In what was a must-win game, the Illinois basketball program came out and put a hurting on the Iowa Hawkeyes.
Who knew what the Illini would look like on Tuesday night? Illinois has looked like a national title contender at times, but we have also looked like a bottom feeder of the Big Ten.
On this night, Illinois played quality basketball. We didn’t turn it over, and the Hawkeyes didn’t have an answer for anything we threw at them in the paint. The Illini looked like a team that could do some damage in the postseason, which couldn’t have been said for the past month. By the time the final horn blew, Illinois had beaten Iowa, 81-61.
Here are five crucial observations from the Illinois basketball win over the Iowa Hawkeyes
1. Proud of Brad Underwood’s adjustments
Coming out of the Duke game, I was hard on Brad Underwood, as he wasn’t making adjustments. He continued with the same players and the same lineup but expected different results.
Illinois needed to make a change heading into the Iowa game. We needed some type of adjustment to the lineup. Underwood didn’t just sit on his hands and hope for the best. He actually made the change.
Underwood inserted Will Riley back into the lineup. Riley was mainly coming off the bench and seeing good minutes, but having him start gives the Illini a whole new look in the starting lineup.
Riley starting wasn’t the biggest change, though. The impact of moving Ben Humrichous to the bench was even more effective.
Humrichous wasn’t a spark for Illinois off the bench. He had another bad game, and it solidifies that he shouldn’t be playing much in the lineup. Humrichous had troubles on the offensive end of the court, he is too lazy with his passes, and he struggles defensively.
The changes that Underwood made didn’t stop with the lineup either. Illinois’ game plan was completely different. We played inside out rather than on the perimeter. This strategy helped keep the Illini on the right path for most of the game. If we continued to jack up three-pointers and hope for the best, then we would continue to lose. That didn’t happen on Tuesday night.