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Illinois Basketball: 4 big questions for the Illini vs Arkansas State

By Rees Woodcock

CHAMPAIGN, ILLINOIS - NOVEMBER 09: Head coach Brad Underwood of the Illinois Fighting Illini watches his team from the sidelines in the game against the Jackson State Tigers at State Farm Center on November 09, 2021 in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
CHAMPAIGN, ILLINOIS - NOVEMBER 09: Head coach Brad Underwood of the Illinois Fighting Illini watches his team from the sidelines in the game against the Jackson State Tigers at State Farm Center on November 09, 2021 in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images) /
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Feb 16, 2021; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini guard Andre Curbelo (5) celebrates after his team scores against the Northwestern Wildcats during the first half at the State Farm Center. Mandatory Credit: Patrick Gorski-USA TODAY Sports /

Illinois basketball takes on the Arkansas State Red Wolves on Friday night in hopes of moving to 2-0 on the young season.

Game one went well despite the Illini missing four key players. Winning any game by 24 points without four key players is an accomplishment. There were some big-time players who stepped up for Illinois against Jackson State. I want to see that again on Friday night.

Here are four big questions for the Illinois basketball team vs Arkansas State.

1. How healthy are we going to be?

The big question heading into the Arkansas State game will be with the three players who were missing against Jackson State.

Will Andre Curbelo, Trent Frazier, or Austin Hutcherson be able to suit up against the Red Wolves?

I think Illinois proved against the Tigers that they can win without those three big pieces, but winning gets a lot easier when this program is near full strength.

From the sound of things, the three players are still up in the air whether they will play or not. If I had to guess, I would say they aren’t going to play and will rest one more game. Illinois shouldn’t need them for Arkansas State, but they will need those three great talents against Marquette.

If I had to choose to play the trio or not, I would not play them against Arkansas State. This team proved they can come together and win against bad teams without them. So, let the trio rest another game and unleash them on Monday versus the Golden Eagles.

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