Illinois Basketball: Illini win over Nebraska did more than keep postseason alive
Last night Illinois basketball fans witnessed the team win their third game in a row and their fourth out of their last five.
This winning streak brings the Illini record to 17-12 on the season and 7-9 in the Big Ten. That is pretty good considering they were once 13-11 overall and 3-8 in conference play. This great win for Illinois was sparked by great three-point shooting and solid defense.
Illinois shot 13-of-26 from the field against Nebraska. The leaders for the Illini in three-point shooting were Tracy Abrams and Malcolm Hill who shot 4-of-5 and 4-of-6 from deep, respectively. This type of scoring production from deep has been rare this season.
The Illini playing lockdown defense was another nice sight. Nebraska only shot 37.5-percent from the field and 26.7-percent from three-point range. They also had 18 turnovers on the night, which is five more than Illinois.
Illinois Fighting Illini Basketball
Overall, I was impressed how Illinois played against the Cornhuskers. This is the team we were all expecting to see earlier this season, but a win last night didn’t just keep the Illini alive for the NCAA Tournament, though.
The win last night, in my opinion, sealed up John Groce for at least another year as the head coach of this basketball team. Illinois has momentum on their side and they are playing well. I am guessing this is going to be enough to keep him, whether I agree with it or not.
Illinois is clearly clicking right now and that is a welcomed sign. The top three scorers from last night are all senior-plus players but the rest of the roster that played will be returning next season. The bench had an encouraging 15 points while superstar true freshman point guard Te’Jon Lucas had 7 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals.
There is a lot of talent on this team, something I have been saying from day one, and they are finally playing well together. They are moving without the ball and this is enabling open looks. I also like the spacing as well. Maverick Morgan seems to be thriving down in the post and Hill doesn’t have to put the team on his back nearly as much.
The production the last three games is what I was expecting for most of the season. If Lucas would have played a little earlier in the year, then I think we would have seen this chemistry develop a little sooner.
Next: Good, bad and ugly scenarios for the Illini
But, it is clear that this team is gelling and that is an exciting thing to see, especially since we are still alive for the postseason. Groce has this team playing well right now and, like it or not, it looks like he will probably be the head coach of this program in the future as well.