Illinois Basketball: 4 big questions for the Illini against Purdue

3. Will the Illinois defense continue at a high level?

Illinois’ defense was weak to start the season, but as of late, the Orange and Blue have cranked their defensive efforts up another notch.

In the last game against Michigan, the Illini weren’t clicking on offense, but the defense showed up in a big way. We only gave up 53 points to the Wolverines, and that has been a trend as of late.

The Illini have now given up 64 or fewer points in five out of the last six games, and the only one we gave up more was to an incredibly hot Nebraska team that later fizzled out.

On Monday, Illinois is going up against one of the best scoring teams in the country. Purdue has weapons all over the court. They can shoot from three-point range or get the ball down to one of their big men for an easy bucket. The Boilermakers are clicking on all cylinders right now.

As of today, Purdue is averaging 85.6 points per game this season, which ranks No. 4 in the country. That is going to be tough to stop, but Illinois has experience playing teams that can score the ball well.

Illinois has actually played the No. 2 and No. 3 scoring teams in college basketball already. We fell just short to Arizona, who is the No. 2 team, and we beat up on Iowa, who is the No. 3 team.

Now the Illini will take on the No. 4 team in the country. I would argue this is the best Purdue team I have seen, maybe in my lifetime. That is how good I think this Boilermakers’ offense can be.

I think one of the biggest questions on Monday is going to be; will Illinois bring the defense they have been playing the past few weeks? If we can bring that same intensity, then I believe we can win this game.