Indiana at Illinois: Three In The Key Preview & Prediction
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- With all apologies to CBS Sports' Jon Rothstein, this is March. On the first day of the month, the annual hoops rivalry between Illinois and Indiana is renewed in front of what will likely be a capacity crowd at State Farm.
Indiana (18-10, 8-9 in Big Ten), which is desperately trying to secure its first NCAA Tournament berth since 2015, will complete a stretch of playing four of its last five games on the road. Illinois (19-9, 11-6) will be concluding a stretch of three games in less than six full days and are looking to stay in the race for one of the four double byes in the upcoming Big Ten Conference tournament.
"It's two of the best programs in the history of college basketball," Illinois head coach Brad Underwood said of the Illinois-Indiana rivalry. "So there's always going to be tremendous history. You've got great coaches at both places. Both have been to Final Fours, both have extremely passionate fan bases. This is what makes it fun. As Archie and I keep evolving, I think it'll remain one of the best rivalries in college basketball."
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Game 29: Indiana at Illinois
Date/Time/Place: Sunday, March 1, 2020: 1 p.m. CST, State Farm Center, Champaign, Ill.
Capacity: 15,544
Records: Indiana 18-10, 8-9 in Big Ten; 19-16, 8-12 in Big Ten Conference in 2018-19. Illinois 19-9, 11-6 in Big Ten; 12-21, 7-13 in Big Ten Conference in 2018-19.
Line: Illinois by 5.5
Series Notes: Indiana leads the all-time series 93-87 with a current three-game winning streak. However, Illinois leads the series in Champaign 52-34.
TV: BTN - Brandon Gaudin (PBP), Shon Morris (analyst)
Radio (Illinois): Brian Barnhart (PBP), Deon Thomas (analyst) - The broadcast can be heard live on TuneIn online radio, Sirius/XM 383 and at FightingIllini.com.
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Before every game of the 2019-20 season, we take a look at three things you’ll want to watch for after the tip.
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1) Can Illinois slow down Trayce Jackson-Davis?
The equation is very simple for Indiana. The Hoosiers are 9-0 when freshman Trayce Jackson-Davis records a double-double.
Jackson-Davis has been named Big Ten Freshman of the Week for the fifth time this season and CBS Sports/USBWA National Freshman of the Week after averaging 20 points and 13 rebounds in wins over Minnesota and #9 Penn State. At Minnesota, he had a career-high 27-point, 16 rebound performance and made 11 of 15 field goal attempts. Against Penn State he had 13 points and 10 boards giving him nine double-doubles on the season (IU is 9-0 in those games). He is averaging a team-best 13.8 points and 8.0 rebounds. He is just one of four freshmen nationally (Vernon Carey, Jr. - Duke, Zeke Nnaji - Arizona and Isiah Stewart - Washington) to lead his team in scoring, rebounds, field goal percentage, free throws made and free throws attempted and blocked shots. In the Big Ten, Jackson-Davis is the top freshman scorer overall and in conference games (12.9). He also leads in overall and conference play in field goal percentage (57.4 and 52.3), blocked shots (1.9 and 1.8), free throws made (108 and 60) and attempts (156 and 87). He is second overall and in league games in rebounding (8.0 and 7.5). He is seventh in the Big Ten in rebounding, 3rd in field goal percentage and 6th in blocked shots.
He'll likely draw one of the best Big Ten defenders in junior Da'Monte Williams and it'll be interesting if the length of Jackson-Davis' 6-foot-8 frame willl be a problem for the Peoria native who shut down a similar player in Lamar Stevens just a week ago.
In a hostile environment at Mackey Arena earlier this week, Jackson-Davis recorded six points and four rebounds, while picking up two blocks and a steal in a loss at Purdue.
2) Can Kofi Cockburn steal back Big Ten Freshman of the Year?
Cockburn has scored in double figures in five straight games and has three of his 12 double-doubles in the 2019-20 season in that trio of games. It's the first and only regular-season game against the duo in line for the conference freshman of the year award.
“I always like the chance to see a really good player," Cockburn said. "It’s not really about me at the end of the day, it’s about coming out there and doing what we do and making sure we secure the win and making that we improve our record."
Cockburn, who is getting 13.6 points and 9.1 rebounds this season, is averaging 12.4 points on 55.6 percent shooting and 9.8 rebounds in the last five games. His dozen double-doubles this season are the most in program history for a freshman and the most for any Illinois player since Mike Davis had 15 in 2010. Cockburn is third in the nation among all freshmen in rebounds with 9.1.
3) Will the Illini keep Indiana off the foul line?
Without a consistent perimeter scoring threat (when Devonte Green isn't hitting three-point shots), Indiana has trouble scoring. In order to counter that offensive lull, Indiana tries to get to the foul line. The Hoosiers have shot a conference-high 655 free throws. IU also has shot 366 charity tosses, a league-best, in conference games. Jackson-Davis likes to use his long frame to average five and a half free throws per game. In its recent offensive ineptitude at Mackey Arena earlier this week, Indiana had 15 field goals and 14 made free throws. If Green isn't hitting shots and Jackson-Davis isn't having a career afternoon as a player carrying a program through March, the whistle will be critical to Indiana's offensive flow today.