LOS ANGELES, Calif. – No. 10 Illinois stormed out to an early lead and never looked back, using a balanced scoring attack en route to a dominant, 101-65 road win over USC at the Galen Center Wednesday night.
The Illini (22-5, 13-3 B1G), received double-digit scoring contributions from seven different players – the most by a Big Ten team in a road win over another power conference opponent since at least 2010-11. The 36-point victory over the Trojans (18-8, 7-8 B1G) marked Illinois' largest in a Big Ten road win in 80 years since a 70-28 win at Chicag on Jan. 19, 1946.
Andrej Stojakovic, in his return from a two-game absence due to an ankle injury, poured in a game-high 22 points in just 18 minutes off the bench. Stojakovic shot 6-for-7 from the field, including hitting his only 3-point attempt of the contest, and went 9-for-9 from the free-throw line,
Behind Stojakovic, David Mirkovic tallied 14 points, Kylan Boswell and Jake Davis recorded 12 each, Ben Humrichous scored 11, and Tomislav Ivisic and Keaton Wagler both added 10. Davis (4-for-4) and Humrichous (3-for-6) combined for seven of the Illini's 13 3-pointers on the night. Ivisic and Mirkovic each added a pair of 3-pointers.
In addition to his perfect shooting night, Davis also recorded a team-high seven rebounds, his best effort of the season on the boards, for the Illini.
As a team, Illinois shot 52% from the field, 45% from 3-point range, and 92% from the charity stripe, becoming the only Big Ten team to post 50-40-90 shooting splits in a 100+-point effort since at least 2000.
Illinois closes out its two-game road swing in Los Angeles on Saturday, facing UCLA at Pauley Pavilion. Tipoff between the Fighting Illini and the Bruins (17-9, 9-6 B1G) is set for 7 p.m. CT/5 p.m. PT on FOX.
HIGHLIGHTS
PRESS CONFERENCE
POSTGAME NOTES
Players
- Andrej Stojakovic returned from a two-game absence due to ankle injury to score a game-high 22 points (6-7 FGs and 9-9 FTs), with three rebounds and a steal in just 18 minutes off the bench.
- 14th game of the season with 10+ points.
- David Mirkovic recorded 14 points, three rebounds, four assists and a block.
- 10th consecutive game with 10+ points, 21st of the season.
- 14.9 ppg over last 10 games.
- Seventh game of the season with 4+ assists.
- 13th game with multiple 3-pointers, ninth in his last 11 games.
- Kylan Boswell posted 12 points (10 in the first half) with five rebounds, a game-high eight assists, and two steals.
- 37th game with 10+ points at Illinois, the most among active Illini, and his 13th-such this season.
- Personal season high in assists and the third-highest single-game total by an Illini this season.
- Jake Davis tallied a perfect 4-for-4 performance from 3-point range to tally 12 points and seven rebounds (three offensive) in his ninth straight start.
- Seventh game this season with 10+ points.
- Ninth game of the season with multiple 3-pointers, his sixth in the last nine games as a starter.
- Seven rebounds mark a season high.
- Keaton Wagler tallied 10 points, three rebounds, four assists, two steals, and one block.
- Team-leading 24th double-digit scoring effort of the season.
- 10+ points in 19 consecutive outings, averaging 20.1 ppg during that span.
- Double-figures scoring in all 16 Big Ten appearances (20.8 ppg).
- Five points away from breaking the Illinois freshman scoring record of 494 points.
- Eighth game of the season (second straight) with multiple steals.
- Ben Humrichous posted 11 points (3 3FGs), six rebounds and one block.
- Seventh game of the season with 10+ points, fourth in his last seven contests.
- Sixth game of the season with at least three 3-pointers.
- Tomislav Ivisic recorded 10 points (2 3FGs) with four rebounds, two assists and a block.
- Fourth consecutive game with 10+ points, and his 14th of the season
- 13th game of the season with multiple 3-pointers.
- 94 3-pointers over last two season, the most in the nation by a 7-footer.
- Zvonimir Ivisic posted four points, three rebounds and a game-high three blocks.
- Team-leading 11th game of the season with at least three blocks.
Team
- Starters: Kylan Boswell, Jake Davis, Tomislav Ivisic, David Mirkovic, and Keaton Wagler.
- Andrej Stojakovic logged 18 minutes off the bench and led the team with 22 points in his return from a two-game absence due to an ankle injury.
- Illinois' 36-point margin of victory marked the program's largest in a Big Ten road win in 80 years since a 70-28 victory at Chicago on Jan. 19, 1946.
- Illinois is the first team this century to score 100+ points on 50-40-90 shooting in a Big Ten game.
- 51.6% (32-62) marks the Illini's best field goal percentage in a Big Ten game this season.
- 44.8% (13-29) from 3-point range is the Illini's fifth Big Ten game this season with above 40% from beyond the arc.
- 92.3% (24-26) from the free-throw line, the team's third Big Ten game above 90% from the stripe this season.
- Illinois improves to 22-5 on the season, the program's best record in 20 years since posting a 25-5 regular-season mark in 2005-06.
- Illinois is 13-3 in Big Ten play, the team's best B1G record since 2004-05. The famed 2005 Illini squad swept the Big Ten regular-season (15-1) and tournament titles and advanced to the Final Four, finishing as the NCAA runner-up at 37-2.
- Illinois has produced 15 seasons with 13+ Big Ten wins in program history, five of which have come in the last seven seasons under Brad Underwood.
- Illinois has won 94 Big Ten games in the last seven seasons under Underwood six more than the next-best seven-year run in program history.
- Illinois' 94th Big Ten win since 2019-20, the most in the league over the last seven seasons.
- The Illini also lead the league with 41 road wins in Big Ten play since 2019-20.
- Illinois is 9-3 away from home this season, and 7-1 in true road games all in Big Ten play.
- The Illini are 7-1 on the road in Big Ten play for the first time since 2004-05 when they won their first seven league road contests.
- The victory gives the Fighting Illini seven Quad 1 wins on the season, tied for the sixth-most in the nation.
- The #10 Illini are 674-272 (.712) all-time when ranked inside the AP Top 25.
- Illinois is 166-151 (.524) on the road when ranked.
- Under Brad Underwood, the Illini are now 112-48 (.700) when ranked.
- Illinois entered the game ranked first in the Big Ten with 11.2 3-pointers per game and knocked down 13 triples vs. USC.
- Illini have made 10+ 3-pointers in a Big Ten-leading 20 games this season with a 16-4 record.
- Illinois outrebounded USC, 41-30, and improve to 21-2 on the season when winning the rebounding battle.
- Illinois improves to 4-7 all-time vs. USC and evens the series at 1-1 as Big Ten foes.
- Wednesday's win is the Illini's first in the series in Los Angeles (1-3).
