Illinois basketball finally has our first Big Ten Tournament opponent, and it is the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Ohio State looked dominating against Iowa on Thursday night. They soundly beat the Hawkeyes, and now the Illini get to play one of the hottest teams in the conference.
How will Illinois look, though? We beat Ohio State the first time around, but this is a different Buckeyes program.
Here are five huge questions for the Illinois basketball team against Ohio State
1. Will it be the Terrence Shannon Jr. & Marcus Domask show?
Illinois currently has two of the best players to come through the program in the past decade on the team right now. I would put Terrence Shannon Jr. and Marcus Domask up against any of the players over the past 10 seasons, and they would be in the top five without a doubt.
These two rarely slow down too. Shannon is incredible at getting points no matter what it takes, and Domask is someone who you wouldn’t expect to be aggressive, but he is incredibly physical.
So, on Friday afternoon, I am going to see if these two can lead Illinois to great heights. Will it be the Shannon and Domask show against Ohio State?
What I love about this duo is that, while Illinois is unstoppable when they both are clicking, they pick each other up when one is having a bad game.
In the last game against Iowa, Domask had a rough 36 minutes, putting up 11 points on 4-of-14 shooting from the field. Shannon picked up the slack, dropping 25 points on 10-of-19 shooting.
These two also dominated Ohio State in the lone matchup this season. Illinois won 87-75, and Shannon and Domask contributed 46 of the 87 points, which is 52.9% of the points coming from two players.
Illinois needs Shannon and Domask to lead the way. If these two are clicking, there is no stopping the Orange and Blue.
2. Are big minutes coming from Dain Dainja?
Throughout the history of the Illinois basketball program, there have been athletes who come off the bench and are fan favorites. The Illini have one of those players right now in Dain Dainja.
When Dainja sees the floor, it is a bit of a shock to the system. Without him, Illinois plays a perimeter game that involves a lot of dribbling and stretching the floor. With him on the court, the Illini play a more traditional bang-in-the-paint style of basketball.
I want to see if Dainja can continue making a big impact on the Illinois box score. Does Dainja get big minutes in the Ohio State game?
Dainja is currently on his best stretch of basketball this season. It appeared he lost the trust of the coaching staff midway through the year, but over the last five games, he has risen from the dead.
In the last five games alone, Dainja is averaging 13 minutes per game and putting up 6.8 points and 4.4 rebounds while on the court. He has been a great asset to this team, and this production included a win last Sunday over Iowa where he put up nine points, five rebounds, and two blocks in 15 minutes of action.
Dainja did give Illinois big minutes in the last game against Ohio State too. He logged 11 minutes in that game and put up seven points, five rebounds, and one block on 3-of-5 shooting from the floor.
I think Dainja is an important piece of the puzzle. Just when teams think they figure out what Illinois is going to do, we throw out a traditional big man with great feet. I can’t wait to see what Dainja does against the Buckeyes.
3. Can Illinois defend Jamison Battle any better?
There is always one random player who has great success against Illinois. Usually, we run into this against a team like Penn State. But this time around, Ohio State has one of those players.
The Buckeyes have a really good player in Jamison Battle. He has been the Buckeyes’ best player this season and has been the driving force behind Ohio State winning five out of the last six games.
So, can Illinois’ defense show up on Friday afternoon? Can the Illini defend against the talent of Battle on the basketball court?
Over the last six games, Battle has taken his game to another level. He is averaging 18.8 points per game, which includes going 18-of-37, 48.6%, from three-point range. Illinois isn’t good at three-point defense, so that scares me a bit heading into the game on Friday.
While Battle has never beaten Illinois in his long college career, he has averaged 17.5 points per game in the four contests he has matched up against us. This includes dropping 21 points and 31 points in his last two games against Illinois, respectively.
A way to beat the Illini is to have a player get hot. We have ran into this in the past, and that is a great way to make a run in the NCAA tournament. Illinois is about to run into the hottest team in the Big Ten on Friday afternoon. Let’s hope we can contain Battle.
4. Do the Illini not settle for perimeter shots?
I will go to the grave yelling these words. Illinois is playing the best basketball when we are aggressive toward the basket and not settling for three-point shots.
It pains me to watch the Illini jack up three-pointers from all over the court. Sometimes they are heavily guarded. Other times the shot clock is running down. But settling for three-pointers regardless is a bad idea.
That is why I want to see if Illinois stays aggressive against Ohio State. If we can attack the basket, we will win the game. Can the Illini not settle for perimeter shots?
I have been impressed with the adjustments Illinois has made in recent weeks. In the last eight games alone, the Illini have shot 27 three-point attempts or fewer in each game. This includes the last three contests where we have shot 16 three-pointers in each of those contests.
Illinois didn’t settle for three-pointers in the first Ohio State game either. We were attacking the basket and got to the free throw line for 20 attempts and converted 18 of those free throws.
In that first game against the Buckeyes, the Illini shot a total of 17 three-pointers. We were able to go 7-of-17, 41.2%, from three-point range, which is incredibly efficient.
Terrence Shannon Jr. needs to be a bulldog on Friday afternoon against Ohio State. Get him going downhill and attacking the basket. I love how aggressive Coleman Hawkins has gotten in the last couple of weeks. He used to settle for three-pointers but is now faking the shot and driving to the paint. Let’s continue this trend.
5. What does Illinois get out of Coleman Hawkins?
I touched on Coleman Hawkins in the last slide about how aggressive he has been lately. Hawkins used to jack up three-point shots just for the sake of shooting. He has not only developed his game over the past half-season, but he has developed his basketball IQ as well.
Hawkins affects the game in more ways than one. He isn’t just relied on for scoring, but he can do just about everything on the basketball court. That is what makes him truly special.
I want to see what Hawkins can give Illinois this time around against Ohio State. What do the Illini get out of Hawkins on Friday afternoon?
In the first game against the Buckeyes back on January 30, Hawkins struggled greatly. He finished the game playing 25 minutes and only put up five points, two rebounds, and one block on 2-of-3 shooting from the floor. He was kind of shut down, and this hurt Illinois a bit.
Since that game, Hawkins has been incredible, though. He has played 10 games since putting up five points against Ohio State, and he has eight double-digit scoring nights in those 10 games. He has been extremely efficient from three-point range as well, going 19-of-44, 43.2%, from three-point range.
Illinois needs Hawkins to have a good game on Friday against the Buckeyes. He doesn’t need to score big points, though. In the big win over Iowa, Hawkins had four points, but he also had 10 rebounds, three assists, and one block. An active Hawkins is what we need. When he is active, Illinois tends to succeed.