Potential NBA lottery pick Kasparas Jakucionis makes the Illinois offense click. He runs the show from out with his deft passing set up by his deep shooting range and his ability to beat defenders off the dribble.
When a forearm injury sidelined him last week, Illinois did fine without him while routing Penn State 91-56 at home Wednesday. But the Fighting Illini fell apart against USC Saturday in Champaign during their 82-72 loss.
Illinois couldn’t get into their offense with Kylan Boswell struggling to run the point. He turned the ball over six times and missed all five of his shot attempts from 3-point range.
The Illini seemed to be pulling it together late in the first half when they moved ahead 38-35, but they became discombobulated again during the final 20 minutes.
Coach Brad Underwood tried myriad player combinations, but nothing worked as the Trojans pulled away to the road victory. Not only did the Illini miss Jakucionis, they didn’t get much versatile big man Tomislav Ivisic.
People are also reading…
“We were out of characteristic. We miss KJ,†Underwood said. “There's no doubt. You've got a lottery pick that's not playing. He's also a great connector. Tomi gives us that. He's a great connector on the offensive side. We have some balance. We have better balance.
“We woke up on the wrong side of the bed: Isolations and trying to do things we just don't do. When you do that, you're going to be out of position. Guys don't know when shots are coming. We overdribbled to the point I think we pounded every nail on the court. There was no flow.
“Tomi's a huge piece for us. I didn't play him enough. Whatever it was. He just was flat. We need him and KJ. Those guys give us great connectivity on offense and flow and that keeps balance on the court."
The Illini missed 25-of-32 attempts from 3-point range and shot just 37.1 percent overall. Now they must regroup for their road swing through Indiana and Michigan State this week.
Missouri nearly suffered a devastating loss to Vanderbilt at home Saturday, but the Tigers steadied themselves in the final two minutes and escaped with a 75-66 victory. Truman’s quest for a bounce-back season remains alive.
Elsewhere in the region, SLU ran its Atlantic 10 record to 3-0 with a notable 73-68 victory over St. Bonaventure at home while SIU Edwardsville had a two-victory week in the Ohio Valley Conference.
Here is how the region’s Division I basketball teams stack up:
ILLINOIS (12-4)
Ben Humrichous continued his upturn with 21 points and nine rebounds against Penn State. Tre White had 20 points and seven rebounds and Morez Johnson Jr. came off the bench and produced 20 points and 11 rebounds during the rout. The Illini appeared to be in great shape heading into their game against USC . . . but then they fell flat. Humrichous had 15 points, but even he was forced to create shots off the dribble due to the Illini’s lack of ball movement. Boswell had six assists, five steals and eight rebounds, but the offense never really got in synch while he was running point.
MISSOURI (13-3)
The Tigers won two Southeastern Conference home games that they absolutely had to have to stay in the NCAA Tournament chase. They jumped LSU during the first half Tuesday at Mizzou Arena and rolled to an 83-67 victory. Coach Dennis Gates started a small lineup, plugging Trent Pierce in for center Josh Gray. Pierce helped create early offensive spacing, then Gray came off the bench to grab 10 rebounds. Tamar Bates had 20 points, eight rebounds and three steals while Anthony Robinson II rebounded from two bad games with a strong performance (16 points, four rebounds, four assists). Then Mizzou played a terrific 15 minutes against Vanderbilt before fading. The Tigers played the last 20 minutes like they had slammed down double cheeseburgers at halftime. Mark Mitchell (19 points) and Robinson (15 points, eight assists) stepped up, but it was Caleb Grill (13 points) who saved the game at the end.
SLU (10-6)
The Billikens overcame Kalu Anya’s foul trouble to dispatch St. Bonaventure Wednesday. Anya fouled out after playing just 11 minutes and grabbing zero rebounds. Dylan Warlick gave coach Josh Schertz 15 minutes while doing his part to keep the offense moving with three assists and no turnovers. Thank goodness Warlick agreed to ditch his redshirt year. Kobe Johnson was similarly efficient, hitting 2-of-4 shots from 3-point range and dishing five assists with zero turnovers. Kellen Thames pulled his weight with seven points and five rebounds in 14 minutes off the bench. That work by the supporting cast made it possible for the Big 3 of Gibson Jimerson (28 points), Isaiah Swope (16 points) and Robbie Avila (14 points, nine rebounds) to decide the game. SLU got some extra practice/recovery time ahead of its game at VCU on Tuesday.
SIU EDWARDSVILLE (10-6)
The Cougars got a valuable OVC road victory at Eastern Illinois Tuesday on the strength of their 41-30 rebounding edge. Ray’Sean Taylor led the way with 19 points and five rebounds and Ring Malith had 15 points and 11 rebounds. SIUE returned home Saturday and dispatched Tennessee Tech 67-59 to improve to 4-2 in league play. Ray’Sean Taylor (25 points, eight rebounds), Malith (14 points, nine rebounds) and Brian Taylor II (13 points) had strong games. SIUE held Tennessee Tech to 32.1 percent shooting overall and 22.2 percent shooting from 3-point range.
SEMO (9-8)
The Redhawks handled Southern Indiana 77-66 at home Thursday while making 25-of-32 free throws. Point guard Rob Martin led the way with 15 points and six assists. BJ Ward had 14 points and eight rebounds and Brendan Terry had 14 points, five rebounds and two steals as the Redhawks earned their fourth OVC victory. But SEMO went cold against Morehead State Saturday in Cape Girardeau during its 67-58 loss. Martin scored 21 points on 4-for-5 shooting from 3-poinr range, but his teammates combined to miss 12-of-13 shots from beyond the arc.
SIU CARBONDALE (6-11)
The Salukis made progress last week and finally broke through for Missouri Valley Conference victory. They took a good run at Belmont on the road Wednesday before falling 90-86. They erased a 43-31 halftime deficit, surged ahead 55-50, and earned multiple leads in the second half. Ali Dibba tied the game at 83 with a drive with 29 seconds left, but he failed to complete the 3-point play and Belmont closed out the victory. Dibba finished with 33 points and nine rebounds. SIUC finally earned its first league victory Saturday at home by outlasting Missouri State 88-78 in overtime. Forward Jarrett Hensley led the way with 30 points and six rebounds while guard Drew Steffe scored a season-high 16 points.
MISSOURI STATE (7-10)
The Bears are enduring a nightmarish farewell season in the Valley at 0-6 in league play. Missouri State suffered an 80-63 loss at home to UIC on Tuesday while getting outrebounded 33-17. Zaxton King scored 17 points, but Dez White and Vincent Brady II were held to 11 points combined on 2-for-11 shooting from the floor. The Bears staged a second half rally at Carbondale Saturday to force overtime, but then they lost by 10. Brady scored 24 points and King scored 23, but Michael Onsei-Bonsu fouled out with just four points and three rebounds in 20 minutes.
LINDENWOOD (8-9)
The Lions returned home to win twice in OVC play, leveling their league record to 3-3. First they dispatched Tennessee State 72-62 on Thursday with Anias Futrell scoring 24 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Nathan Johnson Jr. added 11 points and seven rebounds. Then the Lions edged UT Martin 82-81 with Futrell scoring 26 points and grabbing 10 boards. Markeith Browning had 18 points and six assists and Jadis Jones added 11 points.
