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Illinois Basketball: 5 observations from the Illini win over Michigan State

By Rees Woodcock

CHAMPAIGN, IL - FEBRUARY 05: Illinois Fighting Illini forward Giorgi Bezhanishvili (15) and Illinois Fighting Illini guard Aaron Jordan (23) react to a play late in the Big Ten Conference college basketball game between the Michigan State Spartans and the Illinois Fighting Illini on February 5, 2019, at the State Farm Center in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Allio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
CHAMPAIGN, IL - FEBRUARY 05: Illinois Fighting Illini forward Giorgi Bezhanishvili (15) and Illinois Fighting Illini guard Aaron Jordan (23) react to a play late in the Big Ten Conference college basketball game between the Michigan State Spartans and the Illinois Fighting Illini on February 5, 2019, at the State Farm Center in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Allio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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CHAMPAIGN, IL – FEBRUARY 05: Cassius Winston #5 of the Michigan State Spartans goes up for the shot against Kipper Nichols #2 and Ayo Dosunmu #11 of the Illinois Fighting Illini at State Farm Center on February 5, 2019 in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
CHAMPAIGN, IL – FEBRUARY 05: Cassius Winston #5 of the Michigan State Spartans goes up for the shot against Kipper Nichols #2 and Ayo Dosunmu #11 of the Illinois Fighting Illini at State Farm Center on February 5, 2019 in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /

2. Illini defense won the day

There are a lot of reasons why Illinois won the game on Tuesday night against No. 9 Michigan State. The one main reason in my mind is the fact that they were dominant on defense.

The Illini defense hasn’t been great this season. They gave up 74 points last night, which is actually right at their average. Illinois averages giving up 74.8 points per game this season. This ranks No. 241 in the nation. But, that stat also doesn’t tell the entire story either.

One of the reasons why Illinois is giving up so many points is that they have a lot of possessions per game. The more they get the ball, the more they are able to score. That also means the opposing team gets the ball more as well. That leads to more points. But, there are some other things that this Illinois team did on Tuesday night to offset the scoring by Michigan State.

Illinois was able to force 24 turnovers against the Spartans. That is a huge number for any team, especially a Tom Izzo coached program. Michigan State isn’t good in the turnover department, though. They do average 13.6 turnovers per game, which ranks No. 215 in the nation. But, Illinois was able to nearly double the Spartans average. That was a huge reason why Illinois came out ahead.

The Illini are one of the best teams in the nation when it comes to steals as well. They average eight steals per game, which ranks No. 22 in the country. On Tuesday night, they had 12 steals against Michigan State. Illinois also had three blocks on the night, which is an upgrade from the 2.3 blocks per game they are averaging.

Illinois’ defense was a huge reason we won the game against the Spartans. It was great to see everything come together for a nice victory.

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