Grades are in: Humrichous sees shots fall in breakout Big Ten showing

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Jan. 3—Beat writer Scott Richey’s rundown from Eugene, Ore., where the Illini ran the Ducks off the court:

Player of the game

Illinois forward Ben Humrichous

Let’s be honest. Six different Illini made a compelling case as Thursday’s best. Few needed the type of performance they put up against Oregon as much as Humrichous. The 6-foot-9 forward didn’t just knock down 4 of 7 three-pointers, which was his best showing since early November. He also flashed some skill in the mid-post and ripped a voracious one-handed dunk in the first half. The three-pointers, though, they were important. Shooter’s shoot — and Humrichous kept shooting through his struggles — but seeing four go down against a top 10 team on the road has value.

Backcourt

Illinois: A+

Oregon: C-

The Illini built their first-half lead with leading scorer Kasparas Jakucionis on the bench with zero points and a single assist. That Jakucionis finished with 16 points, six assists and six rebounds was another notch in his “can definitely take over games” belt. Tre White’s double-double with 20 points and 11 rebounds and 15 points from Kylan Boswell was tough for Oregon to match. (Spoiler alert: The Ducks couldn’t. Jackson Shelstad’s nine points on 11 shots was as good as it got).

Frontcourt

Illinois: A

Oregon: B+

Humrichous’ breakout performance was key. It also let a fairly quiet eight points and eight rebounds from Tomislav Ivisic and strong defense off the bench and not a whole lot more from Morez Johnson Jr. be enough. This was one area Oregon could keep up. Supreme Cook dropped 20 points on 8 of 11 shooting off the bench, and Nate Bittle and Kwame Evans Jr. joined him in double figures.

Bench

Illinois: A+

Oregon: A

The start of the game was a bit disjointed for Illinois. Shots weren’t falling. Oregon was building a small early lead. Then Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn and Jake Davis checked in, caught fire and wound up with 23 combined points in the first half. It was a difference maker. Those two set the tone. The Ducks’ bench was…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/grades-humrichous-sees-shots-fall-154700457.html

Author : The News-Gazette, Champaign-Urbana, Ill.

Publish date : 2025-01-03 15:47:00

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