Illinois Basketball: 5 observations from the Illini win over Southern

3. Marcus Domask continued on the struggle bus

I thought Marcus Domask looked great against Marquette. He was looked to for scoring, and he came through for the program when we needed him. But over the last two games, the Southern Illinois transfer seems to be regressing.

Valparaiso was a struggle for Domask. He finished with seven points, six rebounds, three assists, and three turnovers while going 2-of-9 from the floor and 1-of-4 from three-point range. This was a bad game, but bad games happen.

I was hoping for a nice rebound game against Southern. This was a chance to get right again, but Domask once again came out flat. He had three points, nine rebounds, one assist, and three turnovers on 1-of-3 shooting from the field and missing his only three-point attempt.

In three out of six games with Illinois, Domask has at least three turnovers. He is giving away the ball at a high clip without having the ball in his hands a ton in games.

There are two theories I have for why Domask is struggling. The first theory is that the game is too fast for him. He is now in an Illinois offense that likes to run, and that is not what Domask did with the Salukis. Illinois averaged 71.7 possessions per game last season, which ranked No. 96 in the country. Southern Illinois averaged 65.9 possessions per game, which ranked No. 340 in the nation.

Another theory I have for why Domask is struggling is that he isn’t the man on the Illinois basketball team. With Southern Illinois, everything went through him. He was the leading scorer and shot-taker. It was Domask’s team. With the Illini, he has to share the ball. Everything doesn’t go through him, so he is still trying to find his place.

I think Domask will eventually find his way with the Illini. There are still plenty of games left in the season, but it might not be a bad idea to change things up with Domask. Maybe bring him off the bench for a game or two to see how he does as a spark plug.