By Nick Jenkinson/Excel H Sports
The #10 Excel H Sports Ranked Illinois Fighting Illini snapped a two-game losing skid Sunday Afternoon as they handled the Indiana Hoosiers 71-51 Sunday afternoon at the State Farm Center in Champaign, Illinois. The Fighting Illini are 21-5 overall and 12-3 in the Big Ten and will head to Los Angeles for their two-game road trip against USC on Wednesday and UCLA on Saturday. Indiana is 17-9 on the season and 8-7 in the Big Ten and will have another road challenge Friday Night at 8 PM when they face the Purdue Boilermakers at Mackey Arena in West Lafayette.
David Mirkovic led the Fighting Illini with 25 points, Keaton Wagler scored 18 points and Tomislav Ivisic scored 14 points. Illinois went 29-66 from the field for 44%, 7-31 from three-point range for 23% and 6-7 from the free throw line for 86%. Illinois pulled down 38 rebounds, dished out 11 assists, 7 steals, 2 blocks and had 2 turnovers for the entire game.
Lamar Wilkerson led Indiana with 21 points, Tucker DeVries scored 13 points, and Sam Alexis added 11 points. Indiana went 20-49 from the field for 41% from the field, 6-24 from three-point range for 25% and 5-6 from the free throw line for 83%. Indiana pulled down 25 rebounds, 10 assists, 1 steal, 1 block and committed 10 turnovers.
Illinois dominated inside, scoring 40 points in the paint to 24 for Indiana. The Fighting Illinois controlled the glass, pulling down 15 offensive rebounds to just 4 for Indiana and outrebounded the Hoosiers 23-21 on the defensive end. The matchup was too much for Indiana as the Hoosiers could not get rebounds or stop Illinois from scoring at will inside.
Mirkovic was solid going 10-16 from the field, 3-6 from three-point range and 2-2 from the free throw line along with 7 rebounds, 3 assists and a steal. Kylan Boswell returned after missing the last seven games with a hand injury. The Champaign Native had 9 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and a turnover as he started playing 33 minutes. Andrej Stojakovic missed his second game with an ankle injury.
The game was back and forth in the first half as Illinois led 38-31 at halftime. Illini took over in the second half outscoring the Hoosiers 33-20 as Indiana struggled to get anything going and until late in the game Lamar Wilkerson was the only one in double figures. Illinois did a great job handling the ball and taking the Hoosiers out of the game in the second half.
The Hoosiers lead the All-Time Series 96-94 as Illinois has won the last three meetings between the two programs and The Hoosiers are now 35-56 all-time in Champaign. Indiana has Purdue and Ohio State on the road and Northwestern, Minnesota and Michigan State to close out the regular season. The Hoosiers have work to do get themselves in the NCAA Tournament field of 68. Indiana suffered its fourth loss in the Big Ten by double digits and third on the road.
With the Hoosiers heading to Purdue on Friday, that will be a tough one after the Hoosiers beat the Boilermakers 72-67 at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. Purdue will have revenge on their mind after the Hoosiers knocked off the ranked Boilermakers in Bloomington. If Indiana can knock off their in-state rivals for the sweep it would be huge boost for their NCAA Tournament Resume.
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