Illinois Basketball: 4 keys for the Illini to beat the Chicago State Cougars

2. Need bench depth to still show up

I think it is fairly certain that Illinois is going to beat down Chicago State on Thursday. One of the ways they are going to accomplish this goal is via bench depth.

Coming into the 2020-21 campaign, I knew the Illini had solid depth, but I didn’t know we would have this much depth. Brad Underwood is using the bench in a way that I love, and it will only continue to improve throughout the year.

The starters on Wednesday consisted of a four-guard lineup of Trent Frazier, Da’Monte Williams, Ayo Dosunmu and Adam Miller. Kofi Cockburn rounded out the starting five at the No. 5 spot. The first two players to come off the bench for the Illini were Andre Curbelo and Jacob Grandison.

I expected Curbelo to be sensational, which he was against the Aggies. He finished the game with 8 points, 6 assists and 2 rebounds. There is a lot of growing room for Curbelo, though, as he had 4 fouls and 4 turnovers to go along with his good numbers.

Grandison was a nice surprise. I knew he was a solid player, but I didn’t expect to see the type of production he had in the North Carolina A&T game. He finished the day with 10 points and 8 rebounds on 4-of-5 shooting from the field. This kid is going to be huge for the Illini in the next two years.

The two other players who were main contributors off the bench were Coleman Hawkins and Giorgi Bezhanishvili. Hawkins, a true freshman, looked like he belonged out there. He is going to be a big piece of this team moving forward. Giorgi did his Giorgi things too. The physical presence of another big man who is experienced is invaluable.

All of this great Illinois depth is going to bode well for the program moving forward. Chicago State will get dominated if this depth can continue to play well. I fully expect that to happen.