ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Illinois pulled away in the second half to take down No. 15 Michigan on the road, 93-73, on Sunday afternoon at Crisler Center.
Four Fighting Illini scorers finished in double figures as the Orange and Blue claimed their ninth-consecutive win over the Wolverines and their fourth ranked triumph of the campaign.
After posting a game-high 13 first-half points, Kylan Boswell finished with 17 points while going 7-for-13 from the field. Five of his nine rebounds came on the offensive glass, while he also amassed four assists, two blocks, and a steal.
Tre White secured his second double-double of the season, collecting a team-high 19 points alongside 11 rebounds. Going 3-for-4 from beyond the arc, White also recorded two steals and a block.
Will Riley registered 13 points on 6-for-12 shooting in addition to his five assists and four rebounds.
Kasparas Jakucionis scored 14 of his 17 points in the second half, and he also totaled six rebounds and four assists.
The Illini capitalized on their dominance on the boards, winning the rebounding battle, 43-32, while scoring 30 second-chance on 19 offensive rebounds.
Neither side led by more than three across the opening eight minutes of action, though Boswell accounted for eight of the Illini's first 10 points. The Illini turned a deficit into a seven-point advantage with an 8-0 run in less than 60 seconds, giving the visitors a 20-13 edge at the halfway point in the opening period.
The home side used back-to-back buckets to cut into Illinois' lead, but a 6-2 run from the visitors re-established the Orange and Blue's seven-point advantage. The Wolverines closed the half on an 11-5 run, though, sending the sides into the break with the Illini narrowly ahead, 31-30.
Boswell led all scorers with 13 points in the first half, while the opening 20 minutes featured three ties and five lead changes.
With the game tied at 41 just under four minutes into the second half, the Illini pieced together an 8-0 run over the next three minutes to go in front once again. That lead reached double digits two minutes later, and a 16-5 stretch over the next four minutes extended the Illini's advantage up to 75-55 with 6:20 remaining in the contest.
The Orange and Blue's advantage reached as high as 21 points late as Illinois improved to 19-11 overall and 11-8 in Big Ten play.
Illinois wraps up the regular season at State Farm Center on Friday night against No. 20 Purdue. The Senior Night tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. CT on FOX.
HIGHLIGHTS
POSTGAME NOTES
Player Notes
- Kylan Boswell recorded 17 points, nine rebounds, four assists, two blocks, and a steal.
- Scored in double figures for the third consecutive game and 19th of the season.
- Narrowly missed a double-double with his sixth game of the season with nine total rebounds.
- His four offensive rebounds tied a season high (vs. Missouri on Dec. 22).
- Recorded a career-high two blocks.
- Tre White logged a double-double with a team-high 19 points and 11 rebounds in addition to two steals and a block.
- Recorded his second double-double of the season (sixth career) and his first since a 20-point, 11-rebound effort in Illinois' win at #9 Oregon on Jan. 2.
- Scored in double figures for the third straight game and the 12th time overall this season.
- Tied his career-high mark with three 3-pointers, set Nov. 8 vs. SIUE.
- Will Riley finished with 13 points, four rebounds, and five assists.
- Scored in double figures for the 18th time this season, including the ninth time in his last 10 games.
- Fourth time in his last eight games with 10+ points and at least five assists.
- Kasparas Jakucionis scored 17 points, grabbed six rebounds, and dished out four assists.
- Scored in double figures for his team-leading 21st game of the season.
- Recorded his eighth game with three or more 3-pointers.
- Moved into fifth on Illinois' freshman charts in scoring (430 points), passing Giorgi Bezhanishvili (414 in 2018-19), and assists (133), moving past Frank Williams (131 in 1999-00).
- Tomislav Ivisic tallied seven points, five assists, and three rebounds.
- Tied his career high with five assists for the second consecutive game.
- Recorded at least one 3-pointer for the 22nd game this season, tied for the most contests with a triple among 7-footers in the nation with Stanford's Maxime Raynaud.
- Ben Humrichous scored nine points on three 3-pointers while adding five rebounds, an assist, and a steal off the bench.
- Knocked down three or more 3-pointers for the 10th time this season.
Team Notes
- Starting lineup: Kylan Boswell, Tomislav Ivisic, Kasparas Jakucionis, Will Riley, Tre White
- Illinois has now won nine straight games over Michigan (since Jan. 10, 2019) and has recorded five consecutive victories over the Wolverines at Crisler Center (since Jan. 6, 2018).
- The Illini's five-game road winning streak vs. Michigan is now the longest in the 106-year history of the series, breaking the mark set from 1952-55 and matched from 2000-06.
- Illinois' 11th conference win secured a winning record in Big Ten play for the sixth consecutive season.
- Illinois is the only program in the Big Ten to finish .500 or better in league play in each of the six seasons.
- Illinois improved to 18-1 this season when scoring 80+ points, including 11-0 in Big Ten play.
- Illinois is tied for the Big Ten lead with 80 conference wins over the last six seasons.
- Brad Underwood has led the Illini to 34 Big Ten road wins since 2019-20, four more than any other program during that span.
- Illinois improves to 7-10 in Quad 1 games and 4-6 vs. top-25 opponents this season.
- Illinois has won 11 games by 20+ points this season, including six against Big Ten opponents and two consecutive.
- Illinois will close the regular season 7-7 away from State Farm Center, with a 5-5 mark in true road contests, and a 2-2 mark in neutral site games.
- Illinois' 14 3-pointers marked the team's most since knocking down 16 in a 109-77 road win at then-No. 9-ranked Oregon on Jan. 2.
- The Illini outrebounded the Wolverines, 43-32, improving to 18-5 on the season when winning the battle of the boards.
- Illinois turned 19 offensive rebounds into 30 second-chance points, a season-best mark.
- The Illini registered an assist on 20 of 34 field goals, the fifth game this season that the team has dished out at least 20.
- Illinois outscored Michigan in the second half, 62-43, the fifth time this season that the Illini have scored at least 60 points in a half, and the team's first since posting 60 in the opening stanza of a 94-69 road win at Indiana on Jan. 14.
