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Illinois Basketball: 4 keys for the Illini to beat Purdue

By Rees Woodcock

Dec 23, 2020; University Park, Pennsylvania, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini center Kofi Cockburn (21) blocks Penn State Nittany Lions guard Izaiah Brockington (12) during the second half at Bryce Jordan Center. Illinois defeated Penn State 98-81. Mandatory Credit: Matthew OHaren-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 23, 2020; University Park, Pennsylvania, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini center Kofi Cockburn (21) blocks Penn State Nittany Lions guard Izaiah Brockington (12) during the second half at Bryce Jordan Center. Illinois defeated Penn State 98-81. Mandatory Credit: Matthew OHaren-USA TODAY Sports /
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Illinois basketball
Dec 23, 2020; University Park, Pennsylvania, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini guard Ayo Dosunmu (11) is fouled by Penn State Nittany Lions forward Trent Buttrick (15) during the second half at Bryce Jordan Center. Illinois defeated Penn State 98-81. Mandatory Credit: Matthew OHaren-USA TODAY Sports /

The Illinois basketball team welcomes in the Purdue Boilermakers on Saturday in hopes of moving to 8-3 this season.

Purdue isn’t a bad program with some solid size and shooting from distance. They also have a couple of good wins this season. The Boilermakers took down No. 20 Ohio State and then knocked off Maryland a couple of games later. This is a legit 7-4 Purdue program.

Illinois should be able to take down the Boilermakers, though. There are some things I want to see happen so we can get the victory on Saturday.

Here are four keys for the Illini to beat Purdue.

1. Maintain the rebounding margin

Pulling down rebounds to give your team another chance at scoring is obviously one of the keys to winning any game. Illinois is going up against a tough Purdue team on Sunday that can rebound with the best of the best.

The Boilermakers are currently averaging 36.9 rebounds per game this season, which ranks No. 114 in the nation. Their rebounding abilities mainly land on the shoulders of Trevion Williams. The 6-foot-10 big man is pulling down 9.7 rebounds per game through 11 contests.

Rebounds are an area of the court where Illinois is substantially better than Purdue, though. The Illini are averaging 42.3 rebounds per game this season, which ranks No. 14 in the nation. The main culprit for the Illinois rebounds is Kofi Cockburn, as he is averaging 9.9 rebounds per game through 10 contests.

So, Illinois averages 5.4 rebounds per game more than Purdue this season. If that margin stays the same on Saturday, then the Illini should come away with a victory. How do the Illini keep it at that margin or even grow it a little more?

Guard rebounding needs to be on-point. Ayo Dosunmu is a tremendous rebounding guard, as he is pulling down 7.2 rebounds per game this season. He isn’t the only Illini guard who is able to snag a rebound. Da’Monte Williams (5.2 RPG), Andre Curbelo (3.6) and Trent Frazier (3.3) are all capable rebounders.

Aggressive guards on the boards are going to be a key to keeping the rebounding margin where the season average has it right now. Attack the glass and everything should be fine.

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