Illinois Basketball: 4 observations from the Illini win over Jackson State

Illinois basketball started their 2021-22 campaign on the right path Tuesday night in a victory over Jackson State.

The Illini started slowly but their defense is what kept the score a double-digit margin from the 15:07 mark in the first half until the end of the game. One would expect Illinois to struggle as they were missing a huge chunk of their team due to injury and suspension. But that didn’t end up being the case. The Illini would forge ahead and win the game, 71-47.

Here are four observations from the Illinois basketball win over Jackson State.

1. Defense is already in mid-season form

As a Chicago Bears fan, I have a great appreciation for defense. Last season, Illinois was one of the best defensive teams in the country. But I dare say, this version of the Illini could end up being a better defending team.

Illinois came out of the gates playing some tremendous defense against Jackson State. The Tigers only managed two points through the first 11 minutes of the game. Despite a scoring run late in the first half, the Illini still held Jackson State to just 17 points in the first 20 minutes.

By the end of the game, the Illini would only surrender a total of 47 points. This is exactly what I wanted to see. The 47 points given up is 21.6 points better than Illinois’ average last season of 68.6 points per game allowed. Even though it is a low-level program, that is a big improvement and is something to build on if you are the Orange and Blue.

I also loved the number of forced turnovers for the Illini. Three players had at least three steals in the game. Alfonso Plummer and Da’Monte Williams both checked in with three steals while Coleman Hawkins led the way with four steals.

Omar Payne is exactly what I thought he would be at the No. 5 spot as well. He isn’t polished on the offensive end, but he is a defensive nightmare for opposing teams. He finished with three blocks and even had a steal for himself.

One might look at Jackson’s state shooting numbers and think they did pretty well against the Illini, but that wasn’t the case at all. Those numbers are inflated. The game was out of hand late, and the Tigers started hitting open three-pointers down the stretch. Illinois controlled this game from the tip defensively.

The Illini are already in mid-season form when it comes to defense. As soon as we can get healthy, look for the defense to be even better.