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Illinois Basketball: 5 big questions for the Illini against Tennessee

By Rees Woodcock

Nov 14, 2023; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini guard Marcus Domask (3) reacts after scoring during the second half against the Marquette Golden Eagles at State Farm Center. Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 14, 2023; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini guard Marcus Domask (3) reacts after scoring during the second half against the Marquette Golden Eagles at State Farm Center. Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-USA TODAY Sports /
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Illinois basketball
Dec 5, 2023; New York, New York, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini forward Marcus Domask (3) brings the ball up court against Florida Atlantic Owls guard Jalen Gaffney (12) during the first half at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports /

Illinois basketball is coming off a huge win on Tuesday, but there is no time to celebrate as No. 17 Tennessee awaits.

The Illini have back-to-back matchups against top-20 programs, and we have already knocked off one of the teams. The win over Florida Atlantic was huge, as Illinois is looking to jump into the top 15, if not the top 10, this next week.

I do have a few big questions that need to be answered on Saturday, though.

Here are five big questions for the Illinois basketball team against Tennessee

1. How is Marcus Domask going to follow up the 33-point performance?

What Illinois basketball fans saw on Tuesday night was something special. In one of the biggest games of the season, Marcus Domask came through for the program in a big way.

Domask came from Southern Illinois where he would consistently put up big scoring nights. Last season, he had 10 games over 20 points and three of those contests eclipsed the 30-point mark for the Salukis.

I didn’t see Domask’s big performance against the Owls coming, but the talented wing dropped 33 points on 15-of-21 shooting from the field against the No. 11 team in the country.

So, that begs the question, how is Domask going to follow up that 33-point performance? Can he keep up with the pace he is on?

Full disclosure, I am not expecting Domask to go for 33 points again in the near future. That was a special game that I will always remember. But I am curious to see if this wasn’t a one-off and if Brad Underwood is going to look for Domask more offensively.

The crazy part about Domask is the fact he had a total of 26 points in the past three games combined leading up to Tuesday. He was also 7-of-29 from three-point range. I didn’t expect this type of game out of him.

Domask was sensational driving in the lane and finishing. He could get whatever he wanted against Florida Atlantic, and you could almost literally see his confidence rising. If he can keep that confidence, Illinois has a chance to make a special run in 2023-24.

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