Illinois basketball is heading into the biggest matchup of the season against Alabama.
The Illini are 3-0 this season, but we are coming off a game against Oakland that has me wondering how well this team is gelling right now.
Alabama is coming off a game against Purdue that surprised most people. I had the Crimson Tide winning that game by double-digits, but the Boilermakers ended up taking down Alabama.
A lot of questions will be answered in the game on Wednesday night. I have a few key questions of my own.
Here are four key questions for the Illinois basketball team against Alabama
1. Will Kasparas Jakucionis show up?
Illinois has a ton of new pieces, and with only one player on the roster getting minutes from the 2023-24 campaign, every man is extremely important.
Kasparas Jakucionis might be the most important player on the court. While it needs to be all hands on deck, Jakucionis is the centerpiece. He is the player who makes the offense run and can elevate the program to great heights.
A major reason for some of the struggles against Oakland in the last contest was that Jakucionis didn’t play well. He had the worst game of his young career, as he put up four points, six rebounds, three assists, and one steal. Jakucionis also had five turnovers and a foul in the contest.
There is a part of me who is happy that Jakucionis went through a rough patch against a bad team. He needed that to see where his weaknesses were. Illinois has had a chance to work with Jakucionis the past week, and now he can come out against Alabama with a finely tuned game.
I believe this season will be about Jakucionis. When he is playing well, the team is playing well. When he has an off night, someone is going to have to step up because that is a big part of the team that is missing. Illinois needs Jakucionis to show up against Alabama.