In a rematch of last year’s game, Oakland University men’s basketball traveled to Champaign, Illinois, to take on the Fighting Illini on Nov. 13. Like last year’s game, the Golden Grizzlies fell short of a major upset, losing 66-54.
Numerous key players from last year’s Illinois team departed, including now-NBA player Terrence Shannon Jr. as well as Coleman Hawkins, who transferred to Kansas State. Freshmen stars Will Riley and Kasparas Jakucionis now lead the Illini. Also new to the program are 7’1” Tomislav Ivisic and Ben Humrichous, a transfer from the University of Evansville.
Both teams got off to quite a sloppy start with two turnovers and a couple of missed jumpers before Tre White of Illinois started the scoring with a layup. Oakland responded immediately with a three from Jayson Woodrich. The Golden Grizzlies would need their shooters to step up amidst huge early-season struggles.
Illinois cashed in on some jump shots before Cooper Craggs hit a fadeaway shot on the baseline before the first media timeout. Oakland faced an early 9-5 deficit.
The Oakland offense looked entirely out of sorts early on. Shooters DQ Cole, Malcolm Christie and Woodrich struggled to get separation on sets for open threes. Illinois also did a fantastic job limiting post touches early in the game, as the Illini denied senior forward Allen Mukeba from consistently getting a post look.
The Golden Grizzlies fell 14-5 before Jaylen Jones hit an acrobatic layup to spark the offense. After a Craggs layup, Riley began to assert himself with another jumper and two free throws. After a Craggs turnover led to a run-out dunk for Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn of Illinois, Oakland seemed dead in the water. Just under the 10-minute mark, OU was down 22-9, a very uncommon occurrence with Greg Kampe’s high-powered offenses.
Thankfully, senior Buru Naivalarua splashed home a jumper to kick-start a 10-0 Oakland run in the next two minutes. A technical foul assessed to Illinois coach Brad Underwood gave Christie two free throws, and Woodrich and Cole got a layup each to bring the game within three points.
Arizona transfer Kylan Boswell responded in turn for the Illini, cashing in a three quickly followed by another trey from White. Another Jones layup for OU came right before a Humrichous tip-in that gave Illinois a 30-21 lead.
Basketball is a game of runs, and Oakland wasn’t about to roll over right before the half ended. Jones dished out two assists for layups to Woodrich and Mukeba, followed by a phenomenal dump-off pass to Naivalarua for a dunk. Just as the half was winding down, Mukeba ran the floor for a spectacular dunk assisted by Woodrich. The Golden Grizzlies found themselves down 36-29 at the half; not too bad for only hitting one three in the half.
Out of the half, Cole drilled a three for the black and gold. Less than a minute later, Mukeba stole the ball and had another highlight reel dunk. Two free throws from Woodrich brought Oakland within two before Ivisic hit a free throw line jumper. Ivisic’s soft touch inside punished the Golden Grizzlies all night, exposing the center of Oakland’s zone.
After some more back-and-forth, the Illini stretched their lead to 53-38 at the 12-minute mark. OU lost its offensive rhythm, and Illinois began to hit its shots.
Naivalarua was there again to stop the bleeding for Oakland, hitting another jumper off a post-up. Two free throws from Craggs and a Christie three-pointer brought the deficit closer at 10 points.
Unfortunately for the Golden Grizzlies, Oakland couldn’t sustain another run to cut the lead any closer than 10. Illinois had an answer every time, and the Golden Grizzlies defense couldn’t string together the stops needed to pull off the upset.
OU’s amoeba zone defense looked the best it’s looked all season against the Illini. Illinois’s previous two games saw them score 112 and 90 points, so a 66-point showing against OU was encouraging. However, if Oakland can’t begin to hit shots and get better looks in their offense, defensive improvement won’t matter. The shots must fall.