Connor Cagley, IlliniGuys Basketball Writer
March 20, 2022
4 ILLINOIS (23-9, 15-5 B1G) at the NCAA Tournament | |
Tournament Central | NCAA March Madness Live | Illinois Tournament Central |
Second Round | vs. 5 Houston (30-5, 15-3 American) |
Date | Time | Sunday, March 20, 2022 | 11:10 a.m. CT (12:10 p.m. ET) |
Location | Pittsburgh, Pa. | PPG Paints Arena |
Tickets | Ticketmaster | On Location |
Television | CBS (Kevin Harlan, Dan Bonner, Reggie Miller & Dana Jacobson) |
Live Stream | NCAA March Madness Live | NCAA March Madness Live App |
Radio | Busey Bank Illini Sports Network | The Varsity Network App | Sirius 136, XM 203, SXM App 965 |
Live Stats | NCAA March Madness Live |
Appearances / Streak: 32 / 2
Record: 42-32 (.5628)
Final Four Appearances / Last: 5 / 2005
Record: Illinois leads 3-2
Last Meeting: #10 Illinois 102, Houston 92 (12/14/1985 at Champaign)
Underwood vs. Houston: First meeting
Illinois was able to survive against Chattanooga late Friday night, a game in which they led for all of 25 seconds. The Illini are going to need to improve their play Sunday against 5th seeded Houston if they plan to advance. Offensively, there’s nowhere to go but up. Defensively, Illinois was able to hold Chattanooga to 53 points which was a large part of how they were able to sneak by with a victory.
Kofi Cockburn courtesy Joe Clark, IlliniGuys
Kofi Cockburn was Illinois’ NCAA game 1 MVP, much as he is in most games. But for him, it was a rather lackluster performance. Although he finished with 13 rebounds - just over 2 above his season average - he only finished with 17 points on 6 of 12 shooting and 5 for 10 at the free-throw line.
Chattanooga used a hack-a-Shaq like strategy on Cockburn during the first half. This clearly frustrated him as he struggled from the free throw line and had other possessions where he was most likely fouled but there was no call. Into the 2nd half, Illinois’ guards struggled getting the ball into the post. Cockburn’s only bucket came on an offensive rebound and put-back to put the Illini up late in the game.
Against Houston he will need to take his time and slow down his free throw routine. At a 50% free-throw shooting percentage, teams will take that trade off. Josh Carlton will get a majority of minutes at center position for Houston. Carlton is an explosive leaper and has a very quick second jump, so even if Cockburn is able to get him on a pump fake he will still need to have good positioning with his body to get off a clean look.
When Carlton isn’t on Cockburn, Houston will most likely be going a bit smaller with J’wan Roberts or Fabian White who are both 6’8” or shorter. These should be matchups that he’s able to take advantage of.
Alfonso Plummer courtesy Joe Clark, IlliniGuys
Against Chattanooga, Trent Frazier and Andre Curbelo really struggled offensively shooting the ball. They finished a combined 1 for 13 from the field with a total of 7 points. They each finished with 4 assists, Illinois can’t have another shooting performance like this and expect to survive the next round - the remaining teams are too talented.
Frazier started last game, but it appears he’s dealing with some sort of injury/pinkeye as his eye was fairly swollen in the post-game. If this is still affecting him, it may be worth starting Curbelo ahead of him. While Curbelo had 6 turnovers, it was his ability to get into the paint at-will which allowed Illinois to break through and get the ball into the hoop against Chattanooga.
Illinois would rather have the turnovers cleaned up, but, that said, it’s clear they need his playmaking ability. Curbelo brings a lot to the table offensively, but Illinois needs him to step up on the defensive end as Plummer struggles as a one-on-one defender in the back court. This could allow Frazier to come off the bench for Plummer and focus primarily on scoring as soon as he hits the floor, as opposed to starting with Plummer and having to serve as a playmaker for others. This would allow him to be more aggressive and showcase the shot-making prowess we saw against Michigan and Michigan State where he closed them out with clutch shooting.
Coleman Hawkins courtesy Joe Clark, IlliniGuys
At multiple points during the season it looked like Luke Goode, Ramses Melendez, and Brandin Podziemski were each going to carve out their niche role on the team. However, with Da’Monte Williams, Jacob Grandison, and Coleman Hawkins vying for minutes it was always going to be an uphill battle when it comes down to a single elimination tournament.
With Hawkins playing so well on the defensive end on the glass and even providing 10 points against Chattanooga, he will likely be getting 25 minutes barring foul trouble. After that it gets dicey, as the play from Williams and Grandison hasn’t been as strong. Between the two of them, they were able to get 9 rebounds, but as far as threats to score go, they were almost non-existent. If this happens again, Underwood will hopefully be open to the more inexperienced, but talented, young players. Either way, Illinois needs a strong performance from two of these players. If that doesn’t happen, Houston will be more much more comfortable sending double teams in Cockburn’s direction.
Against Houston, expect the Illini to shoot better than Thursday’s game against Chattanooga. That said, Houston is more athletic and better at attacking the rim which should ultimately lead to a higher scoring game. Since Houston was able to go to the final four in Illinois’ region last year, Illinois will definitely have a bone to pick with them coming in to this matchup. Hopefully it doesn’t come down to the last possession, but it won’t be surprising if this is a one possession game.
1987 First Round – 14 Austin Peay 68, 3 Illinois 67
2005 Elite Eight – 1 Illinois 90, 3 Arizona 89 (OT)
2022 First Round – 4 Illinois 54, 13 Chattanooga 53
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