Illini now

Is Illinois Basketball Peaking? Friday's Purdue Showdown Will Tell Us

Also, we tell you which five Illini players belong on the floor – period
Steven Greenberg|
Feb 15, 2025; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini forward Will Riley (7) looks to pass as he is surrounded by Michigan State Spartans during the first half at State Farm Center. Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-Imagn Images
Feb 15, 2025; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini forward Will Riley (7) looks to pass as he is surrounded by Michigan State Spartans during the first half at State Farm Center. Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-Imagn Images | Ron Johnson-Imagn Images

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Illinois Fighting IlliniMichigan WolverinesPurdue Boilermakers

It's time for Illinois' men's basketball team to step on the gas – no, stand on it – with both feet.

After a stirring 93-73 win at Michigan on Sunday, coach Brad Underwood told his team it was peaking. Maybe he was right, but the Illini (19-11, 11-8 Big Ten) have merely a two-game winning streak with one last regular-season game to go – against Purdue at State Farm Center on Friday – before the postseason hits. If they're really peaking, they had better be all about it. With this team, momentum has been fleeting.

As we move into the final week before tournament play arrives, here's another "Starting Five":

1. They're still freshman

One of the sillier sports-isms is that college basketball freshmen "aren't freshmen anymore" by the time they've made it to the most climactic part of the season. What are they, sophomores? In that case, what the hell are the sophomores?

The point being, Will Riley's play of late has been a revelation. Two months ago, he played a total of 24 minutes in a western swing through Oregon and Washington. In the team's past two games, Riley has logged 72 minutes, stuffed the stat sheet and been too good to take off the court. He might even be the key to the team's March, but he's still a freshman. We'll see if he's up for it.

Classmate Kasparas Jakucionis, still the team's best and most valuable player, isn't in his finest stretch. Why? Dude's a freshman. The ball's in his hands so often. It's a grind. Can't wait to see what March brings out of him, though.

And don't forget Morez Johnson Jr., who could be back from injury in time for the league tourney in Indianapolis. Might he make a surprise comeback in the Purdue game? Probably not. It would blow the roof off the joint.

2. Handle the truth

Everybody has their opinions about whom Underwood should play and how much he should play them. Mine just happens to be the right one.

The main five going forward have to be Jakucionis, Riley, Kylan Boswell, Tre White and Tomislav Ivisic. The first three of those five handled the rock so beautifully against Michigan, it hit like church music. If they're on point in that department, the complements of Ivisic's deft skill and White's relentless effort are at maximum value.

Johnson will need to get his wind back whenever he returns. If he can shoulder 15 to 20 all-out minutes off the bench, it'll be perfect. As for those unnamed here, well, deal with it.

3. Gotta end it

The five-game losing streak to the Boilermakers, that is. Twenty wins and a 12-8 league record wouldn't look so bad.

4. Ninety-nine lead balloons

How many games has Illinois lost in Underwood's time as coach? Ninety-nine. One assumes he has utterly no idea of this and wouldn't care if he did, but let's see how long the Illini can avoid seeing the ol' Loss-o-Meter turn to 100. The Purdue game is just the start.

5. Looking ahead

The likeliest conference tournament seed is 7 for the Illini, with a Thursday (March 13) game against the previous day's 10-versus-15 winner in Indianapolis. Some bracketologists still project the Illini in an 8-versus-9 game to begin the NCAA Tournament, which never is promising because of the 1 seed on deck for the winner. Beating Purdue, though, would move the Illini up in all forecasts.

More From Illinois on Sports Illustrated:

Illinois Basketball Falls Short of AP Poll But Lands In Expert's Top 25

CBS analyst Clark Kellogg on Illinois Basketball: 'I've Seen This Movie Before'

Best Social Media Reactions From Illinois Basketball's Upset of No. 15 Michigan

Published
Steven Greenberg
STEVEN GREENBERG

Greenberg is a columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times, has written about college sports since the early 1990s. He covered University of Wisconsin football and basketball in the early 1990s before spending nearly 20 years as a magazine editor and writer. A former managing editor, features writer and college football columnist for The Sporting News, he has written for The New York Times, Rolling Stone and Bleacher Report and joined the Sun-Times in 2013.

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