Southern University is in town for a matchup against the No. 20-ranked Illinois basketball program.
This is a game I am not too worried about, but the Illini still have to show up. We can’t just act like Southern is going to roll over and die. They are going to bring all the firepower they have on the roster.
Illinois should win this game by double-digit points. I fully expect the margin to be at that point by halftime. But there will still be a few things I am keeping an eye on in this contest.
Here are three key questions for the Illinois basketball team against Southern
1. What will the rebounding margin look like for Illinois?
Illinois is coming into the game on Monday with a huge advantage in size. The Illini boast two 7-foot-1 or bigger players – Tomislav and Zvonimir Ivisic – in the paint, and they rotate in and out, so one is always fresh.
In addition to those big men, the Illini have great size up and down the roster. There is no way Southern should be able to keep up with us on the boards.
But we can’t mess around against the Jaguars. They can rebound well, averaging 35.0 rebounds per game, which ranks No. 197 in the country.
I am really keeping an eye on Malek Abdelgowad. He is a 6-foot-10 forward who primarily plays their No. 5 spot. Illinois has some great size in the frontcourt, but we can get a little sticky and stagnant, which leads to ball watching when it comes to rebounds.
Abdelgowad’s athletic ability has me a bit concerned. With that being said, I fully expect the rebounding department to be a team effort on Monday. Illinois’ guards are underrated when it comes to the glass, and we should win the rebounding battle by 15 or more.
2. Will Illinois sleepwalk through the game against Southern?
It has been the holiday break, and naturally, you are going to be a little out of sorts when it comes to getting back to the norm. While the team has been practicing, the players have had some time off.
While Illinois looked great against Missouri, we are now playing a team in Southern that is 4-8 overall and isn’t great at basketball. So, it would be understandable if Illinois comes out of the gates looking sluggish.
Please don’t, though. The Illini can’t afford to play with our food. Southern, while not a very good team, can put points on the board. If we let one player, like Michael Jacobs, go off, this game could end up being uncomfortably close toward the end. We can’t let Southern get too much confidence.
Let’s make this game more of a tune-up for the upcoming Big Ten stretch. Illinois needs to ramp back up for some tough games ahead, so a nice crisp outing against Southern would do the trick.
3. Can Illinois start getting a consistent Kylan Boswell?
With a team filled with some impactful freshmen, the leadership on the team hasn’t been showing up on a consistent basis.
Kylan Boswell is someone who is looked at by NBA scouts as a potential draft pick. He is a nice guard with good size and solid shooting ability. He has a bright future, but he has to get more consistent with his production.
Over the past six games, Boswell has had three contests where he scored six or fewer points. He drops 15 points against a ranked Tennessee program, but then follows that up with four points against Ohio State. He has 20 points against Nebraska and then just six points against Missouri.
In this same stretch, Boswell has shot 6-of-26, 23.1%, from three-point range. It is not like he is giving the program other big numbers, as Boswell is averaging just 3.8 rebounds and 2.7 assists in this stretch, too.
Heading into the Big Ten season, Illinois needs more consistent production out of Boswell. I think a big game is coming against Southern, but can he keep that energy up for multiple games in a row? That is what I will be watching over the next couple of weeks.