2. Will Illinois be able to slow down the Iowa backcourt?
Iowa has a solid team this season. They are on the bubble for the NCAA tournament, but the Hawkeyes have won four out of the last five games with the only loss coming to Illinois on February 24.
The last matchup between the two teams was crazy, as Illinois had Coleman Hawkins go off for a career-high 30 points. This was needed to beat Iowa because their backcourt worked over the Illinois defense.
I want to see if Illinois can have any success against the Iowa backcourt this time around. Can Illinois stop or at least slow down the Hawkeyes’ guards?
Iowa guard Josh Dix only averages 8.8 points per game this season. That is a solid number but nothing that blows me away. In the game back in February, he led the Hawkeyes in scoring with 20 points on 9-of-15 shooting from the field and 2-of-5 from three-point range.
Tony Perkins also went off against the Illini. He had 18 points on 5-of-14 shooting from the field and made 7-of-8 from the charity stripe. This 18-point performance came just over a year after he dropped 32 points in a win over Illinois.
I am not sure Illinois can stop the Iowa backcourt. Our defense is pretty bad, as we just let Fletcher Loyer and Braden Smith go for 29 points combined in the loss to Purdue on Tuesday. Illinois struggles against good guards.
To stop the Iowa guards, I think Illinois just needs to work through screens. There is nothing we can do about being slow off the dribble, so help defense and getting back to your man will be key. The Illini need to rotate on defense as well. This will help throw Iowa off their game.