The women's Illinois basketball team is back in action on Saturday and will be looking for their sixth-straight win, as they welcome in the Indiana Hoosiers.
This will be the first Big Ten match-up of the season for the Illini, as they start to work into the meat of their schedule. They will look to win a third-straight game against Indiana after beating the Hoosiers last season, 68-54.
Illinois enters this game with all of the confidence in the world after beating Le Moyne and Bellarmine by a combined 121 points. They dominated both teams on both ends of the floor this week, only allowing them to score a combined 69 points.
Those two games were routs, and there's no other way to explain them. But now, with Teri Moren and the Hoosiers coming to town, it's safe to say that head coach Shauna Green's bunch isn't going to have another easy road to a win. But what are some key factors that we should be looking out for in today's match-up?
Here are three keys to an Illinois basketball win over Indiana
1. Will Illinois' offense transition to the start of Big Ten play?
The Illini's offense so far this season has been remarkable, averaging 81.9 points per game (23rd in the country) to go along with their 27.8 scoring margin. They have won all of their games rather handily since the start of the season, with their lowest margin of victory being 10 points against Illinois State.
Illinois has been scoring at will through their first eight games. They will look to continue that stretch against an Indiana squad who is allowing 63.7 points per game to opponents so far this season.
Can they make it happen? Absolutely! Indiana doesn't really have a marquee win (much less a marquee match-up) on their resume this season. If the Illini are on their game on Saturday, there is no reason they can't score in bunches.
2. Can the Illini shut down Indiana's Shay Ciezki?
As Shay Ciezki goes, the Hoosiers go. That's what it's been like in Indiana through the first nine games of the season. The senior guard from Buffalo, New York, has been on fire this season, averaging 24.4 points per game, while shooting 56% from the field and 45% from three-point range.
Ciezki has been the driving force for Indiana's squad this season, and someone who can change a game at the drop of a hat. If Illinois wants to win, then they need to shut her down. They need to limit her chances to manufacture points for her team and force the rest of their roster to try to make shots.
3. The Illini need to surge from long range
This past Tuesday against Bellarmine, the Illini fell flat when it came to shooting the three-pointer. They failed to really make a splash from long range, shooting a dismal 14% (3-22) from behind the arc. It was a moment that was out of the ordinary for this unit, especially since they've been shooting 31% as a collective all season long.
Sure, this could've easily been a fluke of a game. It could've been a blip on the radar, and something that I should forget about since they still won the game. But to me, 14% against a team like the Knights is not something to just gloss over. It's a bit of a concern, especially with Indiana allowing only 26% shooting from three-point range to their opponents.
Illinois should be fine in this one, but it's still just something to keep an eye on down the stretch.