Matt Painter Talks Biggest Challenges Illinois Presents for Purdue

When Purdue heads to Champaign for Friday night's regular season finale, rebounding will be a top priority. That's been an emphasis all season long for the Boilermakers, but against Illinois, getting on the glass is going to be an important factor to leaving State Farm Center with a win.

Thursday, Purdue coach Matt Painter spoke with reporters about some of the biggest challenges that Illinois presents. The Illini's ability to crash the glass is the thing that stood out most.

"You always react more to how somebody plays their last game," Painter said. "Their ability to get on the glass, their ability to chase rebounds — a little bit of everything. Their quickness to get a lot of rebounds, but also their physicalness. Sometimes you don't see that across the board, you'll see a couple of guys on the front line from a physical standpoint overmatch people, but they have good positional size and strength and quickness across the board."

In that last game Painter talked about, Illinois outrebounded Michigan 43-32 in a 93-73 victory in Ann Arbor. The Illini were led by Tre White and Kylan Boswell, who grabbed 11 and nine rebounds, respectively.

The other thing Illinois did well against Michigan? Knocking down the long ball. The Illini hit 14 shots from the three-point line, shooting at nearly a 38% clip. Even when those shots aren't falling, though, they're able to get second-chance opportunities.

"They get up a lot of threes, and when you're getting a lot of offensive rebounds and those step-in, kick-out threes, those are the daggers. Those are the ones that really hurt you," Painter said.

Finally, Painter addressed Illinois' different weapons on the offensive end. Containing the dribble and staying in front of the basketball will also be key aspects to Friday night's regular season finale for the Boilermakers.

"They have a lot of guys that can make plays for themselves, break you down off the dribble so they can keep you spread out. They really put you into binds. You have to do a good job of having good team defense and keeping the ball in front of you."

Illinois has had a bit of an up-and-down season, dealing with injuries and illness at different points throughout the year. But in their last two games, the Illini have defeated Iowa 81-61 and Michigan 93-73. They'll be looking for a third straight win, just like Purdue on Friday night.

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