Illinois Basketball: 5 keys for the Illini to beat the Arkansas Razorbacks

Brad Underwood trusts the bench

This slide plays off the previous slide of Jayden Epps making a positive impact for the Illini. Brad Underwood has plenty of depth on the Illinois basketball team, and I need him to use that depth against Arkansas.

I was really frustrated when Underwood stuck with guys who couldn’t make a basketball against Penn State in the Big Ten Tournament. The Illini starters were 2-of-14 from three-point range in that contest while the bench was 4-of-7 from behind the three-point arc.

Illinois’ bench was extremely efficient against the Nittany Lions as well. They played 46 minutes and only had one turnover and shot 6-of-13 from the floor.

Let’s go back to the game before against Purdue. Illinois’ starters were 4-of-17 from three-point range while the bench was 3-of-5. In the 61 minutes from the bench, the Illini received 22 points,11 rebounds, three steals, and two assists while only having three turnovers.

Fresh legs and bodies against Arkansas are going to be important. They have a lot of talent on that team. Underwood needs to trust the bench players if we want any chance to win the game. Trust the bench and we should get the victory.