Tag: Illinois

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No. 18 Illinois rallies in the final moments to defeat Ohio State 87-79 in Champaign

Illinois Fighting Illini guard Kasparas Jakucionis drives to the basket during the first half against the Ohio State

Will Riley scored 24 points, and freshman Morez Johnson Jr. contributed 14 points and a career-high 15 rebounds as No. 18 Illinois overcame an 11-point second-half deficit to defeat Ohio State 87-79 on Sunday in Champaign, Illinois.

Kylan Boswell added 14 points, and Tomislav Ivisic, returning from illness, had 12 points for Illinois (15-7, 7-5 Big Ten). This victory came after the Illini had lost four of their last six games.

Devin Royal led Ohio State (13-9, 5-6) with 29 points, including 19 in the first half, and Bruce Thornton scored 22. Ohio State’s three-game winning streak was snapped with the loss.

The Buckeyes extended their six-point halftime lead to as much as 52-41 with 15:53 left on a 3-pointer from Thornton. However, Illinois fought back and tied the game 56-56 on a Riley 3-pointer with 11:22 remaining. Riley scored 20 of his 24 points in the second half.

Illinois took its first lead at 70-68 with 6:04 left after a layup and free throw by Boswell. The Illini then went on a 15-0 run, making it 78-68 with 2:45 remaining. Ohio State never got closer than six points after that.

No. 18 Illinois and Ohio State (NCAAB)

The Illini had struggled in two of their last three games without Ivisic, the 7-foot-1 sophomore center, who had been out with mononucleosis. Ivisic made an impact early in this game. Ohio State had a 14-13 lead when Ivisic hit a 3-pointer from several feet beyond the arc. He followed that with a dunk, drawing a foul and completing the 3-point play to tie the game at 16-16.

Royal helped Ohio State build a 42-36 lead at halftime, making 8 of 12 shots, including 3 of 5 from 3-point range. Ohio State shot 54.5% from beyond the arc in the first half, while Illinois struggled, going just 3 of 15 from 3-point range.

The first half featured six lead changes and three ties. Illinois went on a 10-0 run early, only for Ohio State to answer with a 10-0 run of its own to lead 29-23. Illinois then had another 10-0 run, capped by a Boswell 3-pointer, to go up 35-34 before Ohio State finished the half on an 8-1 run.

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No. 18 Illinois is working to bounce back as they face challenges with key player Tomislav Ivisic out for an uncertain period

Brad Underwood speaks to the refee in the 1st half

Illinois made changes to its roster after reaching the Elite Eight, and coach Brad Underwood understood that the season would have its ups and downs with such a young team, the second-youngest in the Power Four.

The 18th-ranked Illini (14-7, 6-4 Big Ten) have hit a rough patch. Their 80-74 overtime loss to Nebraska on Thursday night marked their fourth defeat in six games.

They started the season with a 12-3 record, with losses to No. 8 Alabama and a last-second buzzer-beater loss to No. 1 Tennessee. Three weeks ago, they were ranked No. 13, and Underwood believed his team had the potential for another deep postseason run.

“It’s frustrating for me,” he said after the loss to Nebraska, “because I know where we can be and what we were getting to.”

The Illini have played three straight games without their 7-foot-1 sophomore center, Tomislav Ivisic, who is out indefinitely with mononucleosis. Ivisic is the team’s second-leading scorer with 13 points per game and the top rebounder with 8.5 rebounds per game. In his place, 6-9, 255-pound Morez Johnson Jr. has been starting.

“It’s big for sure,” said sophomore guard Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn about Ivisic’s absence. “Tomi is a great player. He’s one of our starting guys, one of our best players for sure. That’s not an excuse. We have to have the next-man-up mentality.”

Freshman point guard Kasparas Jakucionis missed two games earlier this month due to a left wrist injury. He’s the leading scorer with 15.9 points per game and the best 3-point shooter on the team at 37.5%.

Will Riley, another freshman, got the flu and didn’t play much in a 91-70 loss to Maryland last week.

Morez Johnson Jr. reacts in the 2nd half

“I don’t know when we’ll get whole again,” Underwood said. “Tomi is a big piece of what we do, and Morez was becoming that. We have the No. 1 defense in the country when those two are on the floor together.”

With Ivisic and Johnson out, the team has struggled offensively. They’ve shot 25% on 3-pointers (48 of 190) and averaged 13 turnovers in their last six games.

Underwood said many of the turnovers are inexcusable because they come from players ignoring scouting reports and making poor passes. In the Nebraska game, several passes were thrown directly into the defense.

“Grow up. Grow up,” Underwood said, raising his voice. “I would like to have an explanation. We had four scouting report (turnovers) where we told our guys you’re not going to throw the baseline pass, and we continually tried to do that. Tonight was very uncharacteristic of us from a scouting report standpoint, making those turnovers. You’re not going to beat anybody doing that.”

Thursday marked the beginning of a stretch where the Illini play three of their next four games on the road over 10 days. They’ll host Ohio State on Sunday, then travel to Rutgers and Minnesota, both of whom are under .500 in Big Ten play.

“I feel like with this team, we’re going to go on our little slumps,” Riley said. “We’re very young. I feel like we’re getting more consistent as the days go. We’re onto the next game. We’re going to come out with high intensity, high effort.”

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College Football

No. 24 Illinois shocks Rutgers with Bryant’s 40-yard touchdown catch as time expires

Josh McCay reacts in the 2nd half

Down by one with just 14 seconds left and no timeouts, Illinois coach Bret Bielema called a play called “church” for quarterback Luke Altmyer. The plan was for Altmyer to throw a quick pass to a receiver who would immediately go down, allowing the offense to hurry to the line and spike the ball to set up a potential game-winning field goal.

But when receiver Pat Bryant caught the ball at the 22-yard line, he saw a chance to score. Instead of going down, Bryant ran across the field to the end zone, dodging one defender and making it into the end zone with 4 seconds left. His touchdown gave Illinois a 38-31 win over Rutgers on Saturday.

“I trusted myself and scored a touchdown,” Bryant said after the game. “Coach called a perfect play, and when I saw nobody was in my way, I knew I had to make the most of it.”

Bryant’s touchdown was his ninth of the season and was the final play in a game that saw three lead changes in the last three minutes.

Illinois (8-3, 5-3) had been trailing 31-30 when they sent kicker Ethan Moczulski out for a 58-yard field goal attempt. Right before Moczulski kicked, Rutgers coach Greg Schiano called a timeout, and Moczulski’s attempt was wide left and short. With the miss erased by the timeout, Bielema sent his offense back on the field for the winning play.

Athan Kaliakmanis in the 1st half

“Pat is so aware of his surroundings,” said Bielema. “He saw the opportunity and took it.”

Rutgers (6-5, 3-5) tried to keep their hopes alive with a safety on the final kickoff return, where they threw the ball out of bounds in the end zone while hoping for a miracle touchdown.

Altmyer was 12 of 26 for 249 yards and two touchdowns. He had a 30-yard touchdown run with 3:07 left, followed by a 2-point conversion to Josh McCray, putting Illinois ahead 30-24.

Rutgers responded with a 10-play, 65-yard drive, including a 15-yard run on fourth down by quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis. Kaliakmanis passed to Kyle Monangai for a 13-yard touchdown, tying the game at 31-31 with 1:08 remaining.

Illinois then drove 75 yards in 8 plays to win the game.

“That’s big-time football,” said Monangai. “We played hard, but Illinois made a great play in the end.”

Kaliakmanis finished 18 of 36 for 174 yards and two touchdowns, adding 13 carries for 84 yards and two more touchdowns. Monangai had 28 carries for 122 yards.

Rutgers had taken a 24-15 lead early in the fourth quarter after a 1-yard touchdown run by Kaliakmanis. Illinois answered with an 8-yard touchdown run by Aidan Laughery, setting up the thrilling conclusion.

The second half started with a brief scuffle between the teams, but there were no punches thrown, and the referees called penalties on both sides.