5 massive questions for the Illinois basketball team against UConn

5. Who steps up if Terrence Shannon Jr. struggles?

As I mentioned in the previous slide, UConn is an old and wise program. They have players who have been around and are extremely talented.

There is a reason UConn is only allowing opponents to score 63.6 points per game. They shut down the best player on the team with great defense and suffocating coverage.

I believe Terrence Shannon Jr. is one of the most dynamic players in college basketball. I also believe it is a fair question to ask, who steps up if Shannon struggles?

Shannon isn’t going to struggle because he is having a bad night. This kid has been electric this season, and if UConn slacks on him, he will make them pay.

There is a solid chance the Huskies are going to be bearing down on Shannon, though. They won’t let him breathe on the court. Look for UConn to just throw man after man at Shannon until he passes the ball.

If this happens, and Shannon can’t go off because of UConn’s defense, who steps up and helps Illinois get the victory?

I think it has to be Marcus Domask. Even though Domask isn’t shooting the ball well, he draws so much attention because of his ability to back his man down and get into the paint. Domask is going to have to play well.

There is a chance Coleman Hawkins struggles a bit because of the time and energy he has to put into stopping Donovon Clingan. I would like to see Quincy Guerrier step up a bit too. He hit a three-pointer in the last game, but his offensive ability is better than just one bucket. He needs to use his experience and knowledge to help Illinois.

Shannon is a great player, but UConn has a great coach and players. They are going to crack down on Shannon like no other. If Shannon can still go off, that means Illinois is probably going to win. But if he struggles because of the UConn defense, we are going to need players to step up.