How to Watch Illinois vs. Washington
Game Time: 8 p.m. Thursday
TV Channel: FS1
Online Streaming: FoxSportsGO
Odds: N/A (Illinois 90.2% Chance To Win – ESPN Matchup Predictor)
Quick Hits:
No. 11 Illinois Fighting Illini (17-3, 8-1 Big Ten)
Head Coach: Brad Underwood (9th season)
Last Game: Illinois 88, Purdue
82
Gameday Reading:
Washington Huskies (10-9, 2-6 Big Ten)
Head Coach: Danny Sprinkle (2nd season)
Leading Scorer: Hannes Steinbach (18.0 PPG)
What Happened the Last Time These Two Teams Played?
- Washington leads all-time series 4-3.
Jan. 2, 2025: Illinois 81, Washington 77
SEATTLE, Wash. — No letdown for the Illini out west.
Three days after its historic offensive outburst against No. 9 Oregon, No. 22 Illinois survived a second half surge from Washington, 81-77, to round out its first Big Ten west coast trip a resounding 2-0.
A stolen inbounds pass with under a minute to play tied what was once a 17-point Illini lead, but more Kasparas Jakucionis late-game heroics — this time in the form of a game-winning drive to the rim with 32.7 seconds to play — helped Illinois stave off the Washington rally.
The Illini weren’t able to carry over their red-hot shooting and dazzling 109-point offensive display from a game ago, but they found a way to grind out what certainly turned out to be more of a challenge than expected after the early going.
Despite a bit of a return to reality from three-point range after Thursday’s scorching 16-for-29 shooting from deep, the Illini dominated the paint and used another strong effort on the offensive glass to build a lead and ultimately close. They outscored the Huskies in the paint 52-28 despite an ice cold 5-for-26 from three.
Illinois (11-3, 3-1 Big Ten) jumped on the Huskies early, building a sizable 27-10 lead in the first half thanks to a balanced attack on the interior and stifling defense that held Washington (10-5, 1-3 Big Ten) to just five field goals in the first 13 minutes of action.
Washington’s DJ Davis (31 points) provided the offensive spark off the bench the Huskies needed, though, as his career-high seven threes stopped things from getting out of hand before halftime and ultimately sparked a second-half rally that nearly stole a victory from Illinois in just its third true road game of the season.
But the young Illini showed some composure in closing out their second consecutive road victory, finding answers late to nearly every Washington bucket and ultimately never trailing. Tre White (17 points, 6 rebounds) was a force around the rim, and the Illini’s starting backcourt of Jakucionis and Kylan Boswell each made big plays — and a pair of game-sealing free throws — to escape Seattle with a win.
