CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Illinois cruised to a 92-34 victory over Little Rock at State Farm Center on Monday night in the team's final home non-conference game ahead of the start of Big Ten play.
The Fighting Illini's 34 points allowed tied the program record for the fewest points ever conceded at State Farm Center.
Kasparas Jakucionis recorded a career-most and game-high 21 points, 13 of which came in the first half. Jakucionis poured in a career-best three 3-pointers, going 3-for-4 from beyond the arc and 8-for-8 from the free-throw line. He also tacked on six rebounds, five assists, and three steals.
Tomislav Ivisic secured his third double-double of the campaign, totaling 16 points and 11 rebounds. Ivisic, who has scored in double figures in all six games this season, went an efficient 7-for-10 from the field, dished out three assists, and made two steals.
Tre White recorded double-digit points for the second time this year, finishing with a season-high 16 points. Going 4-for-4 from the free-throw line, White also totaled eight rebounds and two steals.
Will Riley added 13 points off the bench, his third consecutive outing in double figures, while knocking down three 3-pointers.
Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn ended his night with nine points, while Morez Johnson Jr. accumulated eight points and 11 rebounds.
Kylan Boswell registered a team-most seven assists and made one steal.
Illinois dominated the glass, winning the rebounding margin, 56-26. The home side took advantage of a 23-0 run over an eight-minute stretch in the first half to pull away and never looked back en route to the 58-point home victory.
The Trojans got on the board first, but the Illini were not behind for long. An 11-2 Illinois run gave the home side an early six-point lead and forced Little Rock to use its first timeout just over four minutes into the contest.
Getting to the free-throw line early and often, the Orange and Blue capitalized by scoring nine of their first 17 points from the charity stripe to take a 17-8 edge.
With the Illini's lead down to seven points, the hosts began to take over. 3-pointers via Riley and Ivisic sparked the Illinois offense before dunks from Johnson and Riley caused the Trojans to use their second timeout of the half.
The brief intermission did not thwart the Orange and Blue, with the hosts scoring the next 10 points out of the break to complete a 23-0 run. The Illini held the visitors without a point for nearly eight minutes during that stretch, which also included four offensive rebounds and three steals.
Jakucionis accounted for the home side's final eight points of the first half, and Illinois went into halftime with a commanding 51-19 advantage. Jakucionis, Ivisic, and Riley all reached double figures in scoring across the opening 20 minutes, with Jakucionis leading the way with a game-high 13 points.
The Illini picked up where they left off early immediately after the break, piecing together a 12-2 run across the first six minutes of the second half to extend their lead to 63-21. White became the fourth Illinois scorer to reach double figures after tallying four points during that stretch, while Jakucionis converted his second and third 3-pointers of the night.
Another lengthy Illinois scoring run, this time a 10-2 stretch, saw the hosts continue to add to their sizable advantage. That four-minute span pushed the Illini's edge up to 76-27 with just under eight minutes remaining.
The Orange and Blue ended the game with a 14-2 run to secure the dominant home win over the 2024-25 Ohio Valley Conference preseason pick to win their league.
Illinois (5-1) concludes its jam-packed stretch of four games in nine days on Thursday at 3 p.m. CT against No. 19 Arkansas for the Thanksgiving Hoops Classic. The showdown between the Fighting Illini and the ranked Razorbacks is set for T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Mo., and will air nationally on CBS.
HIGHLIGHTS
PRESS CONFERENCE
POSTGAME NOTES
Player Notes:
- Kasparas Jakucionis poured in a career-high 21 points to go along with six rebounds and five assists.
- Ninth freshman of the Underwood era with a 20+ point game.
- 1. Mark Smith
- 2. Trent Frazier
- 3. Ayo Dosunmu
- 4. Giorgi Bezhanishvili
- 5. Kofi Cockburn
- 6. Adam Miller
- 7. Jayden Epps
- 8. Will Riley
- 9. Kasparas Jakucionis
- Scored a game-high 13 points in the first half, going 3-for-4 from the floor and 6-for-6 from the free throw line.
- Also added six rebounds, five assists and three steals.
- Has poured in double-figure points in four of six games this season.
- Has at least two steals in three-straight games.
- Has at least five assists in four games.
- Tomislav Ivisic scored 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds.
- Recorded his third double-double of the season and his second in the last three games.
- Has scored in double figures in all six games this season.
- Tre White scored an Illinois career-high 16 points, adding eight rebounds.
- Has scored in double figures for the second time this season.
- Will Riley scored 13 points.
- Has scored in double figures in three-straight contests and in five of six overall.
- All coming off of the bench.
- Went 3-for-9 from beyond the arc.
- Has made at least two 3-pointers in five of six games…has at least three makes from deep in four games.
- Morez Johnson Jr. scored eight points and secured 11 rebounds.
- Has grabbed double-digit rebounds in consecutive games.
- Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn came off the bench to score nine points while adding three rebounds and an assist.
Team Notes:
- Used a 23-0 run over a 7:03 span to take a 30-point lead in the first half.
- Held Little Rock to 0-for-9 form the floor during the run, forcing three turnovers.
- Was part of an extended 40-11 run over a 12:29 span, which saw the Illini take a 32-point lead into halftime.
- Held the Trojans to 1-for-14 from the floor during the final 12:29 of the half.
- Illinois held Little Rock to 34 points, matching the lowest opponent point total in State Farm Center history.
- Illinois 92, Little Rock 34 - Nov. 25, 2024
- Illinois 81, Savannah State 34 - Nov. 21, 2006
- Illinois 84, Wisconsin-Green Bay 34 - Dec. 4, 1985
- The 58-point margin of victory is the largest by the Illini since another 58-point victory on Dec. 18, 2021, vs. St. Francis (PA).
- Was also the largest margin of defeat handed to Little Rock as a DI program.
- Was previously a 53-point loss at Oklahoma on Jan. 9, 1990.
- Third game this season that the Illini have won a home game by at least 40 points.
- The Illini held the Trojans to just 19 points in the first half.
- Illinois has held its opponent to 20 points or fewer in the first half of consecutive games for the first time since doing so on Jan. 25, 2022, vs. #10 Michigan State (W, 56-55) and on Jan. 29, 2022, at Northwestern (W, 59-56).
- Illinois won the rebounding battle for the sixth-straight game, 56-26.
- Second time this season having a margin of +30 (Nov. 4 vs. Eastern Illinois).
- Also had a 19-7 advantage on the offensive glass.
- Converted those 19 offensive rebounds into 23 second-chance points.
- Illinois held a 27-10 advantage in the first half, which included a 9-3 edge on the offensive glass.
- Converted those nine o-boards into 14 second-chance points.
- The Illini assisted on 20 of their 30 field goals.
- Second time this season Illinois has registered at least 20 assists in a contest.
- The Illinois bench out-scored its Little Rock counterparts, 33-17.
- The Illini came into the game averaging 33.5 bench points per game, the third-highest mark among Big Ten teams.
