Illinois’ first home game of the season came with plenty more drama than anyone at State Farm Center expected.
The Illini nearly erased a 19-point halftime hole against Baylor on Friday night, but the comeback came up short in a 95-91 loss that also brought a string of injury scares. Before tipoff, David Mirkovic was already seen back in a boot and scooter during pregame warmups, and by the end of the night Illinois had lost more key pieces.
Brad Underwood summed it up bluntly afterward: “Yeah, we got busted tonight.”
Baylor lit Illinois up early, shooting 61% from 3-point range in the first half and pouring in 63 points before the break. Illinois had no answer at the start on either end, but the tone shifted once the teams came out of the tunnel.
The Illini came out with more pop in the second half, sparked by an Andrej Stojakovic corner-three and a dunk. They cleaned up the rebounding, took better care of the ball and finally found a way to slow Baylor down, holding the Bears to 32 second-half points.
Then the injuries started stacking up. Zvonimir Ivisic and Stojakovic both went down after hard falls that appeared to involve head injuries.
Both headed to the locker room and did not return. Tomislav Ivisic also limped off midway through the second half before making it back to the bench.
Even with all that happening, Illinois kept fighting. Lincoln Williams, Quentin Coleman, Ethan Brown, Jake Davis and Jason Jakstys helped keep the pressure on, and the Illini got within three points with a few minutes left. The rally just didn’t quite get over the top.
Mirkovic’s absence showed up fast in the paint and on the glass. Underwood has made offensive rebounding and second-chance scoring a staple of his program, and Illinois relied on that last season. Friday night, though, Baylor flipped that script and beat the Illini on the boards and in second-chance points.
“I haven’t been beat that bad on the offensive glass in a long time,” Underwood said.
Quentin Coleman was the steady hand for Illinois, finishing with 20 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Stojakovic had 15 points before his fall and hit six free throws, showing his ability to get downhill and draw contact. Ethan Brown added seven points, two rebounds and two assists, while Stefan Vaaks and Jake Davis gave the comeback push a lift in the second half, combining for 23 points after slow starts.
Illinois also hurt itself early with turnovers and missed shots. Baylor’s hot perimeter shooting did the heavy damage in the first half, and the Illini never fully recovered from that burst.
Isaac Williams led Baylor with 28 points on 11-of-20 shooting and went 3 for 5 from deep. Jake Davis finished with 10 points, three rebounds and four assists while shooting 3 of 4 from 3-point range.
Illinois will host UIC at State Farm Center on Oct. 28 in its final exhibition before the season begins.
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