Illinois Basketball: 5 observations from the Illini win over Kansas City

2. Jayden Epps sparked the Illini

As mentioned in the previous slide, the Illini didn’t start the game off well. We looked sluggish and selfish for the first 10 minutes of the game. But then we got a spark from one of our freshmen.

Illinois has a stable of freshmen who can get the team going. I believe Jayden Epps was a big piece of why Illinois started playing well and pulling away from Kansas City.

The ball started moving for the Illini after that 10-minute mark. This enabled players like Epps to get open shots. When Epps did get an open shot, he started to make them.

Up just 16-14 with less than nine minutes to go in the first half, Epps would drain a three-pointer. The next time down the court, Epps would get the ball back and make another shot from beyond the arc. Those quick six points gave Illinois a nine-point lead, which they would never surrender the rest of the way.

Overall, Epps was pretty big for the Illini off the bench. He would finish the game with 13 points, three rebounds, three assists, and one steal. He didn’t have a single turnover in the game either. Epps was able to put up his 13 points on 4-of-9 shooting from the field and 2-of-5 from three-point range.

When Illinois’ starters aren’t playing well, it is always nice to have a bench player like Epps to be able to come in and give a spark to the program. That is exactly what he did on Friday night.