Illinois Basketball shift offensive mindset to topple Minnesota

Illinois basketball beat the Minnesota Gophers at Williams Arena 95-74. After a string of Gopher threes to start the game, Illini fans sat there expecting yet another long night with this team. However, a shift in offensive mindset helped the Illini gain control of this game and come out with a dominating victory. Illinois basketball was led by three players tonight. Will Riley, Kasparas Jakucionis, and Tomislav Ivisic. Riley was the most impressive as he dropped 27 points, 9 rebounds, and 7 assists on an extremely efficient night from the field. Jakucionis bounced back after a string of difficult games on both sides of the ball with a 24-point performance.

Kasparas made much better decisions from the floor and only turned the ball over once. Ivisic played with a bum ankle and dropped a double-double of 18 points and 11 rebounds.

The Shift we needed?

The Illini made it a point to attack the basket. Off-the-dribble three-point shots were essentially eliminated and were not taken unless someone had set foot in the paint. There was a lot more cutting off the ball with Ivisic running the high-post. Illinois had an impressive 21 assists on 36 total made shots. They shot an efficient 9 from 16 from the field and that includes a garbage time three-point shot by walk-on Keaton Kutcher. This shift surely looked intentional and Minnesota was the perfect team to run this out against. Now the real fun begins for the Illini as they will come back home to take on the red-hot UCLA Bruins and the Michigan State Spartans.

With this shift in offensive mindset, hopefully, Illinois can play a more robust, reliable style of basketball for the rest of the season.

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