Illinois Basketball: 4 big questions for the Illini against Northwestern

4. What is the rebounding margin going to look like?

Illinois basketball, especially over the past few seasons, has been known as one of the best rebounding teams in the college game.

This season alone, the Illini are averaging 41.3 rebounds per game, which ranks No. 8 in the country. But a big reason for the great rebounding ability of the Orange and Blue is big man, Kofi Cockburn.

Kofi is averaging 11.8 rebounds per game this season, which ranks No. 4 in the nation. Needless to say, he also leads the team in rebounding. But when Kofi is not on the floor, Illinois instantly becomes a team that gets outrebounded.

In the past game against Michigan State, the Illini lost the rebounding battle in a way I haven’t seen them lose it in years. The Spartans outrebounded Illinois 41-27.

Kofi also missed the Maryland tilt in the game prior. While it wasn’t the same margin in the rebounding department, the Illini were still outrebounded against the Terrapins, 33-30.

Illinois is also heading into a game on Saturday against a solid rebounding Northwestern team. The Wildcats are averaging 36.2 rebounds per game this season, which ranks No. 99 in the nation.

So, a big question for Saturday is what will the rebounding margin look like? If Kofi is going to play, I would imagine Illinois wins the rebounding battle. But, if he misses another game, who is going to step up so the Illini don’t get throttled on the glass?

Illinois needs to keep the rebounding margin relatively close. Northwestern can’t be getting second-chance points all night long.