CHAMPAIGN, Illinois - Little Rock (3-3) ends its six-game road leg Monday night at Illinois (4-1) at the State Farm Center. Tip-off is 8 p.m. with Ray Tucker's pregame on 106.7 Buz2 beginning at 7:45. The game will also air on Big Ten Network.
The Trojans enter the game winners of two of their past three after a 79-67 loss at Arkansas Friday night. Little Rock, who dropped to 0-2 all-time against their in-state rival, trailed by as many 22 in the first half before making a furious run cutting the lead to seven midway through the second half but couldn't get any closer.
D-ING UP
Senior LSU transfer Mwani Wilkinson is impressing as the Trojans' leading scorer, but he is also making an impact defensively. His 2.5 steals per game is tied with several players for 17th nationally. He is also averaging 1.5 blocks per game, which is tops on the team.
COMMON OPPONENTS
Maryland Eastern Shore arrives in Little Rock to play the Trojans on Wednesday. On their way, they played Illinois Saturday (an 87-40 loss), and play Arkansas Monday night. Arkansas and Illinois meet on Thanksgiving afternoon. So, after that game all three teams will have played each other in a little over a week's time.
NO PLACE LIKE HOME
After playing six of its eight November games on the road, Little Rock will play six straight home games and won't leave the friendly confines of the Jack Stephens Center in December. That includes the first two Ohio Valley Conference games.
THE SERIES
Illinois leads the series 3-0. The Fighting Illini won the first meeting, 107-88, on Dec. 10, 1988, at Assembly Hall (Now, the State Farm Center). The last meeting came in 2005, with Illinois running away with a 75-49 victory. The 26-point margin is the largest of the three wins. Illinois has averaged 88.33 points in the three home wins against the Trojans.
ILLINOIS - FIRST LOOK
The Fighting Illini made its 2024 Top-25 debut last week at No. 25, but it was short-lived. No. 8 Alabama knocked off Illinois 100-87 at a neutral site game at Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Ala. Illinois bounced right back on Saturday, drilling Maryland-Eastern Shore 87-40.
Freshman Will Riley, who was one of the more highly rated Canadian prep prospects, leads Illinois with 18 points per game while averaging six rebounds per contest. The 6-foot-8, 195-pound freshman played most of his prep career in Canada before playing his final season at The Phelps School in Malvern, Penn. He was the No. 1 recruit in Canada and a Top-10 recruit nationally in the United States in the 2025 Class but reclassified to the Class of 2024.
He exploded for 31 points in his collegiate debut against Eastern Illinois in the opener.
Sophomore Tomislav Ivisivic averages 15.4 ppg and 8.2 rpg. The 7-2, 255-pounder is the twin of Arkansas' Zvonimir Ivisvic. Little Rock's Ante Beljan is familiar with both players as they all hail from Croaia.
Evansville senior transfer Ben Humrichous averages 11.8 ppg and 3.6 rpg. The Tipton, Ind., native began his collegiate career at Huntington University, an NAIA program. He transferred to Evansville last season and earned Missouri Valley Conference All-Newcomer Team honors and was the 2023-24 MVC Scholar Athlete of the Year.
Freshman forward Kasparas Jakucionis, a 6-6, 205-pounder from Lithuania, played at Euro power FC Barcelona. He averages over 11 points and six rebounds per game. Junior guard Kylan Boswell, scores at just under a 10-ppg clip. The 6-2, 205-pound Champaign native, who attended Compass Prep in Arizona, started 35 games for the University of Arizona last winter. He dished out 131 assists while committing just 60 turnovers last season, which was the third-best ratio in the Pac-12.
Louisville junior transfer Tre White (7.4 ppg), who began his career at USC, and sophomore Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn (7.4 ppg) are also key contributors for Illinois.
