KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Are you thankful for Illinois basketball? Surely there’s space for Brad Underwood’s squad in your pre-dinner speech.

In Thursday’s Thanksgiving 90-77 win over No. 19 Arkansas (5-2), soon-to-be full Illini fans caught a glimpse of the pretty upper bound of Illinois basketball.

Underwood has been clear in emphasizing that he’s got an Illinois (6-1) team that can shoot thirty, forty or even fifty three-pointers a game with the understanding that even hitting a fourth or a third of those attempts should be good enough for a win.

On Thursday we saw what, to this point, the ceiling is for this offense. An 11-0 run got the team out of the gates quickly. The best part? The Illini shot the three-ball 15-for-31 — 48 percent. It’s the highest clip the team has converted on its deep shots this season, and by a long shot.

People like to say this team was built for March and not November. What better way to prove that point than to beat a program you lost to two Marches ago? With the CBS music playing before commercial breaks and on a mostly true-neutral site venue, the Illini came out on top against a team that’s sure to have a single-digit seeding come springtime.

The Razorbacks went 0-for-7 from three-point range in the first half, a big part of the 15-point halftime advantage that Underwood’s team built up. That lead was cut down to only as few as nine, and the Illini never really looked uncomfortable in this one.

In the second half, the Razorbacks went for a diamond-and-one full-court press to slow down the Illinois offense, but it didn’t seem enough. Calipari’s team never looked absolutely out of it. They’d build confidence with a rim-rocking dunk or a rare three-pointer, but that momentum only lasted until the next Illinois possession.

The Illini had answers to every Razorback punch on Thursday. Just when they found their footing and snowballed a 9-3 run together to cut the deficit to single digits, Ben Humrichous shut it down.

Modern-day basketball. 31 of the team’s 57 field goal attempts were from deep. Hitting 15 of those. FIF-TEEN!

Illinois basketball looks good, folks. Despite having fewer free-throw attempts, points off turnovers, second-chance points and points in the paint, the most important stat for Illinois from Kansas City was 45 points from deep to 15. Before carving the turkey in the Underwood household, the final few words might be: “I’m thankful for the three-ball.”

Happy Thanksgiving, Illini nation!

STAT STUFFERS

Tomislav Ivisic had his fourth double-double of his collegiate career, while Illinois guard and 217 native Kylan Boswell had his Illinois career-high in points with 18.

• Kasparas Jakucionis (ILL): 23 PTS, 4 AST,
• Tomislav Ivisic (ILL): 21 PTS, 10 REB, 3 BLKS
• Kylan Boswell (ILL): 18 PTS, 5 REB, 6 AST
• Adou Thiero (ARK): 26 PTS, 6 REB, 12-of-21 FT

Bragging Rights

In the battle between Big Z and Big T (do we start that?), Tomislav earned household bragging rights, at least until the next time the brothers make the trip home to Vodice, Croatia to go one-on-one. Tomislav got the better of his brother, who he says is four minutes older, finishing with a double-double.

Illinois associate head coach Orlando Antigua, who recruited Tomislav to Illinois and Zvonimir to Kentucky when he was a part of Calipari’s staff in Lexington, is pictured above. between the brothers.

A reunion on the sideline took place, too. This was Underwood’s first win over former assistant Chin Coleman, and Antigua’s first over Calipari since coming back to Champaign this past offseason.

Special Guests

Future and former Illini were in the stands at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City. A name and face most are sure to be familiar with was Coleman Hawkins, who made the trip back from the Virgin Islands and made the trip from Manhattan, Kansas (just under a two-hour drive) to watch his former team play.

A name that isn’t household yet for Illini fans but is sure to become a known one will be Keaton Wagler. Wagler is a 4-star, 6-foot-6 shooting guard recruit in Underwood’s 2025 recruiting class. The native of Shawnee, a suburb of KC, made the quick drive to see his soon-to-be team play.

UP NEXT

It’s a bit of an extended break for the Illini after this first big win of the season. The Illini won’t see action again until December 6, when they make the trip up north to play Northwestern in Evanston. Tipoff on Friday is at 8 p.m., and the game will be on the Big Ten Network.