Illinois Basketball: 3 keys to beating Houston in Round of 32 matchup
By Tommy Farmer
Offensive Aggression from Trent Frazier
Trent Frazier is always a positive force when he’s on the court for Illinois because of his defense, but sometimes he needs to be more assertive on offense. A confident Frazier is one of the more dangerous off-the-dribble shooters in the country. He is capable of going on 10-0 runs by himself when he’s feeling it. Sometimes, however, he’s hesitant when he should just let the ball fly.
Against Chattanooga, he was 0-6 from the field and only scored two total points. Against Iowa in the regular-season finale to secure the Big Ten regular-season title, he finished 1-9 from the floor and finished with just two points again. While it may seem from those stat-lines like he just missed shots, that’s not entirely the case. In both games, Frazier passed up several shots that he would usually take, and he ended up shooting several forced shots.
Illinois will need better discretion from Frazier shooting the ball against Houston. Houston boasts the 12th best KenPom defensive rating, so it’s going to take much better guard play than Illinois had against Chattanooga. A strong showing from Frazier is a prerequisite if Illinois is to pull off the upset.