After a disappointing home loss to Nebraska in mid-December, Illinois had to change some things.
The Illini had lost three of their last seven games and it looked like things could go off the rails without a sudden change in mentality.
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“The Nebraska loss started it all,” Illinois freshman David Mirkovic said after his team’s 75-66 win over Washington. “After that we changed our mentality… We just changed our mentality. We started living for each other, playing harder on defense, communicating more. When we do our best and try to play as hard as possible, the points find us and we win.
Brad Underwood’s team has reeled off 10 straight wins since losing Nebraska, including a 43-point rivalry win over Missouri, an incredible upset win over Purdue at Mackey Arena and eight straight in Big Ten play.
The last of 10 wins wasn’t the greatest performance ever, but the Illini — without leader Kylan Boswell — managed to beat a Washington team to improve to 9-1 and tied for first place in the conference.
Freshman Keaton Wagler again starred, scoring 22 points on 13 shots. The projected lottery pick also had five rebounds and eight assists. The aforementioned Mirkovic had a fantastic game himself, recording 19 points and six rebounds in 30 minutes of play.
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Andrej Stojakovic and the Ivisic twins struggled offensively, but Illinois was able to withstand poor shooting performances from its stars by holding Washington to just 26.1 percent from beyond the arc. The 24 second chance points scored by Illinois also made all the difference in the end.
Ben Humrichous played a big role in the win, hitting four triples off the bench. After a fragile first half of the season, Humrichous has recently found himself in form. The graduate student from Tipton, Ind., shot 8 of 14 from beyond the arc in the team’s last three wins.
“I’m a good shooter. I’ve proven it over time,” Humrichous said after the victory. “To see them qualify is awesome. Continuing to focus on the things that matter in basketball…winning plays, rebounding, defense, being a great teammate, and then shooting follows.”
With Humrichous’ help, the Illini have made 10 or more three-pointers in seven straight games. They have recorded 10 or more assists in nine of their last 10 outings. Amazingly, Illinois and Washington both recorded exactly 34 rebounds, marking the first time since December 6 (against Tennessee) that Illinois was not winning the rebounding battle.
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The product on the field over the last month and a half has been nothing short of fantastic for Illinois fans to watch. The solidarity the team shows on the hardwood can be even more entertaining and encouraging.
There is clearly a real connection between the players on this team, which has created a really special chemistry that is visible to outsiders. Maybe it’s because almost half the team has European roots. This could be because it is an older unit with excellent veteran leadership. Or maybe it’s just because the team plays great basketball together.
“I saw this team come together as a collective group,” Humrichous said. “Our identity is we’re just going to compete. I’ve seen us continue to be a team. It’s a team that’s incredibly connected on and off the field. It’s a group that loves playing with each other. Right at the start of this winning streak, we just saw a group of people locking arms.”
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As the challenge of Big Ten basketball moves forward, Illinois will need to stay together on and off the court. The eventual return of Kylan Boswell and potentially Ty Rodgers should help the Illini in their quest for a Big Ten regular season title.
