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Welcome to “Good Morning, Illini Nation,” your daily college basketball report from Illinois reporter and Associated Press Top 25 voter Scott Ritchie, who gives his insights each morning on Brad Underwood’s team and all things college basketball.
Team USA cruised through their group at the FIBA U-17 World Cup, looking truly dominant, including a record-setting performance in a 146-62 win over China. The closest game came in the team’s opening match, when they beat France by 23 points. The Americans then went on to win by 75, 84 and 96 points.
All of this was made possible by several recruiting targets from Illinois. AJ DiVanza, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 class, averaged 14 points, 4.3 assists and four rebounds in just 18.8 minutes per game during group play. Five-star center Chris Cenac Jr. came off the bench and averaged 9.3 points and 5.3 rebounds in 12.7 minutes per game.
Four-star guard JJ Mandakit is also averaging 5.3 points and five assists in a backup role. Illinois is no longer in the championship race, but Koa Peat, the son of former Champaign Central football star Todd Peat, is the team’s second-leading scorer (behind Cameron Boozer) with averages of 16.3 points, 4.8 rebounds and two assists per game.
The U.S. will face Canada in today’s quarterfinal. Other quarterfinal matches include New Zealand vs. Lithuania, Puerto Rico vs. Italy and Spain vs. hosts Turkey.
