Tenth-ranked Illinois will take a swing through Los Angeles for a pair of crucial Big Ten Conference games this week, the first on Wednesday night against Southern California.
The Fighting Illini (21-5, 12-3 Big Ten) begin the week in a three-team tie for second place in the league’s loss column, knotted with No. 7 Purdue (21-4, 11-3) and No. 9 Nebraska (22-3, 11-3), just behind No. 1 Michigan (24-1, 14-1).
USC (18-7, 7-7) sits in the middle of the conference pack.
Illinois slipped from the top of the conference with back-to-back overtime losses at Michigan State on Feb. 7 and to Wisconsin on Feb. 10, but the Illini bounced back on Sunday with a 71-51 home rout of Indiana.
David Mirkovic scored 25 points against the Hoosiers, his ninth consecutive double-figure point-scoring performance since the freshman was inserted into the starting lineup. The 25 points represented his personal best in Big Ten play.
The tone-setting effort came after Mirkovic took responsibility for the loss to the Badgers.
Illini coach Brad Underwood said, “I get an incredible text from Mirk after the Wisconsin game — taking the blame for it because he wasn’t mentally what he thought was at his best. (Mirkovic) practiced at a different level, and that showed off (against Indiana). He was dominant on both ends, and it’s as focused defensively as I’ve seen him.”
The 51 points to which the Illini held Indiana were the third-fewest Illinois allowed this season, just two weeks removed from limiting Northwestern to 44 points.
Along with strong defense — Illinois ranks No. 49 nationally at 68.2 points allowed a contest — the Illini have thrived with balanced offense. Mirkovic heads into Los Angeles as one of five Illinois scorers averaging in double figures per game.
His rate of 13 points per game joins Keaton Wagler at 18.5, Kylan Boswell at 14, Andrej Stojakovic at 13.7 and Tomislav Ivisic at 10.5. Stojakovic missed the past two games because of a high ankle sprain, and his availability for the Wednesday contest was uncertain.
After opposing the Trojans, Illinois plays at UCLA on Saturday before returning home to oppose Michigan on Feb. 27.
Among USC’s season-long regulars, Chad Baker-Mazara leads the way with 18.3 points per game, while Ezra Ausar adds 15.7. Rodney Rice (20.3 ppg) sustained a season-ending shoulder injury in December. Alijah Arenas, who returned from a knee injury last month, has appeared in six games and has averaged 26 over the past three.
Jacob Cofie (9.9 points, 7.2 rebounds per game) reached double-figure scoring in three of the Trojans’ past four outings.
Cofie was one of five Trojans to notch at least 12 at Ohio State on Feb. 11, led by Arenas’ 25. Arenas is posting 15.4 points per game since joining the lineup the last month, bouncing back from a knee injury sustained in a car accident.
The first-year blue-chip prospect started slowly, scoring 30 combined points in his first four appearances but since ran off games of 29 and 24 before the 25 in an 89-82 loss to the Buckeyes.
The setback snapped USC’s three-game winning streak and dropped the Trojans to .500 in the Big Ten. USC aims to use its week-long break since the loss to regroup, playing its next four in Los Angeles and three of the quartet at home.
“It’s been a long year so far. I think this is a much-needed break for the guys,” USC assistant coach Earl Boykins said per the school’s website. “The three long trips we’ve taken this year are a lot. It’s going to be good for them to get the break and for us to get in the gym and get back to the basics.”
