Illinois Basketball: 5 observations from the Illini win over Minnesota

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Jan 16, 2023; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini forward Ty Rodgers (20) drives to the basket against the Minnesota Golden Gophers during the second half at Williams Arena. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports /

2. That was Ty Rodgers’ best game for the Illini

As a true freshman, Ty Rodgers has been getting okay minutes. On Monday night, Illinois had to ramp those minutes up due to foul trouble, though.

Brad Underwood had to rely on players he doesn’t usually have to rely on against Minnesota. I mentioned Brandon Lieb in the previous slide, but the 22 minutes Rodgers played against the Golden Gophers proved to be huge too.

Rodgers would finish the game with eight points, eight rebounds, and one block while going 4-of-5 from the field. It honestly felt like he had 100 rebounds in this game because of how aggressive he was on the glass. Rodgers brought amazing energy to the floor.

I think it was reassuring to see Rodgers shoot well from the field too. While the shots he made weren’t too far from the basket, the fact he can get the ball to go in the hoop is nice to see. His eight points, eight assists, one block, and four made buckets were all career highs for Rodgers.

The future is extremely bright for Rodgers. He is a bulldog out there. But, with the way he plays, he is going to need to get better at shooting free throws. The two attempts he had against Minnesota, both misses, were ugly. I thought it was Shaquille O’Neal out there.

For the season, Rodgers is now 5-of-16 from the charity stripe. That is literally the only flaw I see in his game right now. Once that gets corrected, I think this kid’s career is going to take off.

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