The women's Illinois basketball team has been defying the odds all season long, and continued that trend Thursday night against the Michigan State Spartans in the Big Ten Tournament.
The Illini, who were coming off a major 82-70 opening round win over the Wisconsin Badgers, were seeking a bit of revenge against a Spartans team that dropped them earlier in the year. They wanted to make a statement in Indianapolis, and they did just that in the form of a 71-69 win over Michigan State.
It was a monumental moment for coach Shauna Green's squad, which has propelled them to the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament. But before we jump right into their highly anticipated matchup against the Iowa Hawkeyes, what are some key observations from this game that we should be dissecting?
Here are three interesting observations from the Illinois basketball win over Michigan State
1. The Illini got their stroke back from beyond the arc
The Illini are a special bunch when it comes to scoring the basketball. This team has a wide array of players who can score from all three levels on the floor, including the likes of forwards Cearah Parchment and Berry Wallace.
Illinois has been one of the best teams from three-point range all season long, ranking No. 17 in the country with a 36.5% three-point percentage. That was unfortunately almost non-existent in their opening-round matchup against Wisconsin, when the Illini shot a measly 11%, 2-of-19, from long range.
Thankfully, Illinois' game against the Badgers ended up being a blip on the radar, as they returned to form against Michigan State by shooting 43%, 6-of-14, from deep. This was such a crucial performance for the Illini because it allowed them to spread the floor out a little bit and gave guards Destiny Jackson and Jasmine Brown-Hagger a chance to attack the basket.
2. Illinois uncharacteristically turned the ball over a lot in this game
When it comes to turning the ball over, it is almost a foreign concept to the Illinois women's basketball team. The Illini have been one of the best teams in the country when it comes to taking care of the basketball, ranking No. 14 in the country with an average of 12.3 turnovers per game.
But in their second round matchup against the Spartans, the Illini were uncharacteristically losing track of the basketball to the tune of 17 turnovers in the game. There were parts of this contest when Illinois looked nothing like themselves, especially at the very beginning, where they turned it over four times before they attempted a shot.
As of right now, this shouldn't be a cause for concern as we make our way through the rest of the Big Ten Tournament. The Illini have had a few blips on their radar before, and they were able to fix them in the following game. But in a time as serious as March, this is still something that we should keep a close eye on as Illinois' competition gets tougher and tougher.
3. Cearah Parchment and Destiny Jackson were huge in their rematch with the Spartans
Prior to the start of this game, one of the biggest questions for the Illini was, will we see Illinois' freshmen make a huge splash in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament? Can Parchment and Jackson improve on their combined 12-point performance from the last time they played Michigan State, and help lead their team to the quarterfinals?
The answer to that question was a resounding, yes. Parchment and Jackson were Illinois' leading scorers last night, scoring a combined 29 of their team's 71 points on the evening. It was a complete 180 for the two underclassmen, as they ended up shooting 50% and 60% from the field, respectively.
This team is on a roll right now, and they are about to face an Iowa squad that they took to the brink in their second-to-last game of the regular season. If Illinois can tighten up some of the screws that we saw come loose against the Spartans, we may be in store for a monumental upset in Indy on Friday night.