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Game 2: No. 8 Illinois 97, Chicago State 38 - Grades & Player of the Game

Illinois senior guard Trent Frazier gets the Player of the Game honor from Illini Now/Sports Illustrated after this 97-38 victory over Chicago State on Thanksgiving.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- This Thanksgiving matchup was essentially everything one would’ve expected from a game that came about in less than a week after Wright State pulled out of this Illini multi-team event.

Chicago State (0-2) was what we thought - bad. Bad at keeping Illinois players from the front of the rim, bad at getting out at shooters, bad at getting back on defense. Illinois (2-0), while not as sharp on the offensive end of the floor, maintained its defensive intensity to produce a second straight blowout and the biggest two-game gap to start a season in program history.

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Illinois Fighting Illini guard Trent Frazier (1) celebrates after his teammates score during the second half against the Chicago State Cougars at the State Farm Center.

Illinois Fighting Illini guard Trent Frazier (1) celebrates after his teammates score during the second half against the Chicago State Cougars at the State Farm Center.

Player of the Game: Trent Frazier - Yeah, it would be easy to give this to the All-American because Ayo Dosunmu ended with 22 points, six rebounds and seven assists. However, Frazier rebounded from a poor shooting effort to nail four 3-point shots and was able to get comfortable as a corner shooter in the Illini offense with Dosunmu on the ball. If that continues to pick up confidence, the Illini offense will be tough to impossible to zone for 40 minutes.

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Backcourt

Illinois: A-minus

Chicago State: D-minus

Illinois just has so many options in this department that it’ll be nearly impossible for all of the depth pieces to go cold on the same night, which makes them extra dangerous in more competitive games coming soon against No. 2 Baylor and No. 9 Duke. However, while Andre Curbelo showed flashes of brilliance with 18 points and seven rebounds, the freshman sensation also had four turnovers for a second consecutive game. The 18 turnovers, 10 of which came from the perimeter players is a concern and will need to be cut down against quality competition starting tomorrow versus Ohio.

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Frontcourt

Illinois: A

Chicago State: F

Nobody and I mean, NOBODY wanted to rebound the basketball for Chicago State today. Kofi Cockburn outrebounded the whole CSU squad by himself 11 to 10. And while the 7-foot, 290-pound sophomore should dominate against any low major, to miss 39 shots and only get one offensive rebound is a testament to Illinois being able to send multiple guys (such as Da’Monte Williams, Jacob Grandison and Dosunmu) to the glass and limit opponents to one shot.

Illinois Fighting Illini center Kofi Cockburn (21) goes up for a shot as Chicago State Cougars forward Kalil Whitehead (11) commits a fouls during the first half at the State Farm Center.

Illinois Fighting Illini center Kofi Cockburn (21) goes up for a shot as Chicago State Cougars forward Kalil Whitehead (11) commits a fouls during the first half at the State Farm Center.

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Illinois Fighting Illini bench celebrates Illinois Fighting Illini guard Trent Frazier s (not pictured) three point shot during the first half against the Chicago State Cougars at the State Farm Center.

Illinois Fighting Illini bench celebrates Illinois Fighting Illini guard Trent Frazier s (not pictured) three point shot during the first half against the Chicago State Cougars at the State Farm Center.

Bench

Illinois: A

Chicago State: C

Brad Underwood is using this Illini mult-team effort to see who he can trust and it turns out that after two games this season that his trusted rotation might include 10-11 players even in high competition games later this season. This is by far the deepest but also the most versatile Illini team that Underwood or John Groce has put on the State Farm Center floor.

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Overall

Illinois: A

Chicago State: D-minus

The most important thing that Illinois probably saw in this game was Chicago State’s 3-2 zone and you could easily tell the Illini are much more capable of finding quality shots (that aren’t just forced 3-pointers) against such a defense. When you leave a game and seven different players record an assist and eight different players record an offensive rebound, that alone should tell you the kind of squad that Underwood is handling this season. Two games in and Illinois has looked every bit the preseason Top 10 ranking suggests they should be, even against low-major competition. Remember folks, last season included an overtime win over Nicholls State and a tough 12-point win at Grand Canyon. 

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