Illinois Basketball: 4 keys for the Illini to beat Ohio State
By Collin Allen
3. Play two complete halves of basketball
This seems like an obvious key, but the Illini have only had one conference game where they played two great halves of basketball. This came during their Big Ten opener against Minnesota where they beat the Gophers by 27 points.
Other than that game, the Illini have not played a complete game throughout conference play.
Their “roadkill” in Evanston against Northwestern is a prime example of the Illini failing to put together a complete game. In the first half of that matchup, the Orange and Blue seemingly could not get anything going offensively versus the Wildcats’ zone defense. The Illini would walk into the locker room at halftime down 15 points after committing an absurd total of 11 turnovers. The Fighting Illini would also let the Wildcats go on an 11-2 run to close out the opening half.
The second half brought out a completely different Illini team, as they would go on a historic comeback.
The Fighting Illini drastically stepped it up on the defensive end, holding the Wildcats to only two total made field goal attempts in the entire second half. They also got things figured out offensively, as they would only commit three total turnovers in the second half after committing 11 in the first half. The Illini would ultimately win the game by 26 points, despite trailing by 15 points at the half.
Illinois cannot expect to get away with another poor half of basketball against this Buckeyes team. If the Illini want to beat this ranked Ohio State squad, they will need to play a complete 40 minutes.