Illinois basketball went on the road and came home with a massive double-digit win over a ranked opponent.
It is tough to win anywhere in college basketball, let alone on the road. The Illini went to Nashville, and we came away with a huge 75-62 win over No. 13 Tennessee.
Illinois traveled well, as the arena had plenty of Orange and Blue rooting on the program. This helped propel the team to the huge win. Brad Underwood made note of the fans who showed up, and he also talked extensively in his postgame press conference about the team’s good and bad from the contest.
Here are five interesting Brad Underwood quotes from the Illinois basketball presser vs Tennessee
- “Rebound. Rebound. I wrote down 25-11 at half. I don’t know if I have ever had a team annihilated like that on the glass.”
It was one of the weirder games that I can remember. Illinois was pounded on the glass 25-11 in the first half against Tennessee, yet we were only down two points.
Underwood has been coaching a long time, and to have a first is pretty crazy. I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall at halftime to hear what he said to the team to get them to correct their rebounding woes.
- “I’d be very remiss if I didn’t think the MVP of the game didn’t attempt a field goal. Ben Humrichous. Ben was absolutely phenomenal tonight on the defensive side…Ben didn’t shoot a shot. The job I thought he did defensively, he was able to do on Nate (Ament)…”
You definitely have to give credit to Ben Humrichous and the game he had against the Volunteers. Not all impact has to be in the points department.
Humrichous finished the game with two points, five rebounds, three blocks, two steals, and one assist. He didn’t attempt a shot, and as Underwood said, his defense against Nate Ament was impressive. The former five-star recruit was held to nine points on 4-of-14 shooting from the field. This was a quietly great game from Humrichous.
- “I thought we got really good shots. I thought the ball didn’t stick. I thought it had energy. I think we had the best practice of the year yesterday.”
This was true for much of the game. There were times late in the first half when Illinois stopped moving and wasn’t aggressive. The ball got a little sticky.
But, for the most part, I thought Illinois’ ball movement was great. It helped get a lot of open shots. I think having big men who can shoot from beyond the three-point arc helps with ball movement a ton, too. They can come out and set screens and get a lot of pick-and-roll action.
- “Tomi (Tomislav Ivisic) is growing in the post. He’s 265 pounds now, he’s not light in the rear end. He can get that thing wherever he needs to.”
One of the most fun aspects of the game against Tennessee was seeing Tomislav Ivisic play a little booty ball. He was a post presence that we haven’t had in a while.
Ivisic had his skyhook working, and it was a throwback to a different time. Tennessee couldn’t stop the little shot after his head. It was indefensible. On Underwood’s note, you can tell that Ivisic has gotten stronger this season, too. For me, it is more on the defensive side when a big man tries to back him down. His legs are much stronger, and he is harder to move.
- “Keaton (Wagler) just plays. The environment doesn’t bother him. Maybe a little bit of the physicality, it is just a matter of him getting comfortable…the most impressive thing is the no turnovers.”
Illinois struck gold with a player like Keaton Wagler. I am not sure how long it has been since Illinois has had this type of impactful freshman.
I think you have to go back to the Ayo Dosunmu days. That 2018 season was rough, but Ayo was clearly a superstar in the making. I would argue Wagler is ahead of where Ayo was as a freshman, though. This kid is advanced for his age, and my only hope is that he is around for his sophomore season.