By Brad Sturdy - IlliniGuys Insider/Analyst & Co-Host, IlliniGuys Sports Spectacular

January 5, 2025

The Illini slayed the Ducks on Thursday and now have a maturity test when they take on the Washington Huskies in Seattle on Sunday afternoon. The Huskies aren’t as talented as Oregon but they beat a red hot Maryland on Thursday and relish the opportunity to beat the hyped Illini. Illinois is a young team on the road and they have to be able to handle success when it happens.

Here’s a look at the details.

Setting the Stage

/ #22/20 Illinois (10-3, 2-1) at Washington (10-4, 1-2)
Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025 // 3 p.m. CT (1 p.m. PT) // Seattle, Wash. // Alaska Airlines Arena
TV: BTN – Guy Haberman (Play-by-Play) & Don MacLean (Analyst)
Radio: Busey Bank Illini Sports Network – Brian Barnhart (Play-By-Play), Deon Thomas

Meet the Huskies

*UW wraps up a seven-game homestand vs. No. 20 Illinois.

*It will be Illinois’s first trip to Seattle to play Washington since 1927

*The Huskies are coming off of a 75-69 win Thursday over No. 24 Maryland It was UW’s first matchup with a ranked opponent of the season and UW’s first Big Ten win The 69 points were a season-low for the Terrapins The Dawgs held Maryland star Derik Queen to a season-low four points on 1-of-7 FG

*Great Osobor posted his fourth double double of the season with 20 points and 14 rebounds. Vazoumana Diallo registered career-highs with 18 points and six assists. Making three threes and all six attempts from the charity stripe, DJ Davis’ 17 points were his third most in a game this season » Making 18-of-23 free throws, UW shot over 75% from the line for the second straight game, the only two such performances of the season

*Former Illinois signee Jase Butler is playing about 10 minutes per game for the Huskies.

Keys to the Game

1. Limit the 3’s - UW is 7-1 when shooting 30% or better from three, 3-3 when under 30%, The Huskies are shooting 35.2% from three in wins, 25.9% in losses, and UW is averaging 7.0 made threes in wins, 5.3 in losses. Illinois has to keep the Huskies from getting good looks from behind the arc.

1. Fouls Mount Up - Washington shoots a lot of free throws. Osobor isn’t great at converting but he draws over 6 fouls per game. That could put the Illini big men into foul trouble. Washington plays 10-11 guys each game, so they have some depth if the Illini get them into foul trouble. Can the Ilini get the bench production like they got against Oregon?

1. Paint Touches - 46.4 percent of Washington’s points this season have been in the paint, the Huskies are 9-3 when scoring at least 30 points in the paint, and they are 9-1 when they outscore their opponent in the paint. Illinois needs to stay in front of them and force contested 2’s.

Prediction

The Illini should have the ability to win this game but expect wAshington to hang around and make it difficult before Illinois wins it, 81-70 and come home happy after a 2-game winning road trip.