Illini Now Quick Breakdown
Coach Brad Underwood and his red hot Fighting Illini battled their way to their third-straight win at the Kohl Center vs the Wisconsin Badgers. The Illini walked away from Madison winners of this matchup 61-51. After a horrendously sloppy and slow start for both teams, to which the Illini went 6-23 from the floor, and started foul trouble early, a switch seemed to flip in the Illini.
Illinois went into the half after a quick 7-0 run, that seemed to give the right amount of spark to this team to get some momentum rolling over the Badgers. Wisconsin of course helped the Illini out with a horrid 6 of 33 shooting start of their own, giving the first team to go on a run a great chance to really cause damage, and get an early momentum swing. The illini took advantage, and never quite looked back as the best team on the court.
Matt Mayer had a career high game, scoring 26 points and ignited the spark that kept Illinois ahead for a majority of the game. Mayer scored 8 of the Illini’s first 10 points of the second half, in which the Illini went on a 10-2 run to start with the carried momentum that they brought into halftime. The Baylor transfer has continued to improve his game here at Illinois, and is really making a case for himself as a very intriguing NBA prospect. When times were tough, and Illinois was 0-3 in conference play following a tough december month, Coach Brad Underwood challenged the leaders of his team to step up and answer the call of leadership. Mayer has done so at a high level, and the team has reflected his energy , his attitude, and his toughness.
Terrance Shannon Jr, the Illini’s season leader in scoring, was really thrown off against the Badgers with foul trouble. Shannon had 6 points and 1 assist on the day, and was really struggling to be himself. A rare down game for Terrance did however lead to nice games for Freshman Sincere Harris and Jayden Epps. Both Epps and Harris stepped up to replace some of the production left on the floor by Shannon. Epps had 13 on the day, and gave the Badgers a hard time around the rim. His quick cuts and speed get him to the rack quickly, and he took advantage, getting behind Wisconsin defense and making hay. Epps and Harris had a heck of a task to contain Chucky Hepburn, but did a fine job keeping the Badgers offensive attacks at bay.
The Illini bigs had themselves a nice game, and as a thing of beauty gave the Wisconsin front court a really difficult time. Dain Dainja had a big game himself with 9 points and 8 assists, and was dominant around the rim utilizing his strength. He continues to impress as a young man who has really improved his game, and has quickly become of the Illini’s most consistent players game to game. Coleman Hawkins didn’t have the flashiest game of his life with only 5 points on the day, but he made this game really hard on Wisconsin to win. Hawkins kept Tyler Wahl on the Bench for a large chunk of play in the second half with 4 fouls, and only allowed him to go 4-7 from the floor.
Next Up: The Huskers
The Illini will tip off Tuesday at 6pm vs the Huskers of Nebraska, and will look to sweep the series. The Illini Dominated in their first matchup 76-50, and since that time, the Huskers have gone 1-5 in conference play. This is a game that the hot Illini could wrap up in a hurry if they can continue roll with the momentum that they currently are rolling with. Illinois themselves have flipped the script and gone 5-1 since their last matchup with the Huskers, with their only hiccup being to a dominant Indiana Hoosiers Squad, that is really heating up at the right time as well. Illinois will look to continue to climb the ladder of Big Ten standings, and NCAA seedings as we enter the final stretch of the college basketball regular season.
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