If Brad Underwood was looking for one last preseason tune-up that let him dig into his younger group, Illinois delivered exactly that Wednesday night.
The third-ranked Illini opened fast, built a 26-6 lead, and never let Illinois-Chicago breathe in a 101-66 exhibition win in Champaign. Illinois did it with a starting lineup featuring three collegiate rookies and without two preseason All-Big Ten standouts, but the talent gap still showed early and often.
Tomislav Ivisic paced Illinois with 14 points after leaving Friday’s exhibition loss to Baylor early because of a knee injury. The Illini also got another strong showing from their freshmen, with Quinton Coleman finishing with 10 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists and Ethan Brown adding 12 points, 5 boards and 4 assists.
"It's just growth for those guys. I think defensively they were much better", Underwood told WDWS radio after the game. "It was important for them to come back after a night when they got picked on."
Illinois also played without preseason All-American David Mirkovic, who remains in a walking boot after foot surgery in late July. Underwood did not offer a return date, though the Montenegro native appears unlikely to be back in time for Illinois’ trip to 19th ranked Texas Tech on November 10th.
The production was spread all over the floor. Jake Davis and Stefan Vaaks each scored 10 points, while Zavier Zens also reached 10.
Lucas Morillo chipped in 10 as well, along with a team-best 8 rebounds and 5 assists off the bench. Lincoln Williams, the freshman from Kankakee, got the start and scored 9 points in the first half before sitting out the second half.
Every Illini who played scored, and the six freshmen combined for 55 points.
"These guys are gaining valuable minutes and seeing different players and different actions. I thought their reaction was good", Underwood recalled.
Illinois piled up 28 assists on 37 made field goals and hit the 100-point mark for the second time in three preseason games. The Illini had opened exhibition play with a 105-96 win over Cincinnati before falling to Baylor 95-91.
Underwood said the absence of starters Mirkovic and Andrej Stojakovic, along with reserve Zvonimir Ivisic, both in concussion protocol, created more opportunities for other players to get work. He also pointed to the value of the minutes his team banked in the exhibition slate.
"We cleaned up some principles. None of these mean anything but we got out of them what we wanted", said Underwood, who begins his 10th season with the Illini on Monday night when Fairleigh Dickinson comes to State Farm Center.
"Starting Monday night, they'll go in either the left or right column. We know where we're ranked and we're not running from that. We know we'll get everyone's best."
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The challenge now is finding a path into a crowded backcourt where minutes will be hard to come by. Fagbemi brings quickness, basketball IQ and a defensive edge that Illinois values, along with enough playmaking ability to keep him in the conversation, but he still has to turn that behind-the-scenes promise into something more visible when the rotation tightens. [Read more 🡒]