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Challenge coming for Illini on Rocky Top

scott richey, the news-gazette, champaign-urbana, ill.
·4 min read

Dec. 9—CHAMPAIGN — The soundtrack for Illinois men's basketball practices this week has been a bit repetitious. A little one-note.

The only song playing at Ubben Basketball Complex since the team got back from New York City?

"Rocky Top."

Again and again and again.

It's simply preparation for what No. 20 Illinois (7-1) will face with an 11 a.m. Saturday tip at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, Tenn., against No. 17 Tennessee (5-3). Because the Vols will play it again and again and again.

Let's just say the Illini haven't garnered what you might call an appreciation for the ear-worm qualities for Tennessee's ubiquitous fight song.

"No," Illinois guard Justin Harmon answered Friday after being asked if he liked it. "It kind of gets a little irritating after a while, but you block it out. I promise you if you stay here, you're going to hear it the whole practice. It's not going to stop playing."

Anything to prepare for the most difficult challenge of a still-young season. Illinois is already 2-0 in its toughest eight-day stretch to date, but a sold-out Thompson-Boling Arena against one of the best defensive teams in the country will be a litmus test for the Illini's place among the nation's best teams.

Illinois wasn't able to carry over the momentum of a Jimmy V Classic win a year ago. Upsetting then-No. 2 Texas turned into a home loss to Penn State (one of eventually three to the Nittany Lions), a scare at home against Alabama A&M (with Matthew Mayer saying players and coaches weren't on the same page) and then a blowout Braggin' Rights loss to Missouri.

What Brad Underwood saw from his team in wins at Rutgers and against No. 11 Florida Atlantic in another trip to New York City for the Jimmy V Classic, though, has the Illinois coach feeling good about where this year's older, more experienced team stands.

Two hustle plays in the second half against FAU stood out the most. A tipped ball from Ty Rodgers, who sprinted in from nearly midcourt, turned into an offensive rebound and second-chance points for Marcus Domask that gave Illinois a lead it wouldn't relinquish. And Coleman Hawkins' battle with Vlad Goldin turned into a loose ball offensive rebound, fouled out the Owls' center and gave the Illini forward two free throws he sank with 2 minutes, 1 second to play that helped seal the win.

"Those are huge plays," Underwood said. "Those are toughness plays. Those are things this group has to keep carrying over and keep building on. ... I think we're growing in the toughness area. I loved the fact Coleman stepped up and made a three with the game on the line and two free throws. That's what seniors do. That's what veterans do. That's toughness."

The first true sign of that growth came in the lead-up to the Rutgers game. Underwood called it the best game preparation he's seen in his six-plus seasons as Illinois coach in terms of intensity, focus and attention to detail. A necessity, perhaps, with the Illini's first true road game doubling as their Big Ten opener and also happening at the "Trapezoid of Terror" Jersey Mike's Arena

"The preparation that we had was amazing," Harmon said. "(Underwood) pushed us to our limit. We were in here almost dying. We probably ran about 80 22s. ... The whole week preparing for Rutgers, we were running a lot. I feel like we just had to take our anger out on somebody."

Or somebodies. Illinois used its smothering defense to neutralize Rutgers in a fairly typical Big Ten-style game. Then the Illini kept up with FAU in a fast-paced, high-possession game for another win.

"There's always a little apprehension as a coach, like, 'What is this team?'" Underwood said about going on the road for the first time. "You hope because we're older we're going to handle that moment. We were focused. We were committed. Our practices were very matter of fact. That environment didn't bother them. Anything the opponent threw at us didn't bother them."

Illinois will need more of that Saturday at Tennessee. More from veteran players that have identified their roles and, so far, filled them.

"I don't try to take a ton from one game to the next," Underwood said. "Every game has its own identity. ... It's a great challenge to go there and play and face a Rick Barnes team that's perennially in the Top 20. We've got to have some confidence knowing we did it at Rutgers, but with a new opponent and new venue it's a new challenge."