Much has been made about how all-or-nothing Illinois basketball can be this season. As conveyed by RG, this is a team whose fortunes often rise and fall with their shooting percentages.
However, as you saw tonight in the 106-94 throttling of the Iowa Hawkeyes, in the Big Ten Tournament’s second round, offensive rebounding is maybe the true indicator to their success.
Big Ten Tournament Quarterfinal FYIs
#7 seed Illinois Basketball vs #2 seed Maryland Terrapins
Friday March 14, 5:30 p.m. CT, BTN, Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana
Kasparas Jakucionis NBA Draft Stock Report Will Riley Stock Report
Living/Dying By the 3 KJ = the Next Luka Doncic Illinois Basketball BTT History
The Illini crushed the Hawkeyes 41-24 in rebounding margin tonight, including 14-7 on the offensive glass. After the regular season finale victory over Purdue, Illinois basketball coach Brad Underwood was asked if his team had confidence about finding ways to win when the three-point shot is off.
“Sure, because we’re starting to make shots and I think that we’ve always been an elite two-point team,” Underwood responded.
“I think the one thing that we also have to understand is when we’re really good we offensive rebound those misses. You keep shooting them and and know that percentages are going to work their way, your way, but you know we’re still going to keep hounding them about the glass.”
Illinois made their threes tonight (46%, on 12-26), but they still won big (becoming just the second team in Big Ten Tournament history to score 100 in a game), despite their leading scorer, Kasparas Jakucionis, having an off night.
The sure fire NBA Draft lottery pick was only 1-6 from the floor, 1-4 from behind the arc. Purdue coach Matt Painter, last Friday night, discussed what makes him so dangerous.
“You don’t want to give him angles.” Painter said.
“We’re not in the ability all the time, especially when you play from the top to be able to get him to his weak side.
“A lot of times with great players, when you try to get them one way or the other you’re creating angles for him and that’s the one thing that you don’t you want to do.”
“Take his space up to the best of your ability and not give him angles.”
Will Riley, the other Illinois basketball player with a NBA Draft first round grade, continued the tear that he’s been on lately. Riley scored 21 points and added seven rebounds, to go along with 9-14 from the floor.
“Just a a real tough matchup for anybody,” Painter said of Riley last weekend.
“With his size and his skill level and his ability to to make a three to make a pullup, to drive to kind of play a back down game when he gets somebody smaller on him, but they’re both very dangerous players, very talented players.”
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America and RG. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.