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

3. How big of a difference will a healthy Matthew Mayer make

Illinois hasn’t been good this season from the free throw line, as described in the previous slide. The one bright spot from the charity stripe for the Illini has been Matthew Mayer.

Mayer is converting 77.1% of his free throws this season. Illinois needed him against Indiana, but we couldn’t get the full Mayer due to him being ill for the game. He was only able to give us 22 minutes and didn’t make a bucket. He wasn’t aggressive at all, and it makes sense now that he was not feeling well.

The effects of Mayer being ill showed on the court. Illinois didn’t look like the same team we had seen in the prior four contests. So, on Tuesday night, I am going to be watching to see how big of an impact Mayer is going to have on the Illini.

Brad Underwood mentioned on Monday that Mayer was fully healthy and ready to go. This is the green light for Mayer to be himself again and to do all of the magical things he had been doing leading up to the Indiana game.

I think Mayer has developed as a player tremendously over the past couple of months. Instead of just being a shot-taker, he is now a shot-creator. Mayer is actually better when he creates his own shots off the dribble. Let’s get him moving around screens and into some space, and then let him work.

I believe Mayer is an important piece of the puzzle for the Illini. Look for him to have a big game against Ohio State on Tuesday night.