MILWAUKEE — Growing up in Lithuania, Kasparas Jakucionis knew as much about the NCAA Tournament as he did quantum mechanics and Diophantine equations.
That is to say: Not a dang thing.
But he started watching the tournament a couple of years ago, while getting his feet wet in pro ball in Spain and blossoming into a major U.S. college prospect who would sign with Illinois. It made an impression.
“You can see that every detail matters in the game, every little detail,” the Illini freshman point guard said. “Every possession, every rebound matters. And you win or go home. So that’s the thing, the beauty of it.”
First-year Illini center Tomislav Ivisic watched the Big Dance for the first time last year, when he played professionally in Croatia. His twin brother, Zvonimir — “Big Z,” as he’s known these days — was already in the U.S. and playing at Kentucky. Zvonimir has since followed coach John Calipari to Arkansas.
“I noticed the different intensity,” Tomislav said. “Everyone comes here to win. Everyone wants to win. Huge stakes. And it’s just amazing to be part of that this year.”
Both European players are in the spotlight like never before for the Illini (21-12), the 6 seed in the Midwest Region, entering a first-round game against 11 seed Xavier (22-11) at 8:45 p.m. Friday on Ch. 2. The same can be said of freshmen Will Riley — a Canadian projected, as Jakucionis is, for the first round of this year’s NBA draft — and Morez Johnson Jr., who starred at Thornton Township.
This team has had electric performances, none more so than a 32-point win at Oregon and a 20-point win at Michigan. It has had confounding duds, none worse than a 43-point loss to Duke in New York — the most lopsided loss in Illini history — and, last time out at the Big Ten tournament, a 23-point loss to Maryland that was far uglier than the final score indicated.
When these Illini show up, they can be great. When they don’t, they look like total frauds. Only the former has any chance to get the job done now, starting against a Musketeers team that staged a stirring comeback Wednesday to beat Texas 86-80 in a First Four matchup in Dayton, Ohio.
“The stage is different. It’s unmatched. There’s nothing like the NCAA Tournament,” coach Brad Underwood said before the Illini’s open practice at Fiserv Forum. “But it’s still basketball, and you’ve got to go out and play the game and you’ve got to compete. …
“The one thing that I’ve tried to reiterate to these guys is the other team is going to compete just as hard as you do and try to do it a little bit harder — and you just can’t let that happen.”
This time of year, it’s never a disadvantage to be old. The more experienced Musketeers’ best player, forward Zach Freemantle — among the top scorers and rebounders in the Big East — is 24. Jakucionis is still 18. Riley and Johnson each turned 19 this year. Ivisic, classified as a sophomore coming in, is 21.
The Illini have bits of NCAA Tournament experience. Guard Kylan Boswell played in two of them at Arizona, and guard Tre White played in one at USC. But the Illini have the third-least Division I experience in the entire 68-team field, according to KenPom. That alone might make them long shots to go on a run as last year’s team did, when old dudes Terrence Shannon Jr., Marcus Domask and Coleman Hawkins paved the way to the Elite Eight.
Talent-wise, though, it’s edge, Illini. We’ve seen Jakucionis control games. We’ve seen the offense run beautifully through the 7-1 Ivisic, a wonderful passer from the high post and a factor as a three-point shooter. Johnson, a strong presence inside, shook off rust in the Big Ten tournament after an injury absence. Riley, a 6-8 guard, often was the team’s best player in recent weeks and might be the first-year Illini player most likely to break out on this stage.
“I really have a feeling that [Riley] could be a huge player in this tournament,” Underwood said.
If not, it could be a one-and-done scenario. What a bummer that would be.