Happy New Year, Ladies and Gentlemen!
Well, here we are again......another daunting road task for the Purdue Boilermakers. After trips to Iowa City and Piscataway, today it's the short jaunt on I-74 to Champaign-Urbana to take on the 15/16th-ranked Illinois Fighting Illini. Tip is scheduled for 6:00 pm (Eastern Time) with television coverage on the Big Ten Network.
Illinois is 3-1 in conference, and in a 4-way tie for second. Purdue is 2-2, and sits in a 3-way tie for seventh. It's early still, but the Boilers can't afford too many more losses at this stage of the season if they want to crack the top half of the conference.
When they're in rhythm and playing well, the Illini have a deadly inside-outside game with Kofi Cockburn anchoring the paint, and Ayo Dosunmu, Trent Frazier, and Da'Monte Williams on the wings. Dosunmu is an All-American who can also drive to score.....seemingly at will when he's on. Illinois is also second in the conference in scoring @ 87.3 pts/game. They can also turn the other team over to kick-start the offense. So, it's no wonder that the Boilers have a tough challenge ahead.
However, the Boilers have enough to compete with Illinois - they need an all-hands-on-deck effort and can't afford to dig another early hole. Limit the second chances and keep Cockburn under control would be a good start.....I'd like to see Trevion Williams with a similar approach as with Rutgers and hopefully be in the same position with fouls. Zach Edey will be able to spell in stretches and maybe do some damage in limited minutes. Dosunmu is going to get his.....make it more difficult, and can't let someone like Frazier, Williams, or Bezhanishvili get hot with open looks.
On offense, Purdue is really going to need to be disciplined and produce some drives and inside scores....then get the opportunities from deep. When he has his opportunities, Sasha Stefanovic needs to make some hay. This is also the type of team where Jaden Ivey can have some big impact....on both ends.
Illinois won both games last year rather handily, and they're better this year. Can the Boilers pull off a big upset win?
We shall see.
Boiler up, my friends.
Well, here we are again......another daunting road task for the Purdue Boilermakers. After trips to Iowa City and Piscataway, today it's the short jaunt on I-74 to Champaign-Urbana to take on the 15/16th-ranked Illinois Fighting Illini. Tip is scheduled for 6:00 pm (Eastern Time) with television coverage on the Big Ten Network.
Illinois is 3-1 in conference, and in a 4-way tie for second. Purdue is 2-2, and sits in a 3-way tie for seventh. It's early still, but the Boilers can't afford too many more losses at this stage of the season if they want to crack the top half of the conference.
When they're in rhythm and playing well, the Illini have a deadly inside-outside game with Kofi Cockburn anchoring the paint, and Ayo Dosunmu, Trent Frazier, and Da'Monte Williams on the wings. Dosunmu is an All-American who can also drive to score.....seemingly at will when he's on. Illinois is also second in the conference in scoring @ 87.3 pts/game. They can also turn the other team over to kick-start the offense. So, it's no wonder that the Boilers have a tough challenge ahead.
However, the Boilers have enough to compete with Illinois - they need an all-hands-on-deck effort and can't afford to dig another early hole. Limit the second chances and keep Cockburn under control would be a good start.....I'd like to see Trevion Williams with a similar approach as with Rutgers and hopefully be in the same position with fouls. Zach Edey will be able to spell in stretches and maybe do some damage in limited minutes. Dosunmu is going to get his.....make it more difficult, and can't let someone like Frazier, Williams, or Bezhanishvili get hot with open looks.
On offense, Purdue is really going to need to be disciplined and produce some drives and inside scores....then get the opportunities from deep. When he has his opportunities, Sasha Stefanovic needs to make some hay. This is also the type of team where Jaden Ivey can have some big impact....on both ends.
Illinois won both games last year rather handily, and they're better this year. Can the Boilers pull off a big upset win?
We shall see.
Boiler up, my friends.
Last edited:
