CHAMPAIGN, Sick. — In late February, the Massive Ten race is lastly beginning to warmth up. Nonetheless, the Illini are simply now starting their hardest stretch of the season.

Following one other loss to Penn State, Illinois will face 4 groups — in three completely different places — in a span of 9 days.

The primary matchup is arguably essentially the most daunting: a visit to Meeting Corridor to face top-15 Indiana.

Head coach Brad Underwood and a lately wholesome Luke Goode addressed the media Friday to preview the matchup towards the Hoosiers.

Illini followers most likely bear in mind the final time these two groups performed.

“It was a tricky loss,” Underwood stated. “Trayce was actually the present.”

We’ve reached a degree the place each school basketball fan within the nation is aware of who “Trayce” is. Trayce Jackson-Davis has been on a tear this season, however he didn’t really begin his NPOY marketing campaign till his masterpiece at State Farm Heart.

Jackson-Davis received all the pieces he wished that night time with ease, scoring a season-high 35 factors and including 9 rebounds, 5 assists and three blocks. Since then, he’s solely continued his dominance.

His spectacular play makes him the principle focus for many defenses. Northwestern’s latest try to cease him labored nicely within the first half, however a dominant second half by the Indiana star erased a 20-point deficit. His close to triple double nearly propelled Indiana to a comeback win.

“He’s a extremely actually good participant,” Underwood stated. “And also you don’t decelerate actually good gamers.”

When scouting Indiana, each workforce is aware of who to deal with. As his stats point out, Jackson-Davis is tough to strategize towards. Not solely does he rating, however he has dished out 4 or extra assists in 9 of his 15 Massive Ten video games.

“He’s the very best passing large man within the nation; he’s an elite passer out of double groups,” Underwood stated. “It’s slightly little bit of choose your poison.”

Underwood emphasised that the primary time round, the Illini did an excellent job at defending the remainder of the workforce. He talked about that the workforce’s success is reliant on Jackson-Davis: they run each play by way of him.

It’s clear that there’s no stopping the Indiana star, however if you wish to come out of Meeting Corridor with a win, you need to discover a approach comprise him.

The Illini can have their arms full with Jackson-Davis, however a giant increase they’ve obtained lately is the return of Luke Goode.

Initially named a starter for the workforce, Goode went down with a fractured foot shortly earlier than the season began. His return got here greater than three months later, and his first basket got here as a 3 pointer within the loss to Penn State.

“It feels nice,” Goode stated. “All of the exhausting work that I put in has actually come into fruition.”

For a workforce that has struggled mightily from three in Massive Ten play (28.9%), having Goode again is a big addition to the offense. Regardless of simply returning to motion, Goode isn’t afraid to return in and make vital performs for this workforce.

“His alternatives are gonna come,” Underwood stated. “He’s one of many elite shooters on this league, and we will actually make the most of that.”

A local of Indiana, Goode truly grew up cheering for the Hoosiers. He was upset that he didn’t make it again onto the courtroom for the house loss towards Indiana, however he’ll use Saturday’s likelihood to make up for the time he’s missed.

“I believe this workforce can do nice issues within the postseason and proceed to win video games within the common season,” Goode stated. “I’m able to go.”

The sport towards Penn State has harm the Illini extra than simply within the win-loss column.

Latest updates reveal that Illinois main scorer Terrence Shannon Jr. suffered a concussion in Tuesday’s loss. He has been dominated out for Saturday’s recreation at Indiana.

Shannon is a giant a part of this Illinois workforce, and pulling off a win in Bloomington simply grew to become that a lot more durable.