Illinois basketball didn’t have a lot of positive vibes entering the first round of the NCAA tournament.
The last time we saw the Illini in action, we were getting dragged around by Maryland in the Big Ten Tournament. This was an ugly game that left a bad taste in everyone’s mouth.
At the end of the day, maybe the loss in the Big Ten Tournament was a good thing. Illinois looked fresh and well-coached against Xavier. From the jump, the Illini had control of this game. We took a five-point lead into halftime and expanded on that lead in the second half. Illinois fended off a pesky Xavier team and won the game, 86-73.
Here are five massive observations from the Illinois basketball win over the Xavier Musketeers
1. Illinois defense came through in a big way
Coming into the game on Friday night, I was pretty disappointed with the Illinois defense. We have been like Swiss cheese, as our defense had so many holes in it.
Whatever happened since that Maryland game worked. Clearly, Illinois worked on defense a ton, and that extra practice paid off against Xavier.
The Illini came out and had a good game plan against the Musketeers. We didn’t go under screens but instead fought through them. There were certain players we allowed some space from three-point range and others we didn’t.
The biggest thing I noticed defensively was communication and help defense. Illinois effectively communicated with each other down the court. We also did a great job stopping the ball on Xavier's fast breaks and in transition. Help defense saved Illinois so many points defensively.
Illinois had given up 88, 94, and 80 points in the last three contests. In the first round of the NCAA tournament, we only gave up 73 points. It was a big defensive effort.
2. Kasparas Jakucionis finally took a leadership role
Throughout the season, Illinois always needed a leader. We have a bunch of talented players, but no one was stepping up into that leadership role.
Against Xavier, Kasparas Jakucionis took the reins. He was a special player on Friday night, and the result was an Illinois double-digit win and a near triple-double for the future NBA lottery pick.
Jakucionis looked great for the entire game. We didn’t need him to knock down a bunch of shots because he remained aggressive toward the basket. Jakucionis was only 3-of-11 from the field and 1-of-6 from three-point range, but he still impacted the game offensively by getting to the free throw line. He converted 9-of-9 from the charity stripe.
By the end of the game, Jakucionis finished with 16 points, 10 assists, nine rebounds, and one block. When the ball was in his hands, Illinois played its best. He needs to have the ball nearly every time down the court.
3. Brad Underwood leaned heavy on the starters
Every coach goes into the NCAA tournament with a different strategy. To begin the season and much throughout the 2024-25 campaign, Brad Underwood used his bench.
Illinois was, hopefully, going to have a deep bench this season. But as the year wore on, you could tell the bench was losing trust. While players like Jake Davis and Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn have a bright future, we need to win games now.
Underwood shorted the bench dramatically against Xavier. The most-played bench player was Ben Humrichous, and he received 17 minutes. I will get to him later.
While I was surprised, I wasn’t mad at how Underwood used the lineup. Davis didn’t see any time on the court. Gibbs-Lawhorn saw limited minutes. This game was about leaning heavily on the staters, and it paid off.
I also like how Underwood used Morez Johnson Jr. He subbed in at the right time, and he was used to help spell Tomislav Ivisic and give him some rest. Each Illinois starter played at least 28 minutes and four of the starters registered at least 32 minutes. I like this strategy heading into the Kentucky game.
4. The Illini rebounding margin was where it needed to be
On Thursday, I posted an article about the three keys for the Illinois basketball team to beat Xavier. The first key of that article was to have a big rebounding margin.
Xavier was not a great rebounding unit, and Illinois’ specialty is crashing the class. Plus, I knew that the Musketeers were good at shooting from three-point range, so Illinois getting as many opportunities as possible would be ideal.
Not only did Illinois win the rebounding battle, but we absolutely shattered any question of whether or not we were going to dominate the boards.
Illinois pulled down a total of 45 rebounds, which was 20 more rebounds than the 25 rebounds Xavier pulled down. That +20 rebound margin was way past what I was hoping for. Illinois did an amazing job skying for rebounds all game long.
This wasn’t just the Illini big men hitting the glass hard. There were occasions I remember that Tre White was going up and high-pointing the ball. Kasparas Jakucionis did a great job hustling for rebounds and giving us extra opportunities.
For the game, Illinois had six players with at least four rebounds and three players with at least seven rebounds. This was an incredible effort on the glass, and it was a huge reason we are moving on to the second round.
5. I can’t stop being frustrated with Ben Humrichous
There is so much positive to take from the game against Xavier. It is a win in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Illinois avoided the dreaded 11-seed over six-seed upset. The Illini won by double-digit points.
I do have to touch on one thing in the negative light. That is the Ben Humrichous minutes. I know I have complained about Humrichous a lot this season. I even complained about him in the halftime article of this game. But man, I can’t help but be baffled by him getting minutes.
The main reason Humrichous was brought into the Illinois program was to hit three-pointers. While he is the best Illinois shooter from deep percentage-wise, Humrichous isn’t the best shooter. That is what my eyes are saying anyway.
Humrichous laid another egg on Friday night. He played 17 minutes in the game and gave Illinois exactly zero points on 0-of-5 shooting from the floor and 0-of-4 from three-point range. He was open for most of those shots too.
If Humrichous had played well, Illinois would have won this game by 20+ points. But we didn’t get a good Humrichous. I will say, he did play some okay defense at times. But at this point, I still don’t understand his minutes. The only thing I can think of is that he helps spread the floor. Spacing might be the answer.
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