No. 10 Illinois (22-6, 13-4) didn’t end its trip on the West Coast on a high note, but instead on a shocker, dropping its fourth game of Big Ten play to UCLA (18-9, 10-6) on a game-winning full-court layup by senior guard Donovan Dent in overtime. Although the game came down to the wire, the loss was a culmination of the Illini’s play from when the score hit 33-10 to the final buzzer. Because of a laid-back mindset on the defensive end and disappointing offensive showing in the second half, Illinois couldn’t overcome a hungry UCLA team that has now picked up another major AP top-10 victory.
“It was so easy early, but there’s no let up,” said head coach Brad Underwood. “You can’t do that. We let them find a rhythm. We let really average shooters on their team start making shots and get comfortable.”
*Kylan Boswell (B-): Since coming back from his hand injury, senior guard Kylan Boswell has reignited the Illinois defense to play with intensity again, but even he wasn’t completely dialed in defensively in Illinois’ loss to UCLA. When he was the primary defender on Dent, Boswell couldn’t match up with Dent’s speed. Dent drove right by Boswell on multiple occasions to get to the rim, where he either finished tough layups or dished it off to his teammates standing on the perimeters for threes. Dent finished the game with a 14-point, 15-assist double-double, topping it off with the game-winning full-court layup at the buzzer in overtime.
As for Boswell on the offensive end, he was efficient in the first half, going 4 for 8 from the field, including two 3-pointers, for 10 points. Boswell also showed off his court vision in the first half as he distributed the ball in both transition and half-court scenarios for three assists. However, Boswell was practically a no-show offensively in the second half, only scoring 1 point. Boswell’s offensive rebounding stayed consistent throughout the game, recording two in each half, but he only grabbed two defensive rebounds, a factor that hurt the Illini on Saturday.
*Keaton Wagler (B-): Despite heading to the locker room grabbing his left shoulder with about eight minutes left in the first half, freshman guard Keaton Wagler was once again the Illini’s leading scorer in the contest, with 19 points. Three-point shooting wasn’t the name of the game for Wagler on Saturday, as he only went 1 for 6 from deep in his 39 minutes of play. Wagler did find other ways to score, though, which kept Illinois afloat in the second half. The freshman fed into UCLA’s physicality on the defensive end and got to the free-throw line, where he shot a perfect 8 for 8.
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Even on a poor shooting night, Wagler still filled up other categories of the stat sheet. Wagler recorded six offensive rebounds, which gave Illinois more possessions when it couldn’t seem to hit the same shots in the second half as it did in the first. Similar to Boswell, Wagler only grabbed two defensive rebounds, which was a low number for him and a deciding factor in the loss. Although Wagler’s shot selection was questionable at times, settling for multiple threes early in the shot clock, he worked well in pick-and-roll action and dished out six assists for layups and dunks. Wagler’s play wasn’t enough to overcome Illinois’ defensive deficiencies.
*David Mirković (C-): It was a rough night for freshman forward David Mirković against the Bruins, both offensively and defensively. Mirković scored just 3 points on 1 for 7 shooting from the field, alongside going 0 for 4 from 3-point range. While the Illini went on an offensive heater in the first half, Mirković was one of the few who couldn’t seem to get going. However, Mirković’s first-half defense on senior forward Tyler Bilodeau held the Bruins’ leading scorer to 2 points on only three field goal attempts. Yet, this was about the end of Mirković’s positive impact on this game.
Starting with the final play of the first half, where Mirković turned the ball over and then proceeded to foul UCLA sophomore guard Trent Perry on a three-point shot. The freshman continued to make mistakes. After a little over halfway through the second half, Mirković picked up his fourth foul and headed to the bench, sitting for almost the rest of the half. In a close game with UCLA’s forwards making the most impact offensively, Illinois couldn’t afford for Mirković not to be present defensively.
*Jake Davis (C): With the lackluster scoring across the halves for the Illini, junior forward Jake Davis struggled a bit less than the rest. Davis shot 3 for 8 from the field on only 3-point attempts in 22 minutes on the floor. When Illinois was searching for answers offensively to start the second half, Davis knocked down two threes, which were two of Illinois’ three total made 3-pointers in the second half. Outside of that, Davis wasn’t much of a difference maker in the loss.
Defensively, the junior wasn’t a strong perimeter defender as UCLA’s guards got to the rim with ease against him. Because of this, Davis recorded three personal fouls, which kept him on the bench more than usual. Although Davis has improved tremendously defensively since last season, he still has spurts where he can’t match up with quicker, more athletic perimeter players, and Saturday night was one of those times.
*Tomislav Ivišić (C+): The offensive and defensive ends of the floor were two different stories for junior center Tomislav Ivišić. Tomislav’s overall defensive performance against junior guard Eric Dailey Jr. and junior forward/center Xavier Booker was a large reason as to why the Illini dropped their fourth Big Ten game. Dailey finished the game as UCLA’s leading scorer with 20 points on 8 for 13 shooting, and Booker shot an impressive 7 for 8 from the field for 16 points.
With Mirković starting on Bilodeau, Tomislav was forced to defend both Dailey and Booker. Although Dailey and Booker weren’t on the scouting report as 3-point shooters, they were knocking them down from deep, and Tomislav didn’t contest. Then, when they decided to take it to the rim, Tomislav didn’t anticipate the attack, and both players drove right by him. Booker and Dailey also ran the floor extremely well for the Bruins in transition and Tomislav, along with the rest of the Illini, didn’t beat them down there.
“We were going back home to 3-point shooters after they hit a couple instead of just staying true to what we do,” Underwood said. “Can’t do that. It’s poor on the scouting report … Knowing that Dailey’s a driver, knowing that Donovan Dent’s a driver, staying in gaps. We just didn’t have a very good mental approach.”
However, on the offensive end, Tomislav was the Illini’s second-leading scorer with 16 points on 5 for 9 shooting from the field, which is an efficient number compared to the rest of the Illini. Same as Wagler, 3-point shooting wasn’t Tomislav’s strong suit on Saturday night, going 1 for 5. He did make up for it in other areas such as knocking down free throws and finishing at the rim, contributing to keeping the Illini in the game. Still, it wasn’t enough to make up for his extremely poor defensive performance.
Andrej Stojaković (D): In his second game back from the high-ankle sprain he suffered against Michigan State, junior wing Andrej Stojaković played nothing like he did earlier in the week. While Stojaković was the Illini’s leading scorer in that matchup, he didn’t finish at the rim with the same ease on Saturday, especially due to the Bruins’ physicality. Because of the physicality, Stojaković was able to get to the free-throw line, but he shot the poorest free-throw percentage out of all the Illini. The junior went 6 for 9 from the charity stripe, leading to him scoring just 8 points and solely one made field goal.
The defensive end was just as much of a struggle for Stojaković. As Dent’s speed and quick decision-making was difficult for Boswell to defend, it was just as much or more for Stojaković to handle. Stojaković couldn’t stay in front of Dent on the perimeter, and Dent got downhill with force because of it. Although his defense has taken massive jumps throughout the season, this was a step backward for Stojaković. Overall, Stojaković can’t be a liability on both ends of the floor for the Illini moving forward because it clearly impacts the outcome of games.
Ben Humrichous (B): On a night filled with mistakes and struggles, graduate student forward Ben Humrichous’ 3-point shooting provided a bright spot for Illinois. During the Illini’s early first-half run that put them up 23 before Wagler’s shoulder injury, Humrichous was on a heater. The Bruins didn’t put a hand in his face on the 3-point line, and Humrichous knocked down four 3-pointers in the first half. When Illinois moved the ball well, Humrichous was left open, leading to an impressive shooting percentage.
“Offensively, I think when we did what we do, we got whatever we wanted,” Humrichous said. “This team, when it got stops, it was really lethal in transition and it was able to play together and bounce off one another.”
Depending on which lineup UCLA had on the floor, Humrichous defended a plethora of players with different skill sets. This challenged Humirchous and forced him into an inefficient defensive performance. With Mirković on the bench for a long stretch in the second half, Humrichous took a few turns on Bilodeau, but he couldn’t keep Bilodeau down defensively in the same way Mirković did. Bilodeau finished the game with 18 points on 6 for 11 shooting from the field. Humrichous is usually an X-factor defensively for the Illini, but that wasn’t the case on Saturday.
Zvonimir Ivišić (C): In 17 minutes of play, junior center Zvonimir Ivišić performed better than he did against USC, scoring 11 points on 4 for 6 shooting from the field. Zvonimir benefited from Wagler in the pick-and-roll, throwing down multiple dunks. As the tallest player on the floor, Zvonimir had a height advantage and used it to play above UCLA’s defense.
Zvonimir’s defense was a little lackluster though. His rim protection was there some of the time he was in the game, as he recorded two blocks, but the Bruins still got too many easy opportunities in the paint. For the Illini to get back to playing high-level defense, they need Zvonimir to increase his production as a rim protector when opposing teams are getting to the rim.
@evy_york2
