GameDay Preview: 3 Things I Need to See From the Hoosiers against Illinois

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Indiana might be on the right side of the NCAA tournament bubble right now, but getting a win on the road at Illinois on Sunday might put them over the top for sure.

That won't be easy, though. It's the Big Ten, and it's a road game. And because it's Indiana, the State Farm Center will be sold out, something that's not always a given in Champaign. They're doing some special things to amp up the noise, and the Hoosiers will have to be ready.

"It's two of the best programs in the history of college basketball. Both have been to Final Fours, both have passionate fans bases and that makes it fun,'' Illinois coach Brad Underwood said.

Tomorrow is Stripe State Farm Center!

ODD Sections - Wear Orange 🔶
EVEN Sections - Wear Blue 🔷
Students - Wear Orange 🔶@IlliniMBB vs. Indiana - Sunday, 1 pm

What color are you wearing? #JointheFight pic.twitter.com/ak7CGtIzLM
— Illinois Athletics (@IlliniAthletics) February 29, 2020

Here are three things I want to see from the Hoosiers:

Who: Indiana Hoosiers (18-10, 8-9 in the Big Ten) vs. Illinois Fighting Illini (19-9, 11-6 in the Big Ten)
When: 2 p.m. ET, Sunday, March 1
Where: State Farm Center, Champaign, Ill.
Latest Line: Illinois is a 5.5-point favorite as of Thursday morning, according to goldsheet.com.
Poll rankings: Neither team is ranked. Illinois is receiving votes in both the Associated Press or Coaches polls. They would be ranked No. 27 in the AP poll, and No. 29 in the Coaches poll.
Kenpom.com rankings: Purdue is No. 30, Indiana is No. 38, dropping two spots after Thursday night's loss at Purdue
TV: Big Ten Network
Announcers: Brandon Gaudin and Shon Morris
Radio: Indiana Radio Network
Announcers: Don Fischer, Eric Suhr, Joe Smith

1. Take the fun out of the building

Illinois has had a nice season, winning 11 Big Ten wins so far. It's their most since going 11-7 in 2009. The last time an Illinois team won more than 11 league games was in 2005, when it claimed the conference title outright with a 15-1 conference record.

Underwood has the team heading in the right direction, and they've been really good at home in the State Farm Center. The game is sold out and they're striping the building to give it a big-time feel. It's incumbent on Indiana to get off to a good start and suck that energy out of the building.

2. Keep Dosumnu from going off

Sophomore Ayo Dosumnu has been on fire lately, averaging 21.0 points and shooting 58.1 percent from the field (25-43) over the last three games after returning to the lineup. Dosunmu is averaging 18.0 points (216), 4.5 rebounds (54) and 3.8 assists (45) over his last 12 games.

During his last 12 appearances, Dosunmu has scored at least 15 points 10 times and has been the Illini's leading scorer seven times. He can be a tough defensive matchup.

3. Win the "best freshman'' battle

The two guys who have dominated the Big Ten Freshman of the Year award all year have been Indiana's Trayce Jackson-Davis and Illinois center Kofi Cockburn. Their individual battle might impact the outcome of the game more than any.

"I'm not sure how much they'll match up together. Neither one of them are really freshman anymore this late in the season, not after 27, 28 games. It's an exciting matchup. They're two young guys who've come in and impacted this league in a big way.

Over the last five games, Cockburn is averaging 12.4 points and 9.8 rebounds and shooting 55.6% (25-45). He has had double-doubles in three of the last five games while scoring in double figures all five times.

Jackson-Davis has won the award the past two weeks. He had 27 points and 16 rebounds against Minnesota and 13 and 10 against Penn State. He struggled through all of Purdue's double teams on Thursday night and will be looking for a bounce-back game.

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