No. 8 Illinois (21-5, 12-3) broke its skid of losing games on Sunday afternoon, dominating Indiana (17-9, 8-7) by 20 points, 71-51, in senior guard Kylan Boswell’s return to the lineup. Despite still being without junior wing Andrej Stojaković, who’s rehabbing a high ankle sprain, the Illini got back to the basics that led to their lengthy winning streak early in the season. Focusing on offensive rebounding, taking care of the ball and defensive intensity headlined Illinois’ bounce-back victory. This win was a much-needed one to get the Illini back on track ahead of a week-long trip to the West Coast.
*Kylan Boswell (B+): After missing the last seven games with a hand injury, Boswell made his return to the Illini starting lineup, and his positive impact was almost immediate. On his first offensive possession, Boswell’s wrapped-up right hand didn’t hinder his ball-handling or passing abilities one bit as he crossed over against Indiana’s ball pressure and threw an on-target bounce pass to freshman forward David Mirković for the layup. From there, Boswell fit right back into the fold like he never left on both ends of the floor. Despite not finishing a few open layups, the senior still finished with 9 points, seven rebounds, and two assists in his return.
“It’s been good so far,” Boswell said about coming back. “I’m just still trying to get adjusted, you know, stuff on my hand, especially my dominant hand. Today, I missed a couple of easy layups … Whatever the case may be, if it’s not going to be offensively, then I’ll just do my best to do other things to help our team win.”
There may be a few mental humps for Boswell to overcome before he gets back to 100% again, but having him back did wonders for Illinois to do the little things it takes to win games again. While he didn’t put up double-digit scoring, his effort on the defensive end and on the offensive glass rubbed off on his teammates. Of his seven total rebounds, Boswell had four offensive ones. This gave him and the rest of the Illini more possessions, especially when they didn’t shoot their best on Sunday.
On the defensive end, Illinois had Boswell at its disposal to shut down Indiana senior guard Lamar Wilkerson, who is the No. 2 top scorer in the Big Ten right now. Although Wilkerson had 21 points, Boswell limited him to just 14 field goal attempts, which is what the Illini needed Boswell to do if they were going to walk away Sunday with a win. In all, Boswell is back, and even in only one game, he’s already proving how much better the Illini play with him on the floor once again.
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“He’s a tough sucker now,” said head coach Brad Underwood. “I mean, he got his appointment moved up. He pushed for that. Everything’s right in his hand. That dude was ready to be back in a jersey and perform.”
*Keaton Wagler (A-): With Boswell back in the rotation, freshman guard Keaton Wagler wasn’t the sole ball handler on the court for most of the game anymore. Wagler still ran the offense from the point guard position as usual, but handling the ball wasn’t only his responsibility anymore, and it benefited him. The freshman seemed to play with a little more energy each possession than he did against Wisconsin, and Boswell’s return also gave Indiana another guard to have to stay in front of in driving lanes, taking the complete attention off Wagler. Despite shooting 1 for 4 from three, Wagler scored 18 points on 7 for 15 shooting.
Wagler still played 38 minutes, but by not being the only ball handler on the floor anymore, he did more of the little things that Underwood put emphasis on after the two losses to No. 10 Michigan State and Wisconsin. This started with Wagler’s rebounding. The freshman didn’t grab a single offensive rebound against the Badgers, but he managed three on Sunday. Wagler had six overall rebounds in the contest, and his hustle and effort were on full display as he was flying in to crash the glass on both ends of the floor. Uncharacteristically, Wagler also forced some turnovers for Indiana, recording three steals thanks to his length and athleticism to get in passing lanes.
*David Mirković (A): Postgame, Underwood revealed that after the Wisconsin loss, Mirković sent him a lengthy message taking blame for the loss because he wasn’t fully focused. Whether or not he was responsible for the Illini dropping that game, he was a huge reason why the Illini won this one on Sunday. Mirković was locked in completely on both the offensive and defensive ends of the floor in every way possible that his team needed him to be, such as scoring, rebounding, playmaking, and defending. The freshman put up his second-highest scoring game of the season so far with 25 points on 10 for 16 from the field, along with three 3-pointers and three assists.
“It’s a team-building moment when you have somebody that does that,” Underwood said about Mirković’s message to him. “That’s just a young man who cares about winning.”
Using his size to his advantage, Mirković showed off every aspect of his offensive game that makes him such a dangerous player to defend. Mirković started the game perfectly from 3-point territory, going 3 for 3 before the end of the first half. He also wasn’t afraid to back down defenders in the lane by using his strength and impressive finishing abilities to score when shots weren’t falling from deep. From a distributing perspective, Mirković was hard to defend out of the high post as he found his teammates for layups on a few occasions. With all the tools in his toolbox offensively, Indiana’s defense couldn’t match up with Mirković, and if he plays like he did Sunday afternoon consistently, there’s no doubt he’ll continue to be a problem.
“He knows no one can guard him, and I make sure he understands that,” Boswell said. “I think for him, continuously just being confident, aggressive because he’s one of the best bigs in the country and understanding that no one will stop you from getting spots that you want, and I’m proud of him for continuously being like that.”
On the defensive side, Mirković had the matchup of Indiana senior forward Tucker DeVries, who is Indiana’s second leading scorer. DeVries is a high-level scorer both from in the lane and outside the 3-point line, but Mirković held him to 13 points on 5 for 12 shooting and gave him no offensive rebounds. Instead, Mirković grabbed seven rebounds of his own, proving that he is responding to Underwood’s message of playing with extra grit, especially on the glass.
*Jake Davis (C): Junior forward Jake Davis struggled across the board on Sunday afternoon, only hitting one three-pointer, grabbing two rebounds and recording one assist. In Boswell’s return, Davis’ minutes decreased a bit from the last two games as he played just 25 minutes against Indiana compared to the 37 he played against Wisconsin. Even with Boswell back in the rotation, though, that doesn’t diminish Davis’ role for the Illini, which he plays to a tee. The extra pep in his step just wasn’t there against the Hoosiers.
*Tomislav Ivišić (A-): A poor first-half shooting performance didn’t stop junior center Tomislav Ivišić from finishing Sunday’s game in double-figures. After scoring only 2 points in the first half, Tomislav stormed back in the second for 12 points on 5 for 8 shooting from the field, including knocking down his only 3-pointer late in the half to seal the deal for the Illini. The junior benefited from Indiana’s lack of size by being an active presence in the lane, similar to Mirković. Even when he went 1 for 6 from three, Tomislav still stayed an efficient finisher at the rim, where he was able to make an offensive impact.
However, what stood out the most about Tomislav’s outing on Sunday was his offensive rebounding. Tomislav recorded just a single offensive rebound in the first half, but took over in the second half on the glass with three in 15 minutes of play. His effort on the offensive glass was a large reason why he found himself scoring opportunities even when he didn’t have his best outing from 3-point range. The most notable play by the 7-footer was his own offensive rebound on his missed 3-point attempt, where he took a few dribbles in the lane for a lay-in at the rim, which he got an and-one call on. Continuing to stay in plays as he did there is exactly one of the little things Tomislav needs to keep doing down the road.
Zvonimir Ivišić (D): Opposite of his twin brother, junior center Zvonimir Ivišić played the least amount of minutes out of Illinois’ seven-man rotation and made the least amount of positive impact. Zvonimir had two points, zero rebounds and zero blocks in his 14 minutes of play, with his only points coming from a transition dunk in the first half from graduate student forward Ben Humrichous. It didn’t matter much in the outcome of this game, but Zvonimir can’t have another performance like this, especially on the defensive end, for the Illini to keep rolling in wins in the coming weeks. Especially with his size over most opponents, there’s no reason why he shouldn’t have grabbed just one rebound.
Ben Humrichous (C+): Humrichous’ offensive showing against Indiana was one of his poorest since playing No. 7 Nebraska on Feb. 1. Humrichous went 0-7 from the field, scoring 0 points in the contest in his 26 minutes on the floor. Shooting aside, though, Humrichous was a benefactor in doing all the little things Underwood harped on since the Wisconsin loss. When Boswell was on the bench, Humrichous was the one who took the responsibility of defending Wilkerson, and he did his job in limiting his field goal attempts. On the rebounding side, he was the Illini’s leading rebounder with eight rebounds. While Illinois needs Humrichous to score every once in a while, his impact remains positive when others take the offensive load, and he does his job as a role player.
@evy_york2
