No. 10 Illinois (22-5, 13-3) began its two-game stint in California off with a bang, blowing past USC (18-8. 7-8) 101-65 in junior wing Andrej Stojaković’s return to Illinois’ rotation. The Illini’s offense was as efficient and dominant as it has been all season long in the victory with seven different Illini scoring in double-figures. They also didn’t let up on the defensive end and continued to do the little things such as offensive rebounding and taking care of the ball that are important to stay on the winning track while away from Champaign this week.
“We can’t get complacent,” said head coach Brad Underwood. “It’s what I challenge the team with in the locker room. It’s about preparation and we got one today … We have to match that intensity on Saturday night.”
Tone set on defensive end
Since breaking its two-game losing streak on Sunday, Illinois has found its tenacity and aggressiveness on the defensive end once again. This was a key factor in the Illini’s win over the Indiana Hoosiers and remained important in their victory against the Trojans. From the jump, Illinois didn’t make it easy for USC to find any open shots on the floor, starting the game off on a 15-3 run through the first five minutes.
That run was fueled by the Illini’s defense as they were able to have active hands in both passing lanes to force turnovers. In the first half alone, USC committed eight turnovers, with freshman guard Alijah Arenas being responsible for three of those. As Arenas has been on a heater for the Trojans in the last three games, forcing him into uncomfortable situations on the offensive end was key to slowing him down in his decision-making.
Get The Daily Illini in your inbox!
Unsurprisingly, senior guard Kylan Boswell was the main culprit behind Arenas’ struggles. As the primary defender on Arenas, Boswell didn’t make life easy for the breakout freshman guard, holding him to just 8 points on 2 for 7 shooting from the field. Boswell’s physicality and pressure didn’t give Arenas space to work with on the perimeter, and Boswell forced him into mistakes as he recorded two steals in the contest.
Boswell’s return to the lineup after missing seven games has only elevated the Illini defense back to the high level it was at during its longest winning streak. For a second straight game, Illinois had seven steals, which disrupted its opponent’s offense and added another layer to its already dangerous defense. Although the Illini have sat at the bottom of the Big Ten in steals per game so far this season, they certainly haven’t played like it as of late. As Illinois became more in tune with the defensive end once again, these are the benefits that come with it.
Living at the foul line
Going into this matchup, fouling was going to be something to watch out for as a factor in the game’s outcome. USC is a team that gets to the free-throw line at a high rate and uses that to fuel its offense, as it has players who are aggressive in getting to the rim, with Arenas and senior forward Ezra Ausar. Illinois isn’t known for fouling much on the defensive end, though, even going so far as committing the least amount of fouls per game as a team in the Big Ten right now. However, a lack of fouls wasn’t the case for either the Illini or the Trojans on Wednesday night, but only one side benefited from that.
Illinois and USC shot a combined 46 free throws shot and committed 41 fouls at the Galen Center on Wednesday. Luckily for Illinois, its increase in fouls didn’t put the game in favor of USC. The Trojans struggled at the free-throw line all night, only shooting 60% on their 20 attempts, with Arenas and Ausar going a combined 7 for 13 from the charity stripe. With the way the game was being called, USC had an opportunity to keep the score close from the free-throw line, but it didn’t capitalize on those chances and continuously put itself further behind Illinois.
For the Illini, though, they were on point from the free-throw line in Wednesday’s contest. With an array of guards and stretch forwards who can slash the lane alongside its knack for offensive rebounding in the paint, Illinois doesn’t lack ways to send itself to the free-throw line. That benefited it against USC. The Illini were nearly perfect from the charity stripe, going 24-26 on the game. Having an aggressive player who drives the lane like Stojaković back in the lineup certainly didn’t hurt Illinois, as Stojaković shot a perfect 9 for 9 from the free-throw line. Four other Illini shot perfect percentages at the free-throw line as well.
Davis, Humrichous provide sparks
The improvements that junior forward Jake Davis and graduate student forward Ben Humrichous made in the offseason have paid off in their second seasons as Illini. While they aren’t the high-volume scorers game after game that some of their teammates may be, the role that Davis and Humrichous play for Illinois is just as important. From knocking down 3-point shots to being vocal leaders on both ends of the floor, Davis and Humrichous’ roles set the Illini apart from their opponents, and that was clear once again against the Trojans.
After Davis hit his first three from the corner in the game’s opening minutes, he didn’t let up from there. Davis went perfect from the 3-point line, going 4 for 4 on his attempts for 12 points in 25 minutes. Humrichous also stepped up to the plate with his shooting from beyond the arc, going 3 for 6. Having two players who can come off the bench, spot up from 3-pointers, and shoot them at a high rate only adds to Illinois’ offensive efficiency.
Apart from scoring, Davis and Humrichous are also active rebounders on both the offensive and defensive glass. Davis led the Illini in rebounds on Wednesday night with seven, and Humrichous followed closely behind him with six. That extra effort on the glass, especially the offensive glass, gave Illinois more offensive opportunities and made it more efficient in the long run, leading to the win.
“They might be the best two glue guys in college basketball or at least they’re going to be in the conversation,” Underwood said. “It’s the hardest thing we have in today’s world to find guys who want to play roles … They do everything right.”
Full rotation back = balanced scoring
Outside of Davis and Humrichous, Illinois’ offense was firing from all cylinders, even more so with the addition of Stojaković back in the rotation. After a quieter shooting performance as a team against the Hoosiers, the Illini found their footing on the offensive end on Wednesday, shooting an impressive 51.6% from the field alongside 44.8% from 3-point range, which was too much for the Trojans to slow down. It wasn’t just one player who fueled the offense, though. Seven Illini scored in double-figures to lead the charge, similar to how the Illini played earlier in the year.
In his first game back from a high ankle sprain that forced him to sit out the last two games, Stojakovic erupted for 22 points on 6 for 7 shooting from the field to go along with his nine free throws. The junior was the Illini’s leading scorer in the contest, and his ability to get to the rim at will benefited the Illini against the Trojans with their high foul rate. As USC tried to take away the 3-point shot, Stojaković took advantage of the open driving lanes and showed that his ankle is good to go.
“I was just glad to be out there,” Stojaković said. “I think when you don’t put pressure on yourself and you miss some time, your mindset kind of changes.”
Boswell improved offensively from his first game back in the lineup on Wednesday night, scoring 12 points on 5 for 13 from the field and dishing out eight assists. Not only is Boswell a physical force on the defensive end, but he also uses his strength offensively to finish at the rim, even getting up for a putback dunk at the end of the first half off a miss from freshman guard Keaton Wagler. Boswell is also a willing distributor in the half-court and full-court to go along with his scoring, adding more ball movement to Illinois’ offense again upon his return.
Wagler and junior center Tomislav Ivišić weren’t an easy duo for the Trojans to defend either yet again in pick-and-roll situations. The combination of Wagler’s decision-making and Ivišić’s ability to either make a quick post move at the rim or hit a three in a pop scenario caused problems for USC on defense. Ivišić finished the game with 10 points on 3 for 6 from the field, and Wagler had 10 points on 3 for 8 shooting and added four free throws.
After sitting out most of the first half in foul trouble, freshman forward David Mirković also ended the game in double-figures with 14 points, which included two threes and 4 for 6 from the free-throw line. With all the pieces of their rotation in healthy shape again, the Illini’s offense is playing like even more of a force to be reckoned with than previously heading into the rest of their West Coast trip.
@evy_york2
