After an afternoon full of emotions at now No. 12 Purdue (17-4, 7-3) on Saturday, No. 9 Illinois (18-3, 9-1) didn’t falter on Thursday night, defeating Washington (11-10, 3-7) 75-66. The Illini extended their winning streak to 10 games ahead of a rematch with the No. 5 Nebraska Cornhuskers on Sunday afternoon. Illinois’ first matchup with Nebraska is what sparked it to change its mindset, especially defensively, and put together such an impressive winning stretch.
“I’ve seen this group come together as a collective group where our identity is that we’re just going to compete,” said graduate student forward Ben Humrichous. “I’ve seen us continue to gel as a team … This is a group that loves to play with one another and I think right as this stretch of wins started, you just saw a bunch of people put their arms around each other and say, ‘You know, this is hard, but we’re going to attack this together.’”
Although two Huskies recorded double-doubles in the contest, it wasn’t enough for them to overpower the Illini. Illinois freshman stars guard Keaton Wagler and forward David Mirković led the way offensively, scoring 22 and 19 points respectively. Humrichous also was an X-factor on Thursday night from beyond the arc, hitting four triples and making winning plays for the Illini to seal another Big Ten victory.
Illini’s freshman duo carries offense
Until there were about nine minutes left in the first half, the Illini freshmen were the Illini’s sole contributors on the offensive end. While others started to score some, that overall trend continued throughout the entire game. Wagler and Mirković picked up right where they left off against Purdue on Saturday, leading Illinois in scoring despite the Huskies’ physicality on the defensive end. The freshmen took care of the ball for the most part and carried the Illini past its slower start.
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“We talk a lot,” Mirković said about him and Wagler. “We work a lot in practices trying to see what they are going to do in defense because they threw a lot of multiple different defenses, pick and roll defenses at us, and we try to score, talk a lot, and I mean we built that bond a little.”
Wagler was back to doing a little bit of everything offensively, with five rebounds and eight assists to go along with another 20-plus point game. While it was his 3-point shooting that downed the Boilermakers, Wagler’s crafty ability to get to the rim was the star on Thursday. Even against high defensive pressure, Wagler didn’t lose control when driving and continued his strong decision-making out of the paint.
“The reason he’s really good at (driving the paint consistently) is he’s a great decision maker below the free throw line,” said head coach Brad Underwood. “ … He’s long … He draws 10 fouls … He took four threes, but that’s his cup of tea. He’s very good in isolations and creating those mismatches.”
Getting to the free-throw line was also a strength for Wagler on Thursday as he drew 10 fouls and shot nine free throws. Especially in the first half, Washington struggled to remain disciplined on the defensive end, and Wagler wasn’t afraid to play through that, plus use it to his advantage. While Wagler uncharacteristically missed three shots from the charity stripe, he still went 6 for 9, and his ability to get there says a lot about the depth of his offensive skillset.
Wagler’s 3-point shooting may not have been the biggest standout of his performance, but it was for Mirković’s. Mirkvoić showed off more of his guard-like abilities against the Huskies, including going 3 for 8 from 3-point range. The freshman was even trusted to bring the ball up the floor at times throughout the game, taking pressure off Wagler to be on the ball at all times. For the Illini to have a player like Mirković who can take care of the ball in full-court situations makes it even easier for them to get into their offense.
“Without Kylan (Boswell), that’s a great option and great idea from Tyler (Underwood) because no bigs in the league going to come pressure me on full court,” Mirković said. “Keaton can just walk down there, and I will hand off him the ball, and we can start our plays as me being the point guard. It’s been effective.”
At 6-foot-9, Mirković also benefited in mismatched situations with Washington’s smaller guards, using his size to bully his way to the rim. Mirković’s ability to recognize those situations and become more aggressive, as he did on Thursday, will only make Illinois’ offense more efficient as he does that continually.
“They usually double-team me for (the) whole season, and I get the ball in the post, but no one double-teamed me today,” Mirković said. “I try to score more, to be more aggressive to the rim, as coaches want me to do that, and it went well.”
Withstanding Washington’s efficient two-point shooting
The 3-point line wasn’t Washington’s strong suit on Thursday, shooting 26.1 % from three, but its efficient two-point shooting gave Illinois trouble on the defensive end. Three Huskies scored in double-figures, but it was freshman forward Hannes Steinbach who led the way with 15 points on 6 for 10 shooting from the field. Illinois knew Steinbach was going to be a problem going into this matchup, and he showed why he is one of the stars of the nation’s freshman class.
Sophomore guard Zoom Diallo also played a big role in the Huskies’ offense by recording a 12-point, 10-assist double-double on 4 for 9 shooting from the field. Diallo’s ability to distribute the ball from the point guard position made it tough for the Illini, especially in situations with Steinbach as well. However, Illinois didn’t get rattled when Washington got into its offensive groove at times, still playing solid defense for all 40 minutes and not allowing Washington to go on any longer runs. This is a testament to the Illini’s continued defensive improvements they’ve made since losing to the Cornhuskers in Decemeber.
“I think we’ve been more consistent in our scouting report approach,” Underwood said about what’s changed about his team since losing to Nebraska. “ … It was an eye-opening moment. I didn’t think we were very focused on what it took to win, and they whipped us.”
Humrichous’ 3-point shooting is an X-factor
Throughout this season, Humrichous hasn’t been a consistent threat from 3-point range, but he found his stroke on Thursday, and it showed up for the Illini down the stretch. Humrichous hit two of his four threes within the last five minutes of the game, which helped Illinois maintain its lead as Washington tried to chip away at it late. Knocking down open shots is just one example of the winning plays Humrichous makes for the Illini.
“I mean, falling on the ground to get a ball,” Mirković said about Humrichous’ ability to make winning plays. “Get some steals as he got. Get some offensive rebounds, as he gets multiple times every game. I mean, when you play really hard like that, and he deserved those shots to get in, and those were really big shots. It would be much harder for us to win without those shots, and I’m proud of him. He deserved this.”
Alongside his shooting abilities, Humrichous’ role off the bench for the Illini is an X-factor in itself. His improvement as a defender and his pride in doing the little things it takes to win are what are going to give Illinois an edge over opponents in the second half of Big Ten play and later on.
“I’m a good shooter,” Humrichous said. “I’ve proven that over time and seeing them go through feels awesome, but just continuing to focus on the things that matter in basketball, the winning plays, rebounding, playing defense, being a great teammate, and then the shooting follows.”
Equal on the boards, Illinois capitalizes on second chances
A big focus for Illinois going into this game, as it is in every game, was not only keeping Washington from offensive rebounding, but being aggressive on its own offensive glass. Even against the top rebounder in the Big Ten in Steinbach, the Illini out-rebounded the Huskies in offensive rebounds, 14-11. Although the two teams matched one another at 34 overall boards, Illinois’s offensive rebounding gave it a necessary edge in this matchup. Both junior centers, Tomislav and Zvonimir Ivišić, didn’t shoot it well on Thursday, but each of the twins grabbed two offensive rebounds apiece to help Illinois in that aspect of the game.
Not only did Illinois out-rebound Washington on the offensive glass, but it also capitalized and scored on those second chances while Washington did not. Compared to the Huskies’ four second-chance points, the Illini scored 24. Illinois already has a deep offense, full of versatile scorers who can break down a defense any given night. So, when the Illini not only get offensive rebounds but also use those second chances to their full potential, it makes their offense more efficient and more dangerous to defend.
“There’s not a day that goes by that we don’t work on rebounding,” Underwood said. “There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t talk about offensive rebounding … Offensive efficiency is about creating opportunities. If we can get more opportunities off our missed shots because we just go, then I like that. That’s a great number tonight.”
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