EAST LANSING, Mich. — Without his best player on the field, Illinois needed a spark in the first half against Michigan State and looked toward his lanky freshman who had been rubbing rocks together for weeks, ready to see a flame.
And then Will Riley spewed fire all over the Breslin Center. Bucket after bucket. A complete takeover as the Illini needed to steady the waters in an eventual 80-78 loss to No. 12 Michigan State on Sunday.
Without Riley’s mega-half, Illinois’ No. 19 might have already been too buried to be rightly upset. Kasparas Jakucionis‘ foul trouble and two phantom calls in the second half before finally fouling out during a physical game.
“Will got hot. He was on a roll. We needed it,” the Illinois freshman forward said. Morez Johnson Jr. said. “If he hadn’t made those shots, it could have gotten ugly for us early. That kept us in the game.”
Riley made a three-point play just 15 seconds after entering the game to start a run where he scored or assisted on all 18 points and scored 16 of those points on 6-for-7 shooting. the kind of heat that drew Underwood and the Illini coaching staff to Riley as they watched a 42-point game in Indianapolis during an EYBL game last spring.
Between getting to the rim, hitting a pair of 3-pointers and a jumper, it was the most complete sequence he had in Big Ten play before finishing with 19 points.
Of course, a loss is a loss and Illinois (13-5, 5-3 Big Ten) has a tall task ahead of moving up the Big Ten standings, so Riley wasn’t very interested in spending his time up front. cameras in the bowels of the Breslin Center taking a personal victory lap.
But the big half – an indispensable part of the whole – surely felt good. That’s the most he’s scored against a top opponent this year, just over 18 against Alabama.
“It felt good, but unfortunately we lost,” Riley said. “It would have been a lot better, but we’re going to bounce back.”
There had been signs before Sunday that Riley was starting to put everything back together after a rough patch as a freshman (6.9 points on 29% shooting over the previous 11 games). He’s looked more aggressive and assertive in recent weeks, getting to his spots and throwing his shots. They just hadn’t fallen.
Riley entered the game having made 12 of 48 shots (25%) in his last seven games against top opponents and had failed to reach double figures against a top team since a home loss against Tennessee.
But with Jakucionis out of the game, Riley knew he had to provide a spark.
“We always have to fill the hole when he’s out,” Riley said. “He does so much for the team, for all of us, he makes it easier for all of us. For me, I have to step up when I come in and help the team win.”
Underwood, when asked by a Michigan State reporter if he thought that kind of play was possible for Riley, didn’t hesitate before saying yes. He’s simply seen it too many times outside of a match to rule out the possibility.
“He’s a freshman,” Underwood said. “He’s been through that. He’s had to go through being at the top of the scouting report, which he was for a long time, and missing some easy shots. He’s finding his way, but he has that ability offensively .”
Riley himself had seen signs of this kind of outcome coming.
“That’s usually my mentality before the game, whether I’m in my head or not,” Riley said. “I’ve gotten better with it, so it’s been good. … Focus and stay in the gym. I try to go first, last, always. Always there in the morning and after training, stay there , stay away and watch a movie.”
Riley’s only significant blunder was missing two free throws late in the game, resulting in a two-point loss.
Although Riley is a better shooter than he has shown thus far in college (32.9%), he did most of his damage against Michigan State by driving to the rim, cutting to the rim and getting good passes from Tomislav Ivisic or get to the mid-range. That success, he said, helped him unlock and knock down a pair of 3-point shots.
“It’s tough coming into the game, especially coming off the bench, and being able to shoot threes,” Riley said. “I learned it recently.”
Jakucionis clearly missed
Underwood was asked about both games this season (State of Pennsylvania And U.S.C.) without Jakucionis and how it was different expecting him to play but getting limited minutes from him due to foul trouble.
In Underwood’s eyes, consider this a third game — or at least three-quarters of a game — without his star guard and projected lottery pick.
To no one’s surprise, his impact was evident in the limited minutes he played. Illinois’ late comeback came after Jakucionis finished after the Spartans took a seven-point lead with 7:37 to play. He immediately broke through his defender, drove to the rim and converted a 3-point play while playing with four fouls.
On the next possession, Jakicionis assisted on Ivisic’s layup. And then, just as quickly as that explosion started, it ended when Jakucionis fouled on the other end of the court. This was perhaps the most reasonable mistake of the five.
“There hasn’t been a single team in the country that has guarded it successfully,” Underwood said. “He’s a maestro. He’s completely different from anyone else. You saw the little three-minute stretch he played. Every bucket was easy. He got a layup. That’s it. is that guy. Make no mistake, if he’s not the best point guard in the country, he’s very close, and he’s 18 years old.
“We know how good we are when we have it. (Kylan Boswell) was great. I thought our bench was great. They did a lot of good things. He elevates everyone at a rate that’s really hard to define. I’m not trying to blow it. He knows how good he is. He doesn’t need me to tell him that. He’s just different. You look and two of our losses, he wasn’t a very active participant. »
Riley added, “He’s still engaged to us. He’s still doing great. We had to pick him up. It’s tough that we lost, but we’ll work through it.”
Johnson replaces ill Ivisic
Underwood said big man Tomislav Ivisic was suffering from strep throat, “felt just horrible” and “couldn’t breathe” Sunday morning.
Still, Underwood credited Ivisic for putting up 13 points (despite going 1 of 6 from 3-point range) and pulling down four rebounds. Ivisic’s illness meant Underwood knew he would go more as a freshman Morez Johnson Jr.
Johnson was ready for the moment. He scored 11 points, grabbed six rebounds (including a tough one late in the game) and made 5 of 8 from the free throw line. Johnson scored three straight points in the final two minutes and missed a free throw that would have tied the game.
Otherwise, he played on two feet and was present in the paint.
“It’s a real luxury to have a guy like Morez,” Underwood said. “Morez, I thought, was outstanding. He gave us a real presence at the rim. I thought defensively he was great. He finished, got to the foul line, put foul pressure on them. Value that Tomi gives us offensively is really hard to replace. All those late cuts were his demise. When you can shoot him like Tomi, you have to get back up and guard him.
Johnson was frustrated at being booked for an early foul, in which he remains steadfast that he did not commit a foul. Coen Carrand on a play in which he attempted to throw the ball at a Michigan State player only to fall out of bounds before the call ultimately went in favor of the Spartans.
“They put a lot of pressure on the rim with all their cuts on the drive and back, but we played against teams like that against Arkansas” Johnson said. “We prepared for it. We have to keep doing what we’re doing. »
The bench unit takes on its full meaning
It’s not just Riley and Johnson who have spearheaded what has been a very solid bench for the Illini. Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn is increasingly a ball of energy and once again played as such. He had seven points, four offensive rebounds and a steal. One of Gibbs-Lawhorn’s offensive rebounds led to a fair foul and came about strictly because of his effort.
Jake Davis hit a corner 3-pointer in the second half to break a tie at 43. Illinois had 40 points off the bench, thanks in part to Jakucionis playing just nine minutes.
Still, this is a group that has been frisky and competitive and has given Illinois a boost in games this season while putting on more and more weight.
“They couldn’t be better,” Underwood said. “I thought Jake Davis came in and gave us a boost. Obviously, Will had a night. We have a group of guys that are all capable of scoring big nights. … Each of them has a little something something different. I think it really bodes well for what the future of this team can be as we move forward into conference play and the NCAA tournament.”
Illinois entered the game averaging 26.71 bench points per game, which ranked 56th nationally. After a 40-point performance off the bench, Illinois has a 27.44 scoring average, which should put it in the top 50 nationally. Only 16 top teams are in the top 50 in bench production.
“We have great depth on this team,” Riley said. “…We have a lot of depth. It’s important to have it because the starting five can’t do it the whole game. We need the bench to amplify everything.”
Johnson added: “We accept our role. We come from different backgrounds. Some may have played more, some may have played a lot at their previous school and we are ready and do what the coach wants .”
