No. 3 Michigan (27-2, 17-1) showed why it is a clear national title contender on Friday night, running through No. 10 Illinois (22-7, 13-5) 84-70 in Champaign. The Wolverines frontcourt combined for 54 points on 20 for 30 shooting, highlighted by former Illini sophomore forward Morez Johnson Jr.’s 19-point, 11-rebound double-double.

After staying in contention during the first 20 minutes, Michigan put the pedal to the metal in the second half, stretching just a 7-point halftime lead to 21 at one point. Illinois’ own big men, for the most part, did not contribute much on the offensive end and seemed powerless to slow down Michigan in the paint, especially junior center Aday Mara, who had 15 points on 7 for 8 shooting around the rim in the final 20 minutes.

“They took the belt off and beat our behinds with it,” said Illinois head coach Brad Underwood. “If you like that too much, then you should probably go to the rec center and play.”

*Kylan Boswell (C-): Senior guard Kylan Boswell was disappointed in himself after the loss. You could see it on his face and hear it in his voice during the postgame press conference. 

“I’m so frustrated in myself and disappointed in how I played tonight,” Boswell said. “I feel like I let us down tonight, and I just can’t afford that type of stuff for this team.”

Boswell was surely not the sole reason for Illinois’ loss – that falls on the entire team. Boswell had some positive impact when he found a way to penetrate the lane, at least in the first half. He made 5 of his 6 2-point attempts in the opening 20 minutes.

However, Boswell shot a poor 1 for 5 in the second half when Michigan’s lead just kept growing, which was a major detriment that cannot occur after a relatively close first half. Add in the fact that Boswell shot just 1 for 6 from three on the night, and it was an inefficient performance from a veteran that Illinois really needed to step up.

“Kylan Boswell can go do everything (Michigan graduate student forward Yaxel Lendeborg) can do,” Underwood said. “It’s my job to get him to do that.”

*Keaton Wagler (B): Freshman guard Keaton Wagler’s statline was not glaringly bad by any stretch, at least until you get to the turnover column. Wagler faced intense pressure from Lendeborg everywhere on the floor for the entire game, leading to four turnovers. It’s somewhat uncharacteristic for Wagler, who is known for being steady and unfazed when handling the ball, but Lendeborg’s age, experience and NBA-ready body were a new challenge.

“(Lendeborg) was picking me up 94-feet the whole game,” Wagler said. “Being physical, getting through ball screens. Just pressuring me the whole time, just making it hard. He’s a really great player, so he did a good job.”

It may have been tough for Wagler to handle Michigan’s physicality, but he still managed to do some good things with the ball, especially when offense was so hard to come by for many of his teammates. Wagler shot 3 for 6 from three and got to the free-throw line at a good rate, making 6 of his 7 attempts from the charity stripe. 

However, the Wolverines’ physicality was again an issue for Wagler when trying to score in the paint, as he was only 4 for 11 on twos. Three offensive rebounds, though, show how Wagler is not afraid to bang bodies and be aggressive, even if he’s getting battered. Overall though, the versatility of Michigan on the defensive end and their intensity was a good learning lesson for the 19-year-old draft prospect. 

“I think just their team defense in general was really good,” Wagler said. “When you can switch four ways, it’s hard to score a lot.”

*David Mirković (B+): Freshman forward David Mirković was somewhat of a bright spot for the Illini on Friday, even while Johnson picked him up on the perimeter and in the post. Although the students behind the Illini bench who painted “MIRK > MOREZ” on their chests saw Johnson get the better of Mirković, the freshman battled the entire time.

Mirković had his first double-double since Jan. 11, scoring 12 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. In a game where the rest of Illinois’ front line was noticeably passive on the glass, Mirković was aggressive from the jump, grabbing seven boards in the first half, including two on the offensive glass.

Although he only snatched three rebounds in the second half, Mirković’s effort and high-energy play shone through next to the Ivišić twins, who could not have looked any less ready to match up with the Wolverines’ elite front court.

“Mirk’s a really good player; he’s got a lot of responsibility on the defensive end for us with coverages, and he’s guarding different matchups, perimeter and big,” Underwood said. “You know, it wasn’t his best night, but it wasn’t awful. And, like I said, he had 10 rebounds in a big boy game.”

*Jake Davis (C+): Despite getting dunked on by Johnson and the pair exchanging some words, junior forward Jake Davis simply played his role on Friday. The sharpshooter drilled 2 of his 4 3-point attempts, scoring 6 points in 23 minutes. 

Outside of that, Davis did not do much of anything – besides catch some flak online over his pregame comments about Johnson returning to see “what he could have had” if he stayed at Illinois. It wasn’t a great take in retrospect, as Johnson certainly proved that his current situation is certainly good enough to win it all.

*Tomislav Ivišić (D): On a night where the Illini really needed their big men to show up, junior center Tomislav Ivišić was a disappointment in every way. In 28 minutes, and at 7-foot-1, Tomislav managed to grab just four rebounds. Defensively, Tomislav could not contain Mara, who went 8 for 9 on the night and scored in multiple ways around the basket. 

“We’ve got to get back to post-Nebraska mindset on the defensive side,” Underwood said. “Just getting gritty, nasty. … I got to get that rectified. And it all starts with Kylan and Tomi.”

On the other end, Tomislav was also unable to score against the stifling Wolverine big men, shooting just 3 for 10 from the field. He missed 5 of his 6 3-point attempts and only made two buckets inside the arc.

Andrej Stojaković (F): It was a bizarre night for junior wing Andrej Stojaković, who came off the bench for the third straight game since returning from an ankle sprain. In the first half, he only played five minutes, and he ended the game with just 12. Stojaković had two fouls and was 0 for 2 from the field.

Underwood said that Stojaković was feeling fine physically, but he wants to see more besides just his ability to score. Defensive grit and ‘nastiness’ are intangibles that he knows Stojaković can bring – he just needs to do it.

“We got to get him guarding and rebounding back to the level that he is (capable of),” Underwood said. “He’s a big part of what we do, and we got to get back to that.”

Ben Humrichous (B-): In 19 minutes, graduate student forward Ben Humrichous had 5 points on 2 for 3 shooting and grabbed three rebounds, two of which were offensive. One of those offensive boards led to a big corner three from Wagler to cut Michigan’s lead down to just five with just over 13 minutes to go.

Humrichous’ two buckets were a tip-in dunk in the first half and a 3-pointer with under a minute to play, when the game was already decided. Even with the rest of the Illini struggling to find offense, Humrichous got very few shot opportunities, but his steadiness was a plus during his minutes on the court. 

Zvonimir Ivišić (D): Junior center Zvonimir Ivišić was a complete non-factor against Michigan. Just like his brother, but to a more extreme extent, Zvonimir could not compete with the Wolverines’ big men on the glass. He did not grab a single rebound in his 11 minutes on the floor.

“Tomi and Z aren’t even a factor on the glass, and we have to own that,” Underwood said. “I hope this just reignites a flame under us and creates a connectivity and a little bite as we go down the stretch.”

If Illinois wants to compete with big, physical teams like Michigan, then it’s completely unacceptable that its 7-foot-2 center is a ghost down low. The Wolverines outmatched the Illini in the paint, through and through, but there is no excuse for how dominant of a performance it was. Yes, Ivišić is a stretch big, but with his height and length, he needs to put that aside and find the will to fight other bigs in their primary domain.

“I think Z’s an elite defender that I, again, I keep saying I’ve got to get him on the court more,” Underwood said. “Two fouls in the first half was not something that excited me too much … We got to have consistent rebounding, consistent post defense, and it’s a two-way street because most of it’s in ball screens, and we got to start that with Kylan and Keaton.”

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