4 keys for the Illinois basketball team to beat Northwestern

4. Brad Underwood shouldn’t lean on the starters

This season has been fun to watch due to so much talent on the Illinois roster. We can put a lot of players on the court and not lose a step.

That is why I think it would be good for Brad Underwood not to lean too much on the starters. There is no reason to jack up the starter's minutes and leave the bench out to dry.

Northwestern isn’t a deep team. They go with a man or two past their starting five. That is a lot of minutes for a handful of players who will eventually wear down. The luxury for Illinois is that we can legitimately go eight or nine deep on the roster.

Illinois currently has five players getting at least 25 minutes in each game. In addition to those five, there are three other players who are getting at least 13 minutes each night. That is eight players deep right there.

I think you can go even further on the bench. Carey Booth is always an interesting option. His length could give Northwestern problems, and he too has been able to hit from three-point range. I also wouldn’t mind seeing Jake Davis here and there. He doesn’t have to play much but just to keep the rotation fresh.

If Underwood went 10 deep against Northwestern, the Wildcats wouldn’t know what to do. I think it would be good for Illinois to wear down Northwestern with a myriad of talented players off the bench.