CINCINNATI — Brad Underwood wanted to take advantage of Saturday’s first exhibition to play most of his squad, test his squad in a road environment and discover a few warts. THE Illinois The head coach accomplished all of those things, all in a 105-96 win over Cincinnati at Fifth Third Arena.
Despite the star ahead David Mirkovic sitting out while recovering from a foot injury, Illinois’ offense played faster (80 possessions) and was still dangerous (1.313 points per possession), although more prone to turnovers (15 turnovers).
Andrej Stojakovic scored a team-high 20 points, while Providence transfer Stefan Vaaks scored 19 points coming off the bench and Tomislav Ivisic had 13 points.
First year guards Quentin Coleman (14 points, eight assists, seven rebounds) and Ethan Brown (15 points, five rebounds, two assists) both shone as starters
But the Illini defense struggled to contain a Cincinnati team with 13 newcomers under the first-year head coach. Jerrod Calhoun. Playmaker Tylen Riley led Cincinnati with 31 points and 13 assists, while Adlan Elamine (15 points) and Tyler Tejada (13 points) also scored in double figures.
Illinois took a 5-0 lead in the first 46 seconds, forcing Calhoun to take a quick timeout, and took a 13-6 lead after two straight points from Tomislav Ivisic and three more from Stefan Vaaks. After Cincinnati cut the deficit to 18-16, Illinois went on a 10-5 run to take a 28-21 lead. Cincinnati responded with an 8-0 run to take its first lead at 29-28. But then Andrej Stojakovic took over, scoring 10 points in the final six minutes to spark a 12-0 run and lead the Illini to a 54-49 halftime lead.
Cincinnati cut the deficit to 75-73 midway through the second half. But Coleman went on a personal 10-0 run to build the Illini’s largest lead, 93-79, with 4:19 to play. Ivisic and Bornw then scored 3-pointers to prevent a 10-3 Cincinnati run and close out the game.
What this means: That’s about all Underwood could have wanted in a match in which he faced 12 players for at least five minutes. He looked at a lot of different formations and a lot of different players. He saw an offensive click with two freshmen guards, Brown and Coleman, who were playing very good basketball. However, the Illini have a lot to correct defensively, particularly in terms of communication and rebounding.
The star of the game: Stojakovic was unstoppable offensively, but we’ll salute Coleman for his overall impact. The freshman was heavily utilized and made excellent decisions, for the most part, creating for his teammates for most of the game and delivering a big punch late in the game. But his activity on the glass and on loose balls was also remarkable.
Game statistics
- Illinois averaged 1.313 points per possession, while Cincinnati averaged 1.215 points per possession.
- Cincinnati scored 15 points off 15 Illinois turnovers, while Illinois scored 20 points off 10 Cincinnati turnovers.
- Illinois overwhelmed Cincinnati 39-32 but allowed 12 offensive rebounds and 12 second-chance points.
- Illinois made 14 of 33 shots from three, while Cincinnati shot 12 of 33 from three.
- The Illini played 80 possessions, more than any game last season.
Do not neglect: First year guard Ethan Brown started on top 15 transfer Stefan Vaaks — a reward for solid practice, Underwood said — and played very well. Not only was Brown productive offensively in a more used role, but he was also positive on the glass and provided glimpses of good defense. He will play a lot this season.
What’s next: Illinois hosts Baylor for an exhibition game Friday at 7 p.m. CT, which will be broadcast on the B1G+ streaming service. Baylor ranks No. 35 in the KenPom preseason rankings and No. 45 in the BartTorvik preseason rankings. Last season, Baylor went 17-17 (6-12 Big 12) and missed the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2018. The Bears return just two starters from last season – point guard Isaac Williams and post Caden Powell – but added Penn State transfer guard Kayden Mingo (13.7 points) and his younger brother Dylan Mingoas well as Freedom transfer guard Brett Decker Jr.who averaged 16.9 points last season.
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