Eastern Illinois Panthers vs. Illinois Fighting Illini Pick & Prediction NOVEMBER 4th 2024

Preview and Prediction

For the third consecutive year, Illinois is set to welcome Eastern Illinois for their season opener. However, the Fighting Illini team that will take the court on Monday in Champaign, Ill. is almost unrecognizable compared to last year's squad.

Only two scholarship players, guards Ty Rodgers and Dravyn Gibbs-Lawhorn, return for Illinois, accounting for just 9.6 percent of last season's scoring. Head coach Brad Underwood has brought in 10 new players, including three highly-touted freshmen who have caught the attention of NBA scouts: point guard Kasparas Jakucionis, wing Will Riley, and center Tomislav Ivisic.

Despite their potential, these freshmen will still have to learn the ropes and adjust to the college game. In contrast, last year's team, which was led by a group of experienced seniors, entered their season opener with momentum after defeating the top-ranked Kansas Jayhawks in a preseason game. This year, however, the Illini are coming off a 91-74 exhibition loss against No. 24 Ole Miss, a game that was not as close as the final score suggests.

The Rebels, who have a more experienced roster, shot 52.2 percent from beyond the arc, forced 22 turnovers from Illinois, and disrupted their attempts to dominate in the paint.

"We needed to get out-physicaled," Underwood admitted to the SEC Network. "Being on the road, letting the crowd get into it, it's a good experience for our young guys who are seeing this for the first time."

Underwood experimented with different combinations of players, rotating in four freshmen, three sophomores, three juniors, and one senior in an effort to find a cohesive and efficient lineup. While Jakucionis (12 points, six rebounds, five assists, four turnovers, 3-of-9 shooting) and Riley (7 points, 2-of-8 shooting) struggled to find their rhythm, Gibbs-Lawhorn (team-high 15 points) and Ivisic (12 points, six rebounds) showed promise and comfort on the court.

However, one issue remains: Ivisic, who is 21 years old and the twin brother of former Kentucky and current Arkansas 7-footer Zvonimir Ivisic, has yet to be cleared by the NCAA.

"I'm playing them all," Underwood stated. "I'm still trying to figure that piece out."

Eastern Illinois, who finished with a 14-18 record last season, their best since 2019-20, returns two of their top three players in guard Nakyel Shelton (11 ppg, 4.4 rpg) and forward Kooper Jacobi (10.5 ppg, 7.7 rpg).

Panthers head coach Marty Simmons has also added six transfers to the team, which he believes will provide depth and be a major strength for the team. One of these transfers, guard Zion Fruster, who averaged 18 points, 4.6 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 2.0 steals at Division II Virginia Wise last season, is expected to make a significant impact on both ends of the court.

"As we get healthy, we'll be able to play a lot of different guys and different lineups," Simmons said. "We're not there yet, but I think we have the potential to be a very strong defensive team. We have some quickness and athleticism on the perimeter, as well as some length. I also believe we have some toughness and players who are committed to being successful on the defensive end of the court."

The Ohio Valley Conference's head coaches and sports information directors have predicted that the Panthers will finish sixth in the 11-team league.

PREDICTION

Eastern Illinois Panthers

Illinois Fighting Illini

Eastern Illinois Panthers vs. Illinois Fighting Illini Recap NOV 4TH 2024

Highly touted freshman forward Will Riley scored 31 points off the bench in his college debut and sophomore guard Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn added a career-high 21 points as Illinois earned a 112-67 season-opening victory over Eastern Illinois on Monday night in Champaign.

Riley, a five-star recruit from Canada who reclassified and signed with Illinois in the summer, canned 10 of 13 shots from the field -- including 5 of 6 3-pointers -- and added seven rebounds and three assists in 25 minutes.

Seven-footer Tomislav Ivisic posted 14 points and 14 rebounds for Illinois (1-0) while Ben Humrichous (14 points, five rebounds) and Kasparas Jakucionis (11 points, seven assists, five rebounds) also filled up the stat sheet in their debuts for the Fighting Illini.

Nakyel Shelton paced Eastern Illinois (0-1) with 16 points while Artese Stapleton posted 11 points and Zion Fruster and Obadiah Curtis contributed 10 points apiece. The Panthers were outrebounded 58-28 while losing their opener at Illinois for the third year in a row.

Eastern Illinois held four brief leads in the early going -- the last an 11-10 edge on Fruster's 3-pointer at the 15:57 mark -- but Illinois gradually built a healthy lead by living at the free-throw line.

Illinois led 27-24 with eight minutes left in the first half, then canned 9 of 11 free throws over the next three minutes to build a 42-28 margin. At that juncture, the Illini stood 23 of 27 at the line.

Gibbs-Lawhorn dominated during the final seven minutes of the first half - drilling 3 3-pointers, 5 of 6 free throws and a fast-break finger roll on a feed from Jakucionis - to stake Illinois to a 50-35 lead by the break.

Illinois' lead continued to swell during the second half. Riley's 4-point play at the 15:07 mark pushed the margin to 66-38, then Jakucionis - another freshman projected as an NBA first-round pick - followed with a stepback 3-pointer. Kylan Boswell and Gibbs-Lawhorn added 3-pointers in the next two minutes as Illinois' advantage ballooned to 79-46 with 12 minutes to play.

Illinois, which landed No. 26 in the Associated Press' preseason Top 25 poll despite losing all but two scholarship players, cracked the 100-point mark on Riley's putback and free throw with 4:48 to go. The Illini finished with their highest scoring output since opening the 2020-21 season with 122 points against North Carolina A&T.