Illinois basketball came into the Round of 32 with a target on our backs and VCU ready to fire.
While the scrappy underdog pulled off the first round upset, the Illini weren’t playing with our food on Saturday night. We came out of the gates throwing haymakers, and the Rams struggled to keep up.
There was a little blip in the middle of the first half that gave VCU a little hope, but Illinois quickly extinguished that hope. A seven-point halftime lead ballooned quickly into a blowout. Illinois kept the margin around 20 points for most of the second half and ended up beating VCU 76-55.
Here are five incredible observations from the Illinois basketball win over VCU
1. Illinois set the tone with the aggression
From the opening tip, this game was controlled by the Illini. Instead of settling for three-pointers, Illinois was aggressive and driving the lane to cause contact.
It all started with Andrej Stojakovic and his driving ability. He was taking it to the Rams. But as a whole, Illinois had a clear mission of not just jacking up shots from deep.
While he was the aggressor on the offensive end, there was a collective team effort when it came to defense, too.
Kylan Boswell was an animal on defense. He was hounding VCU all game long. His ability to get into the grill of the VCU guards was special.
I thought Jake Davis had a good defensive night, too. He hit the floor trying to get a ball early in the game. His effort didn’t go unnoticed.
Illinois needed to come out and punch VCU in the face. They did that with their aggression and effort on both ends of the court. It showed by piling on a big win against VCU.
2. The interior passing for the Illini was incredible
I loved this game for the Illini. It was exactly how we should always play. While Illinois was aggressive on both ends, the passing was special, too.
Everyone on the Illinois basketball team was distributing the basketball. No one person was pounding the rock as everyone stood around.
Six out of the nine Illinois players who participated throughout the game had at least one assist. This included three players who had at least three assists.
David Mirkovic continued his great all-around play. His four assists paced the way. Mirkovic is the biggest point guard that I have ever seen.
Shockingly, Illinois’ starting point guard Keaton Wagler only had two assists in the game, one coming late when the game was out of hand.
Team basketball makes Illinois run so much better. I would argue this was one of the best games the team has played this season. Logging 15 assists in the game is pretty special.
3. Andrej Stojakovic came up big in a huge moment
Illinois has had some legendary moments throughout the history of the program. Just days ago, we saw Mirkovic go off for a massive double-double.
Sometimes the big game comes out of nowhere. On Saturday night, the Illini got the performance of a lifetime from Andrej Stojakovic.
Stojakovic came off the bench and bulldozed VCU. He was aggressive from the start, and the Rams didn’t see it coming.
By the final horn, Stojakovic finished with 21 points, four rebounds, and one assist on 7-of-12 shooting from the field.
The best thing about Stojakovic’s night is that he knew what he was. There have been games when he tries to shoot more three-pointers, but that just isn’t his game. He isn’t his father.
Stojakovic did what he does best on Saturday night. He drove the lane and caused chaos. He was 7-of-10 from two-point range. VCU was on their heels the entire night.
Illinois doesn’t win this game without Stojakovic. He doesn’t get a ton of love because of the great freshmen we have, but this kid carried the Orange and Blue to the Sweet 16.
4. VCU couldn’t handle Illinois’ defense in the second half
Illinois let VCU hang around in the first half. They were hitting some big shots, and at one time, they took a two-point lead.
That was quickly squashed toward the end of the first 20 minutes of action, though. Illinois finished the first half on a high note, and then in the second half, we locked down on defense.
Illinois only allowed 27 points in the final 20 minutes of action. VCU couldn’t handle our guard play, and once our offense got clicking, the hole continued to get deeper and deeper for them.
The Rams ended the game going 7-of-32 from three-point range. That is just 22%. Illinois was suffocating them the entire game. When they did get space, it was from NBA range, which they can shoot those all game long.
There was zero inside presence for VCU as well. They tried to drive the lane and finish around the rim, but Illinois had trees in the paint.
From the jump, Illinois was the better defensive team. This really shone brightly in the second half. The defense has just as much credit to take from this big-time victory.
5. Illinois unleashed one of the greatest rebounding performances
There was so much that Illinois did right on Saturday night. You can point to so many different areas where we were better than VCU.
When the dust settled, I think the rebounding is what stood out to me the most. Illinois was vicious on the boards, and VCU couldn’t compete.
For the first time for maybe the entire season, I was actually impressed with Tomislav Ivisic in the rebounding department. It was like he finally figured out he was 7-foot-1.
Ivisic finished the game with a team-high 11 rebounds. Nine total players for the Illini had a rebound as well.
Illinois was able to pull down an incredible 45 rebounds against VCU. This was 16 more rebounds than the Rams’ 29 rebounds in the game.
What is even more impressive is the fact that Illinois had 12 offensive rebounds. The Rams couldn’t deal with the Illini's physicality, and it showed in the final stat line. It was one of the best rebounding games I have ever seen Illinois play.