Illinois should be completely immune to the UNC problems VCU exploited in its upset win

The biggest upset of Day 1 of the NCAA Tournament was 12-seed High Point stunning 5-seed Wisconsin in the West Region, but the biggest story was sixth-seeded North Carolina blowing a 19-point second-half lead to the 11-seed in the South Region, VCU. 

VCU’s comeback means the Rams are all that stands between Brad Underwood and his second trip to the Sweet 16 since taking over in Champaign. The Atlantic 10 champs look to be a formidable opponent on Saturday at 7:50 p.m. ET in Greenville, South Carolina. The good news for Illini fans is that their team should be completely immune to the issues that ailed UNC in the second half. 

Henri Veesaar dominated VCU before he ran out of gas

From the moment star freshman Caleb Wilson went down for North Carolina in February, the Tar Heels were paper-thin in the front court. Rather than finding a solution, head coach Hubert Davis decided to run the wheels off his star center, Henri Veesaar, and ramped that up even further in the NCAA Tournament. 

Veesaar led the way with 26 points and 10 rebounds for the Tar Heels, taking advantage of a VCU team that leans on a front court heavily on its 6-foot-11 center, Lazar Djokovic, and features only three players at 6-foot-8 or taller. However, Veesaar played every minute after halftime, finishing with 42 total minutes in the game, and visibly ran out of gas late in the second half and into overtime, including missing a key free throw in crunch time.

UNC didn’t have much choice other than to ride with Veesaar until the end. The Tar Heels fell off terribly without him and Wilson on the floor this season, posting a -13.8 net rating (per CBBanalytics.com). Even in the three minutes without him against VCU, their offensive rating dipped to 85.8. 

Illinois has more than one seven-footer to throw at the Rams

VCU isn’t equipped to deal with the size Veesaar presented. UNC wasn’t prepared to take Veesaar off the floor. Lucky for Brad Underwood, his seven-foot center has a twin. Tomislav Ivisic starts and plays more minutes than his twin, Zvonimir. The duo has shared the floor for just 100 minutes this season because Underwood typically staggers their minutes. 

Along with 6-foot-9 David Mirkovic and Ben Humrichous, Underwood will constantly have a big man to throw at Djokovic down low, and unlike Veesaar, they won’t be running on fumes, no matter how many extra frames the game has to go. 

Illinois’s supersized five-out lineup has been one of its biggest strengths this season, and it’s a disastrous matchup for VCU. Veesaar’s success proves how poorly equipped the Rams are to handle that type of size, especially with Veesaar’s ability to pick-and-pop as a prolific three-point shooter. He went 3-6 from deep on Thursday and 9-18 from the field. 

The Ivisics don’t shoot it quite as well from distance as Veesaar, but the interior dominance will be the key to avoiding an upset on Saturday in Greenville.