The Secret to Illinois Basketball's Elite Transition Defense

Illinois’ defense has been questionable at times in the 2025-26 season, although it appears over the past few contests that a new chapter is currently unfolding, as the Illini have been locking down on that end since the Nebraska loss.

Still, for the entire season leading up to that Missouri win just ahead of Christmas, Illinois’ defense had been an inconsistent, up-and-down roller coaster ride – except, oddly, in one facet.

The Illini's transition defense has been as steady as a metronome since the season tipped off, and has almost completely erased fastbreak opportunities for opponents. Thus far, in eight games against high-major opponents, Illinois has yielded just 7.5 transition points per game.

For some context, an average of 7.5 fastbreak points would rank No. 329 in the country out of 361 teams. Among power conference foes, only Ohio State (12 transition points) and Alabama (16 transition points) have cracked double digits in fastbreak points against Illinois this year.

The unexpected way that Illinois suffocates opposing transition attacks

Kylan Boswel — Illinois basketball gets hype after building a lead against Penn State inside The Palestra on Jan. 3, 2026. | Taj Falconer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

So how exactly are the Illini shutting the door on opponents' fastbreak chances? It seems fairly simple – albeit a bit counterintuitive. Illinois is known for its prowess on the offensive glass, which, in turn, would make transition defense a nightmare – or so one would think.

Every coach, from the moment a kid picks up a basketball, tells them almost religiously: When a shot goes up, you sprint back on defense. Not Brad Underwood and not the Illini. They send the house to the glass – and with good reason. Currently, they rank 11th in the nation in offensive rebounding percentage, at 39.9 percent (per Bart Torvik).

Logically, though, the assumption is that there would be a key drawback: sending all those offensive rebounders leaves a defense wide open to leak-outs, outlet passes and transition buckets. In Illinois' case, it’s the opposite. Opponents have two options teams when the Illini get a shot off: 1) put a body on every Illini player and block them out to (hopefully) secure the board, or 2) push in transition to take advantage of Illinois having only one defender back.

Dec 29, 2025; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini forward Zvonimir Ivisic (back) and Southern University Jaguars forward Malek Abdelgowad (8) wait for a rebound during the first half at State Farm Center. Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-Imagn Images | Ron Johnson-Imagn Images

For opponents, those options are entirely dependent on one another. If you don’t have possession of the ball, you can’t push the tempo in transition. As a result, squads are forced to pick option No. 1 and send all of their players to the glass, tamping down any transition possibilities.

And if an opponent is able to snag the board, it’s almost always because a player had sound rebounding position against an Illini – meaning the Illinois player is now impeding the opponent’s path to the other basket.

So although conventional thinking says that sending bodies to the offensive glass harms transition defense, Illinois is so effective in that area that, in a roundabout way, defenses have to choose prioritizing possession over an advantage that requires actually having the ball in your hands.

Not only does that reduce the amount of easy scoring opportunities for opponents, but it halts momentum. Nothing gets a stadium rocking like an open-floor lob for a thunderous jam. When’s the last time you saw one of those converted against the Illini? It's been a minute.

Still, although the benefits are glaringly obvious, the reverse is true. Illinois’ dominance on the defensive glass is also due to Brad Underwood’s philosophy of everyone hitting the boards – which makes the Illini’s transition game all but nonexistent (the Illini’s 6.14 fastbreak points per game ranks No. 353 in the country and dead last among high-major teams).

Still, with Illinois’ offense being as efficient as it is in the halfcourt, Underwood can live with fewer transition points if it ensures foes aren’t creating second-chance buckets on the other end.