Game 2 preview | Oakland at No. 25 Illinois; 7 p.m., Friday
Nov. 10—Lineups
No. 25 Illinois (1-0)
Starters
P Name Yr. Ht. PPG Hometown
G/F Ty Rodgers So. 6-6 6.0 Saginaw, Mich.
G Terrence Shannon Jr. Sr. 6-6 16.0 Chicago
G/F Marcus Domask Gr. 6-6 6.0 Waupun, Wis.
F Quincy Guerrier Gr. 6-8 4.0 Montreal
F Coleman Hawkins Sr. 6-10 1.0 Sacramento, Calif.
FYI: Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn's 18-point effort in Illinois' season-opening win against Eastern Illinois on Monday night marked the most for an Illini freshman in their debut since Adam Miller. The former Illinois guard, who is now at Arizona State after two seasons at LSU, scored 28 points in his debut in a 122-60 victory against North Carolina A&T at State Farm Center on Nov. 25, 2020.
Off the bench
P Name Yr. Ht. PPG Hometown
G Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn Fr. 6-1 18.0 Lafayette, Ind.
G Luke Goode Jr. 6-7 9.0 Fort Wayne, Ind.
F/C Dain Dainja R-Jr. 6-9 8.0 Brooklyn Park, Minn.
Oakland (0-1)
Starters
P Name Yr. Ht. PPG Hometown
G Rocket Watts Sr. 6-2 0.0 Detroit
G Jack Gohlke Gr. 6-3 18.0 Pewaukee, Wis.
G Blake Lampman Gr. 6-3 14.0 Haslett, Mich.
F Trey Townsend Jr. 6-6 17.0 Oxford, Mich.
F Chris Conway Jr. 6-9 5.0 Naperville
FYI: Gohlke took 18 shots in Oakland's season-opening 79-73 loss Monday at Ohio State. He made six of them. Every attempt, and therefore make, was a three-pointer. The Golden Grizzlies shot 14 of 35 from three-point range (40 percent) as a team, with Lampman leading the way with 4-of-7 shooting.
Off the bench
P Name Yr. Ht. PPG Hometown
G/F Isaiah Jones So. 6-7 1.0 Nashville, Tenn.
G DQ Cole Jr. 6-3 8.0 Pontiac, Mich.
G Tone Hunter Jr. 5-11 8.0 Las Vegas
Details
Site: State Farm Center (15,544); Champaign.
Radio: Brian Barnhart (play-by-play) and former Illini Doug Altenberger (analysis) will have the call on the Illini Sports Network on WHMS 97.5-FM, WPXN 104.9-FM, WDAN-1490-AM and WDNL 102.1-FM.
Streaming: BTN Plus (Subscription).
Series: Illinois leads 3-0.
Last meeting: Illinois won 74-63 on Dec. 8, 2010, in Champaign.
FYI: Illinois and Oakland both claim Kendrick Nunn. The Simeon grad started his career with the Illini, was an All-Big Ten Freshman Team pick in 2013-14 and played three seasons in Champaign before being dismissed from the team. Nunn transferred to Oakland, sat out a season and turned into the Horizon League Player of the Year in 2017-18 after putting up 25.9 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game as a 43/39/84 shooter.
Beat writer Scott Richey's storylines
Ready to launch from beyond the arc
Greg Kampe's Oakland teams haven't been shy about launching from three-point range. The Golden Grizzlies, in fact, have embraced it as evidenced by Monday's 35 attempts from beyond the arc at Ohio State. Current guard Blake Lampman has shot nearly six times as many threes as twos in his career and averaged 7.7 three-point attempts per game last season.
"(Kampe) has done an incredible job of finding a way to play, and they're very successful with it," Illinois coach Brad Underwood said. "(Jack Gohlke) through two exhibitions and a regular-season game, I think he's taken 41 threes. No twos. ... The one thing you have to understand is he's going to make really hard shots. He's Steph-like. I'm not trying to compare him to Steph (Curry), but he's like that. He's going to take those type of shots."
Freebies that aren't so free
Illinois finished the 2022-23 season shooting 67.9 percent from the free-throw line as a team. It was the lowest free-throw percentage for an Illini team since the 2007-08 group shot 60.8 percent and ranked Illinois 12th in the Big Ten last season (ahead of just Nebraska and Minnesota) and 310th nationally (out of what was then 363 teams). The early official returns for the 2023-24 season aren't any better. The Illini were 12 of 23 from the free-throw line in Monday's season opener against Eastern Illinois.
"It's just reps," said Illinois guard Luke Goode, who didn't attempt any free throws against EIU but is a career 75 percent shooter at the line. "Getting in here on your own time, getting with a manager, and hitting your free throws. It's all confidence. At the end of the day, you've just got to step up and hit the shot. It's all mental. "
Maintaining a steady approach after big game
Underwood doubts Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn had a place of prominence on Eastern Illinois' scouting report heading into Monday's season opener. Partly because the 6-foot-1 guard is just a freshman and partly because he played just a few minutes the game prior in the Illini's exhibition win against Kansas. Going off for 18 points in his college debut changes that for Gibbs-Lawhorn. Fellow freshman Amani Hansberry is probably in the same boat after he flirted with a double-double in just 14 minutes.
"You've got to handle that, but I do think they're both very confident players anyway," Underwood said. "They can't think it's that easy because it's not, and you've got to find that line to not let them rest on their laurels and their past."
The News-Gazette's pick
No. 25 Illinois 81, Oakland 72Worst-case scenario is Illinois getting lured into a three-point shooting contest with Oakland and knocking them down at a rate reminiscent of the first half of Monday's game against EIU. Trying to go shot for shot with the Golden Grizzlies doesn't line up with the Illini's strengths. Getting Terrence Shannon Jr. or Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn or Ty Rodgers downhill attacking the basket does. (N-G prediction record — 1-0).
