Illinois gets a much-needed bounce back win over Iowa 81-61.
That was a must-win game, and Illinois probably locked up a ticket to the NCAA Tournament.
Let's take a look at our keys to the game:
Locate the shooters. Iowa typically gets a ton of open looks from 3 off their secondary break. They got a few tonight, but Illinois mostly got matched up and got a hand in their faces. That was the most energy we've seen from Illinois defensively in a while. Dix and Sandford were a combined 2-for-10 from three. Kylan Boswell checked Dix, and Kasparas Jakucionis guarded Sandford.
Dominate on the glass. This could have been even more lopsided, but Illinois had a rough night rebounding the basketball. Ivisic was a bit flat footed and slow to the ball. Illinois didn't put a body on Iowa when the ball went up and let them slide in for 10 offensive rebounds. Iowa is one of the worst rebounding teams in the country. There's no doubt that Illinois missed Morez Johnson. Overall, Illinois got outrebounded 36-31.
Handle the changing defenses. Iowa rattled them a couple of times with the full court pressure, but overall Illinois did a great job recognizing the defense and getting into their offense. The Hawkeyes went zone in the first half, and Illinois was well-prepared for it. They chewed up the zone by feeding Ivisic at the elbow and slipping guys to the rim. Ivisic ended up with 5 assists. Iowa tried some match-up zone in the second half and that wasn't very effective either.
A few more observations:
1. Tweaks on defense. Illinois applied a lot more ball pressure than we typically see, forcing Iowa into 16 turnovers. Illinois scored 17 points off turnovers to just 5 for Iowa. Illinois mostly jettisoned the drop coverage, instead jump-stopping the ball in the paint and contesting every shot. They hedged some on ball screens, trapped a few times, didn't switch, and brought more aggressive weak-side help. Iowa went just 18-for-39 on 2's. Holding Iowa to .953 PPP and a season low 61 points is an accomplishment.
2. Finishing at the rim. Illinois went 16-for-20 at the rim and scored 42 points in the paint. They went 23-for-34 (68%) from 2, one of the best efforts of the season. Kylan Boswell had one of his best games finishing with strength. He has struggled to make layups at times. Will Riley is getting stronger around the bucket as well.
3. Will Riley has made huge strides on defense. He led the starters with a 93.4 defensive rating, had 2 steals, and was disruptive. He's moving better laterally, has really long arms, and active hands. It's hard to add strength during the season. Usually you're just lifting to maintain. But he seems to have gotten stronger.
4. With Morez out, Ben Humrichous is the backup 5. That works against a small team like Iowa. He had 3 rebounds and 3 steals in 14 minutes and an excellent 60.0 DRtrg. Playing small-ball 5, he will be asked to guard more big-on-little ball screens. 14 minutes off the bench is a good number for him. Good to see him knock down two wide open 3's.
5. It was still not a great night shooting the 3-ball (9-for-29), but Illinois has a great record when they make more than 7. Teams will leave Illinois open and they have to make them. Riley, Boswell, and Jakucionis were a combined 3-for-14. Only one of those was a bad shot, a step-back 3 by KJ.
6. Shortening the bench. Four starters played 33+ minutes. Illinois went 8 deep, but no one had more than 14 minutes off the bench. Humrichous 14, Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn 13, Jake Davis 10. The bench got outscored by Iowa's bench 13-6, including giving up a 9-0 run in the first half.
7. Ivisic just about has his legs back, and that's why the shots were dropping (9-for-13). He had a lot more bounce and quickness on the moves in the paint as well. The next step for him is to totally regain his strength so he's more competitive on the glass. He seemed a big timid going for rebounds and reluctant to get a body on guys. They will need more than 4 rebounds from him against Michigan and Purdue.
8. Illinois now only plays two games over the next 10 days. Valuable practice time to try to get back to playing their best basketball.
That was a must-win game, and Illinois probably locked up a ticket to the NCAA Tournament.
Let's take a look at our keys to the game:
Locate the shooters. Iowa typically gets a ton of open looks from 3 off their secondary break. They got a few tonight, but Illinois mostly got matched up and got a hand in their faces. That was the most energy we've seen from Illinois defensively in a while. Dix and Sandford were a combined 2-for-10 from three. Kylan Boswell checked Dix, and Kasparas Jakucionis guarded Sandford.
Dominate on the glass. This could have been even more lopsided, but Illinois had a rough night rebounding the basketball. Ivisic was a bit flat footed and slow to the ball. Illinois didn't put a body on Iowa when the ball went up and let them slide in for 10 offensive rebounds. Iowa is one of the worst rebounding teams in the country. There's no doubt that Illinois missed Morez Johnson. Overall, Illinois got outrebounded 36-31.
Handle the changing defenses. Iowa rattled them a couple of times with the full court pressure, but overall Illinois did a great job recognizing the defense and getting into their offense. The Hawkeyes went zone in the first half, and Illinois was well-prepared for it. They chewed up the zone by feeding Ivisic at the elbow and slipping guys to the rim. Ivisic ended up with 5 assists. Iowa tried some match-up zone in the second half and that wasn't very effective either.
A few more observations:
1. Tweaks on defense. Illinois applied a lot more ball pressure than we typically see, forcing Iowa into 16 turnovers. Illinois scored 17 points off turnovers to just 5 for Iowa. Illinois mostly jettisoned the drop coverage, instead jump-stopping the ball in the paint and contesting every shot. They hedged some on ball screens, trapped a few times, didn't switch, and brought more aggressive weak-side help. Iowa went just 18-for-39 on 2's. Holding Iowa to .953 PPP and a season low 61 points is an accomplishment.
2. Finishing at the rim. Illinois went 16-for-20 at the rim and scored 42 points in the paint. They went 23-for-34 (68%) from 2, one of the best efforts of the season. Kylan Boswell had one of his best games finishing with strength. He has struggled to make layups at times. Will Riley is getting stronger around the bucket as well.
3. Will Riley has made huge strides on defense. He led the starters with a 93.4 defensive rating, had 2 steals, and was disruptive. He's moving better laterally, has really long arms, and active hands. It's hard to add strength during the season. Usually you're just lifting to maintain. But he seems to have gotten stronger.
4. With Morez out, Ben Humrichous is the backup 5. That works against a small team like Iowa. He had 3 rebounds and 3 steals in 14 minutes and an excellent 60.0 DRtrg. Playing small-ball 5, he will be asked to guard more big-on-little ball screens. 14 minutes off the bench is a good number for him. Good to see him knock down two wide open 3's.
5. It was still not a great night shooting the 3-ball (9-for-29), but Illinois has a great record when they make more than 7. Teams will leave Illinois open and they have to make them. Riley, Boswell, and Jakucionis were a combined 3-for-14. Only one of those was a bad shot, a step-back 3 by KJ.
6. Shortening the bench. Four starters played 33+ minutes. Illinois went 8 deep, but no one had more than 14 minutes off the bench. Humrichous 14, Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn 13, Jake Davis 10. The bench got outscored by Iowa's bench 13-6, including giving up a 9-0 run in the first half.
7. Ivisic just about has his legs back, and that's why the shots were dropping (9-for-13). He had a lot more bounce and quickness on the moves in the paint as well. The next step for him is to totally regain his strength so he's more competitive on the glass. He seemed a big timid going for rebounds and reluctant to get a body on guys. They will need more than 4 rebounds from him against Michigan and Purdue.
8. Illinois now only plays two games over the next 10 days. Valuable practice time to try to get back to playing their best basketball.
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