Writing Illini
Fansided

Illinois Basketball: What I want to see against Michigan State

By Rees Woodcock

CHAMPAIGN, IL - FEBRUARY 08: Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Brad Underwood shouts to players during the Big Ten Conference college basketball game between the Wisconsin Badgers and the Illinois Fighting Illini on February 8, 2018, at the State Farm Center in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Allio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
CHAMPAIGN, IL - FEBRUARY 08: Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Brad Underwood shouts to players during the Big Ten Conference college basketball game between the Wisconsin Badgers and the Illinois Fighting Illini on February 8, 2018, at the State Farm Center in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Allio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

The Illinois basketball team is coming off a big win on Sunday only to be matched up against one of the best teams in the nation just two days later.

Can’t Illini fans just have a solid week of happiness? After a solid win over an NCAA tournament hopeful Nebraska program, Illinois now has to go up against the No. 2 ranked Michigan State Spartans in East Lansing. That is a tough task that probably won’t turn out well for Illini fans.

But, I have seen weirder things in the world. A win by Illinois is highly unlikely – they are a 16.5-point underdog – but there are a few things I would still like to see happen win or no win.

Once again, I would like to see fight the entire game by this Illini squad. They are almost mathematically eliminated from any postseason tournament – a loss to Michigan State would do that – but they have continued to fight the entire year. The win against Nebraska was a huge step in the right direction. This team could have easily packed up and mailed in the rest of the year but they haven’t. I want to see that same fight tonight against the Spartans.

Illinois competed against Michigan State the first time around when they came to Champaign. This was a weird game that had Kipper Nichols come off the bench and drop 27 points. He is going to have to do the same this time around if the Illini want to compete again. Illinois will be without Michael Finke most likely as well. So, the Illini are going to need other players to step up. Greg Eboigbodin, Te’Jon Lucas, Aaron Jordan, Mark Alstork and Mark Smith had a combined nine points in the first game. A few of these players need to step up tonight.

The final thing I want to see tonight is the progression of Mark Smith. This kid clearly hasn’t lost his confidence this year despite having a lackluster season. In the game against Nebraska, I felt Smith did some great things on the court. He finished with eight points and three assists in the 18 minutes of action he received. I am curious if he sees more minutes tonight. His maturation the last few games here will help tremendously next season.

Next: 5 takeaways from the Illini win over Nebraska

Illinois probably won’t win this game tonight, but there are some things I want to see. Hopefully, we can shock the world, though, and potentially move toward an NIT berth.

Home/Illinois Basketball