Illinois Basketball: 4 keys for the Illini to beat Rutgers
By Collin Allen
3. Get plenty of offensive contribution
The Illinois offense will be tested by a stellar Scarlet Knights defense in the battle on Sunday.
This Rutgers defense ranks highly in a few different categories. Out of all 323 teams in the nation, Rutgers ranks No. 27 in blocks per game with 5.4, No. 77 in steals per game with 8.2, and No. 82 in points allowed per game, only allowing 64.6 points per contest.
One of the main reasons the Illini struggled so mightily against Missouri was because the majority of their scoring came from only one player, as Ayo Dosunmu accounted for nearly half of the Illini’s total points. Dosunmu scored 36 points in the contest, while the rest of the team combined for the remaining 43 points.
The Illini were able to get contributions from a few other players not named Dosunmu in the victory over Minnesota on Tuesday.
Four Illini finished the night scoring in double-digits, as Kofi Cockburn was eating up the paint, finishing the contest with a team-high of 33 points. Freshman guard Adam Miller tallied up 14 points, converting on four three-point attempts. Guards Trent Frazier and Dosunmu both recorded 10 points in the win.
The Illini will need this same balanced scoring versus a suffocating Rutgers defense. They will also need to limit their turnovers, as those tend to be a problem for the Orange and Blue.