Illinois Basketball: 4 observations from the Illini victory over Minnesota

3. Illinois needed this confidence boost

It is tough to say Illinois needed a confidence boost considering their record. The Illini are now 16-5 overall and 12-3 in the Big Ten. They have also won seven games in a row.

A seven-game winning streak in the Big Ten doesn’t happen often, so this is a special run. But even with the great winning streak, I believe Illinois needed to win this game in a big way to increase confidence.

The past two games for the Illini have been painful to watch, most of the time. On the road against Nebraska, Illinois was down six points with only a few minutes left in the game. This could have been a disaster for the program. They ended up taking the Cornhuskers to overtime and winning in the extra period, but this was a game that should have been a much bigger win.

I thought that Illinois would have learned and would come out against Northwestern in a big way. They did just that, but in the second half, the Illini would let up and the Wildcats would charge back into the game.

Despite having a 12-point lead at halftime, Illinois was only up one point with 4:45 left in the game. They let Northwestern get back into the contest. If it wasn’t for Ayo Dosunmu taking over and winning the game, Illinois could have easily taken a loss.

So, the two games before Minnesota on Saturday, the Illini struggled against two teams in Nebraska and Northwestern that had a combined record of 11-27. That is why we needed a big confidence boost.

Illinois got that confidence boost against the Gophers. A big win against Minnesota will hopefully flow over into the final five games.