By Brad Sturdy - IlliniGuys Insider/Analyst & Co-Host, IlliniGuys Sports Spectacular

November 14, 2024

(Cover photo courtesy Joe Pickrell/IlliniGuys)

Illinois remained undefeated on the season with an ugly 66-54 win over Oakland at State Farm Center on Wednesday night. The two teams combined for 18 turnovers and had a 5-minute stretch in the second half when they each shot 1-11, 2-22 overall, in this grinder of an affair. The Illini pulled away late, opening up a 17-point margin before Oakland finished with 5-0 run for the final score.

Tomislav Ivisic led the Illini in scoring for the second-consecutive contest, tallying a career-high and game-most 20 points on 9-for-14 shooting. Ivisic also made a career-best four steals and grabbed six rebounds.

Here’s what we saw.

1. Awkward Zone - As we alluded to in the preview, Oakland would play a style that didn’t fit Illinois with their long possessions and matchup zone defense. The Illini don’t play zone, so all of their practice prep was spent working on one attacks and although they got numerous good looks, they were out of kilter and turnover prone as they scored just 1.000 PPP in a low possession affair. Underwood mentioned pregame how KJ had never seen a zone in Europe. Matchups like this make upsets possible, especially for young team learning their way. But the Illini survived and did what they needed to do.

1. Physicality is a Problem - After the Ole Miss game Illinois looked like a team that was out of its depth from a physical standpoint, and last night was no different. The Illini were manhandled at times offensively and knocked off their marks and even just had the ball taken from them a few times as they dished out 18 turnovers. It isn’t always a physical strength issue, it’s playing with toughness and having strong ball security. Much of that is learned, and you can bet that will be a priority for Brad Underwood moving forward.

1. A Shortened Bench? - Only 5 players played 15 or more minutes, only 7 played more than 10 and 8 played 8 or more. With Ty Rodgers out, the Illini are missing some minutes on the wing and will need some players to step up. Tre White has all of the abilities to be that guy with a workable 3 point shot, but thus far hasn’t done it. Morez Johnson didn’t bring the same energy he usually brings. Dravyn Gibbs-Lawhorn made numerous scouting mistakes on defense. Carey Booth is still a bit of a deer in the headlights. Will Riley had a strong first half and withered down the stretch in a physical game, so they probably need him to play fewer minutes in a game like this until he gets a bit stronger. As we have said from the beginning, this team is a work in progress.

Notable

• So. C Tomislav Ivisic scored a career-high 20 points and added a game-high six rebounds and career-best four steals.
  • Finished 9-for-14 from the floor, a career best for field goals made.
  • Marked his first 20-point game as an Illini.
  • Has now scored in double figures in all three games to begin his collegiate career.
  • Scored a game-high 10 points in the first half, going 4-for-7 from the floor and grabbing two rebounds.
• Gr. F Ben Humrichous chipped in with 10 points and matched Ivisic and Kasparas Jakucionis with a team-high six rebounds.
  • Has scored in double figures in all three games this season.
  • Has made at least two 3-pointers in each game this season.
• Fr. F Will Riley tallied eight points, secured four rebounds, and dished out two assists.
• Jr. G Kylan Boswell scored eight points, his most as an Illini, and added two rebounds and two assists.
• Jr. G Tre White scored seven points to go along with two rebounds and three assists.
• So. G Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn scored seven points and secured three rebounds, all on the offensive glass, while also tallying two steals.
• Illinois improves to 5-0 all-time vs. Oakland.
  • All five wins have come in Champaign.
• The Illini have started 3-0 for the third time in the Brad Underwood era and for the second time in the past three years.
• Illinois used a 17-4 run over a 7:25 span to take a 15-point lead and pull away in the second half.
• The Illini outrebounded the Golden Grizzlies, 37-27, which included a 12-8 advantage on the offensive glass.
• Illinois turned those 12 o-boards into 13 second-chance points.
• The Illini have won the rebounding battle in all three games this season, including two games with an advantage of 10+ rebounds.
• The Illinois defense forced a season-high 18 turnovers, scoring 13 points off of those turnovers.
• Illinois has assisted on at least 47% of its field goals in each of the team's three games this season.

Next Up
After completing its season-opening three-game homestand, Illinois (3-0) travels to Birmingham, Alabama, for a neutral-site game against #2 Alabama on Nov. 20 at Legacy Arena. The opening tip of the C.M. Newton Classic between the Fighting Illini and Crimson Tide is scheduled for 8 p.m. CT on SEC Network.