5 big questions for the Illinois basketball team against Iowa

4. Can the Illinois bench have another big performance?

I haven’t crunched the numbers, but I would imagine there is a correlation between Illinois winning basketball games and the type of performance the bench has in a game.

The Illinois bench has been hot and cold this season. There are times when Brad Underwood utilizes the bench, but then there are times when the bench is nonexistent. Illinois needs the bench to play well to win games.

I want to see if the Illini can get bench help on Sunday. Can the Illinois bench have another big performance against Iowa?

I say another big performance because the Illinois bench was huge against the Hawkeyes in February. While Coleman Hawkins went off for 30 points, the rest of the starters really didn’t help him much. But, thankfully, the Illini bench came through.

Justin Harmon led the way for the Illinois bench with 12 points. For the game, the bench had a combined 34 points, 20 rebounds, five assists, one block, and one steal while shooting 11-of-21, 52.4%, from the field and 3-of-6, 50%, from three-point range. The bench also gave Illinois nine points from the free throw line.

But, as I already mentioned, Illinois bench play has been inconsistent this season. In the last game against Purdue, the bench only gave us seven points, six rebounds, three assists, two steals, and one block while shooting 3-of-8, 37.5%, from the field and 1-of-5, 20%, from three-point range.

To beat Iowa again, the Illinois bench needs to have a solid game. I am not asking for the performance we saw in February, but something in the middle of the last Iowa game and the Purdue game on Tuesday.