Strong second half from Illini overwhelms Brown

From the opening tip, Illinois came out firing against Brown on Monday night at State Farm Center.

The Illini weren’t accurate shooting the ball early on. John Groce’s squad fired jumper after jumper at the rim, and not many found the net. Their first half shooting performance of 30.6% percent reflects the struggle they endured as they took a 35-31 deficit into halftime. 

Brown played well in the first half, slowing Illinois’ pace, knocking down timely shots and making the Illini work on both ends of the floor.

So, how did Illinois manage 58 points in the second half en route to an 89-68 victory?

“In the second half, we turned it up,” Groce said after the game.

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The Illini offense, after stumbling out of the gate, turned it up indeed. They simply couldn’t be held down for 40 minutes by Brown, as the Bears were over-matched athletically by Illinois. In the end, the Illini had too many scoring weapons.

Once again, Rayvonte Rice was ordinarily spectacular. His 15 points and 10 rebounds helped keep the Illini from digging too deep of a hole to climb out of. Much like the Georgia Southern game, Rice was the Illinois’ crutch when the team was limping in the first half. 

While Rice steadied the ship, shooting guard Aaron Cosby did in the second half what he was brought here to do: score in bunches. 

Cosby hit a three to open the second half, then poured in 10 more points in the next five minutes. He scored from deep, in the paint and at the free throw line. By the time Cosby was done lighting up the scoreboard, Brown was pretty much put away for good. Cosby finished with 18 points on 5-of-10 shooting.

And as the Illini proved in their first four games, this team doesn’t have to rely on one or two guys to carry the load offensively. Five players (Rice, Cosby, Leron Black, Malcolm Hill and Kendrick Nunn) reached double figures, and center Nnanna Egwu nearly made it six with nine points of his own. 

“We have too many good shooters, at some point (the shooting) is gonna turn,” Groce said. “That’s what happened in the second half.”

Another impressive aspect of this team is the production Groce is getting out of his bench. Both Nunn and Black had solid all-around games. They scored in double-figures, but their defensive intensity stood out most. They both have quick feet and hands, and I have a feeling they’ll re-define the term “spark off the bench” as the season goes on.

Nunn and Black provide a level of depth many teams don’t have, as there hasn’t been any drop-off in production when they enter the game so far this season.

Illinois’ 97.5 points per game is one of the best in the nation. Even though we’re only four games in, that statistic is fun to see. Trust me, after nearly a decade of slow, plodding Illini basketball, it’s even more fun to witness in person.

So here the Illini sit, at 4-0. We know they can score in a hurry and we know they’ll hoist up threes. We’ve seen them go cold offensively and we’ve seen them on fire. We’ve seen too many easy baskets and offensive rebounds allowed on the defensive end, but we’ve seen some spectacular effort and hustle as well. Now, we’ll see how their style of play translates to tougher competition.

The team will fly to Las Vegas on Tuesday, where the Illini will prepare for Thursday’s matchup with Indiana State. The Sycamores squeaked by Austin Peay on Monday, and figure to only be a slight notch above the competition Illinois has already faced. A matchup with either Baylor or Memphis (depending on results from both Thursday games) awaits on Friday. That game will provide the Illini with their first taste of a high-major opponent.

As we look ahead to Vegas, the biggest takeaway from Monday’s game is this: 

On an off-night when shots weren’t falling, against a Brown team that slowed the pace considerably, the Illini still scored 89 points and won by 21. 

I’ll take it.

Alex is a junior in AHS. He can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @aroux94.