It was just a simple layup. All Kasparas Jakucionis had to do was make it – which he normally does in his sleep – and Illinois would’ve led Missouri by 10 with just under six minutes to go in the annual Braggin’ Rights rivalry game in St. Louis.
Instead, Jakucionis blew the bunny and then fouled the rebounder, fueling an 11-0 Tigers blitz that gave them their first lead of the second half.
The Illini were in trouble, but they didn’t fold. There were big shots left in Jakucionis’ tank. Veteran guard Kylan Boswell wasn’t going to lose. In the end, the Illini improved to 8-3 with an 80-77 victory.
The trophy stays in Champaign!
The Illini earn back-to-back Braggin’ Rights victories for the first time since a stretch of five straight wins over Mizzou from 2013-17.#Illini | #HTTO | #EveryDayGuys pic.twitter.com/PElvt6lnTw
— Illinois Men’s Basketball (@IlliniMBB) December 22, 2024
In the meantime, here are three big-picture takeaways from a highly entertaining game:
Freshman Jakucionis’ ability to cleverly find space to shoot is one of the attributes that separates him from other big ball-handlers. Seven-footer Tomislav Ivisic’s calm, pinpoint passes out of double-teams to cutters in the lane are things of beauty. The infusion of skill brought by the European duo has been the most notable mark of this team.
But every bit as important – maybe more so – is the broad-shouldered, tough-minded willfulness provided by Boswell and Tre White. They play bigger than they are. Their rebounds seem almost to count as double. And freshman Morez Johnson Jr. clearly is cut from the same cloth. Johnson’s burliness and strong hands and his no-nonsense approach are building blocks for a great college career.
Illinois doesn’t beat the Tigers (10-2) without crazy free-throw shooting – 22 of 23 for the game, including 11 of 12 by Boswell. His strength and aggressiveness led to every one of the fouls that put him on the line.
Always on the attack.
Kylan Boswell was relentless in the lane – on the glass and at the rim.#IlliniPerformanceStat x #InvescoQQQ pic.twitter.com/puwprqnhrI
— Illinois Men’s Basketball (@IlliniMBB) December 22, 2024
The Illini shot 26 threes and made eight of them, for 24 points. They shot 31 twos and made 17 of them, for 34 points. They got fouled on a bunch of those two-point attempts and made their free throws, too. The two was better than the three, no surprise. Take that, analytics nerds.
No matter how much coach Brad Underwood believes in him, freshman Will Riley needs to lay off his long-range trigger a bit. Riley shot 1-for-6 from three for his only points. Since Thanksgiving, he’s 2-for-23 from three. Go to the rim, dude. Pretend you’re 6-8. Oh, wait, you are.
Riley’s passiveness against Missouri wasn’t a good sign. It wasn’t a physically intimidating opponent at all. Riley should’ve gotten in on the free-throw parade. It would’ve kept him on the floor, but he played only 17 minutes.
Meanwhile, Ben Humrichous continues to frustrate. Should he be starting? In the first half, he played 10 scoreless, rebound-less, assist-less minutes. Your Uncle Earl who swears he would’ve played college ball if not for his trick knee could’ve done that. Humrichous ended with three points, a rebound and a block in 21 minutes – just about the opposite of filling the stat sheet.
Also, turnovers – particularly by Jakucionis – persist as an issue. Missouri, one of the national leaders in steals, exceeded its average with 12 of them in this game, but much of the blame was squarely on the Illini for passes that weren’t nearly crisp enough. It’s time to stop underestimating the athleticism and quality of the guys in the other jerseys.
