Illinois Basketball: 5 observations from the Illini win over Alabama A&M

5. The Illini defense saved the day

Matthew Mayer played some great basketball down the stretch against Alabama A&M. He was able to hit some big shots which sealed the game. But his defense, along with the rest of the Illinois team, saved the day for the program.

Coming into the game, Alabama A&M was not a bad team offensively. They were averaging 72.6 points per game, and they were hitting their three-pointers at a clip of 36.7%. This was a team that could score the basketball.

With that being said, I was happy with the Illini defense on Saturday. The Bulldogs only scored 19 points in the first half, and we were able to hold them to just 47 points for the entire game.

Illinois cut Alabama A&M’s three-point shooting in half, as they only shot 17.6% from distance. That is a big part of their game, and the Illini shut it down.

I think the most impressive part about Illinois’ defense was the low assist-to-turnover ratio that Alabama A&M ended the game with. The Bulldogs only has two assists for the game compared to 18 turnovers. For those keeping track at home, that is an assist-to-turnover ratio of .111, which is incredibly bad.

Listen, Illinois is going through some struggles right now offensively. We are trying to find leadership and identity. That is still being worked out, but this Illini defense will keep us in games. As long as we keep playing lockdown defense, we are going to be okay.