Illinois basketball has advanced to the round of 32 in the NCAA tournament after a big win over Morehead State.
This victory for the Illini advances us one step closer to the Sweet 16, an achievement that hasn't happened since 2005.
Duquesne is the opponent standing in the way. The Dukes are the No. 11 seed and upset No. 6 BYU in the first round. They have a good program, so there are a few questions I have for the game.
Here are five big questions for the Illinois basketball team against Duquesne
1. Can Illinois win the bench battle again?
Illinois is coming off a first-round win over Morehead State where we played one of the best games of the season. The defense looked solid in the second half, and the Illini offense was clicking.
A big reason for the double-digit victory over the Eagles was the contributions from the bench. Illinois had a lot of production from the reserves, and this took the pressure off some of the starters who weren’t having a good game.
So, can the Illini bench continue on this tear? Can we win the bench battle with a team in Duquesne that has a good bench?
In meaningful minutes against Morehead State, the Illinois bench had 36 points, 13 rebounds, two blocks, and two assists. They were led by Dain Dainja’s career night of 21 points, eight rebounds, and two blocks. He was incredible for this program.
I also liked what Luke Goode and Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn brought to the Illini on Thursday. They both contributed offensively and hit some big shots. The hustle was there too, which helped energize the Orange and Blue.
The reason I wonder if Illinois can win the bench battle is that we were able to shut down Morehead State’s bench. They only got three points out of their reserves, which is a bad night for any bench.
Illinois is running into a Duquesne team that just took down BYU, and their bench was huge for the program. They contributed 18 points, nine rebounds, four assists, three blocks, and a steal. Those are huge numbers.
The bench will help determine who comes out ahead on Saturday. Illinois is a pretty deep team, but clearly, the Dukes have a lot of firepower as well.
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2. Will the Illini guards overpower Duquesne?
I haven’t seen a backcourt like the one Illinois sports in quite some time. The last time there was this dynamic of a backcourt was back in 2004-05 with Deron Williams, Dee Brown, and Luther Head.
Illinois has a lot of talent and firepower in the backcourt. We can score at all levels, and if you start falling asleep, we will take it down the lane and throw it down in your face.
I want to see if the Illinois guards can take the game to Duquesne. Can the Illini guards overpower the Dukes and show that we are the better team early and often?
Duquesne’s guard size really stands out to me. While they do have experience, both Dae Dae Grant and Jimmy Clark III are seniors, their guards are a bit undersized compared to what Illinois puts on the court.
Grant and Clark stand at 6-foot-2 and 6-foot-3, respectively. The Dukes then trot out 6-foot-4 freshman Jake DiMichele at the No. 3 spot. These three players are extremely talented, but they are running into long and athletic Illinois guards.
Terrence Shannon Jr. and Marcus Domask are both 6-foot-6. Illinois also has Ty Rodgers playing the No. 3 spot who stands at 6-foot-6. These three should be able to cause some problems for the Duquesne guards.
I think, offensively, Illinois’ guards should be able to overpower the Dukes as well. Illinois needs to get Shannon going downhill early and often. The physical size of Domask should be a mismatch against smaller Duquesne guards as well. Let’s use our backcourt and overpower the Dukes on Saturday.
3. How high can Illinois rack up the rebounding margin?
I believe I touch on this quite often, and it also kind of piggybacks on the previous slide. Illinois is a great rebounding squad, and it doesn’t just come from the big men either.
The Illini actually don’t have much in the way of a traditional big man. We can pull Dain Dainja off the bench, but even he is more limber and agile than a prodding big man of the past.
With the great rebounding ability, can Illinois dominate Duquesne on the glass? I will take it a step further. How high can Illinois rack up the rebounding margin against the Dukes?
Coming into the game on Saturday, the Illini average 41.2 rebounds per game, which ranks No. 5 in the nation. We are also coming off a game against Morehead State where we won the rebounding battle 37-32. That was the fifth straight game Illinois has won the rebounding margin, and we have only been beaten in the rebounding department three times in the past 20 games.
On the other hand, Duquesne is not great at rebounding the basketball. They average 34.6 rebounds per game, and that ranks No. 189 in the country. Despite the win over BYU, the Dukes were outrebounded 35-29. They have actually lost the rebounding battle in three out of the last five games they played.
Again, I think Illinois’ size is going to come into play when it comes to rebounds on Saturday. I am not just talking about Coleman Hawkins and Dainja down low. I think the Illini guards have a chance to have a big game in the rebounding department. Marcus Domask is coming off a triple-double, which featured 11 rebounds against Morehead State. I expect the Illini guards to have a big game on the glass against the Dukes.
4. Does Illinois continue to play smart basketball?
I was extremely pleased with what I saw out of Illinois on Thursday. This was one of the best games I think we have played in a while, and that includes the run to the Big Ten Tournament crown.
Illinois looked good offensively. We came out in the second half and actually played some defense. And on top of all of that, I believe we played some smart basketball.
Can Illinois have a repeat of the great game they played against Morehead State? Can we continue to play the smart basketball as we did on Thursday?
The efficiency Illinois brought to the court was fun to watch. We took care of the basketball, which can’t always be said of this team. In the game against Morehead State, Illinois had nine total turnovers. That is below our season average of 10.7 turnovers per game.
I would argue the area that impressed me the most about Illinois’ game on Thursday was not having careless fouls. When upsets occur in the NCAA tournament, the better seed usually gets into foul trouble. Illinois avoided that speed bump.
The Illini finished with a total of nine fouls against Morehead State. No one on the team had more than two fouls, which means we didn’t have to sit anyone due to foul trouble. Having our entire roster full-go throughout the entire game is huge.
Fewer fouls also mean fewer free throw attempts for the Eagles. Morehead State only attempted eight free throws for the game.
If Illinois can continue playing smart basketball, we are going to be really tough to beat. I was impressed by the display on Thursday.
5. How long will it take Brad Underwood to get a feel of the game?
In the five huge observations from the Morehead State win, I touched on how proud I was of Brad Underwood and his ability to adapt and adjust in the game.
Illinois clearly had two starters struggling from the jump, and instead of Underwood burying his head in the sand and riding with those starters, he had a quick trigger finger and put in the reserves. This helped propel Illinois to the big win.
So, will this happen again on Saturday? How long will it take Underwood to get a feel of the game?
Ty Rodgers and Quincy Guerrier had arguably the worst games of their careers. They contributed zero points, six rebounds, three assists, one block, one steal, and three turnovers against Morehead State.
Thankfully, Underwood was quick in replacing them on the floor. They played a combined 25 minutes, which is only two minutes more than Dain Dainja played in the game.
The flow of the game will hopefully dictate what Underwood does. If Rodgers or Guerrier or both start slowly again against Duquesne, then I would think Underwood will replace them quickly so we can surge ahead and get a lead.
Underwood’s ability to get a feel for the game is crucial. If he can get that feel early on, then we might be able to cruise to another double-digit win.