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Illinois Basketball: 4 keys for the Illini to beat the Duke Blue Devils

By Rees Woodcock

Dec 2, 2020; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Brad Underwood talks with guard Andre Curbelo (5) and guard Ayo Dosunmu (11) in the second half against the Baylor Bears at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 2, 2020; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Brad Underwood talks with guard Andre Curbelo (5) and guard Ayo Dosunmu (11) in the second half against the Baylor Bears at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports /
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Illinois basketball
Nov 26, 2020; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini guard Andre Curbelo (5) looks to pass the ball during the first half against the Chicago State Cougars at the State Farm Center. Mandatory Credit: Patrick Gorski-USA TODAY Sports /

Illinois basketball had one tough loss against a top 10 team last week, but they can rebound nicely with a big win over another top 10 team in the Duke Blue Devils on Tuesday.

The ACC/Big Ten Challenge is being played this week, and Illinois will be taking on Duke. This is going to be a matchup of two top 10 programs. Taking down Duke would be big for the Orange and Blue. This would put us officially into the conversation for one of the best teams in the nation. But there are some keys to coming away with the win on Tuesday.

Here are four keys for the Illini to beat the Duke Blue Devils.

1. Taking care of the ball

Illinois has been looking good for most of the season, but they ran into a juggernaut in the Baylor Bears last week. In the game against the Bears, Illinois lost the turnover battle 12-7.

Sadly, turnovers have been a nasty habit for the Illini this season. So, taking care of the ball is going to be a key to beating Duke on Tuesday.

Through four games, Illinois averages 15.2 turnovers per game, which ranks No. 187 in the nation. That is not a good number. Duke isn’t any better, in fact, they are actually worse than Illinois at taking care of the ball. The Blue Devils are currently averaging 17.3 turnovers per game, which ranks No. 241 in the nation.

What could be the difference in the turnover battle is the ability to force turnovers. Having a solid lockdown defense is important in forcing these turnovers, but it seems that Duke has an advantage.

Illinois is only forcing 10.5 turnovers per game this season. That number only ranks No. 257 in the nation. Duke, on the other hand, has done a much better job at getting the opposing team to cough up the ball, as they have averaged forcing 14.3 turnovers per game, which ranks No. 126 in college basketball.

Turnovers are always a huge part of any game, but on Tuesday, Illinois is going to need to take care of the ball better than they have the entire season. If the Orange and Blue can keep the turnover battle about even, then I think we can come away with this victory.

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