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Illinois Basketball: What I want to see against the Purdue Boilermakers

By Rees Woodcock

CHAMPAIGN, IL - JANUARY 24: Illinois Fighting Illini Forward Leron Black (12) boxes out Indiana Hoosiers Guard Zach McRoberts (15) after a free throw during the Big Ten Conference college basketball game between the Indiana Hoosiers and the Illinois Fighting Illini on January 24, 2018, at the State Farm Center in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Allio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
CHAMPAIGN, IL - JANUARY 24: Illinois Fighting Illini Forward Leron Black (12) boxes out Indiana Hoosiers Guard Zach McRoberts (15) after a free throw during the Big Ten Conference college basketball game between the Indiana Hoosiers and the Illinois Fighting Illini on January 24, 2018, at the State Farm Center in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Allio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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The Illinois basketball team will tip-off their second to last game of the regular season tonight against the Purdue Boilermakers.

Illinois enters this game off a second-half drubbing by Michigan State on Tuesday. The Illini lost this game 81-61 despite having a good first half of basketball. I am hoping for a better result tonight because I think the Illini match up better with the Boilermakers.

The first thing I want to see the Illini do is to get Isaac Haas in foul trouble. Haas is a slow big man who is only averaging 23.2 minutes per game. If we can get him in early foul trouble, we might be able to limit him to around 15 minutes tonight. That would be ideal.

A way to do this – and here is another thing I want to see – is to drive the ball into the lane with the guards. Instead of the guards fading away or trying to not draw contact, they need to drive into the big men of Purdue. This will force the refs to make a call. Illinois has some great driving guards who just need to learn how to finish. I think we could see Mark Smith have a big game tonight.

Another thing I want to see is Leron Black, Greg Eboigbodin and possibly Michael Finke not get into foul trouble. This has been an issue this season. The Illini big men tend to get into foul trouble leaving the Illini even thinner than they already are at the No. 5. I want to see a more disciplined big man against these Boilermaker bigs.

The final thing I want to see is Trent Frazier having a big night. Illinois needs him to drop 20 or more points against Purdue to have a chance at winning. This means not only hitting his three-point shots but also getting to the rim and finishing. This kid is one of the most exciting players I have ever seen don the Orange and Blue, and I want to see that electricity tonight.

Next: 5 takeaways from Illini loss to Michigan State 2.0

Illinois has a chance to upset a limited Purdue team. They need to keep discipline on defense, drive the ball to get Haas into foul trouble and have Frazier go off big-time. That is what I want to see tonight against the Boilermakers.

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