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Illinois Basketball: 5 observations from the Illini win over Central Connecticut

By Rees Woodcock

CHAMPAIGN, IL - JANUARY 18: Makira Cook #3 of the Illinois Fighting Illini is seen during the game against the Indiana Hoosiers at State Farm Center on January 18, 2023 in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
CHAMPAIGN, IL - JANUARY 18: Makira Cook #3 of the Illinois Fighting Illini is seen during the game against the Indiana Hoosiers at State Farm Center on January 18, 2023 in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /
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MINNEAPOLIS, MN – MARCH 02: Makira Cook #3 of the Illinois Fighting Illini looks on against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights in the second half of the game in the second round of the Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament at Target Center on March 2, 2023 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Fighting Illini defeated the Scarlet Knights 81-55. (Photo by David Berding/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – MARCH 02: Makira Cook #3 of the Illinois Fighting Illini looks on against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights in the second half of the game in the second round of the Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament at Target Center on March 2, 2023 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Fighting Illini defeated the Scarlet Knights 81-55. (Photo by David Berding/Getty Images) /

2. Illinois’ suffocating defense was too much

This slide kind of piggybacks off the first slide. Makira Cook’s energy was great, and it really showed on the defensive end of the court. But she wasn’t the only one with lockdown defense on the night.

Illinois played some of the best, most suffocating, defense I have seen the team play all season long. I was impressed by the fullcourt pressure, led by Cook. Illinois got Central Connecticut out of their offense so frequently, and it was a huge reason why they failed to put up 20 points in any quarter.

The Blue Devils ended the game on Wednesday night shooting just 22.7% from three-point range. A big part of this bad shooting night had to do with Illinois’ great ability to switch out on the arc. This has been a problem at times with lazy defense, but the Illini were on point.

I also noticed that Illinois has clearly been working on help defense. Especially against Notre Dame, the Illini were slow getting over and helping. This allowed Notre Dame to score at will in the paint. That seems to have been a point of emphasis since that game, and Illinois looked great against the Blue Devils when they were able to get in the lane.

Illinois’ defense was suffocating against Central Connecticut. Only allowing 50 points is a pretty big deal. This was a great team defensive effort.

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