The Illinois basketball team heads to the sin city on Saturday to take on UNLV.
This is going to be an extremely tough matchup for the Illini for many reasons. They have to travel across two time zones and that alone is a daunting task. They then play against a really good UNLV team that could easily be 9-0 this season but has two losses in overtime.
UNLV’s two losses are at Northern Iowa and against Arizona. Northern Iowa is a good team this year and their only two losses were to UNC and Villanova. So, UNLV losing to Northern Iowa isn’t a bad loss. The other loss – Arizona – wasn’t bad either. The Wildcats were the No. 3 team in the nation at one time this year.
Both of those losses were in overtime, meaning that UNLV can play with every team they have gone up against this year. They are likely going to be ranked when the season is over with as well.
Right now, UNLV sits with an RPI of 135. I am not sure how they figure that out but it is likely to level out by years end and they will be dancing come March. The big worry for Illinois is the UNLV scoring.
UNLV averages 91.8 points per game this season which ranks No. 6 in the nation. They are clearly a great scoring team and Illinois can’t go on their patented droughts they have been going on this season. If they want any chance of staying in this game and winning, the Illini will have to continue attacking the basket and scoring at-will.
The scariest player for the Rebels is Brandon McCoy. He is a true freshman but don’t let that fool you. This kid would have been a straight from high school to the NBA player if the rules were different. Instead, Illinois has to play against him and it could be extremely ugly.
McCoy was a five-star in this past recruiting class. He was ranked as the No. 14 player in the nation and he scares the hell out of me. His 7-foot-1, 250-pound size is something Illinois has zero answer for. It will take at least Michael Finke, Leron Black and Kipper Nichols to jump on his back to have a shot at not letting him get to the rim.
So far this season, McCoy is averaging 20 points and 11.2 rebounds per game. Those are amazing numbers and even against a comparable team like Arizona, McCoy still put up 33 points and 10 rebounds. Hold on to your seatbelts Illini fans, this could be a long night in the paint. We might see McCoy put up 50 points and 20 rebounds against us.
The other big-time threat for UNLV is Shakur Juiston. He is an athletic 6-foot-7 forward who can go up and get a rebound with the best of them. So far this season, Juiston is averaging 14.7 points and 11.9 rebounds per game. He is going to be a hassle for Kipper Nichols and Leron Black on Saturday.
It doesn’t need to be said but I will say it anyway. UNLV is really good at rebounding. The stats I just gave you add into the 46.4 rebounds per game the Rebels are averaging this season. That leads the country if you were curious.
I haven’t even added in the fact UNLV has three other players who are averaging at least 10 PPG as well. They can score in bunches and that makes me nervous. So, how do we beat this good UNLV team?
Well, let’s take a look at what Northern Iowa did against UNLV. McCoy only had 9 points and 7 rebounds in this game, and Juiston had 13 points and 13 rebounds as well. Illinois needs to hold these two in check like this. The way to do this is foul trouble.
The Illinois guards must – and I mean must – drive the ball in the lane. They need to get bodies into these big men so they rack up the fouls. That will make them ride the pine for most of the game. McCoy had four fouls and Juiston had five fouls against Northern Iowa. This is how you stop these two dominant players.
Te’Jon Lucas has done a great job driving the ball in the lane and being more aggressive as of late. He will need to do that on Saturday night. Mark Alstork is another great driver of the ball as well. He needs to continue his aggression.
I think the key players who need to play well are Trent Frazier and Mark Smith. Illinois is going to be relying on two true freshmen.
Frazier has been playing well as of late. This kid can drive the ball and the best part is he can finish with a basket as well. He has that bulldog mentality of getting to the hoop. I think he will be a nightmare for UNLV.
I want to see Smith really come alive as well. He has been terrible from beyond the arc, so he needs to get back to what he is used to doing. Coming out of high school, Smith had that same bulldog mentality that Frazier has but somewhere over the last 10 games he has lost it. That mentality needs to be found on Saturday.
Next: 5 takeaways from the Illini win over Austin Peay
Aggression is the keyword on Saturday. Illinois needs to stay aggressive and that is how they win. UNLV is going to want the Illini to shoot the three-point ball but don’t give into them. Keep driving to the basket and getting their big men in foul trouble. Do this and we win the game.