Should Illinois Basketball change up their starting lineup?

Illinois basketball may not be whole right now, but after losing four of their last six games, there is considerable reason for panic. Big man Tomislav Ivisic has missed the past three games and may miss some more due to Mononucleosis. However, the worries extend beyond that. The Illini play a very combustible style of basketball that is high risk and high reward. The rewards were rather evident; they destroyed teams like Oregon and Indiana on the road in a dominant fashion. However, their painful losses to teams such as Nebraska, USC, and Maryland leave a lot to be desired.

A change has to be made whether Ivisic is back or not. Otherwise, the Illini will be looking at a pretty poor seed in the NCAA tournament or a stint on the bubble. Brad Underwood must consider some options for his team, even though he may not warrant a starting lineup change.

A focus on rim pressure

In the game vs Nebraska, Illinois basketball shot 10 for 42 from the three-point line. During Big Ten play, their main players are not shooting very well at all from behind the arc. Ben Humrichous is shooting 31 percent from three during conference play. Tre White is shooting 17 percent, Kylan Boswell is shooting 25 percent and Will Riley is shooting 21 percent. The Illini need to find a way to attack the rim early which will then allow easier jump shots if they are there. Humrichous is going to play minutes regardless of what fans think of him. However, maybe inserting Will Riley into the starting lineup for Humrichous is not a bad idea. Doing so will allow Humrichous to reset and get out of this shooting funk that has plagued him all year. In the last 6 games, Humrichous is 9 of 33 from behind the arc.

Something has got to give.

More DGL?

Dravyn Gibbs-Lawhorn is the heartbeat of this team. That is evident as he is the only one who plays with a visible edge and energy every single time. If Gibbs-Lawhorn can continue to focus on rim pressure as opposed to contested three-point shots, he will easily be a force and unique player on this Illini team. Gibbs-Lawhorn defends just about as well as anyone on the team and should be trusted with more minutes on this surprisingly low-energy Illini team.

Gibbs-Lawhorn also pushes the ball in transition, perhaps even better than Kasparas Jakucionis. If we see more DGL, I assume this team will take on the chip on his shoulder.

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