3 big takeaways from Illinois basketball win over Rutgers

The Rutgers Scarlett Knights have been down in the dumps all season long, and the Fighting Illini took full advantage of that as they continue to build a resumé for March.

Illinois, which now sits at 18-8 on the season and 8-7 in the Big Ten, has had a rough go of it throughout conference play. The Illini only won two of their six games prior to Tuesday night, including an absolute heartbreaker against the Oregon Ducks in Eugene.

On Tuesday night, Shauna Green's bunch was able to pull off a dominating win against Nene Ndiaye and the lowly Rutgers Scarlet Knights. They put on an offensive clinic at the State Farm Center, downing their Big Ten foe by a score of 76-56.

It was a rather impressive win that gave Illinois its first back-to-back victories since the start of the New Year. But what are some key takeaways from this game that we should be keeping in mind as we move through the rest of the season?

1. The Illini are still having trouble getting off to a hot start

The Illini have been struggling early in games recently, with their losses against Oregon and USC being attributed to their lack of scoring in the first half. In just those two games alone, the Illini were only able to muster a combined 47 points in the first half, which put them at a combined 35-point deficit across both contests.

Illinois was able to get back on track against Wisconsin last week, as they almost matched that total with their 42 points in the first half against the Badgers. But for some reason, the Illini fell back into their hole of slow starts against Rutgers, as they only led by two against an inferior squad after the first quarter.

Granted, the second quarter was a much different story, as the Illini absolutely obliterated their opposition by a score of 21-9. However, if they were playing a team that was a little more in-tune offensively, this game could've gone a lot differently down the stretch. Illinois can't continue this trend as they finish the regular season, or it will be a very short March for them.

2. Berry Wallace continues to show why she is elite

If I wrote one paragraph about Berry Wallace, I feel like I could copy-and-paste it into all of my future articles. The Pickerington, Ohio, product has been a superstar for the Illini all season long, leading the team in scoring with 18.9 points per game while shooting 49.9% from the field.

Wallace has been a "walking bucket," as the kids like to say, and last night's game against Rutgers was no different. In 32 minutes played against the Scarlet Knights, the former five-star recorded 21 points, nine rebounds, one assist, and one steal on 50% shooting from the field.

Wallace is something special, and she continues to be the linchpin for a young Illinois squad that just continues to grow and develop as a unit. If the Illini want to go anywhere in the postseason, then she is going to be the one leading them there. Stars will do star things, and No. 23 is the epitome of a star.

3. The Illini defense was on point all night, as they locked down Rutgers' top scorers

The Scarlet Knights have had their bright spots this season. Their leading scorers, Ndiaye and Faith Blackstone, have been doing everything in their power to keep Rutgers in games. But it just hasn't been enough, especially against teams like Illinois, which held them to 10 and 13 points, respectively.

The Illini have a defense that can be really special when it wants to be, and they showed that when they shut down Ndiaye and Blackstone on Tuesday night. They held Rutgers' stars to only 23 combined points all night long, and the rest of Rutgers' roster just couldn't pick up any of the slack.

Granted, Rutgers' offense isn't good to begin with, so it's pretty easy to say that the Illini did a great job. But after the stretch the blue and orange have been on, they needed something like this to put on their resumé. They needed a good one-sided game to boost their confidence and to send them into the final three games of the year.