Illinois Basketball: 3 things the Illini need to do to beat Michigan

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CHAMPAIGN, IL – JANUARY 18: Illinois Fighting Illini forward Giorgi Bezhanishvili (15) high fives Illinois Fighting Illini center Kofi Cockburn (21) during the Big Ten Conference college basketball game between the Northwestern Wildcats and the Illinois Fighting Illini on January 18, 2020, at the State Farm Center in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Allio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

The Illinois basketball team is on a five-game winning streak, but they have a tough matchup against Michigan on Saturday.

Illinois is off to their best start under Brad Underwood. They are14-5 overall and 6-2 in Big Ten play. The Illini will need to do a lot of things right if they want to beat Michigan Saturday, though.

Michigan is 11-7 overall and 2-5 in the Big Ten. The Wolverines have lost four out of their last five games and are on a three-game losing streak. Illinois definitely can’t overlook Michigan as they are still a tough team despite the recent losing. This is still a Michigan team that was in the AP Top 25 last week.

The Wolverines do have some problems. Michigan is missing one of their best players Isaiah Livers with a groin injury. This injury makes the Wolverines weak in the frontcourt. They have struggled with opposing teams big men the past couple of games as well. Michigan is still capable of winning even without Livers, though.

Illinois already beat Michigan back on December 11, 71-62, in Champaign. We controlled the pace for most of that game. This was Illinois’ first Big Ten win of the season. The Illini rebounded well and was great on the glass. But we also had the homecourt advantage too.

To beat Michigan, Illinois is going to need to do a lot of things right, but there are three things that stand out to me. Here are three things the Illini need to do to beat Michigan.

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