Illinois stormed into Matthew Knight Arena and demolished No. 9 Oregon in a historic 109-77 upset. With their 32-point beatdown, the Fighting Illini set an NCAA record for the largest margin of victory on the road over a top-10 opponent.
After his team’s huge win, Illinois head coach Brad Underwood gave respect to the Ducks and their legendary head coach Dana Altman. He also praised his players for dealing with star freshman Kasparas Jakucionis’ first-half foul trouble. Early fouls limited the future lottery pick to minimal minutes in the first half.
“We beat a very good basketball team,” Underwood said. “You don’t hang 109 on a Dana Altman very often. I thought our kids were very focused, I thought we did a good job surviving without Kasparas in the first half.”
Illinois leaned on strong contributions across the board as six players scored in double figures. Junior guard Tre White led the charge with 20 points and 11 rebounds on 8/11 shooting. Despite only playing 22 minutes, Jakucionis finished with 16 points, six rebounds, and six assists while going 2/3 from 3-point range.
Illinois superstar Kasparas Jakucionis put his lottery talent on full display
Jakucionis has looked like a potential superstar in the making all season, leading a top-25 Illinois team in scoring, assists, steals, and 3-point percentage. After all, he is a projected lottery pick for a reason.
Earlier this season, Tennessee assistant coach Rod Clark called Jakucionis “the closest thing college basketball has ever seen to Luka Doncic.” Jakucionis plays with a controlled pace and swagger similar to that of Doncic, and he possesses elite ball-handling abilities at 6-foot-6.
Against Oregon, the 18-year-old from Lithuania added an epic play to the highlight reel early in the second half. He delivered a no-look, between-the-legs dime in transition to a trailing Ben Humrichous for three, receiving “oohs” and “aahs” from an arena full of opposing fans.
Later in the game, Jakucionis slithered another insane no-look pass to a cutting teammate. The projected top-10 pick looks every bit as good as the NBA scouting suggests.
With a statement win over their highest-ranked conference foe, the Fighting Illini moved to 2-1 in Big Ten play and 10-3 overall. Illinois will next match up with the Washington Huskies on January 4.
