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The Illinois basketball team desperately needed a bounce-back win after getting blown out against Duke, and that's exactly what they got. The Fighting Illini hosted Iowa on Tuesday night, and they finally looked back to normal as they cruised to an 81-61 win.
Illinois came into this game having lost three games in a row, so this was a nice momentum builder ahead of the final stretch of the regular season. Head coach Brad Underwood knows that when the Fighting Illini play like that, they can beat anybody.
Illinois has looked like one of the best teams in the Big Ten at certain points this season, but they also just had a stretch where they lost three games in a row all by double digits. It's hard to know which team will show up on any given night, but when the Fighting Illini are at their best, they are hard to beat.
“I think we can whup anybody's a**,” Underwood said after the game, according to a post from Jeremy Werner. “… So I'm glad they feel that way.”
Underwood was referencing comments made by guard Kylan Boswell, who declared that the Fighting Illini got their swagger back in the win against Iowa.
A big reason why Illinois played better is because their starting five is starting to look more normal. The Fighting Illini have battled injury and illness issues all year long, but they are starting to put the pieces back together.
“Really nothing beyond that,” Underwood said, according to an article from The Champaign Room. “They played great together… I think when you get down here, you get the five guys that play the best together and you play ‘em and you ride ‘em.”
Tuesday's five looked good for Illinois, but that doesn't mean that it is going to stay the same going forward.
“It might be different,” Underwood said. “It might be Ben some night; it might be Dravyn some night, whatever it is. I thought that group played great together. The good start was a great plus as well. Chemistry, just great chemistry on both sides.”
Illinois still hasn't returned to full strength, also. Star freshman Morez Johnson Jr. has worked his way into the starting lineup this year, but he is currently out with a wrist injury.
“We’re still minus a guy that’s a starter,” Underwood said. “It was really nice to see Tre back and his energy and his bounce. You can do some things. You feel whole again… It’s just nice. Now we can get back to coaching.”
Tuesday night's win was a big step in the right direction for the Illinois basketball team, but Tomislav Ivisic knows where they still need to improve.
“Most of the things we worked on was help from the defenders that don’t guard the ball,” Ivisic said. “I think we have a lot of space to improve there, and I think we did a good job in the last two days and will still continue working on that.”
With the win, Illinois improved to 18-11 overall on the season and 10-8 in conference. They will return to action on Sunday for a big one as the Fighting Illini will hit the road to take on #15 Michigan.
