Quick hits: Illini dominate No. 15 Michigan in second half of 93-73 road win – 247Sports
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — All season long Illinois coach Brad Underwood has said he doesn’t mind if his team misses shots as long as his team crashes the glass to get them back. The Illini rode that mentality to an impressive road win at No. 15 Michigan on Sunday.The Illini had a season-high 30 second-chance points off 19 offensive rebounds, helping them tread water until the shots started to fall in waves in the second half (11-for-23 from three after halftime) of a 93-73 blowout win at Michigan.Tre White had his second double-double of the season (19 points and 11 rebounds) and Kylan Boswell had 17 points, nine rebounds, four assists and two blocks to lead Illinois (19-11, 11-8 Big Ten) to its ninth straight win over Michigan.Freshmen Kasparas Jakucionis (17 points, six rebounds and four assists) and Will Riley (13 points, five assists and four rebounds) also scored in double figures behind strong second-half performances to win back-to-back games after coming off a three-game losing streak in which its average margin of defeat was 26 points.Vladislav Goldin led Michigan (22-7, 14-4 Big Ten) with 22 points on 11-for-15 shooting, but Illinois kept the rest of Michigan in check and scored 15 points off 11 Michigan turnovers. Wolverines star Danny Wolf had nine points and five turnovers, while Tre Donaldson had just nine points on 4-for-12 shooting.The loss knocks Michigan a full game behind Michigan State in the Big Ten title race entering the final week of the season, which culminates with the Wolverines playing at Michigan State next Sunday.The Illini began the game cold, making just one of its first 10 shots, but Illinois’ defense came out with some bite, holding the Wolverines to 7-for-20 shooting to start what was an ugly beginning of the game. Illinois then made seven of nine shots, including 3-pointers by Kylan Boswell, Kasparas Jakucionis and Tomislav Ivisic to take a 20-13 lead. But Illinois missed opportunities to further expand the lead as it made just four of its final 17 shots of the half, and Michigan made five of its last six shots in the half to trim the deficit to 31-30 at halftime. In a sloppy first half, the Illini shot just 32% with eight turnovers, while Michigan shot 45% with nine turnovers.Michigan briefly took the lead twice early in the second half, but then the Illini’s shots started to fall in bunches. Illinois went on a 14-4 run to take its largest lead 52-43 following two 3-pointers by Ben Humrichous. During a 13-4 Illini run, Jake Davis hit two 3-pointers and Jakucionis hit a 3-pointer and a layup to give Illinois a 70-54 lead with about eight minutes remaining. The Illini lead then expanded to 75-55 after another Jakucionis three and cruised to seal the win.What it means: The Illini have a real chance to build some momentum heading into March Madness. After its ugliest stretch of the season, a healthier Illini squad looks more cohesive on both ends of the floor and has way more bite defensively with some recent scheme changes. They can stay in games even when the shots don’t fall with its tenacity on the glass and on defense, and then when the shots fall, look out. Underwood seems to have found the right mix and right schemes for this current group, and Morez Johnson Jr. should fit in pretty seamlessly if/when he returns from a broken wrist (potentially the Big Ten Tournament).Individually, this is one of the Illini’s best wins of the season, along with a neutral site win over Missouri, a 32-point road win at Oregon and a home win over Wisconsin, and the victory pushed Illinois up from No. 22 in the NET rankings to No. 16. This win also could help Illinois, a projected No. 8 seed entering Sunday, bump up a seed line with a Quad1A win and one of its most impressive wins of the season. The Illini can continue to climb with only Quad 1 games remaining before Selection Sunday.Star of the game: We’re going to split the honors between Kylan Boswell and Tre White, who both gave Illinois toughness at the rim and on defense and tenacity on the offensive glass. Boswell carried the Illini early with 13 first-half points, while White was a menace on the offensive glass throughout the game and hit two big 3-pointers in the second half. This is the type of tough play Illinois wanted and needs out of the veteran transfers, helping the freshmen overcome some cold spurts. Stats of the gameDon’t overlook: Illinois went on a 30-15 run in the second half when starting center Tomislav Ivisic sat for 9:07 straight. The big man sitting for an extended period seemed like a potential nightmare scenario against Michigan’s front line. But even though Vlad Goldin scored against Illinois, the small Illini lineup successfully spread out Michigan’s defense to create open shots, defensively got into Michigan’s guards and still found a way to win on the glass. Credit to the scrappy, aggressive group.What’s next: Illinois has some time to prepare for its regular-season and home finale against No. 20 Purdue, a 7 p.m. Friday tipoff (FOX). The Boilermakers (20-9, 12-6 Big Ten) broke a four-game losing streak on Friday with a 76-66 home win over UCLA and host Rutgers on Tuesday. The Boilermakers defense has slipped during the last five games, ranking No. 154th in the country in defensive efficiency during that time, though the offense remains strong (No. 13 offensive efficiency during the last five games) behind likely All-Big Ten First Team selections Trey Kaufman-Renn (19.6 points, 6.0 rebounds) and Braden Smith (16.0 points, 8.7 assists, 2.4 steals). Illinois has lost five straight to Purdue, including two straight at home, dating back to the 2021-22 season.© 2005-2025 CBS INTERACTIVE ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. CBS Sports is a registered trademark of CBS Broadcasting Inc.The content on this site is for entertainment purposes only and 247Sports makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the information given or the outcome of any game or event. There is no gambling offered on this site. This site contains commercial content and 247Sports may be compensated for the links provided on this site.
