4. The Illinois bench looked better than the starters
Throughout much of the season, I have talked about how much talent Illinois has coming off the bench. I think we can really hurt opposing teams with the depth we have on the court.
Illinois has been able to use the bench more in the absence of Kasparas Jakucionis. This has been great for the team because these role players get time on the court in meaningful games. On Saturday, that playing time continued.
I thought the Illini bench actually played pretty well. In fact, I would argue that the bench looked better than our starters for the second game in a row.
In the Penn State win, the combination of Morez Johnson Jr., Jake Davis, and Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn gave the program 32 points, 16 rebounds, two blocks, and one assist while shooting 12-of-23 from the field. It was a great performance that helped us widen the margin of victory.
The Illinois bench continued the charge on Saturday against USC too. Those three again made up the main part of the Illini bench, and they put up 22 points, 13 rebounds, two assists, two blocks, and one steal while shooting 7-of-18 from the field and 3-of-9 from three-point range. They also made all five of their free throws.
I don’t know why, but the Illinois bench is more fun to watch too. Gibbs-Lawhorn plays with so much energy and heart. Johnson is a monster on the glass and can be an enforcer in the paint. I also like Davis’ ability to stretch the floor.
At the end of the day, I don’t put the blame for this loss on the bench. Illinois has good bench play that is enough to win us games. This one is on the starters.