The Illinois basketball program demolished an outmatched Indiana team on Sunday.
This was one of those games where I felt comfortable with the lead the Illini had at all times. It was clear that Illinois was the better team, and we had the better players, despite shooting poorly.
Illinois finally got back to playing some good defense, and having Kylan Boswell back was huge for the program. That is one of the more intriguing things Brad Underwood touched on in his postgame press conference.
Here are five interesting Brad Underwood quotes from the Illinois basketball presser vs Indiana
- “(Lamar) Wilkerson is a pro. Even though he got 21, I thought we were very good. Obviously, the insertion of Kylan Boswell had some impact on that. I thought him and Ben (Humrichous) were tremendous in that area.”
The only worry I had for Illinois entering the game against Indiana was Lamar Wilkerson. He is someone who can drop 40 points if you aren’t careful.
Illinois’ insertion of Kylan Boswell back into the lineup after missing nearly a month was huge. He was all over Wilkerson the entire game. I did notice Ben Humrichous playing well defensively, too. His 6-foot-9 frame was key against Wilkerson. They held the Hoosiers shooter to just 28.6% from three-point range.
- “I thought one of the big keys to the game was just getting back to us on the glass. Kylan, four offensive rebounds. Tomi (Ivisic) four offensive rebounds.”
After the last game against Wisconsin, everyone was clamoring for the Illini to rebound the ball better. We are the biggest team in college basketball. There is no excuse not to gobble up rebounds.
Illinois came alive in the rebounding department, especially offensively, against Indiana. Pulling down 15 offensive rebounds, and all but one Illinois player had an offensive rebound, is a true team effort.
- “In a night we didn’t shoot the ball very well, to have a 20-point win against a team that has won five of six. Against a team that is an NCAA tournament team, that speaks volumes to our defense and intensity.
This is one of the most fascinating things about the Illinois win over Indiana. We didn’t play well offensively, and this was still a 20-point win for the Orange and Blue.
I touched on this in a social media post. Illinois had the third-worst three-point shooting game of the season, the fewest free throw attempts of the season, and the second-fewest points of the season. Yet, we still come away with a 20-point win. Incredible.
- “We felt like they would have decision to make which was to switch us and/or play us in coverage. They switched, which put Mirk (David Mirkovic) or Tomi with a guard…we felt like we could have some success downhill, driving it to the rim.”
I have always said that an aggressive Illinois is the best Illinois. When we get to the hoop, we can make things happen.
Illinois did a great job with Indiana schematically. The Hoosiers didn’t know what to do because the Illini have shooters who can hit from all over the floor. The result was Illinois getting and converting a lot of good looks in the paint.
- “Two days off, and two days of practice, we didn’t cover Indiana one second. We usually do some two-day prep stuff, and we didn’t cover them one second. It was about us. We had slipped a lot. Block out rates and offensive rebounding rates. Mistakes in coverage. It was all about us.”
This is pretty crazy. Illinois didn’t prep for Indiana much, as they focused more on getting back to what makes this program so great.
I love this mentality by Underwood. Let’s do what we do best, and then make the opponent play to our strengths. Over the last couple of days, that work really helped build the Illini back up, and it showed on Sunday.