Big Ten Basketball: Indiana tumbles, Rutgers storms up in latest power rankings

The Fighting Illini was in full control this past weekend against Michigan State and yet had to fight until the very end to hold onto a 79-74 victory. It was a rare off-night for the guards but once again star center Kofi Cockburn saved the day with 27 points and nine rebounds. An unsung hero and just as impressive in that win was Jacob Grandison, going for 24 points and five assists while making 6/10 from three-point range.

It hasn’t been all smooth as of late for Illinois, going 2-2 in the last four which includes losses to both Purdue and Rutgers. Though the team is tied in the loss column for the lead in the Big Ten and just got a 3 seed in the latest bracket reveal by the Selection Committee, this team still has a couple of problems to contend with, mainly how they plan on using Andre Curbelo the rest of the season.

After multiple injuries, the sophomore guard has returned to the lineup, this time, off the bench. Outside of a 15-point effort against Purdue, Curbelo has averaged under 4.0 ppg and shooting under 34% from the field. Trent Frazier and Alfonso Plummer have become the lead guards in the offense and it looks like Curbelo will be playing around 15 mpg as a reserve.

If this is how the roles will work going forward, Illinois should be in a good position to have postseason success. But one can’t help to think what this would look like had Curbelo been healthy the whole season and had a bigger role than he currently does.