Don’t tell Illinois and Indiana — two bitter rivals who have despised each other for generations — that they’re looking awfully similar heading into their Big Ten showdown Tuesday night in Bloomington, Ind.
The No. 19 Fighting Illini (12-4, 4-2) owned a five-game winning streak until they suffered a dispiriting 10-point home loss Saturday afternoon to Southern California.
The Hoosiers (13-4, 4-2) owned a five-game winning streak until they suffered a dispiriting 25-point loss Saturday night at Iowa, which represents their largest loss to the Hawkeyes in 29 years.
Should we go further?
Illinois is counting the minutes until its leading scorer — freshman point guard Kasparas Jakucionis (16.4 ppg) — can return to the lineup after missing the last two games with an injured left forearm.
Indiana is also waiting for its leading scorer — junior power forward Malik Reneau (14.1 ppg) — to return after missing essentially four full games since injuring his right leg in the opening minute Jan. 2 versus Rutgers.
Actually, this is where the analogy starts to diverge a bit.
There’s zero question how much the Illini miss Jakucionis, especially in the wake of the USC loss. Much of the offense depends on the projected lottery pick’s ability to use high ball screens to create open shots for everyone. Seven-foot-1 center Tomislav Ivisic, for example, usually is a menace either popping for a three or rolling to the basket. Instead, he contributed just seven points in 17 minutes against USC.
“There’s comfort that we have with KJ all the time,” Illinois coach Brad Underwood said. “And I thought we got just a little rattled, a little out of sorts, without him.
“We overdribbled to the point where I think we pounded every nail on the court. I mean, there was just no flow. Tomi is a huge piece for us. I didn’t play him enough. Whatever it was, he just was flat. But we need him and KJ. Those guys give us great connectivity and offensive flow and that keeps balance on the court.”
As for Indiana, there’s some question, at least among fans and media, about how much the Hoosiers miss Reneau. Well, not necessarily him specifically. It’s just what his presence means to Indiana’s offensive capabilities. When the 6-foot-9 Reneau and 7-foot center Oumar Bello play together, it limits the Hoosiers’ ability to spread the floor like so many other teams do.
In Indiana’s first three games without Reneau — and senior shooter Luke Goode starting in his place — the Hoosiers shot 38 percent on 3-pointers and Ballo used his additional space to rampage for 21.7 points and 11 rebounds per game.
But in Saturday’s 85-60 loss at Iowa, Ballo posted 10 points in 24 minutes while the Hoosiers hit four of 16 3-pointers. Coach Mike Woodson got so frustrated with his starters’ shot selection and turnovers — Mackenzie Mgbako, for example, played just 16 minutes — that the Hoosiers’ four reserves combined for 82 minutes.
“We’ve been playing good basketball,” Woodson said. “I can’t sit here and complain. Our last five games were competitive against some good teams … but we’ve got to regroup.”
–Field Level Media
