Center of attention
Wake Forest might be more guard oriented with a veteran backcourt of Bryant Crawford and Keyshawn Woods after relying on first-round NBA draft pick John Collins last season as a post scorer, but Illinois will still have to account for center Doral Moore. The 7-foot-1, 280-pounder is averaging career highs in scoring (10.3 ppg) and rebounding (7.8 rpg) with his minutes more than doubling this season. Illinois coach Brad Underwood called Moore "a problem." While Michael Finke may draw the initial assignment, he won't be put on an island defensively. "We're not going to guard Doral Moore just with one guy," Underwood said. "He's an imposing figure. Michael's been very, very good. He's not that guy that goes out and blocks a ton of shots, but he's that guy that can protect the rim by taking charges. He's got great anticipation on help side. He's a guy that's cerebral in the way he plays."
Two in a row?
Illinois is 8-10 in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge since its inception for the 1999-2000 season. Last year's victory against N.C. State snapped a three-game losing streak in the series, which followed a four-game winning streak from 2009 to 2012 ? the best stretch for the Illini. Their last win against Wake Forest in December 2004 was a Big Ten/ACC Challenge victory. "One of the elite events in, really, all of college basketball," Underwood said. "It pits two great conference against each other. It's exciting for us to go against a very good Wake team ? a team that was an NCAA tournament team (in 2016-17)."
Change of pace
Today's game will be Illinois' first on the road after opening with six straight wins at home. The challenge of playing at Wake Forest is one redshirt sophomore forward Kipper Nichols said the Illini are excited for. It's also one he said the Illinois coaches have prepared the team for. "Like I've been saying, practice is kind of harder than the games," Nichols said. "Coach makes sure we're put under a lot of pressure during practice so come game time we just flow."
This one's fairly close to a coin flip. The Illini will take a largely new roster ? even if that's just meant new roles for returning players ? on the road for the first time. The Demon Deacons have won two of three games since dropping three straight to start the season, including a pair of buy games in Winston-Salem to Georgia Southern and Liberty. Illinois' challenge will be slowing down what's been an effective Wake Forest offense (even in the losses) while executing its own offense at a more efficient clip to Underwood's liking. The Demon Deacons' experience plus home court advantage could be the deciding factor.
Wake Forest might be more guard oriented with a veteran backcourt of Bryant Crawford and Keyshawn Woods after relying on first-round NBA draft pick John Collins last season as a post scorer, but Illinois will still have to account for center Doral Moore. The 7-foot-1, 280-pounder is averaging career highs in scoring (10.3 ppg) and rebounding (7.8 rpg) with his minutes more than doubling this season. Illinois coach Brad Underwood called Moore "a problem." While Michael Finke may draw the initial assignment, he won't be put on an island defensively. "We're not going to guard Doral Moore just with one guy," Underwood said. "He's an imposing figure. Michael's been very, very good. He's not that guy that goes out and blocks a ton of shots, but he's that guy that can protect the rim by taking charges. He's got great anticipation on help side. He's a guy that's cerebral in the way he plays."
Two in a row?
Illinois is 8-10 in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge since its inception for the 1999-2000 season. Last year's victory against N.C. State snapped a three-game losing streak in the series, which followed a four-game winning streak from 2009 to 2012 ? the best stretch for the Illini. Their last win against Wake Forest in December 2004 was a Big Ten/ACC Challenge victory. "One of the elite events in, really, all of college basketball," Underwood said. "It pits two great conference against each other. It's exciting for us to go against a very good Wake team ? a team that was an NCAA tournament team (in 2016-17)."
Change of pace
Today's game will be Illinois' first on the road after opening with six straight wins at home. The challenge of playing at Wake Forest is one redshirt sophomore forward Kipper Nichols said the Illini are excited for. It's also one he said the Illinois coaches have prepared the team for. "Like I've been saying, practice is kind of harder than the games," Nichols said. "Coach makes sure we're put under a lot of pressure during practice so come game time we just flow."
This one's fairly close to a coin flip. The Illini will take a largely new roster ? even if that's just meant new roles for returning players ? on the road for the first time. The Demon Deacons have won two of three games since dropping three straight to start the season, including a pair of buy games in Winston-Salem to Georgia Southern and Liberty. Illinois' challenge will be slowing down what's been an effective Wake Forest offense (even in the losses) while executing its own offense at a more efficient clip to Underwood's liking. The Demon Deacons' experience plus home court advantage could be the deciding factor.
