2. Winning the rebounding battle won us the game
I said this in the keys to beating Ohio State, so I will put it in the observations. Illinois’ ability to rebound the ball is what won them the game on Saturday night.
Entering the game against Ohio State, the Illini were pulling down 40.3 rebounds per game, which ranked No. 12 in the nation. This is a solid rebounding team, but we have had issues in the past with crashing the glass.
When Illinois pulls down 34 rebounds or fewer, the team is just 3-5 this season. When they don’t have as many opportunities with the basketball, they don’t win nearly as much.
But, on the flip side, when Illinois had 35 rebounds or more this season, they are 16-1. That means when the Illini can pull down that many boards, they are almost unbeatable.
Illinois now has a mark they need to hit each game. If I would tell you that Kofi Cockburn only pulled down six rebounds, you would probably assume we didn’t hit that mark, though. That isn’t the case.
While Kofi did only have six rebounds, the Illinois guards hit the boards hard. Da’Monte Williams also had six rebounds. Andre Curbelo pulled down five rebounds. Jacob Grandison, Adam Miller, Ayo Dosunmu and Giorgi Bezhanishvili each had four rebounds.
It was a true team effort on the glass. Illinois was able to win the game because everyone put the effort into rebounding. The Illini finished the night with 37 rebounds and now moves to 17-1 this season when having at least 35 rebounds in a game.