Illinois has the biggest game of the season coming up against the No. 14 Indiana Hoosiers in Bloomington.
This is going to be an extremely tough game. The Illini fell to the Hoosiers 80-65 at home back in January, so there is a big hill to climb this time around.
Illinois does have a fully healthy roster, though. This is something to keep an eye on. There are also a few other things I am going to be watching on Saturday as the Illini try to keep their Big Ten title hopes alive.
Here are three things to watch for in the Illinois basketball game against the Indiana Hoosiers.
1. Can Illinois slow down Trayce Jackson-Davis
When the Illinois basketball team had Kofi Cockburn manning the middle of the paint, it was a lot easier to contain Trayce Jackson-Davis. But, without the All-American big man, Jackson-Davis has been dominant against the Orange and Blue.
Back on January 19, Illinois played against Jackson-Davis for the first time since Kofi departed the program. The result was not a good one, as the Hoosiers would destroy us, 80-65.
On Saturday, I am going to be watching to see if the Illini can slow Jackson-Davis down just a little bit. If we can manage to do that, we have a strong shot to win the game.
Slowing down Jackson-Davis won’t be an easy task, though. In that January game, he finished with 35 points, nine rebounds, five assists, and three blocks on 15-of-19 shooting from the field. This season alone, he is averaging 20.3 points, 11.3 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 3.0 blocks per game.
Jackson-Davis is doing most of his work inside the three-point arc. I would say Illinois should throw Dain Dainja at him, but Dainja had three fouls in the last game and couldn’t stop Jackson-Davis.
One of Illinois’ biggest downfalls is communication. When Jackson-Davis gets the ball in the paint, there need to be double teams and rotating. One player I wouldn’t mind seeing a time or two covering the Indiana big man is Ty Rodgers. Height-wise, this is a mismatch, but Rodgers is physical and can get under Jackson-Davis’ skin. This would be interesting to watch.