The season has started off rather well for the Illinois basketball team, as they begin with a 6-0 mark thus far.
This past week, Illinois posted wins over Augustana and North Carolina Central to keep their unbeaten streak alive. This is the first time since the 2014-15 season that the Illini have started the season 6-0.
Wednesday night, the Illini completely dominated the Augustana Vikings, an in-state Division III opponent, 96-62. The Illini forced 29 Viking turnovers in the rout. Michael Finke led the Illini with 20 points and 10 rebounds, which is very good to see despite the weak opponent.
On Friday night, the Illini struggled a little more against North Carolina Central. Illinois pulled out the victory 86-73 despite having a poor first half. This is a bit of a concern, as the Eagles are not the strongest of teams by any means. Brad Underwood’s squad struggled a little against the zone of the Eagles. But again, the Illini were able to force turnovers – 20 to be exact – and pull out the double-digit win.
For me, there are some things to take away from this past week. For one, Finke and Aaron Jordan are huge keys to the Illini’s early season success thus far. Finke followed his double-double against Augustana with a 22 point, 6 rebound performance against NC Central. Jordan had 12 points against Augustana, going 4-of-4 from three-point land, and had 16 points against NC Central, while going 4-of-5 from behind the arc. Jordan is on fire, and it would be a head-scratcher not to see him getting more minutes in upcoming games. In fact, Jordan leads the nation in three-point percentage, going 15-of-23 for 65.2-percent so far this year. Nobody saw that one coming.
Another thing I have liked about the team is, again, the defensive pressure. Now don’t get me wrong, there are still a lot of adjustments that need to be made as far as defensive assignments and schemes, but the forced turnovers are a good thing to see early on. On average, the Illini force 21.0 turnovers per game, which is good for No. 5 in the nation in the early going. They have also taken care of the ball, as their turnover margin is +8.7, good for No. 3 in the country. Both of these are very good signs so far in the young season.
Despite the satisfying start for Underwood’s team, the Illini will get tested for the first time this week. Actually, I should say they will get tested three times this week.
Now yes, I know that Wake Forest has begun the season at 2-4, losing to teams like Liberty and Georgia Southern. I realize that Northwestern is already out of the top 25 despite returning most of their key pieces from last year’s NCAA tournament team. I understand that Maryland has a questionable loss to St. Bonaventure (who actually may be a tournament team). But, the Illini also haven’t played anyone yet.
Wake Forest will be a tough road test. They will be hungry and in dire need of a win. They are a power-five conference team, so no matter what it is not going to be a “walk in the park” type of game. Along with this, many of the Illini’s key players have never played a true road game. I still expect the Illini to pull out a double-digit win, but it won’t be easy.
The Northwestern game Friday night will be another tough one. Northwestern, as previously mentioned, brings back the majority of their team from a year ago. The Illini won both meetings against the Wildcats last year, so they will likely be seeking revenge. The Illini will be the underdog in this matchup, but they definitely have the team capable of pulling out the W.
Maryland will come into the State Farm Center Sunday evening looking for a solid road win early in the Big Ten season. Although the Terrapins no longer have a guy like Melo Trimble, they are still a talented squad. Their only loss this season came to St. Bonaventure, so this again won’t be an easy matchup for the Illini. But, they most certainly could come out with the win in this game as well.
Next: Breakdown of the Wake Forest offense
I expect the Illini to, at the very least, go 2-1 this week. 3-0 is very achievable, but it will be interesting to see how the young guys will play in two straight road games. If the Illini beat Wake Forest and split their other two games this week, I am very satisfied. I think that would be a successful week. However, I also wouldn’t be surprised if Illinois pulls out three wins during this week’s games. If they did, I think that they would be pretty close, if not sneak into the top-25. All in all, I am pretty anxious and excited to see how this week pans out for the Illini.