Exhibition preview Baylor at No. 3 Illinois; 7 p.m., Friday
- Story byThe News-Gazette, Champaign-Urbana, Ill.
- Exhibition preview Baylor at No. 3 Illinois; 7 p.m., Friday
Oct. 23—Beat writer Scott Richey previews today's exhibition game between the Illini and Bears
Lineups
No. 3 Illinois
Starters
P Name Yr. Ht. PPG Hometown
G Quentin Coleman Fr. 6-4 14.0 O'Fallon
G Ethan Brown Fr. 6-4 15.0 Rolla, Mo.
Advertisement
G Andrej Stojakovic Sr. 6-7 24.0 Thessaloniki, Greece
F Jake Davis Sr. 6-6 10.0 McCordsville, Ind.
C Tomislav Ivisic 5th 7-1 13.0 Vodice, Croatia
FYI: Coleman, Brown, Ivisic, Davis and Stefan Vaaks all made multiple three-pointers in Illinois' exhibition win against Cincinnati last weekend. Ivisic led the way, going 3 of 4 from deep, as the Illini finished 14 of 33 (42 percent) from beyond the arc as a team. Illinois had just six games last season where it shot better than that mark from the first exhibition game.
Off the bench
P Name Yr. Ht. PPG Hometown
G Stefan Vaaks So. 6-7 19.0 Tabasalu, Estonia
Advertisement
F/C Zvonimir Ivisic 5th 7-2 3.0 Vodice, Croatia
F Landon Davis Fr. 6-9 3.0 Waukee, Iowa
Note: Scoring averages are from Illinois' exhibition win against Cincinnati
Baylor
Starters
P Name Yr. Ht. PPG Hometown
G Dylan Mingo Fr. 6-5 12.0 Farmingdale, N.Y.
G Kayden Mingo So. 6-3 31.0 Farmingdale, N.Y.
G Brett Decker Jr. Jr. 6-3 3.0 Elizabethtown, Ky.
F Elijah Williams Fr. 6-6 2.0 San Antonio
C Juslin Bodo Bodo Sr. 6-11 1.0 Yaounde, Cameroon
FYI: Baylor's 82-76 overtime win against Florida in Sunday's exhibition game in Jacksonville, Fla., saw the Bears finish with just nine assists on 25 total made shots. They went 7 of 17 from three-point range and scored just shy of a third of their points at the free-throw line, making 25 of 32 attempts.
Advertisement
Off the bench
P Name Yr. Ht. PPG Hometown
F Evan Chatman Sr. 6-7 6.0 Harker Heights, Texas
F Isaac Celiscar Jr. 6-6 7.0 Winter Haven, Fla.
G Isaac Williams IV Jr. 6-1 15.0 Oklahoma City
Note: Scoring averages are from Baylor's exhibition win against Florida
Details
Site: State Farm Center (15,544); Champaign.
Radio: Brian Barnhart (play-by-play) and former Illini Deon Thomas (analysis) will have the call on the Illini Sports Network on WHMS 97.5-FM, WPXN 104.9-FM, WDAN-1490-AM, WDNL 102.1-FM, WSOY 1340-AM and WSOY 103.3-FM.
Streaming: BTN Plus
Series: Illinois leads 3-1.
Last meeting: Baylor won 82-69 on Dec. 2, 2020, at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
Advertisement
FYI: Illinois hasn't played Baylor in Champaign since the first meeting between the two schools on Dec. 12, 1986. The Illini posted a 92-86 victory behind Ken Norman's game-high 24 points on 10 of 12 shooting. Doug Altenberger chipped in 17 points, Glynn Blackwell had 16 and Jens Kujawa gave Illinois four in double figures with 12.
Beat writer Scott Richey's storylines
Everyone but Mirkovic available against Baylor
David Mirkovic will miss his second straight exhibition game after he was ruled out for Friday's game against Baylor by Brad Underwood on Thursday. The 6-foot-9 sophomore forward, a preseason All-American, continues to go through the rehab and recovery process after undergoing foot surgery in August. Otherwise, Illinois is healthy heading into its matchup with Baylor. Even senior forward Jake Davis, who went from doubtful to playing against Cincinnati to putting up 10 points in 24 minutes in the Illini win.
Advertisement
"Jake's a tough sucker," Illinois coach Brad Underwood said. "There was no him not playing in his mind. He just came and said, 'I want to play.' I said, 'OK, we'll see how it looks at halftime.' He came back and said, 'No, I want to play the second half.' He's been in practice every day. He's still got some swelling and some black and blue in (the ankle), but I think it shows what he is in our program, which is a tough guy and a great teammate."
Consistent effort from Illini center the goal
Tomislav Ivisic put together an efficient offensive performance in Illinois' 105-96 exhibition win against Cincinnati. The 7-foot-1 fifth-year center scored 13 points on 5 of 7 shooting and chipped in three assists out of the Illini's 19 total for the game. Ivisic also had two rebounds — a number that stands out only without contrasting it to the fact 6-10, 245-pound Bearcats big man Jayden Hastings finished with just three rebounds.
"I thought his accountability on the defensive side was elite," Underwood said of Ivisic. "He was wrestling a bear down there. He did a great job of keeping him off the glass. He didn't miss box outs. Other guys have to go help rebound when you've got a big, physical piece down there. That will be very similar Friday night against Baylor (and 6-11, 250-pound center Juslin Bodo Bodo)."
Advertisement
Mingo brothers continue line of strong Bears' guards
Kayden and Dylan Mingo are known commodities to the Illinois staff. Penn State might have been on the wrong end of a 73-65 Illini victory last season at the Palestra, but not for lack of trying by Kayden Mingo, who put up 16 points, five assists and four steals. Underwood and Co. also pursued Dylan Mingo in the Class of 2026, with the five-star guard averaging 19.3 points, 7.8 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 2.3 steals for PSA Cardinals on the Nike EYBL circuit before missing most of his senior season at Long Island Lutheran (N.Y.) with an injury.
"I think they've got others," Underwood said. "(Brett Decker Jr.) was a proven 17-18 points per game scorer at Liberty. Both Mingos have tremendous mid-range games. Decker and (Elijah) Williams are guys that can really, really shoot it. It's just typical of (Baylor coach Scott Drew). Scott's always got great guards, and he lets them play and runs a lot of actions for them, and then their bigs go rebound and chase it. It's been a great formula for him. The Mingos are just two more that are in line with the great backcourts he's had."
The News-Gazette's pick
Advertisement
No. 3 Illinois 94, Baylor 88
Baylor overcame a slow start to knock off Florida in its first exhibition game. A repeat performance against Illinois, fresh off dropping 105 points on Cincinnati, might be trouble for the Bears. The Illini, even without David Mirkovic, experienced few struggles on the offensive end against the Bearcats and are more than capable of doing the same in their home exhibition opener. (News-Gazette exhibition prediction record: 1-0).
