Illinois Basketball: 4 big questions for the Illini against Rutgers

4. Will the formula continue to work?

In an earlier slide, I mentioned how Illinois needs the bench to come through and play well. They are a key piece to the winning puzzle.

But I also think there has been a formula for the Illini success the past three games. If you haven’t noticed, Illinois is leaning on two superstars and then every other player is contributing their share to the victory.

The two players who are leading the way for the Illini right now are Kofi Cockburn and Alfonso Plummer.

Over the past three games, Kofi has averaged 29.6 points and 10.3 rebounds while shooting 75% from the field. Those are superstar numbers. We can’t win without Kofi, but we also wouldn’t be winning without Plummer.

Plummer has held his own during the three-game stretch. He is averaging 24 points per game while hitting 51.2% of his shots. His three-point shooting has sparked the Illini as well.

These two big-time players are putting up their great numbers, but Illinois also needs the supporting cast to contribute. In each of the past three games, Illinois players who have shot the ball are shooting between one and seven shots per game. Each player has specific times throughout the game where they get their shot, but the main focus is on generating points from Kofi and Plummer.

This is a three-pronged team right now. Kofi is generating his points. Plummer is generating his points. The supporting cast is generating their points. This team can’t function without these three parts. If one part is off, then the team is going to struggle.

On Friday night, I am going to be watching to see if we can continue working like this. I believe we can. The supporting cast is strong enough to where we can win a lot of games with this formula.