COLUMN: Why Illini Will Be Dangerous In The Postseason
EVANSTON, Ill. -- This Illinois men’s basketball team is the group of dudes on the playground that get stronger by playing more.
Don’t give this squad time off. Idle time only makes them weaker, lazier and gives them more time to worry. Don’t talk to them about practice.
The Illini (19-9, 11-6 in Big Ten) has turned into the Allen Iverson of the Big Ten Conference.
No more extended practice time. No more time to talk. This Illini squad simply wants to throw it up and play ball. The only difference between what is still arguably the most memorable basketball rant in the history of the sport, is in this instance, it’s Illinois third-year coach saying this as clearly as he can.
“I'm almost convinced it was the more than three days off,” Brad Underwood said Monday night when asked why his team came out flat against the Cornhuskers.
Not because they don’t want to listen to their coaches. Quite the opposite. Underwood has said this Illini team has been significantly better at absorbing scouting reports, gameplan notes and taking those comments to the playing floor against elite competition. This group just hates the idea of not playing games. The Illini’s seven-game winning streak in January, which saw them explode up the league standings, came in just a 25-day stretch.
And why wouldn’t that be true?
Playing games is what this generation of players considers normal. AAU tournaments are sometimes scheduled to have more than one game a day. High school holiday tournaments have teams playing several days in a row.
With nearly a week to rest and allow its less-than-healthy star player time to recuperate, Illinois looked flat, emotionless and lethargic in a home win over Nebraska Monday night. Following the game, Cornhuskers head coach Fred Hoiberg made a very interesting quick comment on the Illini.
“I think they're a team built for the postseason with those guards,” Hoiberg, who has NCAA tournament victories as a head coach in three of his five seasons at Iowa State from 2010-15, said Monday night.
And maybe that’s the scary thought regarding whoever draws the Illini in the upcoming Big Ten tournament in Indianapolis or the big event the following week: Do you want to face this Illini team during a period where games will vastly outnumber practices? The answer is undoubtedly no.
Illinois Fighting Illini guard Ayo Dosunmu (11) celebrates during the second half against the Northwestern Wildcats at State Farm Center.
Patrick Gorski/USA TODAY Sports
Illinois has finished a week-long stretch of playing the basement pair of the Big Ten. With nothing but practice to worry about, not a game, not a game, we talkin’ about practice, Illinois could barely put away Nebraska in its own building. With just two days to prepare, Illinois walked into Welsh-Ryan Arena and left with its fifth conference road win 74-66 at Northwestern.
"When you get into a rythm like (Alan Griffin) got into tonight, you just want to shoot more, play more and rim gets keeps getting bigger," Illinois leading scorer Ayo Dosunmu said. "The more reps you get and feel at this level is huge."
The Illini’s two worst losses of the 2019-20 season (vs. Miami and vs. Missouri) came with nearly a week off.
Illinois will next have only two days of preparation before facing a desperate Indiana squad in Champaign Sunday afternoon. For the remainder of this season, the Illini will only have more than three days of downtime before games (the first game of the Big Ten tournament and the first game of the NCAA tournament). Win that first game and you’re getting something to eat, hustling back to the hotel, having abbreviated scouting report meetings in hotel ballrooms and then playing in games.
"For us to go far in March, we're going to need guys making shots," Dosunmu said. "We went through that losing streak. We know what it feels like to lose four in a row and see a lot of people turn on us. We stayed together and stayed with it."
This seems like the best possible schedule for the Illini to make a significant run.