GREENVILLE, S.C. — Illinois coach Brad Underwood said he usually can tell in practice if David Mirković is locked in and focused.
Mirković’s three or four days leading up to Illinois’ first-round NCAA Tournament game against Penn were pretty good, Underwood said. And, boy, did that carry over.
Mirković, a 6-foot-9 forward from Montenegro, set an Illinois freshman NCAA Tournament record with 29 points and an overall Illinois tournament record with 17 rebounds to lead the third-seeded Illini to a 105-70 win over No. 14 seed Penn on Thursday night.
His performance earned him a standing ovation from the Illini crowd at Bon Secours Wellness Arena and plenty of compliments from his teammates on how hard he played.
“David is fun. He’s a really good human being to be around, and then when you step on the floor, he just wants to rip your head off,” Underwood said. “That’s if you’re officiating. That’s if you’re coaching him. He’s just got an edge that is a competitive spirit that is very unmatched.”
Underwood harped on rebounding after Illinois’ loss to Wisconsin in the Big Ten Tournament.
Penn knew going in that it would have an uphill battle with a significant size disadvantage against the Illini. But the Quakers couldn’t stop it: Illinois won the battle on the boards 48-25 and had 29 second-chance points.
Mirković said basketballs were coming to him “like magnets” as his 17 points and 10 rebounds in the first half helped the Illini build a 10-point lead.
“What you don’t realize is if he gets a mitt on it, it’s his,” Underwood said. “He has extremely strong hands, extremely big hands. It’s just the tenacity. As a coach that thrives on rebounding, I enjoyed watching him in the recruiting process, and then I loved watching him tonight.”
Thursday’s double-double was Mirković’s eighth this season and third in five games. He finished 11-for-17 from the field, including 4-for-7 from 3-point range, and had three assists.
He said he felt prepared for his first NCAA Tournament game because of the many good teams the Illini played in the regular season.
“I know what I’m capable of,” Mirković said. “I know my good things, my bad things, and I’m excited of course. But we have the next game in less than 48 hours, and we have to be focused and locked in for the next game.”
Not 100%
Penn coach Fran McCaffery said TJ Power “wasn’t himself” as the junior forward tried to come back after an illness this week. McCaffery said Penn staff gave Power four or five IV bags of fluids to try to get him on track.
Power, who averages 16.4 points, scored just six points.
“That is one tough kid there,” McCaffery said. “I love him. He tried.
“Of course they paid a lot of attention to him. But you could tell, in particular on the glass, because he’s an elite rebounder, that he didn’t have quite the energy or the explosion that he normally does. But there was no question he was going to show up and fight for us. I’m so proud of him.”
Underwood said he had been “all over” guard Kylan Boswell about needing to shut down Power, even though Underwood knew Power was battling an illness. Underwood said Power is one of the best shooters the Illini have seen this year.
“When he goes left, he’s not going to miss,” Underwood said. “Kylan was dialed in to not let him do that.
“Kylan was disruptive. His hands, his quickness, his tenacity, knocking balls away. All of that becomes a little unnerving, and that’s Kylan.”
Boswell said he used his defense to take out his frustrations from Illinois’ loss to Wisconsin, in which he got in early foul trouble and the Badgers guards took over the game.
“I was mad about me getting foul trouble. I was mad that Nick (Boyd) went off for (38) points. I was mad that we lost,” Boswell said of the aftermath of the Wisconsin game. “A whole bunch of mix of things. Social media makes me more upset.
“Whatever I was feeling, just focus on today and focus on TJ. I can’t go get that one back, but I can do my best today.”
Bench moment
The Illinois starters were on the bench late in Thursday’s game, given an early exit by Underwood in the blowout victory. Suddenly, they all leaped to their feet and bounced around in an excited mass.
AJ Redd, a St. Ignatius graduate, stole the ball after a Penn defensive rebound and made a layup for Illinois’ final points. The senior began his career as a student manager before being added to the roster as a walk-on.
The basket gave him 15 points for the season, including Illinois’ final five points on senior night against Oregon.
“I’m so happy for him,” Boswell said. “He’s been here for all four years. He put so much work in with also not getting the ability to perform on the majority of nights. For him to come out there and get a freaking rebound and a steal — it got Fletch (strength coach Adam Fletcher) hyped too — super happy for him.”
