Losing Out vs Purdue, Can the Illinois Advance to the NCAA Knockouts?

The Illinois lost their most recent game against the Purdue by a close margin of 78-83. While the Boilermakers had a complete edge in the first half by a 47-32 margin, the Fighting Illini came back in the second half hammering a 46-36 score.

“But what wasn’t meant to be, just wasn’t meant to be.” And the Illinois suffered a defeat despite their extraordinary efforts.

How has the Illinois performed?

For the Illinois four of their players stood out with their forward Marcus Domask playing the alpha. Domask notably basketed a whopping 26 points and also contributed in rebounds and assists. He nabbed 3 rebounds and provided 5 assists.

Another of their forward Quincy Guerrier smashed a double-double. He soused 18 points along with 10 rebounds. Their third and fourth players were also commendable since their guard Luke Goode dropped 16 points whereas their center Coleman Hawkins sozzled 11 points with 4 rebounds and six assists.

Despite the absence of their star player Terrence Shannon Jr. it was a collective performance by the team and their remaining four players stepped in to execute the strategy of an alpha surrounded by supporting athletes. The Illinois even without Shannon is a force to reckon with.

The ball has been moving more than expected with Shannon’s absence. Domask has already proved his mettle. He averages a respectable 14.1 points per game with 4.5 rebounds per match. Additionally, he also has 3.2 assists per contest. He showed his prowess against the Northwestern Wildcats when he besotted a season-high 31 points.

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Furthermore, he had also supported his team with 11 assists during his game against the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights. He actually reached a double double in that game since he sloshed an equal number of points. His other exceptional performance had come against the Florida Atlantic Owl when he smacked a brilliant 33 points.

How have the secondary players performed?

Guerrier is also a tough player to battle. He averages a remarkable 11.5 points per match with 5.4 rebounds per contest and 2.8 assists per outing. Two of his best performances this NCAA season have come against the Missouri Tigers and the Tennessee Volunteers. While against the Tigers he smoked a commendable 28 points, against the Tennessee he potted 22 points.

Additionally as mentioned previously he did play an important role in the Illinois game against the Purdue. He has dazzling offensive and defensive skills. At the back end of the court, Guerrier has nabbed rebounds in double digits a record 6 times this year. His highest rebounds came against the Western Illinois Leathernecks when grabbed 15 of them. His other matches too send strong signals to the opposition that he has been taking full advantage of his height.

Hawkins too has been instrumental in propelling his team to wins. He averages a decent 10.4 points per game with 5.4 rebounds per match. He has been a good fourth player for the team who has amped up his role in Shannon’s absence. He scored a season-high of 18 points against the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights and previously had smashed 16 points against the Colgate Raiders. Against the Tigers too he proved his mettle by bedazzling 15 points. Thus his contribution to the team cannot be ignored. 

What is missing in Illinois?

The main point of concern for the Illinois is their fifth player, their forward Ty Rodgers. Rodgers has throttled just 5.6 points per game with 5.4 rebounds per match. Though he has been good with rebounds, grabbing 15 at a time during his game against the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights, what has particularly concerned his team are his offensive skills.

Rodgers has managed to touch double digits just thrice this season and that too he was just on the edge with 10 points in each game. Furthermore, his double scores haven’t come against very strong teams. In this recent game against the Boilermakers they put their center Zach Edey against Rodgers and hence the latter produced a horrendous show of a paltry 2 points. 

Can Illinois make it to the knockouts?

If the Fighting Illini can take care of their depth and have their guard Niccolo Moretti and Goode firing then they can produce a top-notch performance. With their top player out of the tournament, all they need is to have a depth so that they can rotate their players in big matches.

The Illinois need to check who will act as their fifth player. Even in their latest game against the Purdue they lacked a fifth player as Rodgers could only pot 2 points and another of their guard Justin Harmon could only put up a meagre 5 points. 

Another point that can affect their position in the tournament is which games they play at home and how their opponents in the Big Ten perform in home and away matches. Moretti will also be plying his trade once again soon after he recovers from a foot injury. It is quite possible that he is a solution to the Illinois woes of a fifth player.

However, whatever happens, going by their current performance it can be predicted that they will be one of the better teams in the Big Ten and have the capability to  advance to the NCAA tournament knockouts.

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