Illinois Basketball Rains Threes on Oregon in Record-Breaking Blowout

Brad Underwood warned us.

After raving about the long-distance marksmanship of transfer forward Ben Humrichous in the offseason, Illinois coach Underwood has been preaching patience and chastising any criticism of Humrichous’ relative inconsistent three-point shooting to start the season.

Now we know why: In Thursday’s early-season clash of Big Ten titans in Eugene, Oregon, Humrichous locked in and triggered a blistering three-point barrage from the Illini, scoring 18 points to spark a record-breaking 109-77 Illinois win.

The No. 22 Illini (10-3, 2-1 Big Ten), who entered the game shooting 33.4 percent on threes for the season, went 16-for-29 (55.2 percent) from behind the arc, keyed by Humrichous’ 4-for-7 shooting on threes. Kylan Boswell pitched in with 15 points (4-for-5 on threes), and five other Illini hit the mark from long range against the No. 9 Ducks (12-2, 1-2 Big Ten).

So overwhelming were the Illini that they broke an NCAA record for margin of victory: Illinois’ 32-point win is the largest ever by a road team against a top-10 opponent. Fitting, maybe, that it was Humrichous who opened the floodgates.

Although he hasn’t exactly scuffled from three-point distance (23-for-67, 34.3 percent), Humrichous’ recent erratic shooting from game to game and somewhat limited contributions made him something of a squeaky wheel for Illinois – especially given what was expected from the grad student and prized transfer (Evansville) on the Big Ten’s youngest team.

Humrichous, who didn’t hit a three in the first half and had a minus-11 plus/minus score at the break despite his Illini leading 45-38, ignited from the moment Illinois hit the floor for the second half.

Working off screen-and-roll action with point guard Kasparas Jakucionis near the top of the key, Humrichous banged home a three to open the scoring out of halftime. After Jakucionis hit a three of his own, he dropped off a between-the-legs no-look on the right wing to Humrichous, who converted. A moment later, a fastbreak layup off a steal from Tre White (who led the Illini with 20 points) finished off an 11-2 run that saw Illinois push a seven-point halftime lead to 56-40.

Underwood couldn’t have dreamed up a better scenario than Humrichous’ breakout or the Illini shooting binge aligning with the team’s first major test on the home floor of a Big Ten foe. Illinois easily outshot Oregon from the floor (57.5 percent to 43.5 percent) and at the line (81.8 percent to 70.6 percent), and seemingly everyone got in on the act.

In the first half, after falling behind 7-2, the Illini were led on a 12-0 run by subs Jake Davis (12 points) and Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn (11 points). The contributions weren’t just welcome but needed after the Illini got off to an 0-for-6 start from three and its starters began the game on a 1-for-10 field-goal shooting stretch.

Humrichous even had a rare inside-the-arc offensive moment in the first half, catching Oregon’s defense on its heels and taking advantage of an open baseline to hammer home a thunderous dunk – and leave the FS1 broadcasters momentarily speechless:

Illinois’ interior and transition defense were more lax than usual, but it clamped down on the perimeter (Oregon: 5-for-15 on threes) and pushed the pace often. After a rough, foul-plagued start, Jakucionis dazzled in the second half, when he went 6-for-8 from the field and scored all of his 16 points. He finished with six rebounds, five assists and only two turnovers.

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