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One glaring stat Illinois basketball needs to correct in the Final Four vs UConn

There has been multiple attempts to knock off UConn, but the Illinois basketball team needs to correct this one important stat to get over the hump
ByRees Woodcock|
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Nov 28, 2025; New York, New York, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini forward David Mirkovic (0) collides with UConn Huskies guard Malachi Smith (0) in the second half at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images
Nov 28, 2025; New York, New York, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini forward David Mirkovic (0) collides with UConn Huskies guard Malachi Smith (0) in the second half at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images | Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

Illinois basketball is going up against a familiar foe in the UConn Huskies on Saturday in the Final Four.

It is rare that a team has played a non-conference team multiple times in a three-year span. The matchup between the Illini and Huskies on Saturday will be the third matchup between the programs in as many years.

We all know the first two results. The dragging by UConn in the Elite 8 in 2024 is a game that I want to forget. But those who forget history are doomed to repeat it.

That was a completely different roster than we have today, though. Illinois’ current roster played the Huskies back in November, and the final score was closer than the 25-point throttling from the NCAA tournament a couple of years back.

Illinois only lost by 13 points against UConn this season. There were plenty of areas where Illinois could have played better on both ends of the court, but one stat stood out to me the most that could end up flipping the season rematch in the Final Four.

Rebounding.

I know, it sounds simple, right? But back in November, Illinois let a UConn team that is an okay rebounding squad dominate the glass. That can’t happen again. This was a huge reason UConn controlled the game.

UConn won the rebounding battle against Illinois back in November, 43-38. This included winning the offensive rebounding battle, 14-13.

Illinois is the better rebounding squad, but we weren’t on that night. This season, we are averaging 41.0 rebounds per game, which ranks No. 7 in the country. UConn is barely a top 100 rebounding unit, pulling down 36.4 rebounds per game, which ranks No. 93 in the nation.

The Illinois basketball team has been unstoppable in the NCAA tournament when it comes to rebounding

For the season, Illinois has only lost the rebounding battle five times. We are 1-4 in those contests. The only time we did win a game and lost the rebounding battle was against Tennessee.

There is hard proof that rebounding directly affects Illinois’ ability to win games. Winning the rebounding battle is a must, and we are driving that point home in the NCAA tournament thus far.

Illinois has now played four NCAA tournament games. The worst rebounding margin we have had in those four contests is +9. That was against Houston.

In the NCAA tournament alone, Illinois is winning the rebounding battle in the four games, 174-109. For those counting at home, that is a +65 rebounding margin or an average rebounding margin of +16.25 per game.

There are numerous stats Illinois could improve on from that November loss to UConn, but the one glaring stat that needs to be corrected is clearly rebounds. Win the rebounding battle, and we will live to see another day.

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