CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (WCIA) — Illinois basketball has been tasked with learning to play without big man Tomislav Ivisic, who is out for a third-straight game on Thursday at Nebraska as he continues to deal with mono.

Will Riley, Jake Davis and Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn have all shown an ability to score in double figures, as Illinois got 35+ points from non-starters against Michigan State and Northwestern.

This depth allows them to rise to the challenge of playing shorthanded.

“We’ve got the best bench maybe that we’ve had, we’ve got the best bunch of people,” head coach Brad Underwood said.

“I wouldn’t trade it for anybody in the country, so I’m ecstatic with the growth and the way these guys are performing.”

“With this team being so deep, we got so many guys that could be next up in that scenario so if one guy’s out, we’ve always got the next guy with such a deep roster.” freshman forward Will Riley said.