CHAMPAIGN — When No. 17 Illinois men’s basketball coach Brad Underwood reflected on how “enthusiastic” he is on his team Sunday at State Farm Center, he didn’t shy away from his expectations.
“I’m not afraid to say it – we could be in the Final Four,” Underwood said. “But we need to be thorough to do this. And we played half the conference season without people.
The Illini were missing all Sunday in their rematch with Northwestern, playing their second consecutive game without 7-foot-1 center Tomislav Ivicic, who has mononucleosis. And yet they jumped out early on the Wildcats, leading by 22 points at halftime and running out with an 83–74 victory, thanks largely to the play of freshman forward Morez Johnson Jr.
Thornton’s 2024 Illinois Mr. Basketball Johnson made his second career start in place of Ivicic and finished with 15 points, nine rebounds and three blocks. Underwood didn’t think Johnson played well in his first start in Illinois’ 21-point loss to Maryland – when the Illini missed Ivicic badly – and the coach said he needed to challenge him last week. Had fun.
“He’s super competitive and he has a fire that burns,” Underwood said. “It was just coming out of him, and it’s great to see.”
Underwood started the game by bringing the 6-foot-9 Johnson to guard Wildcats forward Nick Martinelli, who averaged 19.9 points per game on Sunday. The Illini planned to give Martinelli space to shoot 3s but wanted to keep him confined inside. The plan worked. Martinelli had six points in the first half on 2-for-11 shooting. He finished with 17 points.
“Mo can really move his legs,” Underwood said. “He’s 255 pounds. He jumps to touch the top of the backboard. But he has great lateral quickness, and one-on-one, I don’t know that there are many people in our gym who want to see him in front of them. I mean, he can really, really defend.
“So it’s always been like that. It’s just about learning the energy, controlling it. His ability to do that is what makes him really special, and then he can also bang with five guys when needed. And then he’s got a real knack when he’s guarding guys on the perimeter to chase down rebounds.
Underwood said he also thought guard Kylan Boswell played “fantastic” early defense on guard Brooks Barnheiser, who had three points while playing despite some injuries. And Underwood said Kasparus Jakousionis “won the ball screen battle, especially in the first half, with (Jalen) Leach, making his opportunities a lot more difficult.”
The Wildcats (12-8, 3-6 Big Ten) had a 70-66 overtime win over the Illini on Dec. 6 in Evanston. But they shot only 26% from the field in the first half and fell behind 43-0. 21 at halftime.
The Illini led by 23 points with five minutes to play, before the Wildcats took advantage of a late lapse in focus to cut it to eight points with 30 seconds to play.
“We knew coming into this building today we were going to get everything they have,” Wildcats coach Chris Collins said. “And that’s what he did, to start that game in every aspect of the game – physicality-wise, effort-wise, 50-50 balls, on the glass. I just thought they were a tougher team. They were the hungriest team.
“We didn’t respond well to that, the initial punch that they threw at us early, and I’m disappointed by that because for the most part we weren’t like that. But today we were the same.”
Meanwhile, Johnson was one of five Illini players in double figures, led by Boswell’s 17 points. Ben Hamrichos had 14 points, while Jacusionis and Jake Davis each had 11 points.
The impressive performance helped Illinois (14-6, 6-4 Big Ten) snap out of a slump that included three losses in their last four games, including a two-point loss to Michigan State and a home loss to Maryland. .
Johnson said Underwood set the tone in practice before Sunday’s game, and the freshman tried to show it from the beginning when he dived for a loose ball.
“It was a statement that let them know we were working hard from the beginning,” Johnson said. “It’s not going to be easy to come here and get a win.”
The Illini went ahead 15–0 in a five-minute span midway through the first half. Humrichus capped the surge with three consecutive 3-pointers to give the Illini a 20–5 lead. The Illini made 6 of 16 3-pointers in the first half and outscored the Wildcats 28–13.
They finished the game defeating the Wildcats 50–27, having focused on practice during the week after having an issue in the December game. Jacusionis had 10 rebounds and added seven assists, one block and one steal.
“Against Maryland, we started the game with a little energy, pretty soft,” Jacusionis said. “But we worked hard these few days before this game and I think that gave us more motivation to win. Now we just have to continue on this track and be more aggressive.”
The Illini played two games without Jacusionis early this season due to an arm injury, and he missed most of the loss to Michigan State due to foul trouble. Noting the uncertain recovery time for mononucleosis, Underwood said he does not have a timeline for Ivicic’s return.
He looks forward to the day when his roster is at full strength, but for Sunday, Underwood said he was happy with the way the Illini performed without a key role.
“We had two very spirited days of practice, and that’s all we can really control, and that’s what I challenged the team after the game,” Underwood said. “It’s your job to perform well and work hard every day.”