Illinois Basketball: 4 big questions for the Illini against Minnesota

4. Will the Illini keep the turnover margin close?

This might be the most egregious area for the Illinois basketball team. I know Brad Underwood tries to keep his teams disciplined, but the Illini are a turnover factory.

It has been a long time since I have seen the Illini turn the ball over this frequently. They are averaging 15.3 turnovers per game, which ranks No. 301 in the country. That is an uptick from only averaging 13 turnovers per game last season.

Illinois currently has five players averaging at least two turnovers per game and nine players average at least one turnover in each contest. That is unacceptable and puts the team in tough situations.

On the other side of the court is a tough Minnesota team that is very disciplined. They are only averaging 9.8 turnovers per game, which ranks No. 12 in the nation.

I am not expecting Illinois to win the turnover battle against the Golden Gophers. We have only won the turnover battle in three games this season, so we don’t need to win the battle. But I do believe we need to keep it somewhat close.

Illinois has enough firepower from three-point range and rebounding to offset the bad turnover tendencies. I am wanting the Illini to keep the margin to -4 or better. If we can do that, then I think we can come away with a win. I will definitely be keeping an eye on the turnover margin, though.