Illinois Basketball: 5 observations from the Illini win over Bethune-Cookman

5. This is exactly what I needed to see out of the Illini

After that Missouri pounding the Illini took in the Braggin’ Rights game, I was worried about this team. I honestly felt like Illinois basketball was in a bad place, and I wasn’t sure if we would be able to climb out of the hole that we dug.

Coming into Thursday night, the Illini had lost three out of the past five contests, and we were not a cohesive unit. This team looked completely out of sorts, and I needed to see some sort of gelling against Bethune-Cookman to help boost my spirits for this team.

The Illini would end up beating the Wildcats 85-52, and it wasn’t just Illinois out-talented Bethune-Cookman. That is what happened in the Alabama A&M game, and it made me feel uneasy about what I was watching.

This win over Bethune-Cookman was exactly what I needed. Illinois jumped on the Wildcats early and looked great throughout the game. There weren’t lulls where Bethune-Cookman looked better than the Illini. There weren’t times when they would go on long runs and would narrow the Illinois lead.

Overall, the Illini looked like a program that wanted to play basketball. We cared about what was happening on the court, and it looked like, for the first time in a while, that each player wanted to be playing basketball for Illinois.

This was the most worried I have been for an Illinois basketball team since the John Groce era. I wasn’t even this worried when Illinois won just 12 games in Brad Underwood’s second year. This Illini program has a ton of talent, and finally, we are coming together as a team. I think this was a big step in the right direction.