It was the start the Illinois basketball team needed, as we played well in the first 10 minutes of the game.
I was a bit worried about what the Illini would look like against Iowa. The Hawkeyes are playing to get into the Big Ten Tournament, and Illinois hasn’t looked good lately. We are coming off of a 43-point drubbing at the hands of Duke as well.
The first half was a roller coaster, though. Illinois looked good at times, but there were some big downturns throughout the first half of action.
Here is the Illinois basketball good and bad from the first half against Iowa
- Good: Electric start
Illinois has started games slowly as of late. We have been shooting three-pointers early on in the game and missing them. This usually gets us in a big hole that we have trouble digging out of.
That wasn’t the case against Iowa. The Illini were getting the ball inside, and this enabled us to score points at a higher, more efficient, clip. This start got us pointed in the right direction and helped build momentum too.
- Good: Tomislav Ivisic
It is so nice to see the big man back in action and fully healthy. Tomislav Ivisic has dealt with injury and illness this season, and he seems to be near 100% again.
Ivisic tore Iowa up in the first half. He was getting to the rim, and when Iowa gave him any space on the elbow, Ivisic was making mid-range jumpers. He was the engine that drove Illinois’ solid first half.
- Bad: Second rotation
Illinois got out to a great start, getting Iowa into a double-digit deficit. This was the start we needed, but when the second rotation came into the game, everything went down the drain.
Ben Humrichous wasn’t effective offensively and couldn’t guard anyone. Jake Davis and Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn also had a hard time in transition. Brad Underwood pulled the plug on the second rotation after they allowed Iowa to narrow the margin to just four points.
- Bad: Rebounding
Illinois had a lot of good moments in the first half against Iowa, but one thing that stood out that was bad was rebounding. We just don’t have the rebounding talent on the court.
Iowa was able to crash the glass more often than Illinois. They had five offensive rebounds, and this allowed them to get second-chance points. I missed Morez Johnson Jr. dearly.