Illinois is about to find out a lot more about itself in Lubbock, and Brad Underwood knows exactly where one of the biggest headaches could come from.
The No. 3 Illini have rolled through their first two games of the 2026-27 season, but those wins only told part of the story.
Against Penn and another mid-major, Illinois was supposed to look the part. Tuesday night is different.
No. 16 Texas Tech is waiting, and the Red Raiders will have a familiar name near the top of their scouting report: former Illini guard Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn.
Underwood addressed the matchup in his pregame press conference and made it clear the staff knows what kind of threat Gibbs-Lawhorn brings.
“Dravyn, we obviously know, went and had a spectacular year at UNLV and is there [at Texas Tech] now,” Underwood said. “We know what he’s capable of as a scorer.”
That’s not coach-speak. Gibbs-Lawhorn backed it up last season at UNLV, where he led the Mountain West in scoring at 20.7 points per game.
The production came with real efficiency, too. He shot 41.4 percent from three-point range while hitting 2.9 threes per game, and he made 57.1 percent of his shots from inside the arc - an eye-popping number for a 6-foot-1 guard.
“He went and gained some confidence,” Underwood said. “In essence, he went down a level to UNLV, and that’s not to downplay them. But he was just turned loose.
“And Dravyn’s always had tremendous capabilities of scoring the basketball. We witnessed those things in practice a lot.
Very, very gifted athlete. He can facilitate.
He can be a playmaker as well.
“And he’s a guy that can put the ball in the basket. And, always throughout his life, has had a lot of success doing that. So we’ve got our hands full and we’ve got a great challenge there.”
The box score tells part of the story, but Gibbs-Lawhorn’s game is built on more than numbers. He has a live wire from deep, can knock down shots off the catch or off the bounce, and loves that secondary transition pull-up three. He’s comfortable pulling up for contested midrange jumpers, and he has an advanced floater package when he gets into the lane.
Once he gets downhill, his burst and change of pace let him reach the rim, where he can finish with either hand in a bunch of different ways. His athleticism helps him rise over defenders, too, which is part of what makes him such a difficult cover.
The bigger question is whether that scoring carries over against high-major competition. Gibbs-Lawhorn has shown he can catch fire in stretches at Illinois, and on any single possession he can get a bucket on just about anybody. The test now is whether he can keep creating quality looks against the kind of size, length and athleticism Illinois will bring Tuesday night.
That answer could go a long way toward deciding whether Texas Tech can stay in the fight for 40 minutes.
In Other News...
Illinois Walks Into A Texas Tech Test That Could Get Uncomfortable
Texas Tech has opened the season with two wins and now gets a much stiffer measuring stick when No. 3 Illinois comes to town. The Red Raiders will have to navigate the matchup without some important frontcourt pieces on either side, which puts even more pressure on Texas Techs depth and the players asked to absorb extra minutes and extra responsibility.
That means names like Bassala Bagayoko and Darrion Williams become central to how well the Red Raiders can hold up inside, while the perimeter battle should be just as revealing. Cruz Davis and Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn give Texas Tech a backcourt that will be tested by Illinois guards Quentin Coleman and Stefan Vaaks, and if the game turns into a guard-driven fight, the Red Raiders may find out quickly how comfortable they are in an early-season spotlight. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Tech Faces A Big 12 Test Its Defense Must Survive
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For a team that controls its own path in the Big 12 championship race, this is the kind of game that can sharpen the picture in a hurry. Texas Tech does not just need another solid outing, it needs its defense to hold up against a matchup that will demand discipline from start to finish, and the Red Raiders will find out under the lights at 8:30 p.m. whether their preparation matches the stakes. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Tech Gets A Huge Frontcourt Boost Before Illinois
Texas Tech is about to get a major frontcourt addition just in time for one of its biggest early tests. Jamichael Stillwell, the UCF transfer who was granted immediate eligibility by a court injunction, is set to make his season debut against No. 3 Illinois, giving Grant McCasland another body to throw into a matchup where size and physicality figure to matter from the opening tip.
Stillwell had been a concern after being seen in a walking boot, but McCasland confirmed he will play, and that matters for a Red Raiders team that will need help on the glass and around the rim. Against an Illinois lineup with plenty of length, Texas Tech is looking for Stillwell to strengthen its interior defense and rebounding right away, even if his first appearance comes in a high-pressure setting. [Read more 🡒]