Illinois Basketball: Grades from the Illini win over Notre Dame

The Illinois basketball team welcomed the Notre Dame Fighting Irish to the State Farm Center for the ACC/Big Ten Challenge on Monday night.

The Illini are still dealing with injuries as they were without star point guard, Andre Curbelo. Illinois led by as many as 16 points but saw their lead narrow to just four points in the final few minutes of the game. They were able to hold off the Fighting Irish, beating them 82-72 and improving to 5-2 on the season.

Here are the grades from the Illinois basketball win over Notre Dame.

Offense Grade: A-

The offense started out hot in the first half as Kofi Cockburn imposed his will going 5-of-5 from the field for 10 points. The Illini also shot it well in the first half.

Freshman wing Rj Melendez got the surprise start and hit a pair of threes in the game. Fellow freshman Luke Goode also hit a three-point bucket and brought the energy all night long. He is already becoming a fan favorite.

It was great news to see fifth-year senior guard Trent Fraizer back on the court after a scary knee injury he suffered in the Kansas State game as well. The offense just ran much smoother with Frazier on the court. Despite a bad shooting night, he still managed to finish with seven points and six assists.

After a strong first half, Kofi continued to dominate and finished with 28 points and eight rebounds. Alfonso Plummer also added 21 points but wasn’t so efficient going 5-of-15 from the field.

The Illini finished with a season-high 11 three-pointers and shot 40% from the three-point arc and 52% from the field. It was a much-improved offense compared to what we have seen in the early part of the season.

Defense Grade: B

The Illinois defense looked much sharper against the Fighting Irish than they did against UT Rio Grande Valley. Brad Underwood has been preaching the word toughness with his team, and they played much tougher defense on Monday night led by Kofi and Da’Monte Williams.

Illinois only forced eight turnovers and two steals, but they took multiple charges throughout the night. With Underwood starting Melendez, it added more length to pair with Plummer, who struggles at times defensively. But to be fair to Plummer, he looked locked in on the defensive side of the ball all night.

Overall Grade: B+

This was Illinois’ most well-rounded and impressive win so far this season. The offense ran at a much better pace. They had been averaging 17 turnovers per game to start the season but finished the Notre Dame game with only 12 turnovers, which was a great sign.

Illinois also won the rebounding battle 33-29 with the difference being Kofi’s five offensive rebounds.

The Illini will start December with a couple of Big Ten games welcoming Rutgers to the State Farm Center on Friday night at 6:00 p.m. CT. They then travel to Iowa City to take on the Hawkeyes next Monday.