Illinois Basketball: 3 observations from the Illini win over Purdue

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CHAMPAIGN, IL – JANUARY 05: Illinois Fighting Illini guard Alan Griffin (0) celebrates after a play during the Big Ten Conference college basketball game between the Purdue Boilermakers and the Illinois Fighting Illini on January 5, 2020, at the State Farm Center in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Allio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

3. Bench play was spectacular

I pointed out how bad the Purdue bench was on Sunday night. The Boilermakers couldn’t get much help from their reserves. That wasn’t the case with the Orange and Blue, though.

The win against Purdue was probably the best bench performance I have seen from the Illini this decade. There were multiple players who contributed big minutes for Illinois. The obvious leader was Alan Griffin.

As previously mentioned in the first slide, Griffin had a great game for the Illini. He came off the bench and dropped 16 points, 12 rebounds, 2 blocks and 1 assist. He was phenomenal for this program and someone who we can rely on moving forward. He wasn’t the only big-time contributor, though.

I think this was the best performance I have seen Kipper Nichols have in a while. He was hitting shots and playing solid for the program. Nichols finished with 6 points, 5 rebounds and 1 steal on the night. I also want to mention Andres Feliz. He also played well with 3 points, 6 assists, 2 rebounds and 1 steal.

Next. Illini MVP of the game against Purdue. dark

As a unit, the backups for the Illini put up 25 points, 21 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 blocks and 2 steals. Those are insane numbers for players who aren’t starting. If we can get somewhere near those numbers in each game, then I think the future is extremely bright for Illinois basketball.

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