Illinois Basketball: 4 observations from the Illini win over Indiana

Illinois basketball brought home a victory after taking care of business on Saturday against the Indiana Hoosiers.

It was a rough first half for the Illini. We couldn’t stop Indiana and what they wanted to do on the court. But the second half was a different story. Illinois was able to shut down the Hoosiers and surge ahead offensively. And, bonus, we were actually hitting three-point shots. That is something that hasn’t happened in weeks.

With the win over Indiana, the Illini go 2-0 this past week after beating No. 11 Wisconsin on Wednesday. Illinois needed to beat the Hoosiers so we could continue rising in the AP Top 25.

Here are four observations from the Illinois basketball win over Indiana.

1. Frazier stepped up his game

Illinois was in some trouble by the time halftime rolled around, but Mr. Illini himself put on his cape and saved the day for the Orange and Blue.

Trent Frazier had one of his best games on Saturday afternoon when he dropped 23 points, four assists, two rebounds, one block, and one steal on a solid Indiana Hoosiers squad. Illinois needed this performance from the Wellington native or we could have been in some serious trouble against the Hoosiers.

The part about Frazier’s game that eased my worries moving forward was his ability to knock down the three-pointers. He was just 5-of-21 in his last three games coming into Saturday, so going 3-of-6 against Indiana is exciting to see.

Big-time players step up in big-time games, and that is what Frazier did on Saturday. When he is hitting his shots from distance, he becomes one of the most dominant players in college basketball. Frazier’s defensive prowess is never in question, and when the offense gets going, watch out.

The Illini also needed to get Frazier off his shooting slump because the next game is against a top-five Purdue squad. If he can continue playing well offensively, then there is no question we have a shot to knock off the Boilermakers.