
OXFORD, Miss. — Well, it’s a good thing that one doesn’t count.
Brad Underwood wanted his tune-up trip to Oxford to be a learning experience for his new look group, and he’ll certainly have plenty of lessons to draw from it as No. 24 Ole Miss comfortably defeated Illinois, 91-74 in Sunday’s charity exhibition benefitting CASA of North Mississippi.
The Rebels blitzed the Illini from the opening tip and largely had their way offensively, coming out scorching hot from the floor and pouring in their first five shots, quickly jumping out to a double-digit lead that they would never look back from. Overall, they shot 48.6% from the floor and a lights out 52.2% from three — a shooting flurry that Illinois provided little resistance to.
One of the oldest teams in all of college basketball certainly showed it for much of the game. The Rebels never trailed, and their toughness, poise and chemistry were in stark contrast to the Illini’s inexperience and sloppiness. While the Rebels were crisp and connected running offense and moving the ball with ease, the Illini were tight and often times rattled.
For Illinois, turnovers were a big part of the story. They were plagued by 22 total turnovers, with a number of guys struggling to handle the Rebels’ aggressive ball pressure.
Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn paced all Illini scorers with 15 points off the bench, making a strong case for significant playing time by providing a much-needed burst of energy for spurts on both ends of the floor. Joining him in double figures were Kasparas Jakucionis with 12 points, six rebounds and five assists, and Tomislav Ivisic with 12 points and 6 rebounds.
Kylan Boswell (9 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds), Tre White (9 points, 6 rebounds) and Morez Johnson (7 points, 6 rebounds) each had their share of nice moments as well, but some carelessness hurt the Illini at times.
The Rebels’ physicality frustrated Will Riley (7 points, 2-8 FG) in his college debut. Ben Humrichous (2 points, 1-5 FG) was also kept in check.
The Illini showed flashes of their sky-high potential, but it’s clear that things are still very much a work in progress for Brad Underwood’s team entering the start of the regular season.
They now have eight days to regroup before the games start to count.
SOUND SMART
- The stat of the game was undoubtedly turnovers. While Illinois turned the ball over 22 times, Ole Miss had just 9.
- The Rebels took advantage of the Illini’s sloppy play to the tune of 25 points off those turnovers. They far outpaced the Illini in transition with 18 fast break points to the Illini’s 6.
- Ole Miss was sizzling from 3-point range, pouring in 12 of their 23 attempts. Illinois shot just 10-for-33 from distance.
- Despite the lopsided score, Illinois did outrebound Ole Miss 44-32, including 15 offensive rebounds.
- Illinois shot just 10-for-19 from the free throw line, including 6-for-14 in the first half that played a major part in allowing the Ole Miss lead to grow.
UP NEXT
The regular season gets underway a week from Monday at the State Farm Center.
Illinois hosts Eastern Illinois on Nov. 4. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. on Big Ten Network.
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