Illinois Plans Lineup Tests Against Baylor

Illinois hosts Baylor in its second exhibition Friday, with David Mirkovic unavailable as he recovers from August foot surgery; the rest of the Illini roster is healthy. After using 12 players in the opening minutes of its 105-96 exhibition win over Cincinnati, coach Brad Underwood plans to test more specific lineup combinations, including guard-heavy groups and how they communicate and handle defensive switches. Ethan Brown and Stefan Vaaks are competing for a starting guard spot after scoring 15 and 19 points, respectively, against Cincinnati. Illinois gave up 12 offensive rebounds in that game, an area to watch against Baylor, which beat Florida 82-76 in overtime and also collected 12 offensive rebounds. Baylor made 25 of 32 free throws against Florida but had just nine assists on 25 baskets.