Illinois Basketball: 3 keys to beating Houston in Round of 32 matchup
By Tommy Farmer
On Sunday, Illinois Basketball will square off with Houston in the battle of the South Region’s four vs. five-seeds. Illinois led by 25 seconds total in a nail-biting victory over Chattanooga in the first round, while Houston took care of UAB handily. Despite being a five-seed, the Cougars are ranked 3rd in the country on KenPom. Houston opens as a 4.5-point favorite according to WynnBET.
Here are three major keys for Illinois to beat Houston and advance to the Sweet 16…
Cannot Get Outworked
Illinois has an inexplicable tendency to come out of the gates lifeless in some of the biggest games. That cannot happen at any point against Houston. Kelvin Sampson teams are known for being extremely tough, physical, and relentless. This Houston team is no different. The Illini will need all five guys making a difference on the glass and matching Houston’s intensity.
This means that Coleman Hawkins needs to continue to play active and rebound. It means that Plummer will have to dig in on the defensive end when he’s in the game. Every minute played by Omar Payne, Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk, and the freshmen need to be played with the same intensity that the guy going to the bench played with.
Houston will feast off lapses in effort and intensity that Illinois is prone to having. Simply put, Illinois cannot get outworked or out-toughed by the Cougars, or Illinois will lose, and Brad Underwood might break every clipboard the team managers brought to Pittsburgh.