Illinois Basketball: 4 observations from the Illini win over Penn State

2. The Grandy Man Can

In the previous four observations from the Illini loss to Rutgers, I mentioned the Illinois bench play and how depth is coming. Lack of depth is a huge reason Illinois struggles at times.

Giorgi Bezhanishvili has been doing well this season off the bench. He again contributed a solid game against Penn State with 8 points and 3 rebounds in just 12 minutes of action. I have had zero complaints with him this year.

Freshman Andre Curbelo has been sensational off the bench as well. He was a turnover machine to start the season but that cooled down a bit the last few games. On Wednesday night, the turnovers flared up a little bit. Curbelo still managed to have a good night, though, going for 15 points, 8 assists, 3 rebounds and 3 turnovers.

Beyond those two, it has been a question mark of who will step up while we wait for Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk and Austin Hutcherson to get healthy. No one was really stepping up for the Illini.

Illinois had another player finally step up against Penn State. Jacob Grandison had his coming out party for the Orange and Blue. The Illini needed another spark off the bench, and Grandison’s 7 points and 7 rebounds in just 15 minutes did just that.

Grandison even snuck a three-pointer in there. I knew this kid was a solid three-point shooter with Holy Cross, but he had yet to show it with the Illini. This was a much-needed performance by the transfer junior. Illinois needs him to step up like this more often, especially in Big Ten play.