Wednesday night was No. 10 Illinois men’s basketball’s first experience with overtime in the 2023-24 season. The results were not pretty, as allowing 20 points in the five minutes meant Northwestern claimed a 96-91 victory. It was also the Illini’s first rematch of the season, with round one featuring a 30-point win over the Wildcats. Illinois is back to fresh matchups this Saturday, hosting Indiana at 2 p.m.
High-scoring games, such as Illinois’ last timeout, do not happen without impressive shot-making. This was noticed by head coach Brad Underwood, who likened the offensive ability of both sides to the professional level.
“We executed fine,” Underwood said. “It was kind of an NBA game, you know? When you look back, there were a lot of really hard shots made by both teams. I liked our fight; we had 21 (offensive) rebounds. We had some tip-ins that didn’t go, but that’s kind of the way the ball rolls.”
The loss to Northwestern puts more pressure on Illinois moving forward. Dropping to 5-3 in conference play means that the leads of No. 13 Wisconsin (8-1) and No. 2 Purdue (7-2) have grown stronger. Despite facing these teams in early March, Illinois still relies on outside factors to get back into the race for the Big Ten title.
The Hoosiers possess the rare ability to stack up against the Illini’s size. The length of Illinois’ starters, who are a bit over 6-foot-7 on average, has been a frustrating wrinkle for opposing teams all season long. Still, Indiana’s top-scoring trio of Malik Reneau (6’9”), Kel’el Ware (7’0”) and Mackenzie Mgbako (6’8”) is a potential counter.
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Despite possessing similar physical advantages to the Illini, this season has not been as strong for the Hoosiers. A 4-4 mark in conference play has been a recent victim of Indiana’s schedule. Before their trip to Champaign, the Hoosiers had to host the Boilermakers and visit the Badgers within three days. That two-game losing streak, plus a 1-3 record on the road, has ESPN Analytics’ matchup predictor giving Illinois a staggering 87.2% chance to win.
Illinois is in the middle of an extremely low-rest stretch of schedule. Since its Michigan State game on Jan. 11, Illinois has had more than two days between games on just one occasion. This continues into next week against Ohio State before Illinois gets four days of rest ahead of Nebraska. The fatigue has yet to set in for Illinois, according to Underwood, who says mental fortitude is key to moving through these stretches.
“You do what’s best for your team,” Underwood said. “You’ve got to maximize your rest when you can get it. When you can’t, you better buckle up, strap it on and be a tough son of a b—-, or you’re going to get your butt beat.”
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