Illinois Basketball: 3 ways the Illini can knock off Maryland

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CHAMPAIGN, IL – JANUARY 30: Illinois Fighting Illini forward Giorgi Bezhanishvili (15) and Illinois Fighting Illini guard Alan Griffin (0) clap for their team during the Big Ten Conference college basketball game between the Minnesota Golden Gophers and the Illinois Fighting Illini on January 30, 2020, at the State Farm Center in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Allio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

2. Play smaller

I think Illinois did a great job of almost beating Maryland the first time around. We were on the road, which is extremely tough in the Big Ten. But we may need to change some things up if we want to beat them on Friday.

Maryland plays small. They aren’t a huge team by any means despite having a solid big man in Jalen Smith. But, beyond him, there isn’t a ton of size on this Terrapins team. That is why I think Illinois might need to play smaller against them this time around.

I know the starting lineup has consisted of Trent Frazier, Ayo Dosunmu, Da’Monte Williams, Giorgi Bezhanishvili and Kofi Cockburn. That won’t change this season, but I believe we need to pull Giorgi out early and often. We need more guard play in there to compete with the quickness of Maryland.

Let’s also not forget, the first game this season, Alan Griffin wasn’t in the good graces of Brad Underwood. He hadn’t proved himself on the court. That has changed since then. I want to see him in there more often against the Terrapins.

If we could have a lineup of Ayo, Frazier, Williams, Griffin and Kofi most of the time, I think we have a better shot at winning this game. This gives the Illini a better chance on defense and it would give us a bigger scoring threat on offense.

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