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Illinois Basketball: 5 observations from the Illini win over Evansville

By Rees Woodcock

MADISON, WI - JANUARY 19: Head coach Brad Underwood of the Illinois Fighting Illini looks on in the second half against the Wisconsin Badgers at the Kohl Center on January 19, 2018 in Madison, Wisconsin. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
MADISON, WI - JANUARY 19: Head coach Brad Underwood of the Illinois Fighting Illini looks on in the second half against the Wisconsin Badgers at the Kohl Center on January 19, 2018 in Madison, Wisconsin. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) /
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PISCATAWAY, NJ – FEBRUARY 25: Da’Monte Williams #20 of the Illinois Fighting Illini in action against Issa Thiam #35 and Deshawn Freeman #33 of the Rutgers Scarlet Knights during the first half of a game at Rutgers Athletic Center on February 25, 2018 in Piscataway, New Jersey. Illinois defeated Rutgers 75-62. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)
PISCATAWAY, NJ – FEBRUARY 25: Da’Monte Williams #20 of the Illinois Fighting Illini in action against Issa Thiam #35 and Deshawn Freeman #33 of the Rutgers Scarlet Knights during the first half of a game at Rutgers Athletic Center on February 25, 2018 in Piscataway, New Jersey. Illinois defeated Rutgers 75-62. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images) /

1. Rotations are becoming clearer

One of the big questions I had heading into the game on Thursday night was the rotations. Who was going to be the second team coming off the bench to replace the starters?

The starters, of course, were Trent Frazier, Ayo Dosunmu, Aaron Jordan, Kipper Nichols and Giorgi Bezhanishvili. This should be the starting lineup for the rest of the season, even when Adonis De La Rosa gets up and going at full speed.

Illinois played with this lineup for the first few minutes. Brad Underwood then went with his first substitution of the night. Andres Feliz, Tevian Jones and Da’Monte Williams were the first three players to come in the game. They replaced Dosunmu, Jordan and Bezhanishvili. I also believe Alan Griffin and Samba Kane would have come in as well around that time period but neither player was available.

Heading into the season, these are the rotations I was kind of expecting to see. When Illinois gets into tougher games, I would imagine they would go with just a 10 or 11-man rotation. What is even nicer is the fact Illinois doesn’t lose much when they go to their bench. We actually have depth this season.

Overall, I am happy how the rotations looked against Evansville. This Illinois team has some talent and should have a good year.

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