The Illini scratched, clawed and occasionally stumbled Wednesday – and it may have been the best thing for them
With Oakland in town to close out a three-game opening home stand at the State Farm Center in Champaign, the Illini stumbled often and never quite found their stride, but still managed to grind out a 66-54 victory that revealed just how much more they'll need to grow to get to their preferred destination.
"We get so much more out of these games than we do winning by 30," coach Brad Underwood said in a Big Ten Network postgame interview. In the first half, the Illini vascilated between superb and sloppy. Ivisic was at the center of everything, quite literally, as Illinois kept the ball moving and didn't rush the offense against a difficult scheme. Gibbs-Lawhorn and guardpressured the ball effectively, and the Illini were able to scrape together some easy buckets to lighten the load on Ivisic's shoulders.
Jakucionis recovered somewhat in the second half, finishing with four points, six rebounds and three assists – and even briefly took Ivisic's place in the middle of the zone, using a head fake, a nifty dribble move and instinctive footwork to draw a foul.
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