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Illinois Basketball: 5 takeaways from the Illini win over Rutgers

By Rees Woodcock

CHAMPAIGN, IL - JANUARY 30: Rutgers Scarlet Knights Guard Corey Sanders (3) and Illinois Fighting Illini Guard Mark Alstork (24) get their arms tangled on their way up the court during the Big Ten Conference college basketball game between the Rutgers Scarlet Knights and the Illinois Fighting Illini on January 30, 2018, at the State Farm Center in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Allio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
CHAMPAIGN, IL - JANUARY 30: Rutgers Scarlet Knights Guard Corey Sanders (3) and Illinois Fighting Illini Guard Mark Alstork (24) get their arms tangled on their way up the court during the Big Ten Conference college basketball game between the Rutgers Scarlet Knights and the Illinois Fighting Illini on January 30, 2018, at the State Farm Center in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Allio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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ANN ARBOR, MI – JANUARY 06: Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Brad Underwood talks to his team during a timeout during a regular season Big 10 Conference basketball game between the Illinois Fighting Illini and the Michigan Wolverines on January 6, 2018 at the Crisler Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan. (Photo by Scott W. Grau/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
ANN ARBOR, MI – JANUARY 06: Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Brad Underwood talks to his team during a timeout during a regular season Big 10 Conference basketball game between the Illinois Fighting Illini and the Michigan Wolverines on January 6, 2018 at the Crisler Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan. (Photo by Scott W. Grau/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

2. Illinois played two good halves of basketball

It has been a while since the Illinois basketball team played two good halves of basketball. What usually happens is the Illini play one good or bad half of basketball, and the next half is the opposite of the first half. It is enough to drive a fan crazy.

Before the game on Tuesday night against Rutgers, the last time Illinois won both the first and second half of a game was their victory against Longwood. That was back on December 13. Since then, the Illini have lost a lot of games or at least lost a half of basketball each time they played.

The Rutgers game was a different story, though. Illinois started this game off well. They finished the first half up 19 points. This is when they usually take their foot off the gas but that didn’t happen. The Illini continued their great play in the second half and won it by 12 points.

Getting more and more confidence each game is huge for this young Illinois team. They won their first Big Ten game against Indiana, and this got their belief up that they can win more games. They then completed a great game from start to finish against Rutgers. This should get their confidence up that they can do that against more teams as well.

The Big Ten should watch out for this Illini team. Their confidence is up and they are learning how to win basketball games.

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