5. Zone struggles are real for Illinois
There aren’t a lot of complaints coming from the win over Missouri. This was a great victory for the Illinois basketball program and one that will help down the road for seeding in the NCAA tournament.
Even though we came away with the win, there were some noticeable negatives throughout the contest. One of those negatives is the inability to handle a zone defense.
Missouri went to zone early on in the first half. The Illini had just gone on a double-digital scoring run, and the Tigers shifted course. They went with more of a zone defensive look, and this helped tremendously throughout the game.
Illinois couldn’t figure out the zone. We weren’t trying to get in the paint with the ball. The ball would tend to swing around the perimeter until Kasparas Jakucionis made a huge play or we turned the ball over. The zone defense worked.
I think the Illini need to work on how to break the zone in the coming week. Dump the ball down to Tomislav Ivisic. He would be a great zone breaker, as he is a nice big body who can also pass the ball. Utilizing him more would be good for the program.
Beating the zone is something you can do with an effective big man. Illinois has multiple big men who could help the cause. Let’s solve this problem and continue winning.