December 10 — Lineups Illinois (6-2, 0-1)
Starters
P Name Year Ht. Hometown of PPG
G Kylan Boswell Jr. 6-2 9.0 Champaign
G Kasparas Jakucionis P. 6-6 14.4 Vilnius, Lithuania
G Tre White Jr. 6-7 7.1 Dallas
F Ben Humrichous Gr. 6-9 9.3 Tipton, Ind.
C Tomislav Ivisic P. 7-1 16.1 Vodice, Croatia
➜ FYI: Jakucionis is the only player in the Big Ten and one of two players to average at least six assists and six rebounds nationally. He is also the only one to do so with a double-digit score. Utah guard Miro Little is the other, averaging 9.5 points, 6.6 rebounds and 6.0 assists. Drake’s Bennett Stirtz comes in third, averaging 18.8 points, 6.0 assists and 5.0 rebounds.
Off the bench
P Name Year Ht. Hometown of PPG
F Will Riley Fr. 6-8 15.0 Kitchener, ON
G Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn So. 6-1 6.4 Lafayette, Indiana.
F Morez Johnson Jr. Fr. 6-9 5.5Chicago
No. 20 Wisconsin (8-2, 0-1)Starters
P Name Year Ht. Hometown of PPG
G John Blackwell So. 6-4 15.2 Bloomfield Hills, Mich.
G Max Klesmit Sr. 6-4 12.2 Neenah, Wis.
G John Tonje Gr. 6-5 21.5 North Omaha, Neb.
F Nolan Winter So. 7-0 9.2 Lakeville, Minn.
F Steven Crowl Gr. 7-0 7.2 Eagan, Minnesota.
➜ FYI: Tonje “leads the free world in caused fouls,” according to Illinois coach Brad Underwood. The reality is the former Colorado and Missouri State guard gets to the free throw line often. Tonje is currently tied for second nationally with Florida State’s Jamir Watkins with 87 free throw attempts in 10 games. Ketron Shaw of Maryland-Eastern Shore has 109 in 13 games. Tonje also makes the most of his trips to the line, hitting 93.1% of his free throws.
Off the bench
P Name Year Ht. Hometown of PPG
G Kamari McGee Sr. 6-0 6.7 Racine, Wis.
F Carter Gilmore Sr. 6-7 2.1 Hartland, Wis.
F Xavier Amos Jr.6-7 4.3 Chicago
Details➜ Location: State Farm Center (15544), Champaign.
➜ Radio: Brian Barnhart (play-by-play) and former Illini Deon Thomas (analysis) will have the call on Illini Sports Network on WDWS 1400-AM, WDWS 93.9-FM, WHMS 97.5-FM, WPXN 104.9-FM , WDAN-1490-AM, WDNL 102.1-FM, WSOY 1340-AM and WSOY 103.3-FM.
➜ Streaming: Noah Eagle (play-by-play) and Robbie Hummel (analysis) have the call at Peacock.
➜ Series: Illinois leads 118-89.
➜ Last meeting: Illinois won 93-87 on March 17, 2024, in the Big Ten tournament title game in Minneapolis.
➜ FYI: The Illini are in the middle of an eight-game winning streak against Wisconsin, which follows a 15-game losing streak against the Badgers.
Beating plots from writer Scott Richey. Could the Illini turn more to their bench? Maybe
Having had a few days to reflect on Friday night’s 70-66 overtime loss to Northwestern, Illinois coach Brad Underwood limited himself to one change he felt he should have made on the moment: use your bench more. Will Riley played 30 minutes, but the rest of the Illini backups fell short of that combined mark. Morez Johnson Jr. had just 11 minutes and finished with six points and five rebounds. The freshman big man topped Underwood’s “needs to play more” list.
“I think I should have played Morez more — even with (Tomislav Ivisic) — just in terms of the stress he was putting on the rim, forcing help,” Underwood said. “It’s kind of that balance between what the game gives you, what it does. I like what Morez gives us on the glass, but I also think Tomi was a little tired as well. The physicality of what they provided and what they did were allowed to do things we hadn’t seen all year.
Breaking the offensive glass a must for Illini
Offensive rebounding has long been a priority for Underwood. His best teams at pulling off their own misses were last year’s group with Dain Dainja and Ty Rodgers posting the highest offensive rebound rate and the 2019-20 team led by Kofi Cockburn and Alan Griffin. This year’s team is in line with those numbers, recovering 35.9 percent of its own misses. A number that actually took a hit after the Illini had an offensive rebound percentage of 22.2 percent against Arkansas and just 17.1 percent against Northwestern.
“It’s been a thorn in my butt,” Underwood said. “It bothers me and has bothered me since (the Arkansas game). It’s inexcusable to recover 17 percent of your misses. Inexcusable. That’s the lowest we’ve had in four years. We can’t not do that. It’s an effort.”
Former Illini’s son flourishes with Badgers
Glynn Blackwell had a solid career at Illinois, playing four seasons for Lou Henson in the 1980s. The Highland Park, Michigan, native moved from little-used reserve guard as a freshman in 1984-85 behind Bruce Douglas, Doug Altenberger and Tony Wysinger started with a career average of 12.1 points on the 1987-88 Illini team that finished 23rd. -10 and ushered in the Flyin’ Illini’s breakthrough the following season. Blackwell’s son, John, is seeing a faster rise in Wisconsin. A key part of the rotation last year as a rookie, John Blackwell is averaging 15.2 points and 4.7 rebounds per game for the Badgers this season.
“Blackwell is one of the most improved guys in our league,” Underwood said. “They’re really playing him at that point, but he’s a really, really good offensive rebounder. He shoots the three well. He’s efficient in the paint and he’s a good athlete. Really good in the open court .”
News-Gazette Picks Illinois 78, No. 20 Wisconsin 71
The idea of a “must-win” Big Ten game in early December when there will be 18 more to play in the new year is a bit of a stretch. But neither Illinois nor Wisconsin would prefer to return to league play in January with an 0-2 hole. Especially since it would mean a home defeat for both teams. Ultimately, it was the field that made the difference Tuesday night in Champaign. ()
