5 big questions for the Illinois basketball team against Rutgers

Coming off a big win over Michigan, the Illinois basketball team looks to make it two wins in a row on Sunday against Rutgers.

The Illini already matched up against Rutgers earlier this season, and we came away with an 18-point win in New Jersey. Since then, a lot has happened. There has been some turmoil within the Illinois basketball program. There will need to be some type of adjustment for the second installment of this game.

Here are five big questions for the Illinois basketball team against Rutgers

1. Can Illinois dominate the glass again?

Illinois basketball has been great in the rebounding department this season. For not having a traditional big man like Kofi Cockburn, the Illini have been able to hold their own.

Coming into the game on Sunday, Illinois averages 42.9 rebounds per game. That is good enough to rank No. 4 in the nation.

So, that leaves me to wonder, can Illinois dominate the glass against Rutgers? I say again because, in the first game between the two teams, Illinois controlled the glass.

In the 18-point blowout win, the Illini were able to pull down an insane 55 rebounds against the Scarlet Knights. Meanwhile, Rutgers only managed 27 rebounds on the day. That is over double the number of rebounds, which I don’t know if I have ever seen before.

The crazy thing is, Rutgers isn’t bad at rebounding the basketball. They average 39.6 rebounds per game this season, which ranks No. 32 in the country.

In the first game, it was a team effort by Illinois when it came to rebounding. All five Illinois starters had at least six rebounds, and all four bench players had at least one rebound. While Illinois doesn’t have a big man like Kofi, we do have a bunch of 6-foot-6 or taller players who like to crash the glass. That is what we need again on Sunday.