

Wagler matched Humrichous’ 12-point output in the second half, and he was efficient. After a first half in which he went 1-4 from the field, Wagler shot 3-4 in the final 20 minutes, including knocking down a pair of triples, and hit all four of his free throws.

Postgame injury updates

Freshman guard Brandon Lee was ruled out for Monday night’s contest after injuring his left ankle at practice on Sunday. He was in a boot and on crutches on the sideline, and Underwood does not expect him to be back soon.

“(Lee) stepped on a foot and rolled it pretty good,” Underwood said. “I would think he’ll be out Friday as well and not be ready to go.”

Junior wing Andrej Stojaković and sophomore guard Mihailo Petrović were also out on Monday. Stojaković was a game-time decision but couldn’t go, and Petrović was ruled out in advance after reaggravating a hamstring injury in the Florida scrimmage. However, both seem to be on their way to coming back.

“Mihailo is trending in a positive way,” Underwood said. “With Andrej, it’s going to be game-time decisions. We just had him back for a week in practice. He still has not gotten through a full practice, and that’s with intent. … We’ll see what it looks like Friday.”

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