Published on December 1, 2025 6:32 am
Last Updated on December 1, 2025 6:32 am
BY UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
NEW YORK – Kylan Boswell scored a game-high 25 points and combined with Tomislav Ivisic, on his way to a double-double, to lead #13 Illinois’ second-half comeback effort. But it was not enough to overcome a cold-shooting performance by the Orange and Blue in a 74-61 loss to #5 UConn on Black Friday at Madison Square Garden.
Boswell shot 8-for-16 from the field, including a pair of 3-pointers, and knocked down all seven of his free-throw attempts. The Illini as a team, however, shot a season-worst 31.7% (19-60) from the field and posted a team-low with 20.7% (6-29) from 3-point range.
After connecting on four of the their first seven attempts from beyond the arc, the Illini missed 11 straight in 17-minute stretch of game action that spanned halftime, and finished with just two makes from distance – one each from Boswell and Ivisic – during the team’s second half comeback effort.
Ivisic was limited to just 2 points and 2 rebounds in the first period, but bounced back to post nine points (including 4-4 FTs) and eight rebounds in the second half on his way to record his first double-double of the season.
UConn used a 10-0 run to build a double-digit lead, 23-12, at the 12-minute mark of the first half. Boswell kept the Illini within striking distance and the team went into halftime trailing 43-32.
Out of the break, the Illini were held without a field goal for the first 7 minutes, but hit eight free-throws before Boswell’s triple at the 12:40 mark pulled them within 14 points, 57-43. UConn used a quick 7-0 run to reach their biggest lead of 21 points, 64-43 at the midway point of the second half.
Boswell (5 points) and Ivisic (6) combined to lead the Illini on an 11-0 scoring run that pulled the team back within, 64-54, with just more than 5 minutes to play. The Illini held the Huskies without points for nearly 5 minutes during that run.
Ivisic’s 3-pointer at the 2:56 mark cut the Illini deficit to just 7 points, 59-66, before a controversial four-point play by the Huskies all but stifled the Illini’s comeback effort.
The Illini defense forced an errant shot off the backboard by UConn’s Alex Karaban with less than 4 seconds on the shot clock, which was erroneously reset to 20 as the offensive rebound was cleared out to Malachi Smith with 2 seconds left. Smith then drew contact against Jake Davis on a 3-point heave that banked in before he hit a free-throw to give the Huskies a 70-59 lead. The officials reviewed the shot clock error but determined that Smith’s attempt would have fallen within the duration of the original shot clock.
The four-point play thwarted the Illini’s late push, as the team’s exchanged free throws in the final 77 seconds to close out the game.
#13 Illinois now turns its attention to another neutral-court, ranked showdown vs. #17 Tennessee on Saturday, Dec. 6, at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn. (7 p.m. CT / ESPN).