Three Things to Watch When Illinois Basketball Plays at UCLA

The Illini will try to hang on to second place in the Big Ten when they face the Bruins on Saturday night

Illinois Fighting Illini guard Keaton Wagler (23) drives against Nebraska at Pinnacle Bank Arena. | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

Every team wants to be playing its best basketball as March approaches, and Illinois appears to be hitting its stride at the right time.

With Kylan Boswell and Andrej Stojakovic both back from injury, the Illini had one of their best games of the season Wednesday, dominating USC in a 101-65 victory. All five starters scored in double figures, and Stojakovic added a game-high 22 points off the bench.

That gives Illinois a chance to go 2-0 on its current trip to California, with a matchup against UCLA next on Saturday at 7 p.m. CT. The Bruins are headed in the opposite direction after blowout losses to Michigan and Michigan State over the past week put them squarely on the NCAA Tournament bubble in coach Mick Cronin's seventh season.

Here are three things to watch as Illinois takes on UCLA:

1. Illinois' three-point defense

Illinois Fighting Illini forward Jake Davis (15) contests a 3-point attempt by Northwestern Wildcats guard Jayden Reid (4) at Welsh-Ryan Arena. | David Banks-Imagn Images

Part of Brad Underwood's defensive philosophy is that he would rather give up low-percentage three-point attempts than high-percentage two-point attempts. It's hard to argue with the results, as Illinois is 22-5 and ranks No. 10 in the nation.

He shouldn't necessarily change anything drastically on Saturday against UCLA, but it will be interesting to see if any minor tweaks are made from a defensive standpoint. UCLA is not a team that will take a ton of threes, ranking 289th nationally with 20.2 attempts per game and 203rd with 7.6 makes per game.

But when they Bruins take them, it has been worth their while. Their 37.8 percent three-point shooting ranks 19th nationally, and they are second in Big Ten play behind Nebraska at 36.9 percent.

UCLA's main three-point shooters include former Illini Skyy Clark (48.1 percent on 4.9 attempts per game), Tyler Bilodeau (45.9 percent on 4.5 attempts per game) and Trent Perry (44.3 percent on 3.2 attempts per game). Point guard Donovan Dent is not an outside shooting threat at 17.4 percent on just 1.8 attempts per game, but he is a strong driver who can break down defenses and find open shooters (6.9 assists per game).

2. Physicality without fouling

USC Trojans guard Alijah Arenas (0) drives against Illinois Fighting Illini center Tomislav Ivisic (13) at the Galen Center. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

A hallmark of Mick Cronin-coached teams is defense and physicality, so Illinois has to be prepared for a battle. Underwood is certainly aware of that, and his team excels in those areas, so it's not as much of a concern as simply a requirement in this matchup.

UCLA is also a good free-throw shooting team – its 76.3 percent rate is 45th nationally – so Illinois needs to avoid handing out free points as much as it can.

Illinois has dominated its previous two opponents from a rebounding standpoint, with a 41-30 advantage over USC and a 38-25 advantage over Indiana. Maintaining that edge will create another path to victory on Saturday.

3. Desperation and home-court advantage

UCLA Bruins forward Tyler Bilodeau (34) celebrates against the Washington Huskies at Pauley Pavilion. | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Illinois cruised to victory by 20 and 36 points in its past two games, respectively, while UCLA was crushed at Michigan and Michigan State by 20 and 23 points, respectively. Based on those trends, it might seem like Illinois should roll over UCLA with ease.

Make no mistake, Illinois is the better team. But there are a few reasons why it wouldn't be surprising to see UCLA test the Illini on Saturday night.

The Bruins are 14-1 at home, including a win over No. 4 Purdue and four double-digit wins over Power Four opponents. Their only loss at home is a double-overtime defeat against Indiana.

Home-court advantage is a real thing in college basketball, especially for desperate teams. We saw that on Tuesday, when Ohio State beat No. 24 Wisconsin by 17 and Iowa beat No. 9 Nebraska.

UCLA is currently one of the last four teams in the NCAA Tournament, according to Joe Lunardi's latest Bracketology, updated Friday morning. A win over No. 10 Illinois would be a massive resume-booster and could determine which side of the bubble they end up on.