Dec. 10—Lineups Illinois (6-2, 0-1)
Starters
P Name Yr. Ht. PPG Hometown
G Kylan Boswell Jr. 6-2 9.0 Champaign
G Kasparas Jakucionis Fr. 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 Fr. 7-1 16.1 Vodice, Croatia
➜ FYI: Jakucionis is the only player in the Big Ten and one of just two nationally averaging at least six assists and six rebounds. He’s also the only one that does so as a double-figure scorer. Utah guard Miro Little is the other, averaging 9.5 points, 6.6 rebounds and 6.0 assists. Drake’s Bennett Stirtz is a close third, averaging 18.8 points, 6.0 assists and 5.0 rebounds.
Off the bench
P Name Yr. Ht. PPG Hometown
F Will Riley Fr. 6-8 15.0 Kitchener, Ontario
G Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn So. 6-1 6.4 Lafayette, Ind.
F Morez Johnson Jr. Fr. 6-9 5.5 Chicago
No. 20 Wisconsin (8-2, 0-1)Starters
P Name Yr. Ht. PPG Hometown
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, Minn.
➜ FYI: Tonje “leads the free world in fouls drawn,” according to Illinois coach Brad Underwood. The reality is the former Colorado State and Missouri guard does get to the free throw line … a lot. Tonje is currently tied for second nationally with Florida State’s Jamir Watkins with 87 free throw attempts in 10 games. Maryland-Eastern Shore’s Ketron Shaw has 109 in 13 games. Tonje makes the most of his trips to the line, too, knocking down 93.1 percent of his free throws.
Off the bench
P Name Yr. Ht. PPG Hometown
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➜ Site: State Farm Center (15,544), Champaign.
➜ Radio: Brian Barnhart (play-by-play) and former Illini Deon Thomas (analysis) will have the call on the 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 on 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 midst of an eight-game winning streak against Wisconsin, which has come on the heels of a 15-game losing streak to the Badgers.
Beat writer Scott Richey’s storylines Could Illini turn to their bench more? Possibly
Given a couple days to reflect on Friday night’s 70-66 overtime loss at Northwestern had Illinois coach Brad Underwood locked in to one change he felt he should have made in the moment: using his bench more. Will Riley played 30 minutes, but the rest of the Illini backups didn’t hit that mark combined. Morez Johnson Jr. got just 11 minutes and finished with six points and five rebounds. The freshman big man was at the top of 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, which forced help,” Underwood said. “It’s kind of that balance of what the game is giving you, what it’s doing. I love what Morez gives us on the glass, but I also think that Tomi got a little tired, too. The physicality of what they provided and what they were allowed to do we hadn’t seen all year.”
Crashing the offensive glass a must for Illini
Offensive rebounding has long been a priority for Underwood. His best teams at snagging their own misses were last year’s group with Dain Dainja and Ty Rodgers boasting the highest offensive rebounding rate and the 2019-20 team led by Kofi Cockburn and Alan Griffin. This year’s team is in line with those numbers, getting back 35.9 percent of its own misses. A number that’s actually taken a hit after the Illini had an offensive rebounding percentage of 22.2 percent against Arkansas and just 17.1 percent at Northwestern.
“It’s been a thorn in my rear end,” Underwood said. “It has been grinding at me and bothersome since (the Arkansas game). It’s inexcusable to get 17 percent of your misses back. Inexcusable. It’s the lowest in four years that we’ve had. We can’t do that. That’s effort.”
Former Illini’s son thriving with Badgers
Glynn Blackwell had a solid career at Illinois, playing four seasons for Lou Henson in the 1980s. The Highland Park, Mich., native went from little-used reserve guard as a freshman in 1984-85 behind Bruce Douglas, Doug Altenberger and Tony Wysinger to a starter averaging a career high 12.1 points on the 1987-88 Illini team that finished 23-10 and ushered in the Flyin’ Illini breakout the next season. Blackwell’s son, John, is experiencing a quicker surge at Wisconsin. A key rotation piece last year as a freshman, John Blackwell is putting up 15.2 points and 4.7 rebounds per game for the Badgers this season.
“Blackwell’s one of the most improved guys in our league,” Underwood said. “They’re really playing him at the point, but he’s a very, very good offensive rebounder. He’s shooting the three well. He’s effective in the paint and a good athlete. Really good in the open court.”
The News-Gazette’s pick Illinois 78, No. 20 Wisconsin 71
The idea of a “must-win” Big Ten game in early December when there’s 18 more to play in the new year is a bit of a stretch. But neither Illinois nor Wisconsin would prefer to restart league play in January in an 0-2 hole. Especially because that would mean a home loss for both teams. Ultimately, home court is the difference-maker Tuesday night in Champaign. ()
