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Mar. 22—GREENVILLE, S.C. — Tomislav Ivisic launched to his feet as soon as Andrej Stojakovic blasted past VCU guard Terrence Hill Jr. and launched himself airborne to posterize Rams forward Lazar Djokovic.
Ivisic's reaction was one of stunned disbelief. Hands firmly clenched behind his head in wonder.
It wasn't the first time the Illinois center would have a monster dunk to celebrate. The next came in the second half as Ivisic watched his brother, Zvonimir, take off from an absurd defense for a transition slam.
"He definitely jumped higher, but I was more hyped," Tomislav Ivisic said of his brother's dunk. "I'm not surprised. He's capable of that. I've seen that 100 times in my life, but every time it's special. He learned that from me."
Tomislav Ivisic had to think for a minute, but he ultimately gave dunk of the night honors in Illinois' 76-55 victory against VCU to lock up a Sweet 16 berth to his brother.
"It's hard, but I've got to take my brother," Tomislav Ivisic said. "Not because he's my brother, but because it looked better and it was on our end. I felt like he jumped from outside the paint. It seemed like he was flying for 5 seconds. It was incredible."
Zvonimir Ivisic's dunk came just mere moments after he erased a dunk attempt by Djokovic at the other end of the court. Then the 7-foot-2 forward/center ran hard in transition to be in position to accept a dump off pass from Kylan Boswell and elevate for his own highlight reel-worthy dunk.
"As soon as I saw him look — when we locked eyes — I knew that ball was coming," Zvonimir Ivisic said.
Zvonimir Ivisic hadn't seen the replay of his dunk by the time the Illinois locker room opened after the game. He had no idea just how far he took off.
"It seemed pretty close to me," he said. "I haven't seen anything yet. I really don't know."
Feeding Zvonimir Ivisic as the trailer on that play wasn't Boswell's first instinct. His first read was David Mirkovic, with a lob to Stojakovic another option.
"I just happened to look behind at half court and see the 7-footer running down," Boswell said. "I decided to wait, wait and wait until he was up enough to get the ball, and I just dumped it to him. I thought I gave it to him too soon, and then seeing him take off from basically the three-point line and 1-2 (step) and almost free throw line punch it was insane."
Stojakovic's dunk came as part of a solo 9-0 run by the Illinois guard, as he scored his team's final 11 points of the first half.
"The realization you get in your head when you do it on a stage like this, it's like no other," Stojakovic said. "I just went up there to challenge and put pressure on the rim."
Mirkovic called both dunks "beautiful" and that he "got hyped on both." But even he gave Zvonimir Ivisic the edge on dunk of the night given the entire sequence of events from blocking one to slamming another.
"His athletic ability is crazy," Mirkovic said. "He's a really important piece of our team because of that. He brings the rim protecting, and he brings those dunks. He hyped the team up and gave us great momentum at that moment."
Those dunks took some of the attention away from an acrobatic layup by Tomislav Ivisic in the first half. That unorthodox finish at the rim was part of his 14-point, 11-rebound performance.
"I thought David was going to throw a lob and kind of jumped and the ball went down," Tomislav Ivisic said. "I just had to find a way there. I've got to see it. Everybody said it looked good."
***
Stojakovic's dominant run at the end of the first half came with little variance in how he scored. It was all a product of getting to the rim. Even a mid-range fadeaway jumper from 10 feet he banked in off the glass.
"This is a team full of shooters, but when you have Dre that's the best driver on our team it gives defenses different looks," Mirkovic said. "It's pretty hard to guard him when he gets in his flow state, and then they start doubling and he passes to us and we knock down shots. It's really scary."
A sentiment Zvonimir Ivisic shared.
"They couldn't guard him," the Illinois big man said. "Dre is, I feel like, the best at what he does in the country, and I don't think anybody can guard him here."
Stojakovic's aggressive takes off the bounce against VCU is what Boswell wants to see from him more consistently. And not just because he typically either finishes at the rim or gets to the free throw line.
"How he can get downhill and how he can attract fouls just makes everything else easier for everybody," Boswell said. "Pick-and-pops become more open. Him being aggressive is vital for us, and it helps everybody else just get open shots."
***
A clear difference in Illinois having to fend off a VCU rally in the first half and pulling away for a 21-point victory in the second was turnovers. As in fewer of them.
Illinois turned the ball over eight times in the first half, giving the Rams the opportunities in transition they value. Three turnovers in the second half by the Illini shut the door on all but two fast break points for VCU in the final 20 minutes.
"If we don't turn the ball over in the first half, then we would have had a much bigger lead," Illinois guard Keaton Wagler said. The Illini's halftime advantage was seven. "When we limited that, it was easier for us to set our defense and get stops. We knew that they were a good team and were going to go on a run because watching the North Carolina team that's what they did. They went on a big run and won the game. Once we got that big lead in the second half, we couldn't lose focus."
***
VCU's rotation took a blow early in Saturday's game. Freshman guard Nyk Lewis landed awkwardly in the physical aftermath of a putback by Tomislav Ivisic, rolled his right ankle and had to leave the game in the opening minute.
That left the Rams without their No. 4 scorer for essentially the entire game.
"It certainly took the wind out of our sails to start," VCU coach Phil Martelli Jr. said. "We ended up getting it back, which was good, but yeah, he's a key to what we do. We aren't built around one guy — we are built as a team — but certainly what Nyk represents, who he is, the person he is, the player he is, all those things, you can't replicate.
"I feel terrible for him. He's worked so hard and done everything that we've ever asked him to do, and for him to go out like that is just a shame."
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Ivisic's reaction was one of stunned disbelief. Hands firmly clenched behind his head in wonder.
It wasn't the first time the Illinois center would have a monster dunk to celebrate. The next came in the second half as Ivisic watched his brother, Zvonimir, take off from an absurd defense for a transition slam.
"He definitely jumped higher, but I was more hyped," Tomislav Ivisic said of his brother's dunk. "I'm not surprised. He's capable of that. I've seen that 100 times in my life, but every time it's special. He learned that from me."
Tomislav Ivisic had to think for a minute, but he ultimately gave dunk of the night honors in Illinois' 76-55 victory against VCU to lock up a Sweet 16 berth to his brother.
"It's hard, but I've got to take my brother," Tomislav Ivisic said. "Not because he's my brother, but because it looked better and it was on our end. I felt like he jumped from outside the paint. It seemed like he was flying for 5 seconds. It was incredible."
Zvonimir Ivisic's dunk came just mere moments after he erased a dunk attempt by Djokovic at the other end of the court. Then the 7-foot-2 forward/center ran hard in transition to be in position to accept a dump off pass from Kylan Boswell and elevate for his own highlight reel-worthy dunk.
"As soon as I saw him look — when we locked eyes — I knew that ball was coming," Zvonimir Ivisic said.
Zvonimir Ivisic hadn't seen the replay of his dunk by the time the Illinois locker room opened after the game. He had no idea just how far he took off.
"It seemed pretty close to me," he said. "I haven't seen anything yet. I really don't know."
Feeding Zvonimir Ivisic as the trailer on that play wasn't Boswell's first instinct. His first read was David Mirkovic, with a lob to Stojakovic another option.
"I just happened to look behind at half court and see the 7-footer running down," Boswell said. "I decided to wait, wait and wait until he was up enough to get the ball, and I just dumped it to him. I thought I gave it to him too soon, and then seeing him take off from basically the three-point line and 1-2 (step) and almost free throw line punch it was insane."
Stojakovic's dunk came as part of a solo 9-0 run by the Illinois guard, as he scored his team's final 11 points of the first half.
"The realization you get in your head when you do it on a stage like this, it's like no other," Stojakovic said. "I just went up there to challenge and put pressure on the rim."
Mirkovic called both dunks "beautiful" and that he "got hyped on both." But even he gave Zvonimir Ivisic the edge on dunk of the night given the entire sequence of events from blocking one to slamming another.
"His athletic ability is crazy," Mirkovic said. "He's a really important piece of our team because of that. He brings the rim protecting, and he brings those dunks. He hyped the team up and gave us great momentum at that moment."
Those dunks took some of the attention away from an acrobatic layup by Tomislav Ivisic in the first half. That unorthodox finish at the rim was part of his 14-point, 11-rebound performance.
"I thought David was going to throw a lob and kind of jumped and the ball went down," Tomislav Ivisic said. "I just had to find a way there. I've got to see it. Everybody said it looked good."
***
Stojakovic's dominant run at the end of the first half came with little variance in how he scored. It was all a product of getting to the rim. Even a mid-range fadeaway jumper from 10 feet he banked in off the glass.
"This is a team full of shooters, but when you have Dre that's the best driver on our team it gives defenses different looks," Mirkovic said. "It's pretty hard to guard him when he gets in his flow state, and then they start doubling and he passes to us and we knock down shots. It's really scary."
A sentiment Zvonimir Ivisic shared.
"They couldn't guard him," the Illinois big man said. "Dre is, I feel like, the best at what he does in the country, and I don't think anybody can guard him here."
Stojakovic's aggressive takes off the bounce against VCU is what Boswell wants to see from him more consistently. And not just because he typically either finishes at the rim or gets to the free throw line.
"How he can get downhill and how he can attract fouls just makes everything else easier for everybody," Boswell said. "Pick-and-pops become more open. Him being aggressive is vital for us, and it helps everybody else just get open shots."
***
A clear difference in Illinois having to fend off a VCU rally in the first half and pulling away for a 21-point victory in the second was turnovers. As in fewer of them.
Illinois turned the ball over eight times in the first half, giving the Rams the opportunities in transition they value. Three turnovers in the second half by the Illini shut the door on all but two fast break points for VCU in the final 20 minutes.
"If we don't turn the ball over in the first half, then we would have had a much bigger lead," Illinois guard Keaton Wagler said. The Illini's halftime advantage was seven. "When we limited that, it was easier for us to set our defense and get stops. We knew that they were a good team and were going to go on a run because watching the North Carolina team that's what they did. They went on a big run and won the game. Once we got that big lead in the second half, we couldn't lose focus."
***
VCU's rotation took a blow early in Saturday's game. Freshman guard Nyk Lewis landed awkwardly in the physical aftermath of a putback by Tomislav Ivisic, rolled his right ankle and had to leave the game in the opening minute.
That left the Rams without their No. 4 scorer for essentially the entire game.
"It certainly took the wind out of our sails to start," VCU coach Phil Martelli Jr. said. "We ended up getting it back, which was good, but yeah, he's a key to what we do. We aren't built around one guy — we are built as a team — but certainly what Nyk represents, who he is, the person he is, the player he is, all those things, you can't replicate.
"I feel terrible for him. He's worked so hard and done everything that we've ever asked him to do, and for him to go out like that is just a shame."
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