Playing well is like riding a bike, the Illinois basketball team never forgets.
On Monday, the Illini played their first game in a week and just the second game since December 14. This is a dry spell of Illinois playing basketball that I don’t want to go through again.
Thankfully, Illinois turned on the burners after a sluggish start. We were a little sloppy early on, as turnovers were the name of the game. That sloppy play quickly turned into the Illini thrashing Southern. By halftime, it was a 21-point lead. That 21-point lead resulted in Illinois putting the foot on the gas and beating Southern, 90-55.
Here are five encouraging observations from the Illinois basketball win over Southern
1. David Mirkovic was much more active
It has been a roller coaster of a season for David Mirkovic. That is exactly what a freshman should do, as they are still adjusting to the college game.
The averages for Mirkovic are really good, but he has played some inconsistent basketball. Coming into the Southern game, he had scored a total of 13 points in the past two contests. I wanted to see more out of him moving forward, and he performed well on Monday.
Mirkovic finished the Southern win with 11 points, six rebounds, and two assists. He was active on the perimeter, moving without the ball. That is what I liked to see the most. Even when he wasn’t moving, someone like Kylan Boswell let him know he should be moving.
I loved that Mirkovic got downhill toward the basket, too. He was solid around the hoop, and this is how he can consistently get into that double-digit scoring bracket.
If Mirkovic is sticky on the court, he doesn’t play nearly as well. He is someone who can get Illinois’ offense going by setting screens and being an agent of chaos when it comes to movement.
2. The ability of Keaton Wagler hasn’t stopped amazing me
It seems that every observation article I write something about Keaton Wagler. I mean, how can I not? This kid isn’t a year removed from high school, and he is arguably the best player in the Big Ten.
What an indictment on all of the power-four coaches besides for Illinois and Minnesota. They were his only two major scholarship offers. Wagler has been insanely good, and his production doesn’t slow down.
The crazy part is, he isn’t a one-trick pony either. Wagler can put up 25 points on you one night, but then come back against Southern and drop 11 points while also dishing out 10 assists and pulling down seven rebounds. The versatility of this kid is amazing.
What I noticed against the Jaguars, too, was that the team looks for his leadership. A handful of players make mistakes, and then Wagler does some really good things on the court, and Underwood turns to the bench and says that is how you do it.
Leading by example is a huge saying in life. If you are doing your job and doing it right, then that will wear off on the people around you. That is what Wagler is doing for Illinois. His style, his ability, and his basketball IQ will soak into his teammates and make this program even better. This kid is special.
3. If Illinois shoots well from 3-point range, we are unbeatable
It is fun seeing the Illini playing well, and it is even more fun when we are dropping bombs on teams from long range.
Illinois’ three-point shooting ability has been up and down over the years. There have been seasons, like the Elite 8 run, when Illinois has shot well from three-point range. But then you have a season like the 2024-25 campaign when we can’t hit water from the side of a boat.
As of right now, the Illini are knocking on the door of the top 100 in the country in three-point shooting. We average hitting three-pointers at a clip of 35.6%, and that is good enough for No. 101 in the nation.
That number was elevated on Monday afternoon, too. Illinois hit 14-of-34, 41%, from three-point range. This number was carried by the bench, as the Illini starters were only 5-of-15, 33.3%, and the bench was 9-of-19, 47.4%, against Southern.
The clear line of winning and losing when it comes to three-point shooting is still intact. When Illinois shoots at least 35% from three-point range, we are now 6-0 this season. When we shoot worse than 35%, the program drops to 4-3.
A huge part of the success of the three-point shot, and it really shined on Monday, is the ball movement. Illinois isn’t just sitting there pounding the rock. The ball is constantly moving, and this enables players to find open teammates in corners or to get them better shots on the perimeter.
4. Illinois has some options if we suffer a bad injury
It wasn’t even five minutes into the game on Monday that Illinois suffered an injury scare. Boswell went down with an ankle injury, and he was pounding the floor with his fist.
This looked bad initially, as all ankle injuries look like you should be out 3-5 years with how bad it twists. But thankfully, Boswell took some time and was back on the court within the next five minutes.
During those moments, it was going through my head who would replace Boswell if he were going to miss extended time? What was Underwood’s plan going to be?
Honestly, I believe this might be the most prepared Illinois has ever been for a brutal injury. I am not just talking about the point guard position either. I am talking about up and down the roster. I have never seen a deeper Illini squad.
Let’s take Boswell as an example. Illinois probably just switches Wagler over to the No. 1 guard spot full-time, and someone like Ben Humrichous steps into the starting lineup. There is also a chance that Mihailo Petrovic gets thrown into the mix as a starter, too.
At center, if Tomislav Ivisic misses time, his brother Zvonimir steps in. If Andrej Stojakovic goes down, Humrichous is there to replace him. The same can be said for Mirkovic. And then you still have options coming off the bench to help the team.
Illinois has backup plans at each position, and that is comforting to know. Underwood has assembled a great unit, and this team is poised to do some damage in March.
5. Jake Davis producing is dangerous for the Big Ten
One player I didn’t mention in the previous section is Jake Davis. I don’t think he is going to start if there is an injury, but that is okay with me. Illinois is better off with Davis being a sparkplug off the bench.
Davis has had a quiet season thus far, scoring in double-digits just once, and that was the first game of the season. He has played decent minutes, though. He comes in and gives Illinois a bucket or two, and then a rebound or assist.
Underwood doesn’t ask a ton of Davis, but he is someone who can spell minutes for starters without the team missing a beat.
On Monday, Davis provided more than just a breather. He was a big-time sparkplug for the Illini, and he was the main reason we extended the lead in the first half to 21 points.
Davis started hitting from three-point range in the first 20 minutes of action. He ended the first half going 3-of-4 from deep for nine points. Those nine points were tied for the team-high heading into the halftime locker room.
By game’s end, Davis finished with a team-high 15 points off the bench. He was 5-of-6 from three-point range in the game as well. Illinois’ starters are great, but if we can get this type of production, or somewhere near it, in every game from Davis, then this program will be unstoppable. Davis can be such a sparkplug for this program, and we saw that against Southern.