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• Illinois update: The Illini are coming off a 94-69 win at Indiana on Tuesday, which followed a somewhat surprising home defeat to USC. That loss, however, came without star freshman guard and leading scorer Kasparas Jakucionis, a projected top five pick in this summer’s NBA draft, who missed that game and the one before it with a forearm injury suffered at Washington. He returned against Indiana on Tuesday and scored 21 points, made three 3s and dished five assists. This is essentially a new Illinois team from a year ago, featuring two foreigners in Jakucionis, from Lithuania, and 7-foot-1 first-year center Tomislav Ivisic, from Croatia, both with professional experience in Europe. Tom Izzo suggested that having these two Europeans, lacking American player entitlement, at the core of the Illinois’ team has perhaps helped to create a culture that’s allowed for an all-new, NIL-built roster to exist cohesively and in harmony, while most teams with high payrolls and high turnover have struggled. Brad Underwood’s background might help, as well. His years coaching both at the top of the junior college ranks — at both Dodge City and Daytona Beach — would have been good experience remaking a roster every year.

• Matchup analysis: Kasparas Jakucionis is a special talent. There’s some Steph Curry to his game. His step-back 3 off the bounce stands out at the college level and is among the reasons he’s projected as a high NBA draft pick. You don’t see players making those sort of 3s with his efficiency very often. He can create off the drive, too. Izzo MSU will throw different players and looks at him. That could start with Jaden Akins, who can be an elite defender and will want to prove that against someone like Jakucionis, with Jeremy Fears Jr. or Tre Holloman on another dangerous guard in Arizona transfer Kylan Boswell. Illinois’ size on the wing, beginning with Tre White, could be a challenge for MSU’s smaller three-guard lineups.