Illinois Basketball To Host Top Five Team

After two buy games of varying difficulty, the Illinois Men’s Basketball team will face off against preseason #4 ranked Marquette. With the Kansas game being just an exhibition, this is the Illini’s first shot against a blue-chip team that will count. With Marquette held in such high regard, a win would surely be one of the top bullet points on whatever the Illini’s resume in March will be.

1. Third Time’s The Charm

In both of their early buy games, the Illini fell behind multiple possessions to start the game. Defense hasn’t exactly been the problem, with both Eastern Illinois and Oakland making some tough shots, but the offense has lagged out of the gate. Against a team like Marquette, a slow start is really asking for trouble, as the Golden Eagles have a ton of firepower. For a team with the explosiveness of the Illini it won’t be a death sentence, but getting out to a strong start could platform a statement performance.

2. Two Man Game

Marquette returns two stars from their Big East championship team last year. Preseason All-American point guard Tyler Kolek and Preseason All-Big East second team big man Oso Ighodaro return for the Golden Eagles. While there will be plenty of up and down action, those two are the engines for Shaka Smart’s halfcourt attack. The Illini will have to execute their coverages well. The duo not only provides problems of their own, but if you have to overcompensate Kolek will spray the ball to Marquette’s shooters. I’d expect to see a lot of drop and switch coverages on those two. Illinois will want to keep Marquette off the three-point line and playing one on one or two on two. This will be a great test for Ty Rodgers. The sophomore will need to be on point with Hawkins and Dainja when he is in. Brad Underwood’s Illini have been one of the best three-point defenses in volume. Last year they allowed the 29th least attempts per game from deep. For reference, last year the Golden Eagles shot the 36th most threes per game in the country last year. Through two games this year they are 58th.

3. Ride the Wave

The State Farm Center should be rocking and ready to go. We’ve seen how explosive Brad Underwood teams can be on that floor even against the best opponents. This should be a frenetic contest with runs back and forth. Even if Illinois goes down, they need to find ways to stop the bleeding. They did a nice job against Kansas stemming their runs. They will likely need to do so again at times against Marquette. As long as they don’t completely get themselves buried under a 15+ point run, the Orange Krush should be able to give the Illini’s punches a little more oomph.

This has all the makings of a balls to the wall shootout. This is exactly the environment this roster should excel in. Do they have enough bullets to shoot with Marquette? We will find out, but they have the horses for the race.

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