Illinois basketball has officially tipped off their journey in the Big Ten Tournament, and our opponent is putting up a fight.
The Illini came out of the gates on Thursday night looking good. We were hitting from all areas on the floor, but Iowa wasn’t backing down. They came out and were shooting lights out for the first 20 minutes of action.
Here is the Illinois basketball good and bad from the first half against the Iowa Hawkeyes
Good
- Hustle leading to scoring
From the opening tip, Illinois was hustling. In the first 20 seconds of the game, Kylan Boswell hit the floor for a ball. The result of that hustle was a three-pointer by Tomislav Ivisic.
This hustle continued throughout the first half. Players were skying for rebounds and not just turning back and getting to the other end. Illinois is extremely engaged in the game, and it is showing.
- Great movement
There are multiple ways to take “great movement” and both would be correct. Illinois players had great movement on the court. We weren’t stagnant, as the Illini were trying to find holes in the Iowa defense.
The ball was moving around the court as well. Illinois wasn’t holding onto the ball and just pounding the rock. Every player touched the ball. There were numerous occasions when Illinois had some great assists in the first half too.
- Kylan Boswell in the zone
I touched on this in an earlier note, but Kylan Boswell is having a huge game. He is driving the Illini right now in various facets of the game.
Boswell is hustling around the court. He is hitting shots. I love his ball distribution, as he had a great behind the back pass to Tomislav Ivisic for a three-pointer. There was also one time I saw Boswell not run back but instead, he ran over to Will Riley to help him up so both players could get back to the other side of the court quicker. Boswell is our leader through the first 20 minutes.
Bad
- Iowa couldn’t miss
Illinois managed to increase the lead toward the end of he first half, but Iowa has been hanging around. The fact that I believe the Illini played an A- game in the first 20 minutes but the Hawkeyes are still within striking distance is concerning.
Iowa is playing lights out, though. This is the best they have played all season, and I don’t know if they can keep it up in the second half.
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