Three In The Key: What to Look For During Illini vs. The Citadel

Illini Maven/Sports Illustrated gets you set for this Illinois basketball game vs. The Citadel with another 'Three in the Key' piece.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- And you thought Illinois had a quick turnaround huh?

Illinois’ opponent Wednesday night will be on the back half of a rare non-tournament back-to-back game in different states. After defeating Southeast Missouri 74-69 (its first win of the 2019-20 season) the previous night in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, The Citadel (1-3) will be traveling 240 miles to play the Illini (3-1) at State Farm Center for an 8 p.m. tip on BTN.

Illinois is coming off what head coach Brad Underwood is calling easily the team’s best defensive performance of the season in a 66-53 victory and they’ll likely need a similar effort on that end of the floor against a smaller interchangeable parts low-major squad that is similar in style to what Underwood had at Stephen F. Austin.

The Citadel returns seven letterwinners from last season’s team. The Bulldogs brought in eight newcomers, including two graduate transfers and six freshmen. The squad will be made up of two graduate transfers, one senior, four juniors, two sophomores and six freshmen. The Citadel was predicted to finish ninth in the ten-team Southern Conference in both the preseason media and coaches poll.

Before every game of the 2019-20 season, we’ll take a look at three things you’ll want to watch for after tip.

Game 5: The Citadel at Illinois

Date/Time/Place: Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2019: 8 p.m. CST, State Farm Center in Champaign, Ill.

Capacity: 16,618

Records: The Citadel 1-3; 12-18, 4-4 in Southern Conference in 2018-19. Illinois 3-1; 12-21, 7-13 in Big Ten Conference in 2018-19.

Line: Illinois by 27.5

Series notes: The Citadel and Illinois have never met before on the hardwood.

TV: BTN - Kevin Kugler (PBP), Stephen Bardo (analyst)

Radio (Illinois): Brian Barnhart (PBP), Deon Thomas (analyst) - The broadcast can be heard live on TuneIn online radio, Sirius/XM 84 and at FightingIllini.com.

1) Another perimeter defense test for Illini

The Citadel is a team of interchangeable parts that can have all five of its players bring the ball up the court and get its offense started in any way possible. In its 74-69 win at SEMO, the Bulldogs hit 11 of 25 three-point shots and only three players attempted a free throw. They’ll bring all five Illinois defenders outside the paint and likely outside the three-point line. It’ll be another unique defensive opportunity for the Illini that held Hawaii, which entered the game shooting 40 percent from 3-point range, to convert on just 3-of-22 threes (13.6%). It’ll be interesting to see who Trent Frazier, who Underwood believes is his best perimeter defender, draws as his defensive assignment.

Illinois center Kofi Cockburn is tied for Big Ten lead and tied for fifth nationally with three double-doubles / University of Illinois athletics department photo

2) Will The Citadel’s offense bother Kofi Cockburn?

Freshman Kofi Cockburn, with a smile, said Monday night that he’s not surprised about his start to his first college basketball season “because I’m 7-feet (tall)” and that won’t help him much on the defensive end Wednesday night. Cockburn will need to use his feet to defend from beyond 20 feet from the basket against a smaller The Citadel squad that will intend to bring him further away from the basket. It’ll be interesting to see if Illinois switches on ball-screen action because of their length on the perimeter. This size differential could also be a major benefit for the Illini as Cockburn leads the Big Ten Conference, ranks 16th in the NCAA in offensive boards (4.5 rpg) Cockburn and ranks 21st nationally in offensive rebound percentage (21.2 percent).

3) Is this the game Giorgi can find some confidence?

This game seems to be made for Giorgi Bezhanishvili because his size advantage on whoever is trying to guard him in the post tonight will be overmatched. Bezhanishvili shooting 50 percent from the field and has made 4-of-7 from 3-point range (57.1 percent). However, the sophomore forward struggled mightily on defense against a Hawaii team that played a lot of four-out, one-in offense. The recent birthday boy, who celebrated his 21st birthday Saturday, had his mother in the stands Monday night and his role with Cockburn continues to be critical but it does seem the arrival of his mother and more games of experience continue to settle down the 6-foot-9, 240-pound stretch power forward. Underwood said Tuesday night that he needs more bodies crashing the rim not only on offensive and defensive rebounding but also before the shot goes up as well.

Prediction: The Citadel’s schedule is the definition of the perplexing world of low major college basketball programs as they embark on a week-long trip that will cover four different states and cover over 2,700 miles. As The Citadel arrives in Champaign on the second half of a back-to-back, the Illini can take advantage of this by opening up its bench as Underwood used primarily Alan Frazier and Kipper Nichols off the bench Monday night versus Hawaii. One of the keys you should notice early on is who Trent Frazier is guarding as Kaiden Rice, The Citadel’s leading scorer from Tuesday night with 20 points will need to be contained. I see the Illini dominating the paint on offense and eventually forcing a tired Bulldogs squad into one-and-done situation by physically exerting itself on the glass. I see another game where Illinois may start slowly but is better this time at ending all hope against the low major program.

Illinois 82, The Citadel 63