Last season was the beginning of a home-and-home series Illinois agreed to with Texas Tech. The inaugural game was Illinois’ first big assignment of the season, where No. 11 Texas Tech was outworked by No. 14 Illinois. The ranked matchup was nail biting to the end, when junior Andrej Stojakovic had a clutch block in the last seconds. The Illini held on at the State Farm Center, final score reading Illinois 81, Texas Tech 77.
However, this win didn’t come easy. Senior Kylan Boswell and Stojakovic put on a defensive showing, switching between Tech’s NBA Draft prospect guard, Christian Anderson, and All-American forward, JT Toppin. Toppin and Anderson both played 39 minutes and combined for 43 points. Joining them as a contributor was LeJuan Watts, who chipped in 21 points.
The good news is, it looks like the Illini won’t have to face any of them. The Red Raiders lost Anderson to the draft, Watts to the transfer portal, and won’t be able to utilize Toppin due to a torn ACL, that he likely won’t return from until December. This means Texas Tech will not return any of their starters from the Nov. 11 game, in comparison to the Illini’s three.
However, Texas Tech has made some crucial transfer portal additions in the offseason that can’t go unmentioned. This includes former Illini guard Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn. After Illinois, Lawhorn transferred to UNLV, where he averaged 20.7 points per game as a junior, to his 5.9 at Illinois.
Joining Lawhorn is Cruz Davis, a guard from Hofstra, where he averaged 20.1 points per game. Between these two, the Red Raiders are hoping to fill in the offensive gaps that Anderson and Watts will leave behind. Bench depth will also come into play, as Texas Tech’s bench only put up 7 points, while Illinois’ had 26.
In terms of the Illini, they will definitely be missing Boswell, who had 22 points and 3 assists, as well as Keaton Wagler who put up 11 points and 7 rebounds. However, we played this game without Tomislav Ivisic due to a knee injury, and Stojakovic was only on game two of coming back from an injury himself. We are also returning Zvonimir Ivisic, who chipped into the incredible defensive showing by the Illini, with 3 blocks. David Mirkovic can’t be left out either, putting up 11 points and 2 steals. Depth will definitely not be a problem for Brad’s squad.
To repeat this caliber of a win, let’s hope the Illini can do two things well: shoot free throws, and score creatively. The Illini held Texas Tech to 4 free throws, while we shot 23. In fact, no one on the squad had more than two personal fouls outside of Boswell, who had 4. In terms of scoring, the Illini didn’t make a three the second half of the game, where Stojakovic was able to get crafty, and put up 12 points. He would go on to lead the team with 23.
This Texas Tech team is not the same one Illinois faced in November. They will be challenged with a completely new roster and a rowdy crowd in Lubbock, not the lively State Farm Center. And a bonus, Illinois loves to play transfers, we learned that lesson from Morez Johnson Jr. last year.
