The Illinois basketball team flexed its muscles on Sunday against one of the best teams in the Big Ten.
Beating No. 15 Michigan is an impressive feat. The Wolverines were fighting for a Big Ten regular season crown, and the Illini went into Ann Arbor and took that game by 20 points.
There are a lot of metrics that impress me in that contest. Illinois was able to take care of the basketball, we finally hit shots from three-point range, and our rebounding was incredible.
You can look at a lot of numbers and see more Illinois success when certain numbers improve. Obviously, our record is going to be better when we have fewer turnovers. When more shots are going in and the shooting percentage improves, the better chance the Illini have at winning as well.
But there is one number that sticks out to me the most. This number has a clear line of demarcation where Illinois is substantially better when we hit a certain mark.
Rebounding.
Illinois has been one of the best rebounding teams on paper this season. We still rank No. 2 in the country when it comes to rebounding the basketball, as we pull down 42.9 rebounds per game. That number hasn’t dipped that much despite recent rebounding struggles.
Looking at Illinois’ rebounds, there is a clear mark on where we need to get in each game. When we pull down 41 or fewer rebounds in a game, the Illini are just 6-8 overall. On the other side, when Illinois snags 42 or more rebounds in a game, we are 13-3.
That is a massive difference when it comes to winning and losing. Obviously, the more rebounds you get gives you a better chance of scoring more points, but when Illinois hits that 42-rebound mark, the game changes completely. We go from a 42.9% winning percentage to an 81.3% winning percentage.
Illinois basketball could get a rebounding savant back in time for the postseason
Illinois has struggled mightily in the rebounding department as of late. The result of the Michigan contest was refreshing, as we won that battle by 11 rebounds.
Beating out the Wolverines by 11 rebounds was the first time Illinois has won a rebounding battle since February 11 against UCLA. We had lost four games in a row when it comes to rebounding the basketball.
A big part of this lack of rebounding is that big man Morez Johnson Jr. suffered a broken wrist. He is Illinois’ best rebounder, and without him, we had three straight games of sub-32 rebounds and a combined rebounding deficit of -28 in those contests.
Johnson is on the mend, but there is hope that he could be back for the start of the Big Ten Tournament. Brad Underwood mentioned that he hopes Johnson can return to action then. If that ends up being the case, Illinois will be so dangerous on the boards. Regardless, this team proved on Sunday that we will be a tough out.