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Illinois Basketball: 2018-19 season preview for the Fighting Illini

By Austin Walther

NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 19: Illinois Men's Basketball Head Coach Brad Underwood speaks at the 2017 Big Ten Basketball Media Day at Madison Square Garden on October 19, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 19: Illinois Men's Basketball Head Coach Brad Underwood speaks at the 2017 Big Ten Basketball Media Day at Madison Square Garden on October 19, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images) /
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Illinois hasn’t had much success in recent years while playing in a very competitive Big Ten. How does his squad look for the upcoming 2018-19 season?

The Illinois Fighting Illini basketball team won four Big Ten games last year. They finished four games under .500 overall. On the bright side, the Illini did average 75 points per game which were good enough for sixth in the league. The reason for finishing so low was that they let up 74 points per game.

This is a team that hasn’t finished with a .500 record in Big Ten play since the 2014-15 season. That was the last time they made an appearance in the top-25. The last Tournament appearance came in 2013 and even then they finished 8-10 in league play.

They’re on their third head coach. Brad Underwood is entering his second season with the team. He was one of three new head coaches in the Big Ten last season. Underwood was dealt the toughest hand.

Illinois’ 75.8 points per game was a nice improvement, but the defense did decrease. He’s hoping after a complete full offseason with the team, the culture will turn to his favor.

Leron Black left for the NBA draft unexpectedly. Michael Finke transferred to Grand Canyon. Key reserves Mark Smith and Te’Jon Lucas are both gone too.

What seemed like a possible complete overhaul, they are returning three out of their top-five leading scorers.

They added some much-needed height with a seven-foot grand transfer from Kent State Adonis De La Rosa. He averaged 11.8 points per game and 7.6 boards last season for the Golden Flashes.

The Illini have two-four-star recruits coming in. Ayo Dosunmu is a six-foot-four combo guard from Chicago. He is 32nd overall, third at the position and first in the state of Illinois according to 24/7sports. Tevian Jones is a six-foot-six small forward from Culver City, CA. Both guys are expected to be in the rotation.

It’s going to be hard to crack the top-10 in the Big Ten after finishing near the bottom for a few years now. It’ll be an improvement from last season for sure. So how does the Fighting Illini look as they enter Underwood’s second season?

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