Illinois Basketball: 3 observations from the Illini win over Indiana

1 of 4

CHAMPAIGN, IL – MARCH 01: Head coach Brad Underwood of the Illinois Fighting Illini salutes the fans following the game against the Indiana Hoosiers at State Farm Center on March 1, 2020 in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /

The Illinois basketball team went up against a charging Indiana program on Sunday and took down the Hoosiers in palm-sweating fashion.

This was a close game throughout. Not one team pulled away during any part of the contest. Just five minutes into the game, the Illini were able to take a 7-4 lead. Indiana narrowly closed that margin by the 10-minute mark with the scoring showing 18-16 in favor of Illinois.

With only five minutes to go in the first half, the Hoosiers ended up taking the lead. Two Trayce Jackson-Davis free throws put Indiana up 25-23. They actually extended their lead to five points at one time, but Illinois wasn’t going to let that lead get any bigger. The Illini came back and tied the game up at 36-36 as time was running out in the first half.

There were multiple lead changes in the first 10 minutes of the second half. Each team continued to go back and forth with the other. With only 10 minutes to go in the game, Illinois took the lead 51-50. The Illini would extend that lead to seven points with less than five minutes to go in the game. But the Hoosiers weren’t done.

Indiana was only down two points with less than a minute left. Thanks to some great hustle and even better defensive by the Illini, the Orange and Blue were able to come away with a win over the Hoosiers, 67-66.

Here are three observations from the Illini win over Indiana.

Home/Illinois Basketball