Entering the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight, Illinois basketball forward Jake Davis said there is one thing he needs before he plays every basketball game — an energy drink.
“I just drink an energy drink — get the juices flowing and go play,” Davis said Friday of his pregame routine. “Nothing too serious.”
Davis said his current go-to energy drink is Gatorade’s energy drink Fast Twitch, based on a recommendation from Illinois strength and conditioning coach Adam Fletcher.
“That’s what our strength trainer, Fletch, wants me to drink,” Davis said. “Before that, it was like Ghost, Monster, but we try to stay away from those now. They’re not good for you.”
Davis, who has started in Illinois‘ last 17 games, is averaging 5.6 points and 2.2 rebounds in 19.9 minutes per game this season for the Fighting Illini.
This is Davis’ second season at Illinois, and he’s aware of what happened during the 2022-23 season, when Illinois forward Matthew Mayer suffered “caffeine poisoning” and missed a couple of practices after drinking too many Monster energy drinks.
“I’ve heard some stories about him with the energy drinks,” Davis said. “I heard I got to be careful with how many I drink cause he got a little crazy off of them. But yeah, I stick to just one a day.”
Illinois returns to action at 5 p.m. CT on Saturday against the Iowa Hawkeyes in the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight.
No. 3 seed Illinois comes into the contest 27-8 overall. On Thursday, Illinois beat No. 2 seed Houston 65-55 in the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16. Facing Houston, Illinois Fighting Illini forward David Mirkovic led the team with 14 points, 10 rebounds, and two assists.
No. 9 seed Iowa enters the matchup 24-12 overall. Most recently, Iowa defeated No. 4-seeded Nebraska 77-71 in the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 on Thursday. Against Nebraska, Iowa Hawkeyes guard Bennett Stirtz led the team with 20 points, four assists, and two rebounds.
The winner advances to the Final Four in Indianapolis on Saturday, April 4.