Illinois lost a lot from last season’s Elite Eight team — specifically Terrence Shannon Jr. to the NBA Draft, Marcus Domask, Quincy Guerrier and Justin Harmon to the G League, and Coleman Hawkins, Dain Dainja, Luke Goode and Amani Hansberry to the transfer portal. That list includes what were the Illini’s top four scorers — and eight of the top nine.
Brad Underwood was forced to reload on the fly.
So far, it appears he did it successfully, with the latest bit of evidence coming via Thursday’s 90-77 victory over Arkansas in the CBS Sports Thanksgiving Classic in Kansas City.
It was a battle of the Ivišić Twins!
Tomislav Ivišić started in the middle for Illinois. Zvonimir Ivišić, started in the middle for Arkansas. They combined for 34 points, 16 rebounds and five blocks — but Tomislav accounted for most of those points (21), most of those rebounds (10) and most of those blocks (3), which is among the reasons the Illini jumped to a 14-2 lead, led by as many as 17 points late in the first half and cruised without ever being seriously threatened in the final 20 minutes.
“We got a nice lead and we never wavered,” Underwood said. “We stayed true to it. It kind of got up there to 15, 16, 17, then it would get to nine or 10, and then we would make a play. This group was unwavering [making] plays when they needed to make them. And that’s not easy to do.”
Especially not with a team this reliant on first-year players.
Illinois is No. 17 in Friday morning’s updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings, making the Illini the only team in the Top 25 And 1 whose top three scorers are first-year college players. At the top of the list is Ivisic, a 7-foot-1 center who is averaging a team-high 16.3 points. He’s technically listed as a sophomore — but only because he lost a year of eligibility in the NCAA’s eyes after spending three seasons in the Adriatic League, point being that this is Ivisic’s first season of college basketball despite what the label “sophomore” suggests. Next on the list is Will Riley, a 6-8 freshman who is averaging 15.4 points. And then there’s Kasparas Jakucionis, a 6-6 freshman who is averaging 13.6 points.
Jakucionis is the best prospect of the bunch. CBS Sports’ Kyle Boone projects the 18 year-old from Lithuania to go seventh in the 2025 NBA Draft. He got a team-high 23 points against Arkansas while shooting 40% from 3-point range.
“That’s why next-level people love him, [because] he has the ability to step back and make a 3, he has the ability to get fouled, he knows what the game needs,” Underwood said of Jakucionis. “I’ve had him a very, very short time. I would love to take credit for all of that, but I can take credit for none. He’s got a gift.”
Illinois jumping from unranked to No. 17 in the Top 25 And 1 means there are now six Big Ten schools in these rankings — specifically No. 7 Purdue, No. 11 Wisconsin, No. 15 Michigan State, No. 17 Illinois, No. 19 Ohio State and No. 25 Oregon. The Illini will open Big Ten play Dec. 6 at Northwestern.
Top 25 And 1 rankings
In: Illinois, Dayton
Out: Arkansas, Arizona
