Illinois (4-1) is set to take on Little Rock (3-3) on Monday night in Champaign before its much anticipated Thanksgiving day showdown with No. 20 Arkansas. The Illini are coming off a dominant 47-point win against the Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks on Saturday despite a poor shooting performance.
Little Rock has real shooters
Little Rock is coming into this matchup with Illinois, most recently losing to No. 20 Arkansas by 12 on Friday. Little Rock also upset Tulsa on Wednesday, 71-57.
The Trojans are led by graduate guard Mwani Wilkinson and junior guard Johnathan Lawson. They average 17.2 and 16.3 points per game, respectively. Wilkinson and Lawson are also dangerous shooters from beyond the arc. Each of them is shooting above 40% from deep this season on a combined average of 11.5 attempts per game.
Little Rock likes to get out in transition and take advantage of its opponent’s mistakes. They average 20.3 points off turnovers per game, better than the Illini’s 12.2. However, Little Rock has had trouble holding on to the ball. It surrenders over 15 turnovers per game, more than Illinois’ average of 11.6.
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Illinois’ keys to the game
Plain and simple, this Illinois roster needs to shoot the ball better. The team’s shooting has been underwhelming after all the hype.
Almost every player on the roster was labeled as a capable three-point shooter entering the year. Certain players, such as freshman forward Will Riley (63.6% from three) and graduate student forward Ben Humrichous (41.2% from three), have shot it well over the Illini’s first five games.
However, the rest of the roster has struggled. Sophomore guard Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn, freshman guard Kasparas Jakucionis, junior guard Kylan Boswell and sophomore center Tomislav Ivisic are shooting below 30% from deep.
Each of those players is averaging at least three long-range attempts per game, and all were touted as much stronger shooters than they have shown thus far. A game against a mid-major program that will likely not be as tough for Illinois will be a good opportunity for some of players to get their shot going.
Defense, especially on the perimeter, will be key for Illinois in this game. The Trojans’ two sharpshooting guards, Wilkinson and Lawson, each knockdown above 40% of their threes. They are joined by another strong shooter: sophomore guard Isaiah Lewis. Lewis is shooting 39.1% from deep this season and 46.7% in Little Rock’s last three games. Boswell, Illinois’ best on-ball defender, will likely be tasked with guarding one of the three. Still, whoever is assigned to guard the other two knockdown three-point shooters must be on their A-game.
Illini to watch
Keep an eye on Ivisic for the Illini. The 7-foot-1 big man has produced consistently this season, scoring in double figures in all five games. He is averaging 15.4 points, 8.2 rebounds and one block per game, showing his strong inside presence.
Little Rock only has one player above 6-foot-9, and he has only averaged 8.8 minutes per game and didn’t play in the team’s last contest. Against smaller big men, Ivisic should score more easily with his floater in the pick-and-roll and post-up situations.
Another Illini to watch is Boswell, both on the offensive and defensive ends. On offense, Boswell has struggled to shoot the ball. Despite scoring double figures the last two games, Boswell has shot a combined 3-14 from three. Boswell was a 38% three-point shooter last season at Arizona and needs a strong shooting game to build confidence this year in a new system.
On the defensive end, Boswell will likely guard Lewis or Wilkinson. They are the shorter two of the Trojan’s three sharpshooting guards. His staunch on-ball defense and intensity when locking down shooters will be very important for Illinois. So, Little Rock cannot get its offense going through its usual scorers.
@sahil_mittal24
