Illinois Basketball: 4 big questions for the Illini vs Northwestern

Illinois basketball is in a funk right now, but hopefully, a big game on Sunday against Northwestern will be just what the doctor ordered.

The Illini were annihilated this past Tuesday in a game against Purdue that I just want to forget. An 18-point second half drubbing was not a pretty sight. But this game could have been a nice wake-up call for the program. Maybe, just maybe, Illinois needed that beatdown.

There is a pretty big game on Sunday. No, it is not the Super Bowl. This big game is the Illini welcoming in the Northwestern Wildcats. Illinois needs to win this game and win it big.

Here are four big questions for the Illinois basketball team vs Northwestern.

1. Can Illinois get the guards going?

I was extremely frustrated with how most of the Illinois basketball guards played against Purdue this past week. The trio of experienced players didn’t step up their game in a big moment.

Trent Frazier, Da’Monte Williams, and Jacob Grandison were a combined 4-of-21 from the field and 2-of-14 from three-point range for 12 points. Illinois cannot get 12 points from three starters who had a total of 82 minutes in the game. The fact we were even competitive blows my mind.

But this isn’t the only time this trio has not been good for the Illini in recent weeks. In the last Northwestern game, in which Illinois squeaked out by two points, the trio once against didn’t play well. They combined for 4-of-17 shooting from the field and 2-of-9 from three-point range for 13 points. They played a total of 104 minutes in that game.

So, one of the big questions I have for the second round against the Wildcats is can the Illini trio of guards get going? Illinois can only go so far feeding Kofi Cockburn the ball. We need these guards to start hitting shots on a consistent basis. If we can have Frazier, Williams, and Grandison playing well, no team in the country is beating us.