Illinois Basketball: 5 observations from the Illini win over Rutgers

In incredible comeback fashion, the Illinois basketball team was able to take down the Rutgers Scarlet Knights on Saturday.

For the majority of the game, the Illini didn’t look good. We were down by six points in the second half, but then things changed. Illinois flipped a switch, and we were able to take over the game.

The Illini turned a single-digit deficit into a double-digit lead in what seemed like a snap of a finger. After this great run, Illinois would cruise to a solid win down the stretch, 69-60.

Here are five observations from the Illinois basketball win over Rutgers.

1. Illinois defense was insane down the stretch

For much of the game, the Illini looked like they were in for a fight. We entered halftime down by four points, and the second half didn’t start much better.

Over five minutes into the second half, Rutgers extended that four-point lead into a six-point advantage over Illinois. At this point, though, everything changed.

Up 47-41, the Scarlet Knights would get shut down the rest of the way out. Caleb McConnell would hit a free throw at the 15:03 mark to give Rutgers 47 points, and it would be almost 10 minutes before they would score again.

The next time the Scarlet Knights would put up a point would be at the 5:02 mark left in the game when Oskar Palmquist would make a shot. That would give Rutgers 49 points, but it was too little too late. Illinois had taken a 60-49 lead, and things were never the same.

During this 10:01 drought of scoring, Illinois played some great defense. Not only was Rutgers not scoring, but we were shutting the Scarlet Knights down in every facet. Rutgers would go 0-of-15 from the field with five fouls and four turnovers in this stretch of time.

This great defensive effort by the Illini is what springboarded the program to a victory. If we can do this more often, then there is no telling how far we can go.