Illinois Basketball Grades: Evaluating the Illini Against Tennessee

No. 14 Illinois put together perhaps its best and most complete performance – and certainly its most compelling half – of the season Saturday in Nashville in a 75-62 win over No. 13 Tennessee. It amounted to not only a measure of revenge after Illini losses to the Vols in each of the past two seasons but also proof positive that this team has the ability to take down top teams in more ways than one.

Some of that is reflected in who stepped up and aced their personal performances, which we detail in our player grades below. As always, these are single-game, subjective evaluations of individual on-court production:

Welcome back, Tomi. Oh, how the Illini missed you. With 16 points on 7-for-13 shooting (including two threes) and a team-best plus-17 plus-minus figure, Ivisic put up mostly excellent numbers – save for a so-so night on the boards (five). But for the first time this season, he was the engine that drove Illinois’ offense. We’ve said it many times before, and we’ll say it (at least) once more: The Illini are at their best playing through Ivisic, and on Saturday he was finally healthy and fit enough to make it so.

Two points and not a single shot from the field in 26 minutes? What are you doing out there, Ben? The answer: everything else. Between his hounding defense, shoulder-banging rebounding and relentless hustle plays, Humrichous arguably did more to help Illinois win than any other player who hit the floor. If he can ba;ance that with a couple of made threes each game, he’ll be in the mix for Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year.

Wagler finally broke through against a top opponent, and he seemed to be solving the puzzles that had perplexed him only a week or two ago in real time against Tennessee. It helps when the long ball is falling (4-for-11), but Wagler also added eight rebounds against a hulking Volunteers group and led the Illini with five assists (against zero turnovers).

Boswell did a lot of really valuable Boswell things – examples: got downhill to create shots on offense, locked up on defense – but his perimeter shot wasn’t falling. An 0-for-3 performance from three isn’t a backbreaker (especially from him), but a 3-for-6 showing from the free-throw line could have been a difference-maker on another night.

It’s a luxury for 14 points (2-for-4 on threes), six rebounds (including five offensive), two assists and a block from a freshman to be a mildly frustrating performance, but Mirkovic still toggles between trying to do too much and disappearing for stretches.

Big Z is never going to be a truly dynamic defender, but he has to be more than just a jump shooter and shot blocker for Illinois. And on Saturday, he was only half that. Zvonimir hit two big threes, but he had three fouls, only one rebound and a team-worst minus-4 plus-minus in nine minutes.

Stojakovic never gained any offensive traction against Tennessee (five points on 2-for-5 shooting), in part because he’s still figuring out exactly how and where he can fit in on a nightly basis. He made himself playable with a pair of blocks and a pair of steals, but needs to be more active on the boards (two in 21 minutes).

In seven mostly uneventful minutes, Davis knocked down his only shot attempt (a three) and grabbed a defensive rebound, while taking nothing off the table. But Tennessee’s size and muscle make him a target on defense, which mostly kept him off the floor.

When three missed shot attempts and a turnover in six minutes are the extent of your contributions, you feel grateful to receive an “incomplete” grade. It wasn’t Petrovic’s night (or matchup), and Wagler’s strong play made his minutes optional.