March Madness: What we learned Thursday as Illinois basketball prepares for Xavier

MILWAUKEE - The last handful of seasons made it a little difficult for the Illinois basketball faithful to see their Illini in the Big Dance.

This year, all they had to do was hop the Wisconsin stateline.

After getting first-round games in Des Moines, Pittsburgh and Omaha the last handful of seasons, a game in Milwaukee was a change of pace for the Illini and head coach Brad Underwood.

Those fans will get a chance to see a young Illini team play with their team healthy and ready to make a run in the NCAA Tournament.

Here's what we learned from Illinois on Thursday before their first-round matchup against Xavier.

The Illini see similarities between Xavier and past opponents

Illinois only has a day of preparation for the Muskateers.

Xavier's comeback win over Texas in the First Four was an example of how talented Sean Miller's team is.

Still, Underwood couldn't help but make a few comparisons when he was watching Xavier.

"I think we've seen a couple teams in our conference, Wisconsin, Iowa, that are both very, very similar in terms of, especially after a make, putting a ton of pressure on your defense," Underwood said. "They shoot the first open 3, so it's very, very important that that happens and we're very conscious of their guys running and their guys pushing."

Underwood said he was confident his team could run with Xavier. A big reason is the youth the Illini have.

Another reason is because Illinois is finally healthy and had a chance to get back up to game speed.

Chicago native Morez Johnson Jr. was one of those players. He broke his wrist in the game against Michigan State and got a chance to ease his way back into game shape in the Big Ten Tournament.

That's good for Illinois, because the team has seen his ability to protect the rim at a high level.

"You have like a little, mini Shaq like Mo'," guard Kylan Boswell said.

While Xavier had to recover from Wednesday's game, Illinois has been off since its loss to Maryland in the Big Ten Tournament last Friday.

Illinois didn't want to lose that game, but the other side of that coin meant the Illini got to rest.

"We're fresh mentally," Underwood said. "I think we're in a better spot now because Morez got to kick the rust off."

Illinois' trials and tribulations stoked growth

The months of January and February were not kind to the Illini.

Illnesses and injuries kept Illinois at bay. Ivisic didn't play much with an illness. Johnson missed time after suffering a wrist injury against Michigan State.

Illinois came out on the right end of those battles. Boswell can see it.

"Seeing these guys from summer to now is a total 180," Boswell said. "You can just see it in everybody."

With those lessons forced Illinois to grow up quickly. Boswell sees it now on the court, too.

"They just have a different switch to them," Boswell.

The Illini have eight underclassmen, and of those eight underclassmen five are top contributors. They've won big games and taken tough losses on the chin.

The latter is what drives this Illinois team. They don't want to carry the feeling they had after the Marland loss again.

"They're really old, and they don't want to go home," Boswell said. "We're young and we don't want to go home."

Illini get a chance to define their season

The pundits and experts all have a similar descriptor when talking about Illinois basketball.

Inconsistent.

The Illini ended the 2024 calendar year 9-3, and started 2025 with three straight wins over then-No. 9 Oregon, Washington and Penn State. Injuries and illness followed, culminating with a three-game skid in mid-February. But Illinois countered that with a three-game winning streak against Iowa, Michigan and Purdue.

It's a dizzying season, but Illinois knows there was a reason for it.

"Inconsistent? I don't think that's a great way to describe us," Johnson said. "We weren't whole a lot of the times this year."

Through that time, Illinois turned to reserves like Jake Davis and Ben Humrichous, who transferred into the program from Mercer and Evansville, respectively.

Those two filled in and showed their experience when their numbers were called.

"It brings a little bit of fight," Jake Davis said. "Guys like me and Ben, we've been through the trenches. We've had to earned this."

With transfers being thrust into different line-ups, they earned their stripes.

Now, with the team finally whole, Illinois can play to its potential and show the nation what they can do when they're finally healthy.

"We earned the respect of other teams," Davis said. "We got that respect back from everybody else."

University of IllinoisSportsNCAA