After a massive road trip just a few nights ago, the Illinois basketball team is still on the West Coast looking for another victory.
The Illini looked so good against USC. The Trojans were out of the game from the jump, and this enabled a near-40-point rout. UCLA is going to be a tougher matchup, though.
UCLA is looking to strengthen their position in the NCAA tournament, and a win over a top-10 Illinois squad would seal up their postseason berth. That is a lot to play for, so the Bruins will surely come out with a ton of fire.
Here are three keys for the Illinois basketball team to dismantle UCLA
1. Demolish UCLA in the rebounding department
An area where Illinois should have an advantage against most teams in the country is rebounding the basketball. We are going up against a bad rebounding team on Saturday.
While Illinois tears up the glass, pulling down 41.1 rebounds per game, which ranks No. 9 in the country, the Bruins are all the way down at No. 290 in the country with 32.5 rebounds per contest.
There isn’t a ton of talented size on the UCLA roster. They have Tyler Bilodeau, who is 6-foot-9, and a guard in Eric Dailey Jr., who is 6-foot-8. Those two are the only Bruins players who average over 3.6 rebounds per game.
Illinois can throw so many big men at the boards. Both Ivisic brothers are at least 7-foot-1. David Mirkovic is 6-foot-9 and a monster when it comes to rebounding the basketball. As a team, Illinois shows a ton of effort when rebounding. I want to see this rebounding margin double-digits on Saturday.
2. Illinois’ big men should be able to guard on the perimeter
One of UCLA’s strong points is their three-point shooting. They can light the world on fire with their ability, as they average shooting 37.8% from three-point range this season.
A big part of their three-point success is due to Bilodeau being able to stretch the floor. As their big man, he leads UCLA in three-point attempts and converts at a clip of 45.9%. This kid is the real deal.
I think Illinois could give him problems, though. We can throw so many talented big men at Bilodeau, and they can all guard on the perimeter.
If I had to guess, Mirkovic will probably start on Bilodeau. His 6-foot-9 frame should be able to keep up with the Bruins’ best player. If he doesn’t play well, we have a couple of 7-foot big men we can throw at him.
UCLA dealing with Illinois’ size is going to be interesting to watch. They haven’t played anyone near this big, and that size coming out at you on the perimeter should hinder their ability to convert from the outside.
3. Keep the UCLA defense on their heels
There are so many things that make Illinois special. One of the things that could tear UCLA apart is the ability for the Illini to play different styles on offense.
The Illini can play run-and-gun, or we have the brains to play in the halfcourt. There is also the shooting aspect of the different styles.
Illinois has the ability to light you up from three-point range if you aren’t careful. Literally, every player on the Illini roster can shoot from the outside. But when you start covering us tight on the perimeter, that is when we can throw it down to one of our big men.
That type of offensive power is so valuable. It keeps teams on their heels, and that is what I want to do with the Bruins. They can play defense well, but Illinois has so many ways to hurt you. I want to see a variety of play from the Illini offense, so UCLA doesn’t get into a groove on defense.