Illinois Basketball: 3 things to watch for in the Illini game against Nebraska

3. Who wins the rebounding battle

Illinois basketball hasn’t been great at a lot of things this season. One of the best areas for the Orange and Blue has been the ability to crash the glass.

For the season, the Illini average pulling down 39.5 rebounds per game, which ranks No. 19 in the country. Illinois’ rebounding has been so good that we have only lost the rebounding battle two times this season. The last time it happened was in the Virginia loss back in mid-November.

Nebraska is a different animal on the glass, though. They are good at rebounding the basketball, so one of the things to watch will be the rebounding battle. Can Illinois win their 11th straight rebounding battle?

When it comes to rebounding, the Cornhuskers are quite an impressive team. They are pulling down 38.1 rebounds per game this season, which ranks No. 53 in the country.

Nebraska has four players who average at least 5.1 rebounds per game, and two of those players are guards. Illinois will match up well with the Cornhuskers, though. Coleman Hawkins, Dain Dainja, and Matthew Mayer can all rebound well and have great size. I love Terrence Shannon Jr.’s energy on the glass too. He is third on the team with 5.5 rebounds per game.

Winning the rebounding battle is going to be important. We don’t want Nebraska to get second-chance points and control the game. Let’s keep the streak alive.