Illinois locks up, at worst, a 4 seed in the Big Ten Tourney and won’t play until Friday. Avoided what would have been a terrible loss, but still a lot of concerning things on the defensive end / from an effort standpoint. Need this week to get some confidence and energy back to this group. #illini
Really nice contest there by Kylan — Mills didn’t get a clean look there at all
David Mirkovic is an absolute winner. I really hope we get Year 2 in Champaign
Not to draw anything up. Just to yell at David Mirkovic for a bad shot.
Solomon Washington fouls out with 3:53 left to give Keaton Wagler two more FTs after the media timeout and the #illini clinging to a 70-64 lead.
Where would we be today without David Mirkovic. One man army in College Park
I thought KB would help, but even he can’t guard a soul off the dribble right now.
Win or lose this game, I’m not sure I trust this Illinois team to consistently get stops against even an average offense in the NCAA Tournament.
This will, once again, be a team that lives or dies by three point shooting. And that’s a terrifying spot to be in.
Solomon Washington picks up his fourth foul for kicking out his leg on David Mirkovic. Kudos to the ref for making that one.
Man, this defensive effort is embarrassing. Three straight drives where Andre Mills gets wherever he wants without resistance. Stojakovic is killing us out there right now. This is the 151st offense in the country
You feel for Solomon Washington on that one — his teammates have to call that one out…
Illinois is getting better looks with Keaton on the ball instead of Kylan. Really good drive and finish through contact to get Washington his 3rd. And then a smart pass out of the blitz leads to a Tomi floater for 2. #illini
Just nowhere near good enough navigating through screens as a team.
That David Mirkovic offensive rebound and put-back to make it 37-34 feels like it changed the entire game and flipped the momentum. Illinois finally matched Maryland’s physicality in the final 4 minutes, and the shotmaking is bound to even out (right?… right?!?!?)
Jake Davis one of the few bright spots in this half. Never needs the ball in his hands to be effective. Need Andrej Stojakovic to learn from Davis’ cutting
Ah that makes more sense
Andrej Stojakovic has been either All Big Ten level or completely unplayable. We need more consistency from him — namely, rebounding, not turning the ball over, and defensive effort.
Did one of the announcers just say “Illinois is anywhere between a 3 and 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament”??
I’m sorry you’ve had to watch this effort in person
Maryland playing SO MUCH harder than Illinois right now. Unfortunately, that’s been a theme the last 3-4 weeks.
What is it about this Maryland program? This Terps team is god awful, and it’s clear we are getting their best shot. Already has the feel of a game that’s going to come down to the wire…
Zvonimir really just needs to grab those defensive rebounds…
Final game of the regular season tipping off in a matter of minutes. This has been an awesome ride with an incredible Illinois team — we’ll see what March has in store, but don’t want to lose sight of how fun this team has been all season long. I-L-L!
21 points and 12 rebounds for Andrej Stojakovic off the bench. Fantastic bounce back after being a non-factor against Michigan. If we can get him going again, especially defensively and on the glass, it unlocks another level for this team.
Let AJ Redd cook
Thank you, Seniors! 🧡💙
Kylan Boswell
Ben Humrichous
AJ Redd
AJ REDD!!!!!!
Nice defensive response from the #illini in a game that looked like Oregon had more energy at the U16. I’d expect the Ducks to start making some threes, but Illinois has been much better in gaps cutting off drives
HALF: #illini 41, Oregon 21
Illinois ends the half on a 38-12 run, outscores Oregon 21-6 from three.
Keaton Wagler 11 points, 4 ast, 3 reb
Andrej Stojakovic 6 pts, 6 reb
Zvonimir Ivisic 5 pts, 4 reb, 2 blk
Illinois rolling out a much more conservative defensive look tonight. Helping in gaps and conceding Oregon (248th best 3-point shooting team) semi-open looks without allowing much of anything at the rim.
Feels like Illinois needs to go back to this after letting UCLA/UM live in the paint.
