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Illinois Basketball: 5 eye-popping improvements for the Illini

By Rees Woodcock

Dec 2, 2020; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini forward Giorgi Bezhanishvili (15) and Illinois Fighting Illini guard Da'Monte Williams (20) celebrate a three point basket in the first 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 forward Giorgi Bezhanishvili (15) and Illinois Fighting Illini guard Da'Monte Williams (20) celebrate a three point basket in the first half against the Baylor Bears at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports /
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Illinois basketball
Dec 23, 2020; University Park, Pennsylvania, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini center Kofi Cockburn (21) drives the ball to the basket as Penn State Nittany Lions forward John Harrar (21) defends during the first half at Bryce Jordan Center. Mandatory Credit: Matthew OHaren-USA TODAY Sports /

3. Opponent rebounds per game

Illinois wasn’t bad when it came to allowing opponents to rebound the ball last season. But, in 2020-21, the Illini are improved and one of the best teams in the country in this category.

  • Year-by-year comparison

One of the best parts about having size in the paint is the fact Illinois wins the rebounding battle the majority of the time. We had that last year, and it helped this program win quite a few games.

In 2019-20, the Illini were only giving up 32.2 rebounds per game to opponents. This was good enough to rank No. 46 in the nation, which is a respectable number.

Illinois has improved on that number this season, though. Brad Underwood’s crew has only allowed opponents 28.6 rebounds per game in 2020-21. That improvement has jumped the Illini up to No. 8 in the nation in this category.

  • What has improved?

Let’s start off with the big man in the room. Kofi Cockburn’s presence in the paint for Illinois the past two seasons has been fun to watch. This kid is amazing.

Even after averaging 8.8 rebounds per game as a true freshman, Kofi has improved on those numbers this season. He is now averaging 9.9 rebounds per game. This improvement has helped keep the opponents off the glass.

I think an underrated element of rebounding is via the guards. Illinois has always had good rebounding guards, but the improvements this year have stood out.

Ayo Dosunmu averaged 4.3 rebounds per game last season, which is solid for a combo-guard. But he has made a huge leap this season, as Ayo is now averaging 7.0 rebounds per game. This makes a huge difference for the Illini.

A bigger effort on the glass has helped keep Illinois’ opponents from rebounding the ball. I would also like to point out Da’Monte Williams’ improvement from 3.6 rebounds per game to 5.6 rebounds per game. Andre Curbelo, a newcomer, has also contributed 3.4 rebounds per game this season.

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