Illinois Basketball: 4 observations from the Illini win over Purdue
By Collin Allen
4. Illini continue to overcome adversity
Only a few of Illinois’ eight wins on the season have come easily. The majority of them, however, have relied on Illini runs.
In each of the Illini’s last three wins, the Orange and Blue have had to come from behind and overcome adversity in order to come out victorious.
In their December 23 matchup versus Penn State, the Illini started the first five minutes of the game down 15 points to the Nittany Lions. Illinois would immediately respond by going on a 34-18 run, eventually taking a 40-37 lead before the first half ended.
Illinois would also have to rely on a 14-0 second half run in last weekend’s win vs. Indiana to take a 58-49 lead after being down 49-44. The Illini would hang onto that lead and ultimately win that game by a score of 69-60.
In last night’s win versus Purdue, the Illini would give up a 13-point lead by letting the Boilermakers go on a 19-0 run to take a 39-33 second half lead. Illinois would respond in the face of adversity again.
Propelled by back-to-back three-pointers by senior guards Da’Monte Williams and Trent Frazier, the Orange and Blue would go on a 22-6 run to go up by 10 points with just over nine minutes remaining in the game.
Illinois would ultimately hang onto this lead and win the game 66-58, improving to 4-1 in the conference and 8-3 on the season.
dark. Next. Illini target Mady Traore a “killer on the court”
The Fighting Illini will look to win its fourth-straight game on Thursday in Evanston versus a tough 6-2 (3-1) Northwestern squad. Road games in the Big Ten conference do not come easy, so expect this one to be a hard-fought battle until the final buzzer.