This week, No. 19 Illinois (5-0) will take on Maryland Eastern Shore (4-2) and No. 14 Kentucky (5-0) in the Music City Classic. It’s the first road trip of the year for the Illini. The team traveled to Nashville, Tennessee, for the event on Sunday.
Music City Classic
Trevecca Nazarene University is the host of the 2024 Music City Classic. Games will be played at the Trevecca Trojan Fieldhouse, which holds 1,500 fans. Illinois will play Maryland Eastern Shore on Nov. 26, with tipoff slated for 1:15 p.m. They will tip off against Kentucky on Nov. 27 at 7 p.m.
First up: Maryland Eastern Shore
Tuesday will mark the first-ever meeting between the Illini and the Hawks. Maryland Eastern Shore has already played one game in the event, beating Dayton (4-2) 62-56. The Hawks have been hot of late, winning their last three games.
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They’re led by graduate student guard Zamara Haynes. The 5-foot-7 guard leads the team in points per game, averaging 16.8. She scored a season-high 25 points in the win against Dayton.
Not only is she an offensive leader, but she’s fierce on defense as well. Her 14 steals lead the team, while the team has 74 steals. The Illini will have to play clean basketball to avoid being beaten for the first time this season.
While three-point shooting for the Illini has been off to a slow start, their three-point defense has not. They have held all five of their opponents under 25% shooting from beyond the arc. They match up well against the Hawks, who have only made 16 of their 70 attempts from downtown.
Tough test: Kentucky
For the first time in 10 years, Illinois will face Kentucky. Illinois is on a four-game win streak against the Wildcats, dating back to 1985-86. The last time the two teams faced each other was in 2014 when Illinois won 77-71. Their overall record against Kentucky is 4-2.
This will be the second ranked team Illinois has faced this season. Illinois played No. 19 Florida State (5-1) to open the season and won 83-74.
As a team, Kentucky was in a very similar situation to Illinois at the start of this season. They are 5-0, beat a top-20 team and have yet to play on the road. Kentucky’s biggest win came against No. 18 Louisville at home.
Leading the Wildcats are sophomore center Clara Strack and graduate student guard Georgia Amoore. They are averaging 15.8 and 15.4 points per game, respectively.
They are a tough team to defend. Of their five starters, four are averaging double-digit points. However, outside of their starting five, the Wildcats struggle to find points.
Kentucky doesn’t rely much on its bench, with only two players averaging over 10 minutes. All but one of the Wildcats’ bench players average less than three points per game. The starting lineup does most of the work. If Illinois can limit the starters from scoring, Kentucky will have no other players to lean on. The way the Illini defense has played the first five games makes this game a very even matchup.
Movin’ up
After dominant wins against Le Moyne and Oregon State, the Illini were bumped up to No. 19 in the Associated Press poll. This is their highest ranking since 2000 when they were ranked No. 10 under long-time head coach Theresa Grentz. With two wins in the Music City Classic, Illinois would likely crack the top 15.
