Illinois Basketball hobbling into game vs Minnesota

It is safe to say that Illinois basketball absolutely must win their Saturday game vs Minnesota. The Illini are 3-5 in their last eight games and have looked like a shell of their former selves since absolutely dominating on the West Coast vs Oregon. Underneath the offensive struggles and the seemingly misguided offensive philosophy built on threes, the Illini have not had luck on their side. It all started with the forearm injury to their point guard, Kasparas Jakucionis. Jakucionis missed two games, however, has looked like a shell of his former self since the first half at Indiana. Whether it is related to the injury is unclear, but Jakucionis is struggling in many ways.

In his last five games, Jakucionis is shooting 36 percent from the field and just 15 percent from the three-point line. The most glaring issue is that he has averaged 4.6 turnovers per game in this stretch.

On top of that, Tomislav Ivisic missed three games with Mononucleosis. Ivisic returned to action vs Ohio State and provided a lift, however, painfully rolled his ankle in the loss vs Rutgers. Ivisic is now questionable heading into a must-win game vs Minnesota

It gets worse.

Starting forward, Tre White, missed the game vs Rutgers, however, may be out vs Minnesota. Brad Underwood stated that Tre is “better” and will be at practice. White is a veteran on this team and one of the few players who has proven that he can provide rim pressure in the half-court. To make matters even worse, sophomore guard Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn has caught the flu and is questionable for tomorrow’s matchup. Gibbs-Lawhorn was recently put into the starting lineup after proving that he is in fact the heart and soul of this Illinois basketball team. Since he played vs Rutgers, this sounds like a new development which likely means that Gibbs-Lawhorn is doubtful to play on Saturday.

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