TV and Streaming Viewing Picks for November 10, 2024: how to watch NFL Week 10

Illinois Basketball Report Card: Grades Vs. Arkansas (Game 7)

Illinois had faced just one other top opponent before taking on No. 19 Arkansas on Thursday in a neutral-site matchup in Kansas City, Missouri, and it hadn't gone especially well. A 100-87 loss to then-No. 8 Alabama had exposed some defensive issues and raised questions about whether the young Illini were ready to handle the size, speed and skill that the cream of the college basketball crop would throw at them.

Now we have our answer.

The Illini (6-1) hit the ground running against Arkansas (5-2) and didn't break stride until crusing to a 90-77 win over the Razorbacks. The perimeter shooting finally came around for Illinois, but it was a fine all-around effort against a team that figures to push Auburn, Tennessee, Kentucky and Bama in the SEC all season. Below, we grade out Illinois' individual performances from the Arkansas matchup, which – again – represent each player's single-game output.

Ivisic didn't just meet the pressure of the moment against a quality ranked opponent and a much-hyped matchup with twin brother Zvonimir – he wrangled it and rode it like he owned it. With 21 points on 6-for-9 shooting from 3-point range, 10 rebounds, three blocks and two steals, Ivisic put on one of the best all-around individual performances seen from a player in an Illini uniform in quite some time.

While sharing responsibilities running the Illini offense (six assists) and finding room to spark his own (18 points), Boswell also put on another defensive clinic, doing most of the heavy lifting in holding Razorbacks freshman guard Boogie Fland to eight points on 2-for-12 shooting. Even if Boswell's 3-point stroke never comes around, he'll be in the running for Illinois' unofficial team MVP.

Jakucionis continues to show that he's anything but the typical freshman point guard, striking a harmonious balance between creating offense for his teammates and himself (23 points and four assists) against a quality opponent in Arkansas. His handle can get too loose (six turnovers), but the occasional freshman mistakes are the cost of doing business when offensive brilliance is the payoff.

Humrichous has been Illinois' metronome this season, spotting up and knocking down shots beyond the arc at an excellent clip (3-for-4 against the Hogs) and stretching opposing defenses to further open the throttle on the Illini offense. His other numbers tend to ebb and flow, but when he holds down his position on defense, he almost always comes up as a plus.

Despite playing less than half the game, Johnson – as usual – made his presence felt, mostly in a very good way. He finished with six points (2-for-2 from the field), four rebounds and two steals. Johnson rarely takes anything off the table, but his free-throw shooting (2-for-4 vs. Arkansas) and proclivity for fouls (three in 15 minutes) are something he'll want to clean up over time.

Thirteen minutes isn't a lot of time to get much of anything done, but Gibbs-Lawhorn hit 2 of 3 shots (including a three) and snagged a rebound in his short floor time against Arkansas – solid enough production for his run in this one.

White was one of the few Illini who weren't feeling it Thursday, missing his only shot (a 3-point attempt), grabbing two rebounds and otherwise handing in a clean stat sheet in just 11 minutes. With Illinois' depth, White's playing time will probably often hinge on who – including him – has the hot hand in the rotation on any given day.

For the first time all season, Riley played like an overwhelmed freshman. He had just five points (on 2-for-9 shooting) and zero rebounds against Arkansas, which clearly made a point of keeping Riley from getting comfortable. As we know by now, he'll have many much better days ahead.

Instant Analysis: Illinois Basketball Outguns No. 19 Arkansas 90-77 3 Key Numbers from Illinois Basketball's Win Over Arkansas Arkansas Coach John Calipari Reacts to Illinois Basketball's Win

Arkansas Coach John Calipari Reacts To Illinois Basketball's Win

Following No. 19 Arkansas' 90-77 loss to Illinois on Thursday in Kansas City, Razorbacks coach John Calipari spoke to the media about the contest, starting with a tip of his cap:

"You got to give them credit," he said. "They had great motion. They were creating switches."

All night, the Illini (6-1) used the pick-and-roll to create mismatches – and took full advantage of them. Whether it was big man Tomislav Ivisic taking a guard into the post or guard Kasparas Jakucionis finding himself checked by Tomi's brother, Zvonimir, on the perimeter, Illinois was able to generate open looks every time Arkansas (5-2) switched.

While Calipari was direct in his praise of the Illini, the quieter subtext was his clear frustration with the Razorbacks' defensive play: "You can stunt, but you're not leaving him. But we left some guys.

"We had been a good defensive team, until today."

Calipari wasn't much happier with the results of the Razorbacks' offense:

"We wanted to go middle pick-and-roll, but they stayed out. … This team played to take away 3s."

Illinois did just that – to a certain extent. Arkansas went just 5-for-17 from long distance on the game (and 0-for-7 in the first half), but they clanked open shots about as often as they missed on contested attempts. The Razorbacks five triples were fewer than Tomislav Ivisic's six 3s all on his own.

"We were supposed to be rotating to him [Tomislav]," Calipari said, "and there were two or three times that … we really didn't."

But as far as Calipari was concerned, it wasn't simply poor rotations, missed free throws or Illinois' hot shooting that decided the outcome. The implication: the Illini arrived in Kansas City with more effort and better energy.

"They took it to us and they were the aggressor the whole game."

Holiday Family Feud: Illinois' Tomislav vs. Arkansas' Zvonimir Ivisic Illinois' Kasparas Jakucionis a Projected Top-10 Pick in SB Nation NBA Mock Draft Instant Analysis: Illinois Basketball Outguns No. 19 Arkansas 90-77

Arkansas Basketball Has Been Powerless Against Power Teams

KANSAS CITY — There are still plenty of opportunities for the Arkansas men's basketball team to pick up marquee victories under first-year coach John Calipari.

The Razorbacks' next game is at Miami on Tuesday night in the SEC/ACC Challenge. They also play Michigan in New York on Dec. 10 and have an 18-game SEC schedule highlighted by Calipari's return to Rupp Arena, his old Kentucky home as the Wildcats' coach the previous 15 seasons.

But Arkansas (5-2) so far has lost both of its games against teams from other power conferences in neutral-site matchups.

Baylor of the Big 12 beat the Razorbacks 72-67 at American Airlines Center in Dallas on Nov. 9 and Illinois of the Big Ten beat them 90-77 on Thursday at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City.

The Razorbacks never led in either game and found themselves behind for a combined 77:27 of 80 minutes.

Arkansas trailed by 11 points in each half against the Bears, but did manage to be tied three times.

Freshman guard Boogie Fland hit a three-pointer to pull the Razorbacks within 70-67 with 22.8 seconds left.

After Arkansas couldn't force a turnover, Adou Thiero fouled V.J. Edgecombe with 14.9 seconds left, and the freshman guard hit 2 free throws for the final 72-67 margin.

The Illinois game was a different story.

After the Fighting Illini (6-1) jumped out to an 11-0 lead, the Razorbacks never got closer than 9 points and trailed by as many as 17.

Arkansas came into the game ranked No. 19 and Illinois fell out of The Associated Press poll this week from its previous No. 25 spot after losing to No. 9 Alabama 100-87 in Birmingham, Ala.

But it was the Illini who looked like they deserved to still be ranked while the Razorbacks likely will find themselves out of the next poll when it is released Monday.

"The whole thing is getting them to play right," Calipari said of losing the first two marquee games. "You may play right and lose, but you can walk away and say, 'All right, we knew what we were doing. We went after it the way we wanted to. They made some tough shots.'

"That's fine. That's totally different than [what happened against Illinois]. They took it to us and they were the aggressor the whole game, and that's all we had talked about for two, three days — 'We're going to be the team that's going at them.'

"And then we did it in the second half and made a game of it."

The Razorbacks outscored the Illini 43-41 in the second half, but Illinois stayed in control thanks to its 49-34 halftime lead.

Illinois had a 30-point advantage on three-pointers, hitting 15 of 31 compared to 5 of 17 by Arkansas.

"We did some good stuff, but you can't give up 15 threes and expect to win a game," Calipari said. "You can't. You're not going to."

Tomislav Ivisic — Illinois' 7-1 center and the twin brother of 7-2 Arkansas forward Zvonimir Ivisic — hit 6 of 9 three-pointers and scored 21 points.

"It's pretty nice when your 5-man makes 6 threes," Illini coach Brad Underwood said. "But a lot of it is spreading the floor."

Arkansas senior guard Johnell Davis, a transfer from Florida Atlantic, was expected to be a top three-point threat after he shot 41.4% (58 of 140) last season.

But Davis was held to 3 points against Illinois — going 1 of 3 from the field with a made three — though he had 6 assists, 4 rebounds and 2 steals in 32 minutes.

"I'm just trying to find the rhythm," said Davis, who averaged 18.2 points per game last season and 13.8 two years ago when he helped Florida Atlantic make a Final Four run. "And just trying to get my team involved, too, while I'm doing it."

Thiero had a career-high 26 points, but Underwood said making the junior forward drive to the basket was part of the Illini's game plan.

Arkansas' starting guards — Davis, Fland and sophomore D.J. Wagner — shot a combined 1 of 6 from beyond the arc. Thiero hit 7 of 14 shots, but was 0 of 2 on three-point attempts.

"We wanted to force them into doing what they did — and that was Adou driving it — and taking away the three-point line," Underwood said.

Davis has hit 9 of 28 three-pointers, but he's 5 of 21 excluding a 4-of-7 game in the Razorbacks' 109-35 rout of Maryland-Eastern Shore. He's averaging 8.4 points.

"Well, they played in a way that they stayed out on him," Calipari said of the Illini limiting Davis' shots. "But he had 6 assists because of how they played him, so he played the way the game was being played.

"There's going to be games where he has 5 and 6 threes because we're flying up-and-down the court, we're creating rotations, and he's the guy that's open."

Fland, who came into the game averaging 17.2 points and 5.4 assists, was held to season-lows of 8 points and 1 assist and had 2 turnovers in 25 minutes with 4 fouls.

Underwood credited Illinois junior guard Kylan Boswell for his defense on Fland.

"Boogie is probably considered the best freshman guard in the country with what he's been doing all season long," Underwood said. "In Boogie's defense, he played in some foul trouble.

"But I think that's the Kylan factor as well. We paid a lot of attention to Boogie and didn't want him to get going."

Zvonimir Ivisic scored 13 points and hit 3 of 6 three-pointers, making him 16 of 29 on the season.

Other encouraging signs for Arkansas were freshman forward Billy Richmond's 12 points, 4 rebounds and 2 steals off the bench and senior forward Jonas Aidoo playing 11 minutes in the first half after missing the previous three games with an undisclosed injury.

Aidoo had 2 points and 3 rebounds in the first half. He didn't play in the second half.

Calipari said Aidoo was fine physically, but that he wanted to play Ivisic and 6-10 junior Trevon Brazile in the second half.

"Two bigs playing together, we have to figure it out," Calipari said. "We have not practiced with Jonas and we've practiced very little with T.B. The ceiling's there. We've got work to do and we have to figure all of this out."

Brazile, who had 5 points and 2 rebounds in 7 minutes, missed the prior two games because of an ankle injury. Davis missed significant time in preseason practice because of a wrist injury.

"This team is going to be fine," Calipari said on the Razorback Sports Network radio show. "Thank God it's November.

"I have not lost any faith with these guys as a group. What I know about coaching, you can't skip steps.

"Sometimes you have to get hit in the mouth to come back to really know we have to be better than this."

---